TSX REPORT: Beamon’s ‘68 long jump gold on auction; equestrian federation asked for 2028 Eventing revamp; Australia opts for A/C in Paris

January 23, 2024

tsx pix 2024-122 beamon 68 gold front (christie's) — Bob Beamon's 1968 Olympic long jump gold medal (Photo: Christie's)

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. Beamon’s 1968 Olympic gold up for auction on 1 February
2. FEI told to revamp Cross Country for LA28 Games by 1 March
3. Australia to install optional air conditioners in Paris Village
4. USA Basketball names 11 Olympians to women’s training camp
5. World Aquatics approves eight “neutral” swimmers for Worlds

● World-record long jump star Bob Beamon is auctioning off his historic 1968 Olympic gold medal in February during a live auction at Christie’s New York. Will it approach the prices paid for Jesse Owens’ Berlin 1936 golds?

● The International Equestrian Federation (FEI) has been instructed by the International Olympic Committee to re-format its Eventing discipline by 1 March, to reduce its costs and complex for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

● Although the Paris 2024 Olympic Village was designed without air conditioning for environmental reasons, the Australian Olympic Committee is ready to pay A$100,000 to add it for their athletes to ensure maximal performance.

● USA Basketball named 18 star players to a training camp, from which 12 will be selected to play in an Olympic Qualifying Tournament in February (even though the Americans have already qualified for Paris 2024). On the roster are 11 Olympians and four more who played on the 2022 FIBA World Cup championship team. Wow!

● The World Aquatics Integrity Unit has approved nine “neutral” swimmers – eight from Belarus – to compete at the upcoming World Aquatics Championships in Qatar, plus one Belarusian artistic swimmer, but that does not mean they will compete there.

● Panorama: Paris 2024 (IOC releases athlete “expression” guidelines) = IOC (Kuwait’s Sheikh Ahmad conviction confirmed by Swiss court) = Russia (3: Friendship Games to have five sports in Belarus; WADA sets 2024 Russian dues; national flag deemed crucial for ROC chief) = Athletics (2: two more Kenyan doping positives; Christie and Melville win USATF Marathon Walk Relay) = Canoe-Kayak (ICF celebrates 100-year anniversary) = Lacrosse (ITA reports three doping positives from 2023 Worlds) = Rowing (Serbian federation suspended over debts) = Table Tennis (Ly and Takahashi take Pan Am Cup titles) ●

1.
Bob Beamon’s 1968 Olympic long jump gold up for auction
on 1 February

Bob Beamon’s astonishing world-record long jump of 8.90 m (29-2 1/2) at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games is one of the world’s iconic individual performances in sport.

A medal favorite, Beamon qualified second to fellow American Ralph Boston, the 1960 Olympic Champion, who set an Olympic Record of 8.27 m (27-1 3/4), with Beamon at 8.19 m (26-10 1/2).

In the final – 18 October 1968 – Beamon was fourth in the order and after the first three jumpers all fouled, Beamon unleashed a mammoth jump that was so far, the optical measuring device installed for the Games could not be used. The jump was manually measured and was posted at 8.90 m, which Beamon did not immediately understand. When told by Boston that he had jumped 29-2 1/2, Beamon collapsed in astonishment.

At the start of the day, the world record had been 8.35 m (27–4 3/4) by Boston (1965) and Soviet Igor Ter-Ovanesyan, in Mexico City in 1967. Beamon crushed that mark and the competition was over. He did jump in the second round, reaching 8.04 m (26-4 1/2) and then retired.

It took 23 years for his mark to be surpassed, with Mike Powell of the U.S. winning an epic duel with Carl Lewis at the 1991 IAAF World Championships in Tokyo, reaching 8.95 m (29-4 1/2) to win.

Beamon, now 77, worked with youth in sports for many years in Miami and in art and music and is now selling that 1968 Olympic gold in a 1 February auction by Christie’s in New York City.

Called The Exceptional Sale, the 40-item program includes iconic furniture, tapestries and works of art, plus Beamon’s gold medal, an Elvis Presley guitar and a gold vest owned by Janis Joplin.

The Christie’s estimate is that the medal could bring from $400-600,000, which would be one of the highest prices ever paid for an Olympic medal.

Olympic writer and board member of the multi-national Olympin Collectors Club Karen Rosen (USA) notes that the highest prices known to have been paid for Olympic medals are both for Berlin 1936 gold medals won by American sprint icon Jesse Owens.

An Owens gold sold for an all-time record of $1,466,574 on 8 December 2013, and a second Owens gold went for $615,000 on 7 December 2019.

The Beamon ‘68 gold will be sold in a live auction by Christie’s on 1 February, beginning at 10 a.m. Eastern time. It’s lot no. 11.

2.
FEI told to revamp Cross Country for LA28 Games by 1 March

The respected British equestrian magazine Horse & Hound reported that the Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) has been asked to reconfigure its competition program for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

At issue is what to do about the high-profile Eventing discipline, which often has the Cross Country segment held apart from the arena-style setting for Dressage and Jumping. Per the report:

● “The [Eventing] discipline is not yet confirmed for the 2028 Games, although leading figures have ‘confidence’ it will be.”

● “In a pre-recorded video message, FEI president Ingmar de Vos [BEL] told the 2024 FEI online eventing seminar today (20 January) that eventing being included in the 2028 programme is subject to finding a venue that accommodates all equestrian disciplines on one site, including the cross-country phase.”

The IOC’s instructions to the FEI apparently came in the last half of December, with a proposal due by 1 March. The Eventing format – formerly known as the “Three-Day Event” – usually features Dressage first, then Jumping and finishes with the Cross Country test on the third day, with the final phase over a lengthy course. For Tokyo 2020, the Cross Country segment was planned for a 5,700 m course (~3.54 miles).

The course length often places the Cross Country aspect at a separate venue, which increases costs significantly and requires the horses to be transported. For 2028, the proposed equestrian venue is a temporary facility in the “Valley Sports Park” at the Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area in the San Fernando Valley.

At the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, the Dressage and Jumping events were held in a specially-arranged arena at Santa Anita Park, but the Cross Country program was accommodated 115 miles south at Fairbank Ranch near San Diego, to ensure cooler weather for the horses.

The story noted that both the IOC and its Olympic Broadcasting Services subsidiary would prefer to have the Cross Country element as the final event in the Eventing program, with the medals awarded after the finish of that competition.

Observed: This is a normal part of the Olympic planning process and venues are always moved around for cost and convenience reasons. For 2028, the LA28 Web site still shows the bid plan from 2017, but the rowing and flatwater canoeing events are already known to be moved from Lake Perris in Riverside County (east of Los Angeles) to the Long Beach Marine Stadium, site of the 1932 rowing events.

Further moves – beyond equestrian – are expected, and venues have yet to be announced for Skateboarding, Sport Climbing and Surfing, as well as the five newly-added sports of baseball-Softball, Cricket, Flag Football, Lacrosse and Squash.

3.
Australia to install optional air conditioners in Paris Village

“We understand and support the idea of not having air conditioning because of the carbon footprint.

“But there is no question of sacrificing performance. At the [Australian Olympic Committee], we requested the services of a heat specialist to find out at what temperature sleep is best. As we explained to [the organizing committee], athletes must sleep during the day, as their events often take place in the evening. The daytime will be the hottest time.

“This is why we decided to install temporary air conditioners and fans in the athletes’ rooms. It’s an expense, but we can afford it.”

That’s Australian Olympic Committee chief executive Matt Carroll in an interview with The Telegraph (Australia), explaining why the AOC is following through on its decision from last November to add air conditioning to its athlete rooms at the Paris 2024 Olympic Village.

The cost is expected to be about A$100,000 or so (about $65,700 U.S.). The Paris Olympic Village was designed with flow-through cooling architecture so that air conditioning would not be added to each unit for environmental reasons, but the Paris organizers have said that temporary air-conditioning units could be added – at additional cost – for delegations that wished to have them.

It will be fascinating to see how many delegations decide to add air conditioning now that Australia has committed to it.

4.
USA Basketball names 11 Olympians to women’s training camp

The most dominant team in Olympic sport today has to be the U.S. women’s basketball team, which is on a 55-game Olympic win streak and has won seven Olympic golds in a row.

A lot of familiar faces are lining up to be on the 2024 U.S. women’s Olympic team, as USA Basketball announced an 18-woman training camp squad, with 12 to be selected for the 8-11 February FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Antwerp (BEL).

The U.S. women are already qualified for Paris, but are in the Qualifying Tournament to get ready for Paris. The squad that head coach Cheryl Reeve will have to choose from is an embarrassment of riches. USA Basketball noted the 11 Olympians in its announcement:

● 5 Golds (1): Diana Taurasi (2004-08-12-16-20)

● 2 Golds (2): Brittney Griner (2016-20), Breanna Stewart (2016-20)

● 1 Gold (8): Ariel Atkins (2020), Napheesa Collier (2020), Chelsea Gray (2020), Jewell Loyd (2020), and A’ja Wilson (2020), plus 3×3 Olympic champs Allisha Gray (2020), Kelsey Plum (2020) and Jackie Young (2020).

Further, four more players – Kahleah Cooper, Sabrina Ionescu, Betnijah Laney and Alyssa Thomas – were on the gold-medal-winning 2022 FIBA World Cup team (8-0), along with Atkins, Chelsea Gray, Plum, Stewart and Wilson.

The U.S. women will play Belgium, Nigeria and Senegal in their qualifier; there are also qualifying tournaments in X’ian (CHN), Belem (BRA) and Sopron (HUN).

The qualifying tournament team is not the team that will compete in Paris this summer. That process is a continuing evaluation and will undoubtedly add some other players to the mix such as collegiate stars like Caitlin Clark (Iowa), Angel Reese (LSU), Paige Bueckers (Connecticut) and others.

5.
World Aquatics approves eight “neutral” swimmers for Worlds

The 2024 World Aquatics Championships are coming to Doha (QAT) beginning on 2 February and the World Aquatics Integrity Unit (AQIU) has approved eight swimmers and one artistic swimmer to compete under its “neutrality” rules.

Seven of the eight swimmers are from Belarus, including Ilya Shymanovich, the world short-course (25 m) record holder in the 100 m Breaststroke and gold medalist at the 2021 World Short-Course Championships. He was eighth in the Tokyo Olympic final in the 100 m Breast, but ranked no. 3 worldwide in the event in 2023 (58.41).

Tokyo Olympians Anastasiya Shkurdai (Fly) and Alina Zmushka (Breast) were also on the “neutrals” list. The one Russian swimmer was Ivan Girev, a Tokyo gold medalist in the 4×200 m Free relay.

World Aquatics told SwimSwam.com that four swimmers and one artistic swimmer have registered for Doha, all from Belarus. Vasilina Khandoshka is the artistic swimmer, the 2021 European Championships bronze winner in the Solo Technical.

As far as qualification for Paris is concerned, even if athletes are certified by an International Federation, the IOC will also verify their “neutrality” as regards supporting Russia’s war on Ukraine.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● The International Olympic Committee released its “Guidelines on Athlete Expression” for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, with the same core requirements as for the Tokyo Games in 2021:

“Expressions are not permitted in the following instances:

“o During official ceremonies (including Olympic medal ceremonies, opening and closing ceremonies)

“o During competition on the field of play

“o In the Olympic Village”

The exception for near-the-field gestures introduced in Tokyo was continued for Paris, allowing for an “expression” or “gesture” when leaving the call room or being introduced, that is considered non-threatening, targeted at a specific group or disruptive. Specifically prohibited are the unfurling of a flag or banner, interfering with another athlete’s introduction and any physical harm to people or to property.

● International Olympic Committee ● Suspended IOC member Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah, now the former Kuwaiti Defense Minister, had his Swiss forgery conviction confirmed in a December opinion that was published Monday.

The former Olympic Council of Asia chief was convicted in a Swiss court of forgery in September 2021 and given a suspended sentence of 30 months. On appeal in Geneva, his conviction and those of those associates was affirmed, but his sentence was revised from 14 months in prison and 15 months suspended, to a suspended sentence of two years and three years probation. Sheikh Ahmad, as he is known, has promised to appeal the finding to the Swiss Federal Tribunal.

He was suspended for three years last July by the IOC for election interference at the Olympic Council of Asia, trying to get his brother elected as president. Although his brother did win, the election was nullified.

● Russia ● Long rumored, but not explicit until now: five sports at the World Friendship Games this September will take place in Belarus.

Most of the sports will be contested in Moscow and Yekaterinburg in Russia, but First Deputy Minister of Sports and Tourism of Belarus, Alexander Dorokhovich, said in a television interview:

“From September 15 to 29, the Friendship Games will be held in 25 sports in which we plan to take part. The Russian Federation has also contacted us so that five sports will take place in Belarus. These are rowing, kayaking and canoeing, modern pentathlon, track cycling and trampoline.

“We are considering the proposal, and are ready to participate and cheer for the outstanding performances of our athletes.”

The IOC has warned against participation in the BRICS Games and the World Friendship Games in September, calling the events “clearly politically motivated sports events in Russia.”

Russia has not paid its 2022 dues to the World Anti-Doping Agency of $1.27 million and there is a WADA working groups studying both the difficulty for financial transactions due to sanctions on Russia and the country’s disagreement with the amount.

But the dues for 2023 have been established by WADA at $1,335,860. If Russia does not pay, it could be another grounds to continue WADA sanctions.

Perspective: the comments of Russian Olympic Committee President Stanislav Pozdnyakov – a four-time Olympic gold medalist in fencing – to the Russian news agency TASS about the importance of national symbols (flag, anthem, uniform) for Russian athletes:

“The most important factor that unites all athletes is the unification around the flag.

“Every athlete dreams of achieving outstanding results representing their country. Athletes are the most patriotic part of our compatriots; they train and prepare all their lives to perform under the national flag of his country and, in case of victory, hear its anthem.

“I am sure that this is and will be the case in the future, because it is impossible to imagine that an athlete performs individually at some competitions, then he will perform as a single person, he will not feel behind them is the support of their country. And those who perform with the flag and anthem feel it and will pass it on to their children.

“This is love for one’s country and patriotism. Patriotism is love for one’s country, we demonstrate that Russia is not just the place where we were born, but a country that we want to make better, richer and pass all this on to future generations. Perhaps I am saying this from the perspective of a 50-year-old man, but nevertheless, the main line runs from the very beginning, when a person begins to play sports and dream of victories on the international stage.”

● Athletics ● The hits just keep on coming. Two more Kenyan doping suspensions announced by the Athletics Integrity Unit: Hosea Kisorio, a 2:17:01 marathoner in 2023, for erythropoietin (EPO) with a three-year suspension, and Ayub Kiptum, a 60:34 half-marathoner, banned for three years for Testosterone.

U.S. walk stars Miranda Melville and Nick Christie combined to win the USATF Marathon Walk Mixed Relay in cold, rainy conditions on Sunday in Santee, California.

This race is now contested by World Athletics at its Race Walking Team Championships to be held in Antalya (TUR) on 21 April, and at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The format has the male walker taking the first 12.195 km, then the woman taking the next 10 km, and then the male and female finishing with 10 km each for the 42.195 km total.

Melville, a six-time national champion and Rio Olympian, and Christie, a Tokyo Olympian and 16-time nationals winner, were easy victors in 3:13:27. Emmanuel Corvera and Celine Lepe finished second overall in 3:26:41 and Jordan Crawford and Jessica Heiser-Whatley were third (3:17:17).

The race essentially functioned as the U.S. Olympic Trials, with the actual qualification for Paris significantly depending on finishes at the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships.

The top individual finishers were Christie (1:33:13), Crawford (1:41.54) and Corvera (1:42.46) for the men, with Robyn Stevens getting the fastest women’s time at 1:39:27, followed by Melville (1:40:15) and Lepe (1:43:43).

● Canoe-Kayak ● Happy Birthday to the International Canoe Federation (ICF), founded on 19 January 1924 in Copenhagen (DEN), with representatives from Denmark, Germany, Austria and Sweden.

Flatwater canoeing – now known as Canoe Sprint – was a demonstration sport at the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris (FRA) and became a medal sport in 1936.

From the four federations that founded it, the original “Internationale Repräsentantenschaft für Kanusport” (IRK) has grown to 171 national members.

● Lacrosse ● The International Testing Agency published sanctions against three players on Monday, including two from the Haudenosaunee Nationals.

Austin Staats (CAN) was suspended for three months for “an Adverse Analytical Finding (AAF) for the prohibited substances carboxy-THC, cocaine and its metabolite benzoylecgonine.” The substances were consumed out-of-competition and not used for competitive advantage, hence the reduced sanction period.

Oakley Thomas (CAN) was sanctioned for the same substances and for the same period. Both tested positive during the 2023 World Championship in San Diego, California on 1 July.

Peruvian player James Alexander Burleson-Porras was sanctioned for three months for a positive test for cocaine from 26 June 2023.

Lacrosse was added to the 2028 Olympic Games program for Los Angeles last October.

● Rowing ● World Rowing has suspended the Serbian Rowing Federation for debt:

● “This decision comes over significant financial debts being owed to World Rowing and various event suppliers by the Serbian Rowing Federation and relevant Serbian authorities serving as guarantors of the 2022 World Rowing Cup I and 2023 World Rowing Championships held in Belgrade, Serbia.”

● “Legal proceedings against the Serbian Rowing Federation and official guarantors are also being launched.”

The suspension means, among other things, that Serbian entries for the 2024 Olympic Games and World Rowing Championships are not allowed. Ouch. For reference, Serbian rowers did not win a medal at the 2022 or 2023 World Rowing Championships.

● Table Tennis ● At the Pan American Cup in Corpus Christi (USA), Brazil’s Bruna Takahashi, the 2023 Pan American Games runner-up, defeated the top two American women in the semis and finals to win her first Pan Am Cup gold.

Takahashi had won the 2018 bronze in this competition, but came from two sets down to get by Lily Zhang of the U.S. by 4-3 in the semis (11-8, 10-12, 6-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-8) and then won a see-saw battle with Amy Wang by 4-3 (11-5, 11-1, 9-11, 4-11, 11-7, 6-11, 11-9) in the final.

Canada’s Edward Ly, 20, won the men’s title by 4-0 (11-2, 12-10, 12-10, 11-8) against Chile’s Nicolas Burgos and took 16 of the 17 games he played in the tournament!

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TSX BULLETIN: FEI told to revamp Cross Country for LA28 Games by 1 March

Rich Perelman

January 22, 2024

la 2028 emblems pair 750 2021-815 — Questions for equestrian for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

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≡ LOS ANGELES 2028 ≡

At issue is what to do about the high-profile Eventing discipline, which often has the Cross Country segment held apart from the arena-style setting for Dressage and Jumping. Per the report:

● “The [Eventing] discipline is not yet confirmed for the 2028 Games, although leading figures have ‘confidence’ it will be.”

Observed: This is a normal part of the Olympic planning process and venues are always moved around for cost and convenience reasons. For 2028, the LA28 Web site still shows the bid plan from 2017, but the rowing and flatwater canoeing events are already known to be moved from Lake Perris in Riverside County (east of Los Angeles) to the Long Beach Marine Stadium, site of the 1932 rowing events.

Further moves – beyond equestrian – are expected, and venues have yet to be announced for Skateboarding, Sport Climbing and Surfing, as well as the five newly-added sports of Baseball-Softball, Cricket, Flag Football, Lacrosse and Squash.

You can receive our exclusive TSX Report by e-mail by clicking here. You can also refer a friend by clicking here, and can donate here to keep this site going.

For our new, 920-event International Sports Calendar for 2024 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

TSX BULLETIN: Bob Beamon’s 1968 Olympic long jump gold up for auction on 1 February

Rich Perelman

January 22, 2024

tsx pix 2024-122 beamon 68 gold (christie's) — Bob Beamon's 1968 Olympic long jump gold medal will be auctioned on 1 February at Christie's New York. (Photo: Christie's)

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

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≡ MEMORABILIA ≡

Bob Beamon’s astonishing world-record long jump of 8.90 m (29-2 1/2) at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games is one of the world’s iconic individual performances in sport.

A medal favorite, Beamon qualified second to fellow American Ralph Boston, the 1960 Olympic Champion, who set an Olympic Record of 8.27 m (27-1 3/4), with Beamon at 8.19 m (26-10 1/2).

Beamon, now 77, worked with youth in sports for many years in Miami and in art and music and is now selling that 1968 Olympic gold in a 1 February auction by Christie’s in New York City.

Called The Exceptional Sale, the 40-lot program includes iconic furniture, tapestries and works of art, plus Beamon’s gold medal, an Elvis Presley guitar and a gold vest owned by Janis Joplin.

The Christie’s estimate is that the medal could bring from $400-600,000, which would be one of the highest prices ever paid for an Olympic medal.

Olympic writer and board member of the multi-national Olympin Collectors Club Karen Rosen (USA) notes that the two highest prices known to have been paid for Olympic medals are both for Berlin 1936 gold medals won by American sprint icon Jesse Owens.

An Owens gold sold for an all-time record of $1,466,574 on 8 December 2013, and a second Owens gold went for $615,000 on 7 December 2019.

The Beamon ‘68 gold will be sold in a live auction by Christie’s on 1 February, beginning at 10 a.m. Eastern time. It’s lot no. 11.

You can receive our exclusive TSX Report by e-mail by clicking here. You can also refer a friend by clicking here, and can donate here to keep this site going.

For our new, 920-event International Sports Calendar for 2024 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

TSX REPORT: Athens 1896 winner’s medal sells for $111,960; Infantino asks for match forfeits for racism; 95th World Cup win for Shiffrin!

Rich Perelman

January 22, 2024

tsx pix 2022-331 infantino, gianni fifa congress — FIFA chief Gianni Infantino (SUI): racism requires match forfeits!

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. Auction: $111,960 for Athens 1896 medal, $1,282,911 total!
2. Paris booksellers appealing Olympic removals
3. Warm temps for Orlando Marathon Trials on 3 February
4. Russia: Paralympic participation issues, 5,000 aths at BRICS?
5. LA28 progress on community initiatives confirmed

● The RR Auction of Olympic memorabilia closed with $1.28 million in sales, led by a $111,960 sale of a winner’s medal (in silver) from the 1896 Athens Olympic Games.

● The continuing tussle between the Paris Police and the second-hand booksellers along the Seine continues, with the police lowering the number to be removed for the Olympic opening and the booksellers headed to court.

● Early forecasts for the 3 February U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Orlando show daily highs in the 70s, but morning temperatures in the 60s, reasonable for running. But wind could be a factor and more detail is needed.

● The Russian Paralympic Committee continues to fend off challenges in qualifying, now saying that it will not accept cycling requirements to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Meanwhile, about 5,000 athletes from 60 countries are expected for the BRICS Games in June, Russia’s WADA dues have not been paid and a weightlifter is now a three-time doping loser.

● A City of Los Angeles report states that the LA28 organizers have kept to their schedule of working group consultations on hiring, procurement and sustainability, with final recommendations due in early 2025.

● Spotlight: Football (Infantino asking for match forfeits for racist fan behavior) ●

● Panorama: Winter Youth Olympic Games (Pietschmann wins first gold) = Pan American Games (Lima bids for 2019) = Alpine Skiing (3: Sarrazin wins two more Downhills; Vlhova injured at Jasna as Shiffrin wins 95th; Mayer arrested at Kitzburhel) = Archery (Dror surprises Wijler in Nimes) = Athletics (2: Kelati and Teare win USATF Cross Country; 6 m for KC Lightfoot) = Badminton (Shi and Tai star with wins at India Open) = Biathlon (Norway sweeps men’s event, another French women’s 1-2 in Italy) = Cricket (modest protest at South Africa U-19 World Cup) = Cross Country Skiing (Valnes, Svahn and Karlsson win in Oberhof) = Curling (Mouat and Homan grab Canadian Open titles) = Cycling (Williams takes Santos Tour Down Under) = Football (2: U.S. men lose to Slovenia, 1-0; Sam Mewis retires) = Freestyle Skiing (3: Canada’s Schmidt sweeps Ski Cross at Nakiska; Wallberg, Kingsbury and Anthony sweep Moguls; Gremaud beats Gu again in Slopestyle) = Hockey (2: Belgium and Germany win men’s and women’s Olympic qualifiers) = Ski Jumping (2: Kraft wins in PolSKI finale; teen Prevc takes Zao gold) = Ski Mountaineering (Bonnet wins twice in Arinsal World Cup) = Snowboard (2: James and Ono win Halfpipe openers; Ledecka sweeps Parallel Slaloms) = Speed Skating (Canada, Japan and U.S. dominate Four Continents) = Surfing (Olympic champ Moore retires, for now) = Swimming (Australian star Horton retires) ●

1.
Auction: $111,960 for Athens 1896 medal, $1,282,911 total!

A winner’s medal from the Athens 1896 Olympic Games – the first of the modern era – sold for $111,960 at the 437-lot RR Auction that finished on Thursday.

The 1896 medal, in excellent condition, was made of silver, as gold medals were not introduced until the 1900 Games in Paris and for all events in 1904 in St. Louis. It had been expected to sell for $100,000, but exceeded that with the buyer’s premium (the amount paid to the auction house).

But that was not the only significant sale in a program that drew a total of $1,282,911, as 14 more items sold for $25,000 or more (with the buyer’s premium):

● $83,188: London 2012 gold medal in boxing
● $67,759: Tokyo 1964 gold medal in football
● $56,250: Lake Placid 1980 Winter torch
● $55,000: Athens 1896 bronze medal, in original box
● $46,926: Oslo 1952 Winter silver medal
● $46,279: Paris 1924 gold medal in original case
● $43,161: Berlin 1936 gold medal in swimming
● $37,500: Lillehammer 1994 Winter torch
● $34,534: London 1948 gold medal in original case
● $29,198: Tokyo 1964 Torch Relay safety lantern

● $26,575: Atlanta 1996 gold medal in baseball
● $25,944: Los Angeles 1932 gold medal
● $25,005: Innsbruck 1964 Winter gold medal in ice hockey
● $25,000: Mexico City 1968 medal set in presentation box

The London gold that went for $83,188 was for the gold win by Cuban star Roniel Iglesias, who won at Light Welterweight in London and again in Tokyo in 2021 at Welterweight. The Tokyo ‘64 gold – and the competitor’s badge – was from Hungarian defender Kalman Ihasz.

Another unusual sale was for the exceptionally rare participation medal from the 1904 St. Louis Olympic Games, its original box, in copper, that sold for $24,065. In contrast, a similar medal from Paris 2024 went for $4,520.

There were some unusual collectibles on sale as well, with a group of 13 stuffed-toy mascots – including six of “Misha” from Moscow 1980 – going for $405, and special medals presented by the City of New York to returning U.S. Olympians from 1912 and 1920, that sold for $309 and $1,059, respectively.

2.
Paris booksellers appealing Olympic removals

The tug-of-war over the removal – or not – of some of the open-air, second-hand book stalls along the Seine River in Paris during the 2024 Olympic Games continues with a compromise offered last week by the Paris Police and a decision by the booksellers to challenge the action in court.

Last week, the Paris Police agreed to remove 428 stalls instead of 604 planned as an accommodation, although it will reduce the areas available to watch the Olympic opening on the Seine. There are 932 boxes in all, with those targeted to be taken for a short period that “does not exceed a few days for removal and a few days for the rest,” with the City of Paris responsible for the actual operations.

On Friday, the Cultural Association of Booksellers of Paris voted to challenge the plan in court, as noted on a post on X (ex-Twitter):

“#AG decision taken unanimously #JO2024 : booksellers challenge the dismantling of their boxes in court”

The head of the booksellers group, Jerome Callais, indicated a willingness to accept the compromise, which was rejected by his association. The removal would take place from 14-17 July and replacement beginning 29 July, three days after the Games opening. There were open questions on compensation and damages

Callais believes the police will, in its court response, revert back to its preferred plan of removing 604 stalls along the original dates, which would not see the boxes returned until 5 August.

3.
Warm temps for Orlando Marathon Trials on 3 February

The long-range weather forecasts for Orlando, Florida and the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials on Saturday, 3 February are coming in, with reasonable conditions expected, but warming toward the finish.

Great concern was voiced about the original noon start time, but a compromise start at 10 a.m. was reached, with hopes for moderate conditions. The current forecasts:

● Accuweather.com: Low of 55 (F), high of 72, under cloudy skies, with a 25% chance of rain and light winds at 4 miles per hour.

● Weather.com: A little more severe, with a morning low of 59 F with clouds, rising to 75 F during the day, with 68% humidity and a 24% chance of rain. Winds are predicted at 10-15 miles per hour, which would impact the race. The evening low is projected at 60 F, with less wind and a 58% chance of rain.

Sunrise will be at 7:12 a.m.

The cooler the better, but these are far from oppressive conditions, especially with cloudy skies projected. While the U.S. has three qualifying positions clinched for the women’s race, allowing the top three finishers to be selected as the 2024 Olympic Team, U.S. men have two positions confirmed and better conditions would help to potentially get a third American under the automatic qualifying standard of 2:08:10. A third U.S. man could qualify on the basis of the World Athletics world rankings in the event, and rule changes by USA Track & Field allow it to select someone who does not finish in the top three in the Trials race if they are otherwise qualified to run in Paris.

4.
Russia: Paralympic participation issues, 5,000 aths at BRICS?

Pavel Rozkhov, the head of the Russian Paralympic Committee, said that some federations have added demands for “neutrality” status beyond those of the International Paralympic Committee:

“The demands that the IPC places on us regarding the non-sporting part of participation in competitions are quite correct, but some federations allow certain excesses, in particular the International Cycling Federation.

“The conditions that they put forward regarding the condemnation of [Russia’s invasion of Ukraine] are unacceptable for us, and until the criteria are changed, we will not participate in qualifying competitions. In sports such as wheelchair tennis and table tennis, the requirements are acceptable, but it is important where the tournaments will be held, because difficulties may arise in European countries.”

He added that the uniform style for Russian participants as “neutrals” is being negotiated:

“We were given demands that there should be a neutral uniform. Before the New Year, we sent sketches of the uniform. In swimming, shooting, powerlifting and athletics, we have already received approval, the rest are reacting more slowly.

“We will have a turquoise uniform, but this is only for now for the qualifying tournaments.”

Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin said Friday that about 5,000 athletes from 60 countries are expected to participate in the BRICS Games in Kazan from 12-23 June, in 29 sports:

“[W]e provide equal opportunities for athletes from all countries to freely participate in the tournament without sanctions and restrictions under flag of their country and with the singing of the anthem of the winning country.”

(“BRICS” countries include Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.)

The IOC has warned against the BRICS Games and the World Friendship Games in September as “clearly politically motivated sports events in Russia.” Matytsin expects that none of the athletes competing in Paris would be present for the BRICS Games.

The World Anti-Doping Agency confirmed that the Russian contribution of $1.267 million for 2023 has not been received. Money transfer issues out of Russia have been blamed, but the Russians have contested the amount of their dues, as the amount was calculated from their membership in the Council of Europe, which it left in March 2022, after it began its invasion of Ukraine.

Russia, already held non-compliant because of differences in its legal system vis-a-vis the World Anti-Doping Code, can also be considered non-compliant because of its failure to pay dues. WADA formed a working group to consider this issue last November.

Weightlifter Egor Ivanov became a three-time loser with another suspension from the Russian Anti-Doping Agency. He won a silver medal in the +105 kg class at the 2014 European Weightlifting Championships, then was disqualified for eight months in 2013. He then refused to take a doping test and was sanctioned for eight years in 2015 and now was hit again for three years and four months.

Now 29, the new sanction was from information recovered from the infamous Moscow Laboratory data recovered by the World Anti-Doping Agency in January 2019.

5.
LA28 progress on community initiatives confirmed

The LA28 organizing committee for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games made an extensive set of promises in its Games Agreement with the City of Los Angeles, notably in the formation of working groups on sustainability and local hiring.

In a Friday report, the City’s Chief Administrative Officer and Chief Legislative Analyst confirmed that the organizing committee had met its obligations and is continuing its development of hiring and working plans.

There are three specific groups which LA28 is now working with:

● Community Business and Procurement Working Group (14 members)
● Local Hire Working Group (16 members)
● Sustainability Working Group (13 members)

The goals are to establish specific goals for hiring and procurement and adopt a “Sustainability Plan” for the 2028 Games.

Beyond the formal meetings of the working groups, LA28 noted that it has been working directly with labor unions, specifying that it has:

“Hosted regular meetings throughout the year with the LA County Federation of Labor and its affiliates including, SEIU Local 721; LA/OC Counties Building and Construction Trades Council; IBEW Local 11; and Teamsters Local 396.”

The target date for the groups to complete their recommendations is 31 March 2025. The City report that three more working groups are also engaged:

“[T]he City and LA28 are currently collaborating to further advance and develop the following planning groups: the 2028 Games Mobility Executives, Public Safety Cooperative, and Games Energy Council.”

≡ SPOTLIGHT ≡

● Football ● Another set of racist incidents has the FIFA President asking for match forfeits:

“The events that took place in Udine and Sheffield Wednesday are totally abhorrent and completely unacceptable. There is no place for racism or any form of discrimination, either in football or in society. The players affected by Saturday’s events have my full support.

“In addition to the three-step process [match stopped, match stopped again and match abandoned], we need to enforce automatic defeat for the team whose fans committed racism and caused the match to be abandoned, as well as worldwide stadium bans and criminal charges for racists.”

FIFA’s Gianni Infantino (SUI) made the remarks on Saturday, after AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan (FRA) – who is Black – left the field after racist yells from fans in Udine during the first half of Milan’s 3-2 win in Serie A on Saturday. He talked to the referee, then walked off the field, followed by his teammates, for a few moments, then returned. Maignan said later:

“They made monkey noises and it’s not the first time it’s happened to me. They must hand out very strong sanctions, because talking no longer does anything.

“We have to say that what they are doing is wrong. It is not the whole crowd, most fans want to cheer on their team and jeer you, that’s normal, but not this.”

Also on Saturday, Coventry midfielder Kasey Palmer (JAM) said he was verbally abused by fans in Sheffield during a 2-1 win in an EPL Championship league match. He wrote later on X (ex-Twitter): “Couple fans doing monkey chants don’t define a fan base — I appreciate all the love and support I’ve received.”

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Winter Youth Olympic Games ● The Winter YOG in the Gangwon Province in Korea opened on Friday evening, with International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach (GER) telling the athletes:

“Dear young athletes: this is your moment.

“You are following in the footsteps of sporting icons who made Olympic history right here at the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018.

“Now it is your turn.

“Give it your best at your first Olympic competition. Make new friends. Live the Olympic values. Respect yourself. Respect your competitors. Respect the rules. Enjoy your Olympic experience!

“This is your time – to grow together – and to shine forever!”

The ceremony had 4,500 fans in attendance at the Gangneung Oval – plus teams and officials to fill the 8,000-seat facility – and 4,300 at the PyeongChang Dome. Freestyle skier Jeong-min Lee lit the Youth Olympic cauldron, while another cauldron was “digitally” lit by IOC’s sponsor Alibaba in the Gangneung Olympic Park.

The IOC noted the fourth Winter YOG in numbers:

“The Winter YOG are set to welcome 1,802 athletes from 78 National Olympic Committees (NOCs), taking part in 15 disciplines across 7 sports, as well as 1,734 team officials. … In total there will be 20,000 accredited people attending Gangwon 2024, including 627 media and 289 broadcast personnel, showing the strong interest in the event locally and globally.”

German Antonia Pietschmann won the first gold medal of the event, taking the women’s Singles in Luge over Alexandra Oberstolz of Italy. The Games will conclude on 1 February.

● Pan American Games ● Peruvian President Dina Boluarte confirmed Friday that she has sent a letter to Panam Sports, endorsing Lima’s bid for the 2027 Pan American Games, removed from Colombia on 3 January.

Boluarte said during a celebration in Lima, that the government is ready to “guarantee the financing of all costs related to the Pan American Games project.”

Asuncion (PAR) has already signaled its interest, and Lima successfully hosted the 2019 Pan Ams and can re-use those facilities. Letters of intent to Panam Sports on the 2027 event are due by the end of the month.

● Alpine Skiing ● France’s Cyprien Sarrazin continued his dream season at the FIS World Cup at Kitzbuehel (AUT), steaming to his third and fourth wins of the year in the Downhills on Friday and Saturday.

He had won one World Cup race before this season, but won no. 3 on Friday in 1:55.75, beating Florian Schieder (ITA: 1:55.80) and reigning World Cup champ and seasonal leader Marco Odermatt (SUI: 1:56.09). American Ryan Cochran-Siegle finished fourth in 1:56.01, 0.01 from the bronze medal.

Sarrazin kept up the pressure on Saturday, winning in 1:52.96, beating Odermatt (1:53.87) and Italy’s 22-time World Cup winner Dominik Paris (1:54.40). Cochran-Siegle was 16th.

Sunday’s Slalom saw Germany’s Linus Strasser get his first World Cup win in two years, coming from fourth on the second run to post a total of 1:40.36, enough to edge Kristoffer Jakobsen (SWE: 1:40.50) and Swiss Daniel Yule (1:40.56). It’s Strasser’s fourth career World Cup gold.

Tragedy at the women’s skiing in Jasna (SVK) as home hero Petra Vlhova, the Olympic Slalom champ from 2022, suffered a crash and a torn right knee ligament, ending her season after skiing out on her first run during Saturday’s Giant Slalom.

Vlhova was second overall in the seasonal World Cup standings, but will now be concentrating on her comeback at the end of the year.

The race was won by Sweden’s Olympic champ Sara Hector, who had the fastest times on both runs for a total time of 2:17.80. American star Mikaela Shiffrin, the overall World Cup leader, was second on both for silver (2:19.32), with the bronze going to Alice Robinson (NZL: 2:20.51). American A.J. Hurt finished seventh (2:22.40).

Sunday’s Slalom was another showcase for Shiffrin, who took her record 95th career World Cup win by taking an 0.52-second lead after the first run and finishing at 1:48.21 to best Croatia’s 19-year-old Zrinka Ljutic (1:48.35), who won her second career World Cup medal. Swede Anna Swenn Larsson was third (1:49.02); Paula Moltzan finished 18th in 1:51.60.

Retired Austrian star Matthias Mayer, 33, was arrested in Kitzbuehel on Thursday after “inappropriate behavior,” and was later released by Austrian authorities. The Austrian ski federation said in a statement, “Today we regret to note that Matthias Mayer has not yet overcome the health problems he has been struggling with for a long time.”

Mayer won the 2014 Olympic Downhill in Sochi and the Super-G in 2018 and 2022, plus a 2022 bronze in the Downhill; he retied in December 2022.

● Archery ● More than 1,100 archers stepped to the line for the Indoor World Series in Nimes (FRA), with surprises coming in the finals.

In the men’s Recurve gold-medal match, 18-year-old Roy Dror (ISR) surprised Tokyo Olympic Mixed Team silver winner Steve Wijler (NED), 6-4. Dror moved up after winning the U-21 title in Nimes in 2023.

Two-time Worlds medal winner Marcus D’Almeida (BRA) took the bronze, 7-3, over Britain’s Patrick Huston.

The women’s title went to Spain’s Elia Canales, the 2023 European Games runner-up, who won a shoot-off with German Charline Schwarz, 6-5, after a 10-9 win in the extra arrow. Michelle Kroppen, an Olympic Team bronze winner, took the bronze in Nimes with a 7-3 win over Victoria Sebastian (FRA).

● Athletics ● On a cold day, Weini Kelati followed up her American Record half marathon last week in Houston with a 32:58.6 win at the USATF Cross Country Championships in Mechanicsville, Virginia on Saturday.

It was her first national cross-country title and fourth career USATF national title, moving to the lead decisively after 4 km of the 10 km course and winning going away, with Emma Grace Hurley second in 33:35.9, Katie Camarena third in 33:40.3 and Allie Ostrander coming back to prominence in fourth in 33:52.5.

The top six men and women qualified for the U.S. team for the World Cross Country Championships on 30 March in Belgrade (SRB).

The men’s race was decided late, with nine in contention after 7 km, but triathlete Morgan Pearson – already qualified for Paris – and 1,500-5,000 m star Cooper Teare ahead of the field by the 8 km mark. Teare took over for the final kilometer and sailed to the win in 29:06.2, with Pearson dropping to fourth (29:15.5). Anthony Rotich came up for second (29:11.3) and Ahmed Muhamad got third (29:12.3). Defending champ Emmanuel Bor was firth in 29:26.5.

American Record man KC Lightfoot scored the first 6.00 m vault of the season (19-8 1/4) with a win at the indoor Alsup Open in Maryville, Missouri (USA). He made his first three heights on his first attempt, then 5.91 m (19-4 3/4) on his third try and 6.00 m also on his third.

● Badminton ● China placed four finalists in five divisions at the India Open in New Delhi, but no nation won more than once.

China got its lone win of the tournament in men’s Singles, as 2018 Worlds runner-up Yu Qi Shi (CHN) swept past Cheuk Yiu Lee (HKG), 23-21, 21-17. The Tokyo Olympic runner-up, Tzu Ying Tai (TPE), won the women’s title, defeating second-seeded Yu Fei Chen (CHN), 21-16, 21-12.

Koreans Min Hyuk Kang and Seung Jae Seo won the men’s Doubles over home favorites Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty (IND), 15-21, 21-11, 21-18, and Japan’s Mayu Matsumoto and Wakana Nagahara swept Shu Xian Zhang and Yu Zheng (CHN), 21-12, 21-13.

Sixth-seeds Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai (THA) won the Mixed Doubles over fifth-seeded Zhen Bang Jiang and Ya Xin Wei (CHN), 21-16, 21-16.

● Biathlon ● Norway continued its domination of the FIS men’s World Cup with the fourth win of the season for seasonal leader Johannes Thingnes Boe in Saturday’s 15 km Short Individual race in Antholz-Anterselva (ITA).

Boe dominated, beating older brother Tarjei Boe, 37:28.0 (0 penalties) to 39:04.1 (2), with German Johannes Kuehn (GER: 39:12.0/2) in third.

Sunday’s 15 km Mass Start was a Norwegian sweep, this time with Vetle Christiansen winning in 35:51.4 (1), ahead of Johannes Dale-Skjevdal (36:01.1/2) and Vebjoern Soerum (36:05.4/1). It’s Christiansen’s second win of the season and the ninth for Norway in 15 men’s races so far.

The women’s 12.5 km Short race was the first career World Cup win for Swiss Lena Hacki-Gross, finishing in 36:49.0 (0) to best French stars Julia Simon (37:09.2/2) and Lou Jeanmonnot (37:20.4/1).

France won its eighth race win of the season – out of 14 so far – with a second win for Simon in 34:2.5 (1), just ahead of teammate Jeanmonnot (34:51.4/0). It’s the third French 1-2 this season. Hacki-Gross got the bronze in 35:03.2 (1).

In the mixed relays, Germany won the Single Mixed Relay (6 km + 7.5 km) over Norway and Austria, and Norway took the mixed 4×6 km race over Italy and Sweden.

● Cricket ● The controversial ICC men’s U-19 World Cup opened Friday in South Africa without significant incident, but with a protest at the site of the South Africa vs. West Indies match at Potchefstroom.

The South African team opened with a 285-254 win over West Indies, led by Dewan Marais with 65 runs, Juan James with 47 and David Teeger with 44. Teeger – who is Jewish – had been the team captain, but was demoted by Cricket South Africa because he supports Israel’s response to the Hamas invasion of 7 October 2023, and the federation feared protests at South Africa’s matches. The match attendance was not large, but Teegar was applauded when he came up to bat.

There was a protest at Friday’s match of a few pro-Palestinian supporters carrying anti-Zionist signs, that swelled to more than a hundred for a prayer meeting at the site. The situation was peaceful and the match was not reported to be disturbed, with law and traffic enforcement on site.

South Africa will play England in its second match on Tuesday.

● Cross Country Skiing ● Norway’s Erik Valnes had a week to remember in Oberhof (GER), winning both the Sprint and the 20 km Mass Start, leading a Norwegian sweep in both events!

Valnes won his third event of the season in the Classical Sprint on Friday in 2:42.75, ahead of teammates Ansgar Evenson (2:43.15) and Even Northug (2:46.06), with American Ben Ogden in sixth (2:50.97).

In the 20 km Classical Mass Start, Valnes barely got to the line ahead of Martin Nyenget, 46:03.0 to 46:03.9, with Paal Golberg – the Worlds 50 km Classical winner in 2023 – third in 46:04.6. Valnes now has five career World Cup victories.

Sweden dominated the women’s racing, with a sweep of the Classical Sprint, led by Linn Svahn (3:04.05), followed by Frida Karlsson (3:04.38) and Jonna Sundling (3:06.11). It was Svahn’s fourth win of the season, three of which have come in the Sprint.

Karlsson, a 10-time World Championships medal winner, won her first World Cup race of the season in the 20 km Classical Mass Start in 51:33.6, just ahead of Katharina Hennig (GER: 51:35.9) and Finland’s Kerttu Niskanen (51:37.4). American Jessie Diggins, the seasonal leader, finished sixth in 51:43.1 and has a 1,579 to 1,300 lead on Svahn after 19 of 34 races.

In the relays, Norway won the men’s 4×7.5 km over Italy, while Sweden – with Svahn and Karlsson on the first two legs, took the women’s 4×7.5 km ahead of Germany and Finland.

● Curling ● The fourth stage of six in the Grand Slam of Curling was the Canadian Open in Red Deer, Alberta, with Scotland’s Bruce Mouat taking the men’s title with a 6-5 final win over Canadian Brendan Bottcher’s rink.

The 2022 Beijing Olympic silver winners, Mouat’s rink won their sixth Grand Slam of Curling title and ran out to a 4-2 lead after four ends and 6-3 after six and cruised home. It’s Mouat’s sixth career Grand Slam victory and first in the Canadian Open.

The women’s final matched Worlds winners in Canada’s Rachel Homan, the 2017 World Champion against Swiss Silvana Tirinzoni, skip of the four-time defending Worlds gold medalists.

This was a closely-matched battle, with Homan getting a single point in the second end and the Swiss tying it in the third. Homan edged ahead again in the fifth, 2-1, but Tirinzoni scored two in the sixth to grab a 3-2 lead. The Swiss added another score in the seventh (4-2), but Homan came back with a pair in the eighth to tie it at 4-4 and head to extras.

And Homan got the score in the ninth to win it, 5-4, and grab her 15th career Grand Slam victory and a third career Canadian Open title.

● Cycling ● The UCI World Tour season began with the Santos Tour Down Under in Australia, with a tight finish that went to the final stage on Saturday.

Australia’s Sam Welsford had the lead after the first of the six stages, winning the hilly opening race, but Italy’s Isaac del Toro grabbed the lead with a win in stage two and held it through stage four despite Welsford winning again in stages 3 and 4.

Britain’s Stephen Williams moved into a tie for the lead with countryman Oscar Onley after stage five – with Del Toro falling to fourth – so it came down to the final, 128.2 km ride from Unley to Mount Lofty, east of Adelaide.

The modest uphill finish was decided in a final sprint of four riders, with Williams taking the stage and the race title over Jhonaton Narvaez (ECU), Del Toro and Bart Lemmen (NED) in 3:05:26. Williams took the overall title by just 0:09 over Narvaez, 11 over Del Toro and 20 seconds ahead of Onley. It’s the first win for Williams, 27, in a World Tour multi-stage race.

● Football ● The U.S. men’s National Team lost to Slovenia in a Saturday friendly, 1-0, in San Antonio, Texas. Both teams used a lot of new players: 11 for the U.S. (seven starters) and 13 for Slovenia, and the only goal was from debutante striker Nejc Gradisar, who scored in the 26th minute from the left side of the box for the only score.

After a turnover by U.S. midfielder Bernard Kamungo, forward Danijel Sturm passed the ball ahead to Gradisar, who sent a shot past the charging U.S. keeper Patrick Schulte for the goal. The U.S. had chances, with 68% of possession and 15 shots to nine for the visitors, but could not beat keeper Igor Vekic.

U.S. midfield star Sam Mewis has retired. In a statement published by U.S. Soccer, she explained:

“Unfortunately, my knee can no longer tolerate the impact that elite soccer requires.

“Though this isn’t what I wanted, this is the only path forward for me. I want to thank everyone who has been on my team throughout this journey. Soccer has put so many wonderful things in my life, but the most wonderful thing has been the people. To all my family, friends, teammates, and fans, I truly feel that we did this together and I’m extremely grateful.”

Now 31, Mewis was a member of the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup winners and scored twice during the tournament, and won an Olympic bronze with the U.S. in Tokyo in 2021. She was an NCAA champion with UCLA in 2013 and during her national team career, scored 24 goals in 83 appearances.

She will join the Men in Blazers Media Network as the editor of its new project, “The Women’s Game.’

● Freestyle Skiing ● The fourth stop on the FIS World Cup Ski Cross tour was in Nakiska (CAN) for racing on Saturday and Sunday, and the home team scoring wins right away.

In the men’s Saturday final, Canadian Olympian Reece Howden won his first race and second medal of the year, beating France’s Terence Tchiknavorian and 2021 World Champion Alex Fiva (SUI).

On Sunday, Swiss Jonas Lenherr got his sixth career World Cup win, crossing ahead of 2023 Worlds runner-up Florian Wilmsmann (GER) and Youri Duplessis Kergomard (FRA).

The first women’s race was another Canadian win for Hannah Schmidt, her second of the season, leading a 1-2 finish with 2014 Olympic champ Marielle Thompson, with two-time Olympic bronze winner Fanny Smith (SUI) in third.

Schmidt doubled her pleasure on Sunday, winning her third gold this season, over France’s Marielle Berger Sabbatel – her fifth medal this season – with fellow Canadian Brittany Phelan third.

The Moguls and Dual Moguls skiers were also in Canada, at Val St. Come, with Olympic men’s champs Walter Wallberg and Mikael Kingsbury taking home the men’s trophies.

Wallberg, who won the Beijing 2022 Moguls title, won Friday’s Moguls contest, scoring 84.92 points to 82.37 for Canada’s Elliot Vaillancourt and 77.70 for Filip Gravenfors (SWE). It’s Wallberg’s first Moguls win of the season.

The Dual Moguls went to the 2018 Olympic Moguls gold medalist Kingsbury, the greatest World Cup winner in the discipline, who took his 83rd career gold by beating Gravenfors in the final. Australia’s PyeongChang runner-up Matt Graham took the bronze over two-time Worlds silver winner Benjamin Cavet (FRA).

The question in the women’s races was whether anyone could stop Australia’s Jakara Anthony, the Beijing 2022 winner and winner of all four Moguls races this season (and two of three Dual Moguls events)?

Nope.

Anthony won Friday’s Moguls by beating Beijing 2022 runner-up Jaelin Kauf of the U.S., 82.01 to 74.87, with Hinako Tomitaka (JPN) third with 74.19 points. Alli Macuga, Hannah Soar, Olivia Giaccio and Tess Johnson finished 4-5-6-7 for the U.S.

Anthony then beat Kauf in the Dual Moguls final to give her eight wins in nine events this season. Giaccio won the bronze over Rino Yanagimoto (JPN). Anthony, 25, now owns 16 career World Cup wins.

The second of five Slopestyle legs in the 2023-24 FIS World Cup was in Laax (SUI), with 2023 World Champion Birk Ruud (NOR) taking the win at 87.01 in the second round after leading everyone in round one at 85.76. American Mac Forehand got second for the second straight event, scoring 86.28 on his second-round effort. Canadian Max Moffatt (85.91) was third and Beijing Olympic champ Alex Hall of the U.S. was fourth (84.30).

The women’s competition was epic, with Beijing 2022 Slopestyle winner Mathilde Gremaud hitting an 86.00 on her first run and that was enough to hold off Beijing Big Air and Halfpipe winner (and Slopestyle runner-up) Eileen Gu (CHN: 78.13), with 19-year-old American transgender Jay Riccomini third at 60.46.

Gremaud has now won both events this season.

● Hockey ● The FIH Olympic qualifying tournaments for men concluded in Oman and Spain, with Belgium, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, New Zealand and Spain qualifying for Paris.

In Muscat (OMA), Germany edged Great Britain in the final by 1-0 on a Martin Zwicker goal in the 56th minute. New Zealand won the crucial third-place game to also qualify for Paris with a 3-2 win over Pakistan.

In Valencia (ESP), Belgium and Spain were 1-1 until the final moments, with each scored a goal in the 58th and then Nelson Onana (BEL) scored off a penalty corner for the 3-2 winner. Ireland won the bronze with a 4-3 victory over South Korea.

The women’s qualifiers were held in Ranchi (IND) and Valencia, with Belgium, Germany, Great Britain, Japan, Spain and the United States moving on to Paris.

The Ranchi final saw Germany score the first goals on the U.S. in the tournament and won, 2-0, on scores by Jette Fleschutz in the third minute and Sonja Zimmermann in the 20th. Japan beat India, 1-0, to get the bronze and also advance.

In Valencia, Belgium trailed Spain by 1-0 late in the match, but got goals from Louise Versavel and Charlotte Engelbert in the 56th minute to win, 2-1. Great Britain took a 2-0 lead on Ireland and won, 2-1, to qualify for Paris.

● Ski Jumping ● The final stop of the men’s POLSki Tour was in Zakopane, jumping off the 140 m hill on Sunday, with Austria’s three-time Worlds winner Stefan Kraft getting his seventh individual win of the season.

Kraft scored 332.3 to edge Andreas Wellinger (GER: 327.8) and Anze Lanisek (SLO: 327.3). Kraft now has a seasonal lead of 1,089 to 837 over Wellinger.

Saturday’s team competition was won by Austria, anchored by seasonal leader Kraft (1,146.6), over Slovenia (1,095.5) and Germany (1,062.8).

The final of two stops in Japan for the women’s World Cup tour was in Zao, jumping off the 102 m hill. Seasonal leader Nika Prevc (SLO) – still just 18 – won her fifth event of the year on Friday, scoring 235.2 to 223.1 for home favorite Yuki Ito (JPN). Canada’s Alexandria Toutitt was third (216.7) for her fourth medal of the season.

Sunday’s competition was canceled due to heavy weather. Slovenia won the team event on Saturday at 722.7, over Canada (709.7) and Austria (697.0).

● Ski Mountaineering ● Reigning World Champion Remi Bonnet (SUI) swept to victory at the ISMF World Cup at Arinsal (AND), taking both the Individual and the Vertical races.

Bonnet, 28, and a four-time career Worlds gold medalist, took the Individual on Saturday in 1:30:15.17, comfortably ahead of four-time Worlds medal winner Thibault Anselmet (FRA: 1:30:40.86) and teammate Xavier Gachet (FRA: 1:31:49.95).

Bonnet doubled on Sunday in the Vertical Race, winning in 26:07.47, trailed by 2019 World Champion Werner Marti (SUI: 26:57.80) and Anselmet (27:08.10). American Cameron Smith was seventh in 27:28.01.

France’s Emily Harrop won her 11th career World Cup gold in the women’s Individual race at 1:33:15.33, more than a minute-and-a-half ahead of Alba de Silvestro (ITA: 1:34:35.72) and more than three minutes up on Ceila Perillat-Pessey (FRA: 1:36:41.86).

De Silvestro came back to win the Vertical Race in 32:23.03, almost 10 seconds up on Harrop (32:32.60), followed by Marta Garcia (ESP: 32:49.83). It’s de Silvestro’s fourth career World Cup victory.

● Snowboard ● Three-time World Champion Scotty James (AUS) took his second win in three events in the FIS World Cup Halfpipe event in Laax (SUI) with his first-round effort at 94.00, head of teammate Valentino Guseli (92.25 in round two) and Ruka Hirano (JPN: 90.00). American Chase Blackwell got fourth at 88.00 in the second round.

Japan’s Mitsuki Ono, the 2023 Worlds bronze winner, got her first win of the season, outscoring 16-year-old American newcomer Bea Kim, 81.75-77.50, as Kim won her first career World Cup medal. Japanese teammate Ruki Tomita got the bronze at 60.50, with American Chloe Kim, the Olympic gold medalist, a surprise fourth at 23.50. It was Kim’s first World Cup appearance in two seasons, and she had trouble on both runs.

Also at Laax were the opening Slopestyle events of the FIS World Cup season, starting with the first-ever World Cup win for Canada’s Liam Brearley, scoring 89.93 to beat Japan’s Ryoma Kimata (85.31) and Canadian teammate Cameron Spalding (83.90), who got his second career World Cup medal.

The women’s Slopestyle title went to American Julia Marino, 26, who took her fourth straight World Cup dating back to last season at 83.08 in her second run. Annika Morgan (GER: 80.75) claimed second and Austrian star Anna Gasser, the two-time Olympic Big Air gold winner, got third at 75.93.

Marino now owns nine World Cup goals all-time, with six in Slopestyle and three in Big Air.

The Parallel skiing crowd was in a new venue, Pamporovo (BUL), for Slalom racing on Saturday and Sunday. The all-Italian men’s final on Saturday saw Daniele Bagozza edge Edwin Coratti in the final by 0.62, while home favorite Radoslav Yankov took the bronze over Sang-ho Lee (KOR), the 2018 Olympic Parallel Giant Slalom runner-up. It was Bagozza’s second win this season.

Lee won Sunday’s race, besting Austria’s reigning World Champion Andreas Prommegger by just 0.08! Fellow Austrian Fabian Obmann won the bronze over American Cody Winters, who did not finish.

The women’s Saturday winner was Czech star Ester Ledecka, the two-time Olympic Parallel Giant Slalom gold medalist. It was the first event of the year for Ledecka, 28, beating two-time Worlds Slalom medalist Ramona Theresia Hofmeister (GER), who did not finish. Japan’s Tsubaki Miki took the bronze.

Ledecka doubled up on Sunday, this time crossing first ahead of 2023 Worlds bronze winner Sabine Schoeffmann (AUT), while Miki took the bronze again, this time over Cheyenne Loch (GER). It’s Ledecka’s 23rd career World Cup win.

● Speed Skating ● The ISU Four Continents Championships were held at the ultra-fast Olympic Oval in Kearns, Utah (USA), with Canada, Japan and the U.S. dominating the action as expected.

Japan’s Olympic women’s 1,000 m gold medalist Miho Takagi was the only two-event winner, taking the women’s 1,500 m in 1:52.37, ahead of Mia Manganello (USA: 1:55.11) and fellow American Greta Myers (1:55.86). Takagi took the 1,000 m in 1:12.35, this time beating American Kimi Goetz (1:12.65) with four-time World Champion Brittany Bowe of the U.S. fourth in 1:14.26.

Takagi also helped Japan to the Team Sprint title – for her third win – in 1:24.32, just ahead of the American trio of Sarah Warren, Olympic 500 m champ Erin Jackson and Bowe, second in 1:25.00.

Jackson won the women’s 500 m in 36.82, with Goetz second in 36.93. Canada’s Valerie Maltais defended her Four Continents title in the 3,000 m (4:01.71), ahead of teammate Isabelle Weidemann (4:02.67) and American Manganello (4:02.85). Olympic Mass Start runner-up Ivanie Blondin (CAN) won her specialty by daylight in 8:42.56, beating Giorgia Birkeland of the U.S. (8:44.65).

Maltais also led the Canadians to the Team Pursuit title in 2:54.02, easily ahead of Japan (2:57.54) and the U.S. (3:04.32).

Canada got multiple men’s wins, starting with 2021 World Champion Laurent Dubreuil in the 500 m in 34.19, defending his Four Continents title from 2023. Japan grabbed the other medals with Olympic bronze winner Wataru Morishige in second (34.23) and Tatsuya Shinhama third (34.28). Connor Howe a two-time Worlds Team Pursuit silver winner, took the men’s 1,500 m in 1:43.19, ahead of Emery Lehman of the U.S. (1:44.03). Canada also won the Team Sprint.

But the U.S. was also busy, with triple World Champion Jordan Stolz winning the 1,000 m in a lifetime best of 1:06.27 (now no. 4 all-time), ahead of Taiyo Nonomura (JPN: 1:06.88) and Shinhama (1:07.04). Casey Dawson won the 5,000 m in 6:14.14, beating Canada’s Graeme Fish (6:14.16) and 2018 Olympic 10,000 m gold winner Ted-Jan Bloemen (6:14.22). Olympic silver winner Jae-won Chung (KOR) won the Mass Start – the only one to break up the Canada-Japan-USA wins – in 8:16.33, with Shomu Sasaki (JPN: 8:16.43) second.

The U.S. squad of Ethan Cepuran, Lehman and Dawson won the Team Pursuit (3:36.80) by a whisker over the Canadians (3:36.84).

● Surfing ● Five-time World Champion and the Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Carissa Moore (USA) will step back from competition, and might retire. A Friday post on Instagram read:

“Surfing is a part of who I am, and it always will be. This is by no means the end. I’d like to think of this instead as an evolution, the start of the next chapter, a new beginning. – Riss”

Her agent told NBC Sports that she will compete in the World Surf League event in Hawaii at the Banzai Pipeline at the end of January and at the Olympic Games in Tahiti this summer, trying to defend her Tokyo Olympic gold from 2021.

Moore, 31, was born in Hawaii and spoke about starting a family, but possibly coming back to try for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. She’s a five-time World Champion from 2011-13-15-19-21 and considered one of the best surfers ever.

● Swimming ● “I dearly wanted to swim in Paris but the hunger wasn’t there.

“I always want to give my all and I am not someone who just wants to make up the numbers, so this is the right time to step away.”

That’s Australian star Mack Horton, 27, announcing his retirement on Sunday, ending a career that included the 2016 Olympic gold in the men’s 400 m Freestyle and six medals at the World Championships, including a 4×200 m Free relay gold in 2019 and 400 m Free silvers in 2017 and 2019.

Horton refused to stand on the podium with Chinese winner Yang Sun at the 2019 Worlds, after Sun had been suspended from doping in 2014 and Horton believed him to be doping.

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TSX REPORT: Milan Cortina gets bidder to build sliding track; Queensland reviewing A$2.7 billion Gabba project; Kilde crashed out at 75 mph!

Rich Perelman

January 19, 2024

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

★ To get The Sports Examiner by e-mail: sign up here! ★

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. Milan Cortina ‘26 gets a bidder to build sliding track!
2. IOC confirms Russian and Belarusian double check for Paris
3. Review of the Brisbane Gabba project underway
4. Cricket South Africa rejects anti-Semitism charge
5. Kilde’s crash at 75 mph requires second surgery

● A bidder to construct a new sliding track for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy was apparently found by Thursday’s noon deadline. The International Olympic Committee will still need to approve the timetable and an evaluation process will be used to determine if the project is actually feasible. But there is a bidder now, after no one stepped forward last summer.

● The IOC confirmed that it is running its own checks on the “neutrality” of any athletes from Russia or Belarus who will qualify to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. On Friday, the IV Winter Youth Olympic Games will open in Gangwon Province, Korea, with more than 1,800 athletes expected to compete.

● The Queensland government has begun a 60-day review of the controversial Gabba project for the 2023 Olympic Games in Brisbane, as the costs have ballooned to A$2.7 billion. A proposed arena, expected to cost A$2.5 billion, will also be evaluated for cost, efficiency and legacy.

● Cricket South Africa, which demoted David Teeger from the captaincy of the national men’s U-19 World Cup team because he is Jewish and supports Israel in its battle with Hamas, rejected any claims that it is anti-Semitic. The ICC men’s U-19 World Cup opens Friday in South Africa, with a Palestinian group expected to protest South Africa’s opening match over Teeger’s continuing place on the team.

● Norwegian ski star Aleksander Aamodt Kilde’s crash in Wengen requires another surgery on his shoulder and he shared an update on what happened in a post on X. The experience of multiple skiers there has caused the FIS Race Director to consider future scheduling more carefully.

● Panorama: France 2030 (Val d’Isere wants back into Winter Games program) = Athletics (European Championships prize purse revealed) = Esports (IESF Worlds qualifying includes 130 countries) = Football (2: Pulisic chosen U.S. men’s player of the year; FIFA 2026 World Cup match schedule coming on 4 February) = Hockey (Olympic qualifiers nearing conclusion) = Water Polo (USA Water Polo to train at Mt. SAC) ●

1.
Milan Cortina ‘26 gets a bidder to build sliding track!

After getting no interest from construction companies last summer, at least one bidder came forward by Thursday’s noon deadline to build a bobsled, luge and skeleton track in Cortina d’Ampezzo (ITA) for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games.

The Italian daily Il Fatto Quotidiano reported that “the Pizzarotti group from Parma, one of the construction giants in Italy” submitted a bid for the €81.6 million project (about $88.65 million U.S.), which would have to be built, tested and certified by mid-October 2025, and require special permission from the International Olympic Committee. The next step:

“Societa Infrastrutture Milano Cortina (Simico), which is the [governmental] contracting authority, has not issued any statement, not even to confirm the arrival of an offer, thus respecting the silence imposed by the procedure which now provides for the appointment of a commission to evaluate the requirements of the company, as well as the technical and economic offers.”

An evaluation of the bid(s) will be made and an award expected to be offered within 15 days, and the board of the Milano Cortina 2026 Foundation is due to meet on 30 January. The story quotes Milano Cortina 2026 board Chair Giovanni Malago (ITA) that “the conclusion of the matter will be between January 30th and February 6th.”

As for the IOC, its Olympic Games Executive Director Christophe Dubi (SUI) told reporters during a Thursday news conference that the IOC Executive Board received a presentation about the progress of the Winter Games, which included a briefing on the issues related to the sliding venue. Dubi noted:

“This presentation allowed us to reiterate our position, which is unequivocal. First, we from the very beginning felt that this venue was extremely complex in terms of cost, in terms of legacy, in terms of timing, and we have promoted the use of an existing track. We know with certainty that a decision will be made soon, by the 31st of January.”

Stay tuned. Dubi also noted that the domestic sponsorship program for the 2026 Winter Games is progressing and that agreements will be signed on 26 January with the operators of existing World Cup events to manage the Winter Games competitions in Alpine Skiing (in Bormio and Cortina d’Ampezzo), in Cross Country Skiing (at Val di Fiemme) and Antholz-Anterselva (Biathlon).

2.
IOC confirms Russian and Belarusian double check for Paris

During the International Olympic Committee’s Thursday news conference from Gangwon (KOR), site of the ready-to-open Winter Youth Olympic Games, spokesman Mark Adams (GBR) confirmed that Russian and Belarusian athletes who qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will have their eligibility re-checked.

The initial screening, through the qualification process, is being done now by the relevant International Federations, but questions have been raised about the “neutrality” of specific qualifiers and potential qualifiers in judo, taekwondo and wrestling. Adams explained:

“When we’re responsible for our own competitions as we will be [in Paris], run by the IFs but under our auspices in Paris, then we have to be doubly sure because we have the full responsibility. So that’s why we will be taking these extra measures on top, which I think will make everyone feel confident and much more comfortable with the situation.

“In terms of the process, I can only talk broadly because I don’t have the detail, but we are in the process of identifying and appointing independent analysts with a reputation for good work, with good governance and so on, who will go through each of those athletes to make sure they don’t breach our guidelines, and I think you can have some confidence that those people who have qualified have already been through one process and then will be going through a second process, run by the IOC but using an independent organization.” (Emphasis added)

No timetable has been given on the IOC’s verification process.

Adams was asked about any activity in terms of proposed changes to the Olympic Charter that would allow current IOC President Thomas Bach (GER) to be able to run for a third term. He said that no proposed changes in the text had been submitted so far, but that there was time to do so prior to the next IOC Session in Paris this summer.

The IV Winter Youth Olympic Games will open in Gangwon Province (KOR) on Friday, with Dubi expressing great satisfaction with the preparations and that young athletes will be able to experience the competitions in many of the venues used for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang.

“For many, it’s actually a stepping stone into the future,” said Dubi, noting that 341 athletes from the Beijing 2022 Winter Games had competed in a prior Winter YOG, winning 53 medals in Beijing.

Some 1,812 athletes from 79 countries will compete in the Gangwon Province, with four host cities, in 81 events across seven sports. Teams from Algeria, Nigeria, Puerto Rico, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates will make their first appearance in a Winter YOG.

Tickets are free to all events outside of the Opening Ceremonies, and 350,000 tickets have been distributed so far, with some sessions expected to be full. Dubi noted, “in terms of public engagement, it’s already a success.”

The Games will close on 1 February.

3.
Review of the Brisbane Gabba project underway

The controversial renovation plan for the famed Brisbane Cricket Ground, known as the Gabba, has been the center of attention in the Brisbane 2032 development plan and, on Thursday, a 60-day review period for the concept began.

Originally developed in 1895, it seats 36,000 today and a demolition and rebuild for the 2032 Olympic Games in Brisbane was included in the Queensland bid. Seating would be expanded to 50,000 and be used for athletics and ceremonies, and surrounding facilities would be added, but the cost has skyrocketed from an estimate of A$1 billion to perhaps A$2.7 billion (about $1.77 billion U.S.).

The plan was strongly backed by then-Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, who retired on 15 December 2023 and was succeeded by prior deputy Steven Miles. The tumult over the rise in cost and the turbulence around the stadium – such as with a school that would have to be closed – led Miles to appoint former Brisbane Mayor Graham Quirk to lead a 60-day review team, with a report due back to the Queensland government on 18 March.

Moreover, the plan for a temporary site for the tenant cricket and Australian Rules Football teams went into disarray when the City of Brisbane refused to pay a significant share of a temporary facility for their use during the four-year project.

Said Miles in an interview with ABC Australia:

“I have always taken independent advice whenever I have asked for it, that’s precisely what I’ll do here. [Quirk] will go in to determine to recommend to me the best possible solution for Queensland and I commit to take his recommendation.”

The review will also include the plan for a new, A$2.5 billion arena in the same area. Explained Miles:

“I want to also make sure [the projects] unite Queenslanders. I’m really concerned that this issue has been becoming more political and divisive than it ever should have.

“I hope this independent review can give all Queenslanders certainty that we have the right plan for Queensland, the right plan to deliver the best Games ever.

“But more importantly … the right plan to deliver what our state needs and I think really that comes down to transport connectivity. That was the promise of the Games and I want to make sure that delivers.”

The International Olympic Committee suggested during the bid stage that a re-build of the Gabba was not necessary and that using the existing facility that hosted athletics and ceremonies for the successful 2018 Commonwealth Games – Carrara Stadium in the suburbs of Gold Coast – would be satisfactory. Its capacity was increased to 40,000 with temporary stands.

It did not object to the Gabba plan so long as it is part of a long-range upgrade for the area and not specifically related to the 2032 Games.

4.
Cricket South Africa rejects anti-Semitism charge

The questions over the removal of David Teeger as captain of the South African U-19 team because he is Jewish continue as the ICC men’s U-19 World Cup begins Friday in South Africa.

The national federation, Cricket South Africa, rejected a charge of anti-Semitism by the South African Jewish Board of Deputies earlier in the week, telling CNN:

“Cricket South Africa finds the accusations of antisemitism levelled against it by the SA Jewish Board of Deputies as without any basis and rejects them with the contempt they deserve.”

However, Dr. Ali Bacher, 81, a former South African national team captain and who helped to unify the separate all-white and black cricket associations into the Unified Cricket Board and then helped organize the iconic 2003 ICC World Cup, is asking for more information.

Bacher, who is Jewish and related to Teeger through his wife, issued a statement that asked Cricket South Africa for “a comprehensive explanation of the decision-making process” to remove him as captain, notably since Teeger is still on the South African team.

ESPNCricInfo reported that the Palestinian Solidarity Alliance has been granted a permit to protest on Friday outside the JB Marks Oval in Potchefstroom where South Africa’s opening match will take place against West Indies. Bacher emphasized “it is the responsibility of CSA and South African law enforcement entities to ensure safety at all sporting events. The alternative is that the threat of using violence dictates policy.”

The federation agreed, and stated its agreement with the right to protest, but noted “that these cannot interfere with the matches or compromise the safety of players and fans. To this end, we are collaborating closely with the South African Police Service (SAPS) to ensure that the tournament proceeds smoothly and without any disruptions.”

Meanwhile, the Italian apparel and footwear firm Diadora told The Times of Israel that a supposed director of the company’s South African operations has no ties to it, with a spokesman saying “Mr. Azhar Salojee [sic] has no role whatsoever in Diadora’s organization” and that his comments do not reflect Diadora’s views.

Azhar Saloojee was identified as a Diadora “director” in a Cricket South Africa legal review that cleared Teeger of any wrongdoing in comments supporting Israel during an awards ceremony in October.

5.
Kilde’s crash at 75 mph requires second surgery

Alpine skiing is not for the faint of heart as Norwegian star Aleksander Aamodt Kilde demonstrated last Saturday, when he crashed during the second Downhill in Wengen (SUI) that required a helicopter to remove him from the course, to a hospital in nearby Bern.

Now 31, he has 21 wins and 48 World Cup medals in his 12-year career on the FIS World Cup circuit, two Olympic medals and two 2023 Worlds silvers in the Downhill and Super-G. He knows what he’s doing, but skied out near the finish in Wengen, with cuts to his face and leg and substantial shoulder injuries. His season is over.

But his medical issues are not. He shared a message on X (ex-Twitter) on Thursday that included:

“Thank you to everyone for your support … just a quick update from my end. I am now back in Innsbruck [AUT] with my mom and dad, and will be undergoing surgery again this afternoon for two torn ligaments in my shoulder.

“Considering the impact of the crash and the fact that I went into the net at 120 km/hr [~75 mph], I am doing surprisingly well. Of course, I am thankful there’s no fracture – but I did sustain multiple injuries, including a pretty severe laceration in my calf with some nerve damage that required urgent surgery, and a shoulder dislocation. I’ll spare you guys the graphic photos of the laceration here, because not sure many could stomach them. …

“This is just a bump in the road … it might be one of the bigger bumps I’ve encountered, but right now it’s just about taking one step at a time, day by day. It’s tough, but these opportunities show us what we’re made of. I’m looking forward to tackling this challenge and will try to enjoy the process as much as I can.”

Kilde was also visited by partner Mikaela Shiffrin (USA) and her family in the hospital and following the surgery will begin the healing and rehab process. But it’s not all fun on the slopes, even for the top professionals like Kilde.

He crashed during a third straight day of speed racing in Wengen, following a make-up Downhill on Thursday from an earlier canceled race, a Super-G on Friday and then the second – originally-scheduled – Downhill on Saturday, followed by a Slalom on Sunday. The Saturday Downhill saw 12 of the 57 starters fail to finish, and FIS Race Director Markus Waldner (ITA) told Swiss Radio, “it should absolutely be avoided to hold three speed events in a row at the same location. Because that’s really too heavy for the majority of the starting field.”

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Olympic Winter Games 2030: France ● The storied Val d’Isere site for alpine skiing had been axed from the French Alps bid for 2030 by the IOC, asking for a more concentrated groups of sites.

Now in “Targeted Dialogue” with the IOC with the goal of completing an agreement to allow selection at this summer’s IOC Session in Paris, the bid group is being asked by Val d’Isere to reconsider.

A new proposal was provided to the French Alps bid coordinators, offering a re-use of the Albertville 1992 site for both the men’s and women’s Slalom and Giant Slalom, and close-by accommodations. Skiing legend and Albertville 1992 Co-President Jean-Claude Killy has openly endorsed the return of Val d’Isere to the venue program, but the ultimate decision is yet to be made.

● Athletics ● Details of the first-time prize money program for the European Athletics Championships in Rome (ITA) were posted Thursday, with €50,000 (~$54,383) prizes given to the top performing winner in each of five event groupings for men and women!

The groups are Sprints & Hurdles, Middle & Long Distance, Throws, Jumps and Road-Combined Events-Relays, for men and women, with the award to be determined by reference to the point value on the World Athletics Scoring Table.

So, 10 athletes will win €50,000 each and the rest will get nothing. Wow.

● Esports ● The International Esports Federation announced that qualification-event entries for its 2024 World Championships in Riyadh (KSA) continue to grow and will comprise 609 teams from a record 130 countries, out of a total of 139 in the federation.

● Football ● U.S. Soccer named dynamic midfielder Christian Pulisic as its male Player of the Year for 2023, giving him a fourth career selection for the award, tying Landon Donovan for the most ever.

Pulisic won 53% of the vote, ahead of Yunus Musah (21.5%) and Ricardo Pepi (12.9%). Pulisic was named Best Player of the 2022-23 CONCACAF Nations League as the U.S. won its second-straight title and has been an important contributor for AC Milan in Serie A in Italy. He scored six goals for the national team and had three assists, the leading goal contributor on the team.

The match schedule and locations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico will be announced in a special program on Sunday, 4 February 2024 at 3 p.m. Eastern time. The show will be carried on Fox Sports and Telemundo in the U.S.

● Hockey ● Olympic qualification tournaments are reaching their conclusions this weekend, in Oman and Spain for the men and India and Spain for the women.

In Muscat (OMA), Great Britain (3-0) and Pakistan (1-1-1) advanced from Pool A and Germany (2-0-1) and New Zealand (2-0-1) moved on from Pool B. The British will play New Zealand on Saturday and the Germans will face Pakistan in the semis, with the final and third-place games on Sunday. The top three teams qualify for Paris.

The second men’s tournament, at Valencia (ESP) has Pool A winner Belgium (3-0) faced Pool B runner-up South Korea (1-0-2) and Pool B winner Spain (2-0-1) taking on Ireland (2-1) in the semis on Friday. The medal matches will be on Sunday.

The women’s tournament in Ranchi (IND) has Germany and Japan – both 2-0-1 – advancing to the semis, along with the U.S. (3-0) and India (2-1) from Pool B. In Thursday’s semifinals, Germany edged India, 4-3, in the penalty shoot-out after a 2-2 tied and the U.S. got by Japan by 2-1. It was the first goal conceded by the U.S. in its four matches. Germany and the U.S. will play for the tournament title, with India and Japan playing for third and a spot in Paris.

In Valencia, Belgium and Ireland (both 2-0-1) moved on from Pool A and Spain won Pool B at 3-0, with Britain at 2-1. The Belgians got a 3-2 win over the British to move on to the final in the first semifinal, then Spain moved on after a 0-0 tie, but a 3-0 shoot-out win over the Irish. Britain and Ireland will play in the third-place game.

● Water Polo ● USA Water Polo announced an agreement with Mt. San Antonio College for use of its new aquatics complex for training and competitions.

The facility, located about 70 minutes east of Los Angeles, includes two pools, has spectator seating and is an impressive addition to the college, which recently also renovated its famed Hilmer Lodge Stadium for track & field and football. With a practice football field, baseball and softball diamonds, tennis courts, soccer fields, gymnasium and beach volleyball courts, it’s going to be a coveted training site for some National Olympic Committee for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

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TSX REPORT: IIHF rescinds Israeli exclusion; South Africa’s ANC calls Teeger “genocide supporter”; Mexico drops ‘36 bid, wants YOG

Rich Perelman

January 18, 2024

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

★ To get The Sports Examiner by e-mail: sign up here! ★

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. IIHF removes restrictions, Israel in for U-20s in Sofia
2. Teeger’s removal as South Africa U-19 captain fully politicized
3. French military presence for Paris ‘24 to approach 20,000
4. Mexico ends 2036 Olympic bid, targets YOG
5. USA Badminton Chair and CEO suspended by SafeSport

● The International Ice Hockey Federation removed its restriction on Israel’s entry for the upcoming men’s World U-20 Championship in Bulgaria, citing security assures from Bulgarian authorities. But the IIHF will review future tournaments one-by-one.

● A provincial office of South Africa’s ruling party, the African National Congress, congratulated Cricket South Africa for removing teen David Teeger as the captain of the country’s men’s U-19 World Cup team and calling him a “genocide supporter.” This is fully political, as South Africa has sued Israel for “genocide” in the International Court of Justice. Cricket was recently admitted as a sport on the 2028 Olympic program for Los Angeles.

● French officials said that about 20,000 soldiers would be involved in security efforts for the Paris 2024 Games, especially for the Torch Relay and for the opening on the Seine. A report on construction for the Games indicates everything will be delivered on time, with just three venues reported behind schedule.

● Mexico will end its bid efforts for the 2036 Olympic Games and concentrate instead on getting a future edition of the Youth Olympic Games, possibly in 2030 or 2034.

● The U.S. Center for SafeSport has suspended both the former Chair and the chief executive of USA Badminton for retaliation against a staff member who reported abuse in 2021. It’s reported to be the first time that SafeSport has suspended a national federation head.

● Panorama: Paris 2024 (French team uniforms unveiled) = Milan Cortina 2026 (Thursday deadline for sliding track bids) = Russia (no Paris entries for diving or open-water swimming) = Boxing (World Boxing stages first tournament) = Figure Skating (ISU awards finalists named) = Volleyball (Taiwan says Asian U-20 men’s champs removed under Chinese pressure) ●

1.
IIHF removes restrictions, Israel in for U-20s in Sofia

“Following recent exchanges and extensive discussions with all involved stakeholders, the IIHF has received from the Ministry of Youth and Sport in Bulgaria and the related Organizing Committee the required confirmation for the safety and security support needed to allow the Israeli National Team to take part in the 2024 IIHF Ice Hockey U20 World Championship Division III, Group A (WM20IIIA), which will take place in Sofia in the period of 22-29 January 2024.

“Namely, the IIHF has received confirmation and details from the relevant authorities regarding all security measures that will be implemented to address the identified risks associated with allowing the Israeli national team to participate in this Championship.”

Wednesday’s announcement from the International Ice Hockey Federation came just a week after the federation’s removal of the Israeli team from the tournament for what it called “concerns over the safety and security of all participants in the Championships,” declaring that “Israel will not participate in IIHF Competitions for the time being.”

A firestorm of protests from Israel, an inquiry by the National Hockey League and others led to a second statement last Friday, in which the IIHF clarified that only the 2024 men’s World U-20 Championship in Division III, Group A would be affected. The action ended an emergency appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport by the Israeli Ice Hockey Association eight hours before a hearing was to be convened.

However, the IIHF made clear in its Wednesday update that only the men’s U-20 Worlds (Division III-A) has been settled:

“A one-week tournament with the participation of the Israeli National Team without any guarantee about safety and security of all people involved is irresponsible. Therefore, the IIHF will keep monitoring the situation and reviewing its upcoming Championships on a case-by-case basis. In close collaboration with our stakeholders and local authorities, we will strive to find the necessary conditions and support to allow the Israeli teams to participate. Further decisions will be taken and notified in February 2024.”

Still at issue, then, is the Israeli participation in the men’s Division II Worlds (Group A) in Belgrade (SRB) from 21-27 April. and the Division III women’s Worlds (Group B) from 24-29 March in Kohtia-Jarve, Estonia.

But for now, Israel is back in. Olympic Committee of Israel Chair Yael Arad, also a new member of the International Olympic Committee, told the Jerusalem Post:

“We are very excited by the international association’s announcement that it retracts its decision and invites the Israeli national team to participate in the tournament in Bulgaria. …

“This is not only a victory for Israeli sports but also for the people of Israel.”

2.
Teeger’s removal as South Africa U-19 captain fully politicized

On Monday, Neville Delport, the African National Congress Western Cape Provincial Secretary, issued a lengthy statement that fully politicized the ongoing controversy over the removal of 19-year-old David Teeger – because he is Jewish – as captain of the South African men’s U-19 cricket team for the upcoming International Cricket Council World U-19 Championship, which will be hosted in South Africa. It was headlined:

“ANC congratulates new Proteas U19 captain Juan James and Primrose Cricket Club and condemns DA’s defence of Israeli genocide supporter, David Teeger”

Western Cape is a South African province located in the southwest section of the country, and the statement was issued from there. Beyond congratulating James, it ended with:

“The ANC also condemns the Democratic Alliance (DA) for coming to the defence of the fired captain, David Teeger. Teeger was removed as the captain after having expressed his public support for the genocidal Israeli Defense Force.

“By threatening to take the matter to the South African Human Rights Commission if Teeger is not reinstated as captain, the DA have yet again proven to the public that they are on the wrong side of history as far as the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people is concerned.”

In South Africa, the African National Congress holds control of the 400-seat Parliament with 230 seats to 84 for the Democratic Alliance and 86 seats scattered among other parties. However, in the Western Cape, the DA has 24 seats out of 42, to 12 for the ANC. So, the issue is fully political now and tied to the South African government’s criticism of Israel and its filing at the International Court of Justice, accusing Israel of genocide in its response to the murderous 7 October 2023 attack by Hamas, the governing authority in Gaza.

Zev Krengel, the Vice President of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies, said that at a meeting with Cricket South Africa – which removed Teeger as captain – the excuses melted away:

“They started the meeting by saying it was a report from the State Security Agency. When we challenged them on who wrote it they stepped down from saying it was a report to saying it was a briefing. When asked who gave the briefing they refused to tell us. They admit there’s no security report. So there’s only two options, anti-Semitism at CSA or massive political interference from the ANC.

“The last point I tried to make [at the meeting] is, can we agree that this is a sad day for Cricket South Africa, that the only way they felt they could run the tournament is to strip a Jew of his captaincy? None of them could agree. I feel it’s a sad day for CSA, a sad day for South Africa, and if the ICC does nothing about it it will be a black mark on the ICC’s name.”

The International Cricket Council (ICC) will not intervene, telling The Guardian (GBR): “Team selection including captaincy is an issue for members and not the ICC. An international federation is not constituted to intervene in team selections.”

The Times of Israel reported that during an inquiry into Teeger’s comments supporting Israel during an awards ceremony last October, attorney Wim Trengrove – who found Teeger had done nothing wrong – also found:

“In his ruling, Trengove noted that a director of Diadora South Africa, whom Trengove identified as Azhar Saloojee, had said that the firm ‘will not tolerate Mr. Teeger playing in any competition sponsored by Diadora.’ Diadora is a sponsor of the Jozi Cup, a community-based winter cricket club in South Africa.”

The newspaper’s inquiry about this to Diadora, an Italian apparel firm, went unanswered.

The U-19 World Cup begins on Friday (19th) and continues to 11 February, in five South African cities, with 16 teams and South Africa playing the West Indies in Potchefstroom. Teeger remains on the squad, but is no longer the captain.

Cricket (T20) was added to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games program last October.

3.
French military presence for Paris ‘24 to approach 20,000

The French Army will provide about 20,000 soldiers to support the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, according to Gen. Pierre Schill, the Chief of the General Staff of the French Ground Forces.

Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, he explained:

“The Olympic Games will be an extremely important event for our country. The armed forces will be there at this important moment, and we will deploy almost 20,000 men and women from the armed forces and ground forces.”

Military support will accompany the Olympic Torch Relay that begins in France on 8 May, and during the Games period, “a part will be mobilized for the protection, in the broad sense, of the Olympic Games, in support of the internal security forces.”

There will also be a significant assignment of forces to secure the Olympic Opening Ceremony on the Seine River.

Nicolas Ferrand, the head of Solideo, the French government agency responsible for the construction of Olympic sites for the 2024 Games, told a French Senate commission on Wednesday:

“There are three sites out of 70 that are being monitored, without the schedule being at risk.

“Overall, the works are totally on time and they are within the budget given to us, and with the levels of ambition that were set.”

He noted that the sites concerned were a section of the Olympic Village, the renovation of the Grand Palais monument in Paris (site of fencing) and a training site for swimming in Colombes, now set to be finished in June.

Agence France Presse reported that the total attendance limit for the 26 July opening of the Olympic Games on the Seine is likely to be limited to 500,000 vs. the 600,000 limit suggested earlier.

4.
Mexico ends 2036 Olympic bid, targets YOG

“We had a talk with the International Olympic Committee and we saw that the competition is very tough.

“We are turning around to see if we can have the bid for the Youth Olympic Games, which is where we would have a great chance.”

“It would be before the 2036 Games … We are in talks with the IOC.”

That’s from Comite Olimpico Mexicano President Maria Jose Alcala, speaking at a Tuesday reception for sponsors, explaining that the country’s target of hosting the 2036 Olympic Games is, at present, judged to be unrealistic.

So the Youth Olympic Games, held so far in Singapore (2010), Nanjing (CHN: 2014), Buenos Aires (ARG: 2018) and coming to Dakar (SEN) in 2026, are now the target. The scale is far smaller, with about 4,000 athletes in 35 sports vs. 10,500 or more for an Olympic Games. No host has been named for the 2030 or 2034 Youth Olympic Games.

Mexico hosted the Pan American Games as recently as 2011 in Guadalajara in the state of Jalisco. Alcala said Tuesday that there is interest from the state of Nuevo Leon, in the northeastern part of the country to explore bidding to replace Barranquilla (COL) as host of the 2027 Pan American Games:

“There is an approach from Nuevo Leon, they are the only ones who have approached us. That is still under discussion.”

Mexico announced an intention to explore an Olympic bid for 2036 last October.

5.
USA Badminton Chair and CEO suspended by SafeSport

The entries on the U.S. Center for SafeSport disciplinary database is typically cryptic, but clear:

● Kenneth ‘Ken’ Wong of USA Badminton was suspended as of 5 January for “retaliation” with probation and education required.

● Linda French of USA badminton was suspended as of 5 January for “Failure to report,” “Abuse of Process” and “retaliation” with probation and education required.

Wong is the former Chair of the USAB Board of Directors (2019-23), and has continued as an Independent Director; French – a two-time Olympian in the sport – was named USAB chief executive in April 2021. The suspensions were noted as “Subject to appeal/not yet final.”

USA Badminton issued a statement on 11 January, including:

“The USCSS Notices of Decision stipulate that Linda French and Ken Wong are prohibited from ‘… participating, in any capacity, in any event, program, activity, or competition authorized by, organized by, or under the auspices of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC), the National Governing Bodies recognized by the USOPC, a Local Affiliated Organization as defined by the Code, or at a facility under the jurisdiction of the same.’ The USAB board requested written clarification from the USCSS and received it on January 11, 2024.

“Effective January 11, 2024, Linda French, CEO of USA Badminton, is suspended without pay, and Ken Wong is suspended from the USAB board. Both Linda French and Ken Wong are suspended from USA Badminton.”

An Orange County Register story from investigative reporter Scott Reid noted that Wong’s sanction was for two years and French’s for five years, based on an incident with USAB chief of staff Alistair Casey, who wanted to report to SafeSport an abuse case in 2021. He did and was fired, later obtaining a $1 million wrongful-termination settlement from USAB. The retaliation counts against Wong and French were for the firing of Casey.

Reid wrote that the suspension of French was believed to be the first of a National Governing Body by SafeSport since its formation in 2018.

A suit for defamation was filed in Indiana last September by the USA Badminton general counsel, and is continuing.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● The uniforms for the French team for this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris were revealed on Tuesday, with vibrant looks from designer Stephane Ashpool (FRA) that will be provided by Le Coq Sportif.

The uniforms package, highlighted by the French flag colors of blue, white and red, will include competition uniforms, training apparel, ceremonies and casual wear, with an estimate of 162,000 total pieces. Four French federations – athletics, basketball, football and handball – will retain their current suppliers for the Paris Games, at a cost of €400,000 (about $435,356 U.S.) that will be paid to the CNOSF, the French National Olympic Committee.

Le Coq Sportif will also outfit Olympic competition officials and some Paris 2024 organizing committee staff.

● Olympic Winter Games 2026: Milan Cortina ● The Italian daily Il Fatto Quotidiano noted Wednesday that the deadline for construction companies to submit a bid for the construction of a sliding track in Cortina for the 2026 Winter Games was due by Thursday (18th) at noon.

Last summer, no bids were received to build a new Cortina track, leading to questions about using the now-abandoned Cesana Pariol (Turin 2006) track or holding the events on an existing track in Austria, Germany, Switzerland or Lake Placid in the U.S. According to the story (computer translation from the original Italian):

“The cost of the contract remained at 81 million and 610 thousand euros, of which 76.7 million were for works and 4.9 million for safety costs. The overall cost is however 118.4 million euros, because another 36.8 million expenses must be added. The main items are: administrative expenses 3.9 million, planning 8.9 million, VAT 12 million, laboratory tests 1.2 million.” (€1 = $1.09 U.S.)

The timetable is tight: construction to start in February, certification tests beginning by 15 March 2025, test events beginning 1 October 2025 and completion by 15 October. The 2026 Winter Games will begin on 6 February 2026.

The Milan Cortina organizing committee has said it will have a solution to the venue issue by the end of this month.

● Russia ● No Russian entries were received for February’s World Aquatics Championships in Doha (QAT), meaning that there will be no Russians in open-water swimming or diving at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

The Doha Worlds were the last opportunity for qualification in those disciplines. World Aquatics told the Russian news agency TASS:

“After consultation with the Aquatics Integrity Unit, we can confirm that there are currently no Russian athletes registered to participate in the World Aquatics Championships in Doha.”

● Boxing ● The first tournament organized under the auspices of World Boxing since its November Congress began in Sheffield (GBR) on Wednesday, the World Boxing Cup: GB Open – Sheffield 2024.

Ninety fighters from 16 countries were registered; the federation has 14 members, but boxers from Antigua and Barbuda and Gambia were allowed to enter with permission of the World Boxing Executive Board.

● Figure Skating ● The finalists for the International Skating Union’s Skating Awards on 11 February were announced on Wednesday. Six categories will be awarded.

The nominees for “Most Valuable Skater,” defined as “the Single Skater or Pair or Ice Dance Couple who promoted Figure Skating – due to a successful competition season, creating (social) media attention and engagement in 2023,” included:

● Ilia Malinin (USA) ~ men’s 2023 Worlds bronze medalist
● Kaori Sakamoto (JPN) ~ women’s 2023 World Champion
● Shoma Uno (JPN) ~ men’s 2023 World Champion

Awards will also be made for Best Newcomer, Most Entertaining Program, Best Costume, Best Choreographer and Best Coach. The winners will be decided by a six-person jury of former champions, including American Brian Boitano.

● Volleyball ● More politics in sports, as Kyodo News reported a statement on Wednesday that Taipei City (TPE) was being replaced as the site of the 20-27 July men’s Asian U-20 Volleyball Championship at the request of China.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Taipei City was still shown as the event host, but the Taiwan volleyball federation said that the event was being moved to Indonesia. The Asian Volleyball Confederation was reported to have agreed on Monday to change the site at China’s request, with the Chinese federation saying it could not send a team to Taiwan due to “complexities in cross-Taiwan Strait political relations.”

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TSX REPORT: Russian trampoline head: we’re not going to Olympics; Barranquilla stays out for 2027 Pan Ams; Shiffrin golden again!

Rich Perelman

January 17, 2024

tsx pix 2020-1214 shiffrin, mikaela 750 (twitter feed) — American skiing superstar Mikaela Shiffrin

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

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★ Closing Thursday: An Athens 1896 Olympic Champion medal and Steve Genter‘s Munich ‘72 medals trio highlight a 437-item, eye-opening show by RR Auction ★

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. Russian trampoline chief: not going to Olympics
2. No movement from Panam Sports on Colombia request
3. Shiffrin golden in Flachau despite Kilde concerns
4. Two-time Olympic medalist swimmer Hali Flickinger retires
5. Lake Placid 1980 torch at $33,809 so far at RR Auction

● The head of the Russian Trampoline Federation said his athletes won’t go to Paris – if qualified – under the current regulations of the International Olympic Committee. The Russian Deputy Prime Minister said the emphasis now is on developing events in Russia for its athletes, a project which the IOC and others have already criticized.

● Despite a request from the Colombian President, Panam Sports shows no interest in revisiting its removal of the 2027 Pan American Games from Baranquilla. Bids are due by the end of the month, with Asuncion in Paraguay and Lima, Peru, apparently at the top of the list.

● Despite rushing to a Swiss hospital to be with her injured partner, Norwegian star Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, American skiing icon Mikaela Shiffrin won her 94th World Cup gold in the night Slalom in Flachau, Austria on Tuesday.

● There was no formal announcement, just an Instagram post that mentioned in passing that two-time Olympic medal winner Hali Flickinger of the U.S. has retired and is selling real estate in the Phoenix, Arizona area!

● A major auction of 437 Olympic memorabilia items by Boston-based RR Auction will conclude on Thursday, with a rare torch from the 1980 Lake Placid Olympic Winter Games attracting the most attention so far at more than $33,000.

● Panorama: Alpine Skiing (FIS rips Lehmann for World Cup schedule critique) = Athletics (Birmingham’s Euro 2026 funding increased) = Snowboard (Bormolini and Hofmeister best in Bad Gastein Parallel Slalom) ●

1.
Russian trampoline chief: not going to Olympics

While the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) announced that 14 Belarusian athletes were approved as “neutrals” for international competitions (plus 16 officials) in the Artistic, Rhythmic and Trampoline disciplines, Nikolai Makarov, President of the Russian Trampoline Federation told the Russian news agency TASS:

“None of our athletes are going to go to the Olympic Games under the conditions that the IOC put forward to us.

“As for our athletes receiving neutral status, we are considering this possibility, but have not yet decided on this issue. Therefore, athletes from Russia are not yet among the participants in the qualifying stages of the World Cup, although we are conducting certain negotiations.”

In the last Trampoline World Championships in which the Russian Gymnastics Federation was allowed to compete – in 2019 – Russian led the total medal count with nine, winning five events. At the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, Russian entries finished fifth and sixth in the men’s Trampoline final and seventh in the women’s.

Olympic qualification in Trampoline is possible through the FIG World Cup series in 2024, with events scheduled in Baku (AZE) from 23-25 February, at Alkmaar (NED) on 13-14 March, and in Cottbus (GER), from 22-24 March.

In the meantime, Russia continues planning for its own events. Asked about the possibility of a future Olympic Games in Russia, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko telling reporters on Tuesday:

“Russia has always supported the Olympic Movement, now, unfortunately, it is very sick. We hope it will recover, and we will return to this issue. For now, on the instructions of the [Russian] President, we are developing new formats that do not depend on the desires of international sports officials.”

Russia has scheduled a BRICS Games in Kazan for 12-23 June 2024, and a World Friendship Games in Yekaterinburg and Moscow for 15-29 September. (“BRICS” = Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa)

The International Olympic Committee has already railed against these events, and last December’s Olympic Summit specifically pushed back:

“[T]he Russian government, following a decree from the President of the Russian Federation, intends to organise clearly politically motivated sports events in Russia. …

“Furthermore, the Summit was informed that athletes would be very concerned about being forced into participation in such politically motivated sports events, thereby becoming part of a political propaganda campaign.

“The Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) and the Winter Olympic Federations (WOF) reaffirmed their recommendations to IFs not to be involved in any way in such politically motivated sports events. They confirmed that every IF should refuse to consider the inclusion of such events in its international sports calendar and should not acknowledge the results achieved by athletes at these events.

“The President of [Association of National Olympic Committees] and representatives of Continental Associations of NOCs declared that their organisations would in no way support the participation of athletes in such events.”

2.
No movement from Panam Sports on Colombia request

On 3 January, Panam Sports announced that the 2027 Pan American Games had been removed from Barranquilla, Colombia due to “countless breaches of current contracts,” including a failure to pay a $4 million installment of the Pan American Games hosting fee by the end of 2023.

Added emergency meetings of the Panam Sports Executive Committee were held over the next week, with a letter sent to the 41 member National Olympic Committees on 5 January, calling for letters of interest (with government support) by the end of the month to take over the 2027 Pan American Games.

Despite the request of Colombian President Gustavo Petro to meet with Panam Sports head Neven Ilic (CHI) and a statement that the $8 million owed by the Colombian government – the $4 million at the end of the year and $4 million due on 31 January 2024 – can be paid quickly, whispers from the latest meetings indicate that no change is forthcoming and Barranquilla is out.

In fact, Ilic, who is also an International Olympic Committee member, is expected to attend the IOC’s Winter Youth Olympic Games in Gangwon (KOR), beginning Friday and continuing to 1 February. Nine countries from the Panam Sports region are sending 239 athletes to compete.

A strong bid for the 2027 Pan American Games is expected from Asuncion (PAR), as well as from Lima (PER), which successfully hosted the 2019 Pan Ams and Parapan Ams. There are also possible bids from Sao Paulo in Brazil – which hosted the event in 1963 and has shown interest in the 2031 Pan Ams – and from Guadalajara in Mexico, the 2011 host.

3.
Shiffrin golden in Flachau despite Kilde concerns

It hasn’t been an easy week for U.S. skiing superstar Mikaela Shiffrin, but she did not let it get in the way of a significant win in Tuesday night’s FIS Alpine World Cup Slalom in Flachau (AUT).

Shiffrin’s schedule was scrambled with the injury to Norwegian star and partner Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, who suffered a season-ending shoulder injury, a calf injury and cuts on his face during a crash in Wengen (SUI) last Saturday and had to be airlifted to a Bern hospital. Shiffrin was at the hospital, then headed back to the Women’s World Cup tour in Austria.

Shiffrin herself had been ill and skipped the prior week’s speed races in Zauchensee (AUT).

On Tuesday, Shiffrin completed the first run in second place, trailing Beijing 2022 Olympic champ Petra Vlhova (SVK), 53.01-53.08. But the American star took the lead on the second run, posting a 56.27 time, meaning that Vlhova had to finish in 56.34 to tie, or faster to win. But the Slovakian star posted a 56.61 second run, seventh-best in the field, and Shiffrin had a 1:49:35 to 1:49.62 win. Swede Sara Hector was third (1:50.46) for her first career World Cup Slalom medal.

The amazing Shiffrin, 28, sets records every time she wins, and now has 94 career World Cup golds, the most in history, with 57 in the Slalom, also the most of any skier ever. It’s also her fifth win in Flachau.

She also has 148 career World Cup medals, closing in on the most ever, now just seven behind the record of 155 by Swede Ingemar Stenmark, who competed from 1973-89. Said Shiffrin after the win:

“I’m really proud of this evening and very thankful for my whole team. These last days have been very challenging. They’ve been so supportive and helped me go see Aleks.

“This is really emotional now. The last three days I feel like I lived a lifetime.”

4.
Two-time Olympic medalist swimmer Hali Flickinger retires

There was no announcement and no news conference. But SwimSwam.com reported on an Instagram post by two-time Olympic medal winner Hali Flickinger of the U.S. that included:

“I moved out here [to Phoenix] in 2019 and ended up never leaving!! Let me explain…

“The reason we moved was to continue my athletic career thinking I would only be here for a few years until heading back to the east coast where I am originally from. Well that didn’t happen!

“We came out in August and I fell in LOVE with Arizona. I belong wherever the sun is shining and the temperatures are warm!!

“In 3 weeks I bought a house, have since completed my athletic career, and now living here full time with no plans of leaving!!

“Never in a million years did I think we would decide to stay in AZ and continue to built our lives in a state we moved to knowing NOTHING about.

“We moved here with no family so thought for sure it was just a short pit stop but we have no plans on leaving! In fact our families love it so much that they most likely will eventually move be out here too!

“Life is strange sometimes and opens doors you don’t recognize till you are in them! Moving to Arizona was a magical change for us and we can’t imagine our lives any other way!! AZ is home.”

Originally from Pennsylvania, Flickinger, 29, ranked ninth in the world in 2023 in the 200 m Butterfly (2:06.80) and was a two-time Olympian in 2016 and 2020, winning bronze medals in Tokyo in the 200 m Fly and 400 m Medley. She was clearly a candidate for a third U.S. team in 2024, and moved to Arizona to work with legendary coach Bob Bowman at Arizona State. But life apparently got in the way.

She won four World Championships medals, including two 4×200 m Freestyle golds in 2017 and 2022 and silvers in the 200 m Fly in 2019 and 2022.

A finance major at Georgia, where she was on three NCAA champion teams, she married fellow Bulldogs swimmer Martin Grodzki (GER) in 2019. As she noted in her post, she is now selling real estate in the Phoenix area and onto the next chapter in her life. She finishes with bests of 2:05.65 in the 200 m Fly (no. 3 all-time U.S.) and 4:33.96 in the Medley, no. 8 in U.S. history.

5.
Lake Placid 1980 torch at $33,809 so far at RR Auction

A marvelous, 437-item auction of Olympic memorabilia is heading towards the close, with Olympic torches and medals the items of interest so far for Boston-based RR Auction.

Its opening auction of 2024 will close on Thursday (18th), with opening bids due on items by 6 p.m. Eastern time. Granted that auctions always get heated just before closing, the top bids in the auction as of 6 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday included:

● $33,809: 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympic torch
● $23,582: 1896 Athens winner’s medal (silver)
● $19,489: 1936 Berlin gold medal
● $17,270: 1964 Tokyo gold medal and athlete badge
● $12,559: 1896 Athens second-place medal (bronze)

To have two excellent editions of 1896 Athens medals is impressive; silver medals were awarded to the winners and bronze to the runner-ups. The 1896 Athens bronze includes the original case in amazingly good condition; the custom of gold, silver and bronze medals did not appear until the 1904 Games in St. Louis.

The Lake Placid 1980 Winter torch is especially rare as only 140 were produced, and only 52 torchbearers participated in the relay.

For those looking to acquire a set of medals – gold, silver and bronze – from a Games, American swimmer Steve Genter’s trio of medals from Munich 1972 is available and had a modest high bid of $8,985 as of Tuesday evening. Genter won gold in the men’s 4×200 m Free relay, a silver behind Mark Spitz in the 200 m Free and the bronze in the controversial 400 m Free.

With the 2024 Paris Games coming this summer, 16 items from the 1924 Paris Games are available, starting with a gold medal, with a high bid so far of $7,321. A silver medal has drawn a top bid of $2,148.

In the memorabilia area, two items have done especially well so far: a 1908 London “Comite D’Honeur” badge now at $5,790 and a 1964 Tokyo badge for IOC President Avery Brundage (USA), at $5,087 so far. All will be finalized on Thursday.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Alpine Skiing ● After major crashes by stars Alexis Pinturault (FRA) and Kilde at the four days of racing at Wengen last week, Swiss-Ski chief Urs Lehmann criticized the heavy men’s Alpine World Cup calendar.

This was significantly due to the weather cancellations of six of the first seven races of the year, in Solden (AUT), the Zermatt-to-Cervinia Downhill and all three races at Beaver Creek, Colorado. One of the Wengen Downhills was a Beaver Creek make-up.

However, FIS was irritated with Lehmann’s comments and posted a message on Tuesday that condemned his actions, especially as a FIS Council member:

“The comments have harmed the reputation of the FIS Council, and are disrespectful to our Race Directors and to the whole FIS team who are working hard at the races to offer the best possible conditions for the athletes and their teams.

“The strength of the ski and snowboard family is that together we are greater than the sum of our parts. Together we can make sure that our sport develops. When that spirit of togetherness is regularly undermined by one-upmanship or power games, we all suffer. Our sport suffers.

“That is why FIS will always defend itself against such accusations.”

Lehmann lost to Swede Johan Eliasch for the FIS Presidency in 2022 in a four-way contest.

● Athletics ● Doubts about the 2026 European Athletics Championships in Birmingham (GBR) over finances have likely been resolved, with a grant of £600,000 from the West Midlands Combined Authority to the Birmingham City Council and, ultimately, to the organizing committee. (£1 = $1.26 U.S. today)

The WMCA contributed £13.7 million in March 2030 to support the event and now another £600,000. Further, the British government will add support of up to £680,000 to close the funding gap and ensure the event is held as planned.

● Snowboard ● Germany’s Ramona Theresia Hofmeister got back on the winning track after a rare loss with a victory in Tuesday’s Parallel Slalom World Cup in Bad Gastein (AUT).

The two-time Worlds Parallel Slalom medalist took the final by 0.18 seconds from Austrian home favorite – and Worlds bronze medalist – Sabine Schoeffmann in the final for her fourth win in the five races held so far this season, Italy’s Jasmine Coratti won her second medal of the season with the bronze as Julie Zogg (SUI) fell in the third-place final.

The men’s race went to Italian Maurizio Bormolini, who won his second World Cup gold of the season and defended his 2023 win here, this time over Austrian Arvid Auner. Fellow Austrian Fabian Obmann won his first medal of the season with the bronze over countryman and three-time Worlds Parallel Slalom gold medalist Benjamin Karl, who fell.

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TSX REPORT: The story behind the IOC’s “Olympic Tickets”; FIG OKs 30 Belarusians as neutrals; a reprieve for Israel after all?

Rich Perelman

January 16, 2024

tsx pix 2024-115 duffy-schubert-tomoa OG tix — A shared Olympic Ticket for Paris 2024 for sport climbers Colin Duffy (USA), Jakob Schubert (AUT) and Tomoa Narasaki (JPN) in men's boulder and lead. (Photo: @Olympics on Instagram)

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

★ To get The Sports Examiner by e-mail: sign up here! ★

★ Closing Thursday: An Athens 1896 Olympic Champion medal and Steve Genter‘s Munich ‘72 medals trio highlight a 437-item, eye-opening show by RR Auction ★

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. Where did the “Olympic tickets” idea come from?
2. FIG approves 30 Belarusians as gymnastics “neutrals”
3. IIHF chief says Israel still might play in Sofia
4. Targeted 2030 and 2034 Winter Games bid teams meet in Park City
5. Messi, Bonmati honored as FIFA’s “The Best”

● The now-ubiquitous “Olympic Tickets” for athletes qualifying for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games actually started in 2020, with a promotion for the African boxing qualifier organized by the International Olympic Committee. Pretty clever.

● The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) announced the approval of 14 Belarusian gymnasts – including multiple Olympic and World medalists – and 16 coaches and officials as “neutrals” for the purpose of competing in FIG events in 2024. However, with the European federation shutting Russia and Belarus out of its 2024 events, how will they qualify for Paris?

● The head of the International Ice Hockey Federation said that it might still be possible for Israel’s team to compete in the 2024 IIHF Ice Hockey U-20 World Championship Division III Group B in Sofia, with the help of Bulgarian officials.

● The President of one of the two French Alps regions that are targeted to host the 2030 Olympic Winter Games visited Park City, Utah last week to begin a cooperation project with the Salt Lake City organizers, targeted to host the 2034 Winter Games.

● FIFA announced its “The Best” winners for 2023, with Argentine icon Lionel Messi winning his eighth trophy for the men, and Spanish midfielder Aitana Bonmati winning for the women. Brazilian women’s star Marta was honored with a special award and the anti-racism actions of the Brazilian men’s team was saluted with the Fair Play Award.

● Panorama: Paris 2024 (80% of torchbearers have been selected) = Athletics (Nilsen and Morris get world-leading vault wins in Reno) = Football (Saudis announce cliffside stadium for 2034 World Cup) = Swimming (743 U.S. Trials qualifiers so far) = Tennis (Bulgarian umpire gets 16-year ban for corruption!) ●

1.
Where did the “Olympic tickets” idea come from?

One of the really clever promotions developed in advance of the Tokyo Olympic Games by the International Olympic Committee was the creation of an “Olympic ticket” given to athletes who secure qualification to the Games.

Now it’s everywhere, handed out at single-sport events like the Breaking World Championships in Belgium, the FIG Rhythmic World Championships in Spain, the ISA World Surfing Championships in El Salvador and so on. And also at team events like the FIBA men’s World Cup held last year in the Philippines, Indonesia and Japan and the men’s and women’s FIVB Olympic qualifiers in Brazil and China, respectively.

And of course at major multi-sport events with qualifying events like the European Games in Poland and the Pan American Games in Chile.

But it all started prior to the Tokyo Olympic Games at the African Olympic Qualifying Tournament from 20-29 February 2020 in Diamniadio, Senegal. Of course, what better way to symbolize qualifying for the Olympic Games in boxing than to “punch” your ticket to the Games!

The idea came from the IOC’s @Olympics global social-media team as a prop to use for the IOC’s social-media coverage of the boxing qualifiers for Tokyo, remembering that the IOC took over the management of the boxing qualification process in place of the now-derecognized International Boxing Association (formerly AIBA).

Now, as the IOC has adopted an aggressive promotion of the Olympic qualifying process via Recommendation 6 of Olympic Agenda 2020+5: “Enhance and promote the Road to the Olympic Games,” which specifically notes:

“Depending on the definition, there are hundreds or even thousands of events which act as Olympic qualifiers. However, today, there are very few opportunities to connect these events with the Olympic Games through branding and other initiatives. The Olympic and OCOG brands effectively have no visibility and therefore the Road to the Olympic Games is not as visible as it should be.”

It doesn’t work for every sport, since individual qualification for the Games is often not determined by a finish in a specific event, but where an athlete might stand in world rankings, or in a national event in which a quota place is obtained in a domestic tournament, such as at a U.S. Olympic Trials. Maybe, in coordination with the relevant International Federations, these will be included in the future.

The “tickets” come in varying sizes, with smaller ones for individuals and larger ones for group photos and team events. It’s a fun idea and a worthwhile promotional tool that’s a great way to actually reward an athlete with a memento of the moment when they clinched their spot as an Olympian-to-be.

2.
FIG approves 30 Belarusians as gymnastics “neutrals”

The Federation Internationale de Gymnastique announced the approval of 30 Belarusian athletes, coaches and officials as “Authorized Neutral Athletes” who can come in FIG events in 2024.

The list included 14 athletes: seven in Trampoline, three in Rhythmic Gymnastics and three in Artistic, plus 10 coaches, four judges and two medical staff. Among the approved athletes were multiple international medal winners:

Rhythmic:
● Alina Harnasko: Tokyo 2020 All-Around bronze medalist, six-time Worlds medal winner (1-2-3)
● Anastasiia Salos: Three-time Worlds medal winner (0-0-3)

Trampoline:
● Andrei Builou, 2021 Worlds double gold medalist
● Ivan Litvinovich, Tokyo 2020 gold medalist
● Aleh Rabtsau, 2021 Worlds three-medal winner (2-0-1)

Harnasko and Litvinovich are clear medal possibilities for Paris, but although they have been approved by the FIG, they will not be allowed to compete at the European Championships, the clearest pathway, due to the continuing ban on Russian and Belarusian competitors by the European Gymnastics Union.

Harnasko’s options in Rhythmic are extremely limited if she is not able to participate in the Europeans, perhaps only as an invited athlete usually held out for smaller countries.

In Trampoline, there is a qualifying path through the 2024 Trampoline World Cup Series for both men and women and the three Belarus stars might be able to qualify that way.

No mention of any Russian applications was made by the FIG in its announcement of the approved Belarusians.

3.
IIHF chief says Israel still might play in Sofia

The International Ice Hockey Federation’s ban on Israel’s participation in the upcoming Division III-Group B U-20 World Championship on Sofia (BUL), might still be possible.

The IIHF issued a detailed explanation of its decision last Friday, including more specifics:

“This decision currently affects the Israeli National Team’s participation in the 2024 IIHF Ice Hockey U-20 World Championship Division III Group B scheduled to start on 22 January 2024. This event has been originally planned to be held in Israel, but due to already existing safety and security concerns being moved to Bulgaria.”

However, IIHF President Luc Tardif (FRA) reportedly told Radio-Canada in a statement:

“We have already made good progress with the Bulgarian authorities on Friday. If all goes well and they confirm certain security guarantees on Monday [15th], we should be able to integrate the Israel team for the Under-20 World Championship.”

That would be good news, but no confirmation on Monday.

The IIHF has been bitterly criticized for the Israeli ban, with an inquiry also coming from the National Hockey League, and, of course, Israeli officials. The Olympic Committee of Israel is working on an appeal of the ban to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

4.
Targeted 2030 and 2034 Winter Games bid teams
meet in Park City

All smiles during the Park City, Utah visit of one of the leaders of the French Alps bid for the 2030 Olympic Winter Games last week, Renaud Muselier, the President of the Provence Alpes-Cote d’Azur (PACA) region, one of the two regions working together.

The visit was part of a larger tour of Utah organized through the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity. Asked if the French bid team had enough time to prepare the necessary documentation and government guarantees, he told reporters:

“All the things cannot be perfect because we go very fast. But we will be ready.

“We have snow, we have ski resorts, we have skiers. We know how to do (it), in fact. We know how to organize international competitions in the south of France.

“Everybody knows the Riviera. Everybody knows that. But not everybody knows that we are an Alps region.”

He also noted that the relationship between his bid team and the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games was in sync:

“[Salt Lake City] will be ready in 2030 … but they are so close to Los Angeles [2028], it’s not good for the USA. To the USA, the French, we are saying, ‘That’s OK. Go team.’”

Fraser Bullock, the head of the Salt Lake City bid and the Chief Operating Officer of the 2002 Winter Games held in Salt Lake City, said that the visit was “a first, where we have two preferred hosts for future Winter Games collaborating together in partnership. … We can learn from each other. We can support each other. And we started this great friendship today.”

Both bids are in “targeted dialogue” with the International Olympic Committee, essentially a collaboration to finalize the selection of each bid with vote of the IOC Session in Paris in July.

5.
Messi, Bonmati honored as FIFA’s “The Best”

The annual FIFA awards for “The Best” in 2023 were announced Monday, with Argentine icon Lionel Messi for the second consecutive year for the men and Spain’s Bonmati talking the women’s honors.

Messi captained the Argentine team in its dramatic FIFA World Cup victory in Qatar in late 2022, won the Ligue 1 title in France with Paris-St. Germain and then turned the U.S. football world upside down with his transfer to Inter Miami of Major League Soccer, becoming a national sensation.

He and Norwegian (and Manchester City) star Erling Haaland actually tied with 48 points under the scoring system that included votes from coaches, national-team captains, news media and fans, but Messi won the tie-breaking captains scoring and took his ninth The Best award.

He previously won in 2009-10-11-12-15-19-22. France’s Kylian Mbappe finished third, with 35 points.

Spanish midfielder Aitana Bonmati won for “The Best” women’s player, as a star for the FIFA Women’s World Cup winner, Spain. She rolled up 52 points to be a clear winner over Colombia’s 18-year-old scoring ace Linda Caicedo (40) and Spanish forward Jenni Hermoso (36).

Brazil’s Ederson won for The Best men’s goalkeeper, notably for his play for Manchester City, with 23 points, ahead of Belgian (and Real Madrid) star Thibault Courtois (20) and Morocco and Al-Hilal’s Yassine Bounou (16). England (and Manchester United)’s Mary Earps won for The Best women’s keeper for the second straight year, with 28 points to 14 for Cata Coll (ESP) and Australian Mackenzie Arnold (12).

A special award for lifetime achievement was presented to Brazilian women’s star Marta, who won The Best women’s player award six times.

Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola (ESP) won for the top men’s coach and England coach Sarina Wiegman (ENG) took the honors as the top women’s coach for the fourth time.

Brazil won the Fair Play Award for its statement against racism – especially against national team (and Real Madrid) striker Vinicius Junior in La Liga – by wearing all-black uniforms for the first time during the first half in a friendly against Guinea in June in Barcelona, Spain.

The FIFA-FIFPRO Women’s World 11 included American striker Alex Morgan, the only U.S. player to make either the men’s or women’s all-star team.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● The Paris 2024 organizers gave an update on the preparations for the Torch Relay, to begin in Marseille in May:

“Of the 11,000 Torchbearers (10,000 for the Olympic Torch Relay and 1,000 for the Paralympic Torch Relay), 80% have today received confirmation that they will be carrying the Torch on one of the two. The final identities will be revealed between now and April. Some will be kept secret until the last moment to maintain the surprise, notably of athletes and personalities.”

The selectees were chosen from more than 100,000 nominations developed from sponsor outreach projects. The actual torchbearers were designated with a quota of 50% men and women and representing all of the departments of France.

● Athletics ● The indoor track & field season is getting underway, with quality, world-leading marks in the vault at the annual Pole Vault Summit in Reno. Olympic silver winner Chris Nilsen won the men’s event at 5.90 m (19-4 1/4), over Zach Bradford and Thibault Collet (FRA), both at 5.92 m (19-1).

Two-time World Indoor Champion and Olympic and Worlds silver winner Sandi Morris took the women’s title at 4.82 m (15-9 3/4). Olympic champ Katie Moon of the U.S. and Anicka Newall (CAN) tied for second at 4.53 m (14-10 1/4).

● Football ● The Associated Press reported on just one of the new stadiums planned by Saudi Arabia for the 2034 FIFA World Cup, for which it is the only bidder.

This one is a 45,000-seat facility designed with a retractable roof to allow year-round use, but built on a 650-foot-high cliff in the new Qiddiya City project about 30 miles outside of the national capital of Riyadh. A lake is slated to be installed beneath it to help provide cooling to the air-conditioning system.

The Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal teams are expected to play their home matches there, with a giant LED wall for entertainment and promotion. That’s one of the 14 required stadia that will be used in 2034.

● Swimming ● SwimSwam.com reported on its tally of swimmers qualified so far for the mammoth U.S. Olympic Trials in June, to be held inside of the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.

So far, some 743 swimmers have qualified for Indianapolis, with the field to be closed after 30 May 2024. The qualifiers so far include 408 men and 335 women:

● Bella Sims has qualified in the most events – 11 of the 14 to be contested – with Regan Smith and Katie Grimes at eight.

● Among the men, Kieran Smith and Carson Foster have qualified in eight each, with Shaine Casas at seven.

● The top men’s events by number qualified start with the 200 m Medley at 83, then the 200 m Medley (80), 100 m Free (67), 100 m Fly (65) and 100 m Back (63).

● The top women’s events by total qualifiers start with the 50 m Free (64), then the 100 m Breast (62), 100 m Back (56), 100 m Free (55) and 200 m Free (54).

The 2021 Trials in Omaha had a total of 1,543 qualifiers, with 892 in “Wave I,” which was a qualifier for the actual Olympic selection event known as “Wave II.” There were 651 swimmers who qualified directly for Wave II, with the numbers inflated somewhat by an extra year of swimming due to the postponement of the Tokyo Games.

● Tennis ● How about a 16-year suspension for corruption? That’s the penalty announced Monday by the International Tennis Integrity Agency for Bulgarian official Stefan Milanov “following 17 breaches of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP).”

Milanov did not contest the charges and was also fined $75,000. The statement noted that the penalties concerned five matches he umpired in 2021:

“The charges included five breaches of Section D.1.b of the 2021 TACP – directly or indirectly facilitating any other person to wager on the outcome or any other aspect of an event; five breaches of Section D.1.m of the 2021 TACP – delaying or manipulating entry of scoring data from any Event for any reason; five breaches of Section D.1.n of the 2021 TACP – directly or indirectly attempting, agreeing or conspiring to commit any Corruption Offense; and two breaches of Section F.2.b of the 2023 TACP – failing to co-operate fully with investigations conducted by the ITIA.”

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TSX REPORT: IIHF explains Israel “restriction”; South Africa demotes Jewish cricket captain; IOC-USOPC-LA28 welcomes InBev sponsorship

Rich Perelman

January 15, 2024

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

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. IIHF says Israel not suspended, NHL voices concern
2. South Africa demotes Jewish captain of Cricket U19s
3. AB InBev signs sponsorship with IOC, USOPC and LA28
4. Russian Olympic chief expects loss in IOC appeal
5. Another organizing committee in turmoil, in Taranto

● The International Ice Hockey Federation posted an explanation of its removal of Israel from the men’s Division III Word U-20 Championships on Friday, limiting the action to just the one tournament and promising to review its stance again. The National Hockey League had asked about the issue and former Czech star Bobby Holik, now an American citizen, said “This is just people finding ways to show their antisemitism.”

● Cricket South Africa demoted its men’s U-18 World Cup team member David Teeger – who is Jewish – as captain of the squad in fear of possible violence at the event, which it is hosting in five cities throughout the country. The South African government has filed a petition with the International Court of Justice alleging genocidal actions by Israel in response to the deadly invasion by Hamas on 7 October. Germany has interceded, as politics and sport are again intertwined.

● The International Olympic Committee announced a major sponsorship by AB Inbev for its Corona Cero beer through 2028 and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee and LA28 announced a deal with Anheuser-Busch for Michelob ULTRA as their official beer, also through 2028.

● The head of the Russian Olympic Committee expects to lose its appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against the IOC’s suspension after its absorption of four sports organizations in Ukrainian territory.

● The organization of the 2026 Mediterranean Games in Taranto, Italy is in turmoil as organizing committee executives were thrown out, but now claim they personally own all of the plans made so far. It’s another regional games in trouble.

● World Championship: Ice Hockey (U.S. women sweep to IIHF U-18 Worlds win) = Sailing (Rindom wins, U.S.’s Rose surprises in ILCA 6 Worlds) ●

● Panorama: Alpine Skiing (2: Odermatt wins two, Sarrazin one in Wengen; Huetter, Goggia and Gut-Behrami win in Zauchensee) = Athletics (3: Ngetich crushes world 10 km mark in Spain; American Record for Kelati at Aramco Half; U.S. Marathon Trials worth $12-15 million to Orlando) = Badminton (two wins for China at Malaysia Open) = Biathlon (Norwegian gold rush in Ruhpolding) = Bobsled & Skeleton (German domination continues in St. Moritz) = Cycling (Gigante takes women’s Santos Tour Down Under) = Fencing (2: Italy sweeps men’s Foil medals in Paris; Heathcock surprises in Sabre for U.S.) = Figure Skating (Italy wins two, history for Henrickx at Europeans) = Football (Sofi Stadium apparently confirmed to host 2026 World Cup games) = Handball (world-record attendance to open Euro Champs) = Luge (Four golds for Austria at Innsbruck) = Nordic Combined (Norway sweeps four races at Obertsdorf) = Ski Jumping (2: Kobayashi wins gold in Wisla; Ito wins for home fans in Sapporo) = Snowboard (Karl and Dalmasso take PGS wins at Scuol) = Swimming (Douglass clips 12-year-old American Record at Tyr Pro Swim) ●

1.
IIHF says Israel not suspended, NHL voices concern

In the face of severe blowback, the International Ice Hockey Federation posted on Friday a lengthy explanation of its Wednesday decision to remove the Israeli team from the men’s Division III World U-20 Championship in Sofia (BUL) from 22-28 January. The post included:

“The IIHF Council decided to restrict the Israeli National Team from participating in IIHF Championships on a temporary basis due to safety and security concerns it had for all Championship participants, specifically including the players and team staff from all participating teams. This decision currently affects the Israeli National Team’s participation in the 2024 IIHF Ice Hockey U-20 World Championship Division III Group B scheduled to start on 22 January 2024. This event has been originally planned to be held in Israel, but due to already existing safety and security concerns being moved to Bulgaria.

“The decision is not a sanction against the Israeli Federation and does not affect the Israeli Federation’s status as a full member in good standing with the IIHF.

“IIHF Council will meet in February to assess the safety situation associated with the March and April Championships in which Israel is scheduled to participate and will meet in March to assess the safety situation associated with the April Championship in which Israel is scheduled to participate. This will allow the IIHF Council the ability to deal with each Championship on a case-by-case-basis taking into consideration the facts unique to each location where a respective Championship is scheduled to take place.”

The Israeli women’s team is slated – but was prohibited under the IIHF’s blanket edict of 10 January – to play in the IIHF Women’s Division III-B World Championship in Kohtla-Jarve (EST) from 24-29 March 2024.

The new IIHF explanation included further details of its decision and was important in that:

● It narrowed the decision to the men’s U-20 Division III-B Worlds.

● The IIHF claimed that the nature of the multi-purpose site in Sofia does not allow for closure from the public and is in “a student area with a high population from the affected regions.”

The IIHF notice added:

“The IIHF stands behind the Israeli Federation and wants to secure the safety of all players participating in its championship including players from Israel. …

“The IIHF completely understands that this is a difficult decision and is being made to prioritize security and safety of all involved parties first.”

The detailed notice tried to calm the situation after shrill condemnations from Israeli officials and others, including the National Hockey League. It posted a statement on Saturday which included:

“The NHL has significant concerns with the announcement from the IIHF on Wednesday regarding the Israeli National Team’s eligibility for, and participation in, upcoming IIHF events. We expressed those concerns to the IIHF and have attempted to get a better understanding of both the scope and underlying rationale for the decision that was made. …

“We urge the IIHF to take whatever steps necessary to address its concerns as expeditiously as possible so that Israeli National Teams are not unfairly excluded from future events for which they are eligible and have qualified.”

Bobby Holik, a two-time NHL All-star center and a member of two Stanley Cup-winning teams with the New Jersey Devils of the NHL, was a Czech star who married an American women and began a U.S. citizen in 1996. He has coached and run hockey camps in Israel and told the New York Post the IIHF has bowed to anti-Semitism:

“This hockey situation presents a great opportunity for the [NHL] to make a stand and somehow confront the IIHF. To me, this is an extension of the Boycott Divest Sanction (BDS). It’s like, ‘Hey, we don’t want to be uncomfortable, we’ll just keep the Jews out of it.’

“This is just people finding ways to show their antisemitism. Nobody stands up. Nobody says anything. So they keep doing it. I could ask NHL and people in hockey to make a stand for Israel, but nobody wants to go that way. The NHL works closely, I believe, with the IIHF on Olympic Games and other things. I think they should somehow put a little heat on the IIHF.”

His comments came a day before the NHL statement was released on Saturday. Holik, 53, who lives in Wyoming, added relative to the IIHF’s ban:

“It is a security matter. Just work a little harder. Spend more money. There is no better thing to do than to invite Israeli teams where you have 16 or 17 year-old Israelis playing against others on the world stage to see that they are not genocidal people. They are people. I think that is the best way.

“Let’s give them the opportunity to mix with others in a safe environment. Trust me, if they are invited, the state of Israel would do everything possible to provide security so that the players are safe. I’ve been there. I cannot go into details, but our teams were always surrounded by security.”

2.
South Africa demotes Jewish captain of Cricket U19s

A stunning statement was posted by Cricket South Africa on Friday, a week in advance of the start of the men’s 2024 U-19 Cricket World Cup:

“As is the case with all such events, CSA has been receiving regular security and risk updates regarding the World Cup. We have been advised that protests related to the war in Gaza can be anticipated at the venues for the tournament.

“We have also been advised that they are likely to focus on the position of the SA Under-19 (SA U19) captain, David Teeger, and that there is a risk that they could result in conflict or even violence, including between rival groups of protestors.

“CSA has a primary duty to safeguard the interests and safety of all those involved in the World Cup and must accordingly respect the expert advice of those responsible for the safety of participants and spectators.

“In all the circumstances, CSA has decided that David should be relieved of the captaincy for the tournament. This is in the best interests of all the players, the SA U19 team and David himself.

“David will remain an important and active member of the squad and we wish him and the team every success in the tournament. The newly appointed captain will be announced in due course.”

The British newspaper The Telegraph explained it this way:

“Cricket South Africa has stood down its captain, who is Jewish, for the upcoming Under-19 World Cup because of comments he made in support of Israeli soldiers in the ongoing conflict with Hamas in Palestine.”

Teeger praised Israeli soldiers responding to the 7 October invasion by Hamas at a Jewish Achiever Awards ceremony on 22 October. His comments were followed by an immediate complaint by the Palestinian Solidarity Alliance to the South African Sports Confederation and the South African Olympic Committee; a hearing found Teeger had done nothing wrong. Teeger said:

“It was therefore hurtful to read that my personal reflection on 22 October, 2023, of Israel’s response to the Hamas attack has been equated to supporting genocide or condoning hatred based on race, ethnicity or religion.

“Judging the conduct of the different sides during this war is a highly contested and complex matter with strongly held views on both sides. My personal and honestly held view is that Israel and its soldiers have not committed genocide, war crimes or crimes against humanity. In addition, this view is held by many people and democratic governments around the world, like the governments of the United States, United Kingdom, India, Australia and many countries in the European Union.

“Thus, my statements were not in support of genocide, war crimes or crimes against humanity because in my view Israel is innocent of all these allegations. On the other hand, I accept, that many people and governments, including the South African government, hold an opposing view. Disagreeing in a respectful manner on a contested and emotionally charged matter is a fundamental pillar of our democracy and Constitution. I respect the right of others to disagree with my view on Israel.”

The decision to remove Teeger as captain was met with immediate rebuke, starting with Karen Milner, the South African Jewish Board of Deputies National Chair:

“There is no basis for this decision, other than the fact that Teeger is Jewish.

“This is not the first time that Jews have been excluded from sporting bodies in our history. The SAJBD will do everything in its power to fight against this vicious prejudice.”

The removal of Teeger’s captaincy is all the more amazing given that the tournament – which begins on 19 January in Bloemfontein and Potchefstroom – is being played in South Africa, in five cities, having taken over for Sri Lanka in November after a suspension by the International Cricket Council. Cricket was added to the program of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games by the International Olympic Committee last October.

However, it also comes during an expanding political firestorm over the Hamas invasion of Israel and Israel’s continuing response. South Africa filed a petition with the International Court of Justice in the Hague (NED) alleging genocide on the part of Israel, prompting not only a furious defense, but also an intervention by Germany as a third party.

German spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said in a Friday statement:

“In view of Germany’s history and the crime against humanity of the Shoah, the Federal Government sees itself as particularly committed to the Convention against Genocide. This convention is a central instrument of international law to implement ‘never again.’

“The German government decisively and expressly rejects the accusation of genocide brought against Israel before the International Court of Justice. The accusation has no basis in fact.”

By intervening as a third party which has not been involved in the conflict, the Germans will be able to present their own case to the court.

Let it never again be said that sport and politics are not intertwined.

3.
AB InBev signs sponsorship with IOC, USOPC and LA28

A massive three-way sponsorship agreement was announced Friday in the beer category for Belgium-based AB Inbev, the parent of brands such as Budweiser, Corona, Stella Artois, Michelob and more than a dozen others, and the International Olympic Committee, the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee and the LA28 organizing committee:

“The International Olympic Committee (IOC) today announced that AB InBev, the world’s leading brewer, will become a Worldwide Olympic Partner (TOP Partner) through to 2028. Corona Cero zero-alcohol beer will be the global beer sponsor of the Olympic Games, highlighting the IOC and AB InBev’s commitment to responsible consumption and building a better world.”

This is the first time that a brewer has joined the TOP sponsor group, first established as a worldwide sponsorship opportunity in 1995. Anheuser Busch was a key sponsor of the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles and the new deal significantly includes the LA28 Games.

The announcements of the IOC and USOPC-LA28 sponsorships also noted key brand decisions:

● “AB InBev is committed to accelerating continued progress towards responsible alcohol consumption and moderation worldwide and will work to further that effort by featuring Corona Cero, its fast-growing zero-alcohol beer brand, as the leading global Worldwide Olympic Partner brand.”

● “AB InBev Chief Marketing Officer Marcel Marcondes said: ‘… we expect Corona Cero to accelerate no-alcohol beer growth and moderation for fans all over the world. In the United States, we will support the Olympics through the Olympic and Paralympic Games LA 2028 with Michelob ULTRA, a superior light beer that celebrates an active lifestyle.’”

The USOPC statement highlighted the Anheuser-Busch connection:

“Anheuser-Busch, America’s leading brewer, today announced that Michelob ULTRA has become the exclusive beer sponsor of Team USA for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024, Milan Cortina 2026, and Los Angeles 2028, and will be the Official Beer Sponsor of the LA28 Games.”

For those not familiar, Michelob ULTRA – a light beer – debuted in 2002 and is ranked as “the No. 2 beer in the industry by volume.”

The sponsorship is welcome news for LA28, which announced three commercial partnerships in 2023 – Eli Lilly & Co., Oakley Eyewear and Ralph Lauren as an “official outfitter” – but none since late July. Eli Lilly is designated as a “Sponsor,” along with “Founding Partners” Comcast, Delta and Salesforce, so the addition of Anheuser Busch brings the Partner and Sponsor total to five.

Observed: That the IOC has agreed for a worldwide sponsor in the beer category – but only for a zero-alcohol brew, Corona Cero – it’s worthwhile to ask if other elements of the alcoholic-beverage category might open. That does not seem immediately likely and the promotion of Corona Cero as the IOC’s official beer surely signals that spirits will not be tolerated in the TOP sponsorship group.

4.
Russian Olympic chief expects loss in IOC appeal

The head of the Russian Olympic Committee said he expects to lose in their appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport against its suspension by the International Olympic Committee:

“I have skeptical expectations. The basis of any arbitration tribunal is trust, but there is none.

“I assume that the decision will be made quickly, and this indicates bias. At the heart of the problems that exist today between the ROC and the IOC, there is a geopolitical orientation, pressure.”

Stanislav Pozdnyakov told the Russian news agency TASS that the appeal will be handled by a Swiss attorney and not by any Russian officials, furthermore, than the hearing – from the Russian side, anyway – will be handled by videoconference and no Russian officials will be going to Lausanne to appear in person.

The appeal is scheduled to be heard on 26 January. The IOC suspended the ROC on 12 October, after the absorption of the Ukraine sports organizations in a portion of eastern Ukraine – Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporozhye and Kherson – invaded by Russia in February of 2022.

5.
Another organizing committee in turmoil, in Taranto

The 2026 Mediterranean Games are scheduled for Taranto (ITA) and according to the Rome daily, Il Fatto Quotidiano, are in trouble. Scheduled for June, the event will be the 20th edition of an event first held in 1951 and which had 3,298 athletes from 26 countries competing in 24 sports in 2022 in Oran (ALG).

Saturday’s story started with (computer translation from the original Italian):

“The former general director, banned from holding public office due to corruption charges, who wants to take away the projects. The old organizing committee practically suing the new one. The Taranto 2026 Mediterranean Games were already a full-blown disaster, with monstrous delays and controversies. The usual big event that turned into the classic Italian fool. Now they risk becoming a farce.”

The event had been granted €275 million for new venues (~$301.55 million U.S.) which will apparently not be ready and the original organizing committee was disbanded by the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) last summer. But the former chief organizer Elio Sannicarlo, in concert with 12 other former organizing committee staff, have apparently claimed that they – and not the new organizers – own the planning done to date and that its use must be purchased from them.

Reporter Lorenzo Vendemiale noted, “It seems like an absurd claim and will probably be dismissed that way,” but the matter could end up in court and cause more delays. In the meantime, the calendar continues to shrink.

Observed: This is just the latest regional games in chaos, after the 2026 Commonwealth Games, abandoned by the Australian state of Victoria last summer and the 2027 Pan American Games, removed by Panam Sports on 3 January from Barranquilla (COL) after multiple missed contract deadlines.

≡ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS ≡

● Ice Hockey ● The U.S. won its ninth gold at the IIHF Women’s U-18 World Championship in Zug (SUI), defeating the Czech Republic, 5-1.

After finishing group play with a 3-0 mark, the U.S. sailed past Germany, 4-0, in the quarters, then Finland by 4-2 in the semis and then won the final decisively on Sunday. Margaret Scannell (10:23) and Haley Box (11:37) scored in the first period, but Adela Sapovalivova got one back on a power play at 18:43 of the second period to tighten the game to 2-1.

But Kassidy Charmichael scored just 4:15 into the third for a 3-1 lead and Charmichael iced it with a power play goal at 13:05. Ava Thomas added an empty-netter for the Americans with 1:49 to play for the 5-1 final. The U.S. out-shot the Czechs, 39-20, with Layla Hemp stopping 19 shots in goal for the winners.

In all, the U.S. out-scored its opponents by 32-5. It was the sixth American win in the last nine editions of the tournament. The IIHF Directorate selected Sapovalivova (CZE) as the top forward, Chloe Primerano of Canada as the top defender and Czech Aneta Senkova as the top goalie.

Canada, which lost in the semifinals to the Czechs by 4-2, routed Finland for the bronze by 8-1.

● Sailing ● No doubt about the winner of the women’s ILCA6 (Laser Radial) World Championship in Buenos Aires (ARG), that finished last week: Tokyo Olympic champ Anne-Marie Rindom of Denmark.

She won four of the 11 races outright and was in the top 10 in four others to finish with a net of 58 points for her third Worlds gold – also in 2015 and 2022 – and her sixth career Worlds medal (3-0-3).

American Charlotte Rose, the 2019 Pan American Games silver medalist, won her first Worlds medal and catapulted herself into Olympic contention with a second-place finish, scoring 75 net points with eight top-ten finishes and two wins! Belgium’s Emma Plasschaert, the 2018 and 2021 World Champion in this class, finished third with 78 net points and eight races in the top 10. But she could not match Rose’s two wins and fell back to third.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Alpine Skiing ● Swiss star Marco Odermatt, the reigning World Cup overall champion and France’s sudden-star Cyprien Sarrazin, dominated the speed skiing in front of big crowds of as many as 30,000 at Wengen (SUI).

Odermatt beat Sarrazin in Thursday’s Downhill, then Sarrazin – who came into this season with a career total of two World Cup medals, at age 29 – won the Friday Super-G, 1:47.75 to 1:48.33, over Odermatt, with Norwegian star Aleksander Aamodt Kilde third at 1:48.75.

The race was marred by a bad crash near the finish by two-time Combined World Champion Alexis Pinturault, who had to be airlifted from the site, delaying the race for about 25 minutes. He was reportedly to have ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

On Saturday, it was Odermatt beating Sarrazin for the second time in the second Downhill, 2:25.64 to 2:26.23, with Italy’s speed star Dominik Paris getting third (2:27.56). For Sarrazin, it was his fourth medal this season (2-2-0) after two medals all-time before. For Odermatt, it extended his World Cup lead and was his 31st career World Cup gold.

Kilde suffered a bad crash and injured his right leg near the finish of the Saturday Downhill and was also airlifted to a hospital.

Sunday was a Slalom, with Austria’s Manuel Feller – the 2017 Worlds runner-up – taking his third World Cup win in the fourth Slalom run this season! He had the third-fastest first run and second-fastest second run and that added up to a win in 1:50.28, just ahead of Norway’s Atle McGrath (1:50.38), the first-run leader. Fellow Norwegian Henrik Kristoffersen took third in 1:50.49; Benjamin Ritchie was the top American, in 20th (1:52.49).

The women’s World Cup was in Zauchensee (AUT), with Austria’s Cornelia Huetter getting her fifth career World Cup gold in Friday’s Super-G in 1:13.17, barely edging Kajsa Vickoff Lie (NOR: 1:13.26) and Swiss star Lara Gut-Behrami (1:13.38). It’s Huetter’s third medal of the season (1-1-1).

Italy’s 2018 Olympic Downhill winner Sofia Goggia took Saturday’s Downhill in 1:46.47, ahead of home favorite Stephanie Venier (1:46.57) and fellow Austrian Mirjam Puchner, who tied for third with Nicol Delago (ITA: 1:46.81). It’s the second win of the season for Goggia, and her 24th career World Cup victory.

Sunday brought another Super-G, with Beijing Olympic champ Gut-Behrami (SUI) taking her third win of the season in 1:14.25, beating Huetter (1:15.20) and Puchner (1:15.21). Lauren Macuga was the top U.S. finisher, in 10th (1:15.53).

● Athletics ● Another road world record, as Kenya’s Agnes Ngetich destroyed the women’s 10 km road race mark with a startling 28:46 win at the Valencia Ibercaja 10K in Spain on Sunday.

Ngetich had won 29:26, then the third-fastest time in history at Lille (FRA) on 18 November last year, but hot pacemaking gave Ngetich and fellow Kenyans Emmaculate Anyango and Lilian Rengeruk a shot at the record. Ngetich passed 5 km in 14:13, equal to the world mark set by Kenyan Beatrice Chebet on 31 December in Barcelona, with Anyango just a second behind (24:14: third performance all-time) and Rengeruk at 14:25, the no. 7 performance in history.

Ngetich, 22, broke away from Anyango after 7 km and ran alone to the finish in 28:46, the first time a woman has run faster than 29:00 on road or track. She mauled the only record of 29:14 by Yalemzerf Yehualaw (ETH) from 2022 and Anyango, in second, finished in 28:57 to move to no. 2 all-time. Rengeruk finished third in 29:32, now the no. 4 performer ever.

The men’s 10 km was also hot, with Uganda’s Jakob Kiplimo, the 2020 World Half Marathon champ, winning easily in 26:48 to move to no. 6 on the all-time list. Bahrain’s Birhanu Balew was second in 26:57, now no. 14 all-time, just ahead of Peter Njeru (KEN: 26:59).

At the Chevron Houston Marathon, Morocco’s Zouhair Talbi broke away after 35 km to win in a race record of 2:06:39, a lifetime best and an Olympic qualifying mark. He worked his way up through the pack and won by 21 seconds over Ayana Tsedat (ETH: 2:07:00). Adam Vadeboncoeur was the top American, in 2:18:04.

Ethiopian Jamal Yimer, twice fourth at the World Half Marathon Championship, won the Aramco Half in 60:42, edging Wesley Kiptoo (KEN: 60:43) and Milkesa Mengesha (ETH) and Abbabiya Simbassa of the both, both timed in 60:45.

Ethiopia’s Rahma Tusa broke away after 30 km in the women’s marathon and rolled to a 22-second win in the women’s marathon in 2:19:33, no. 4 in the world for 2023. Vicoty Chepngeno (KEN) was second in 2:19:55; the top American was Andrea Pomaranski in 14th (2:36:41).

The women’s Half was a treat, with Kenyan star Hellen Obiri setting a hot pace, but was unable to maintain it past 15 km, when Sutume Asefa flew by and stormed to the finish in 64:37, fastest in the world so far in 2024 and now no. 8 all-time. Obiri hung in for second in 66:07, trailed by Ethiopian Buze Diriba (66:24) and American Weini Kelati, making her debut at the distance.

Kelati’s fourth-place time was 66:25, an American Record, taking 14 seconds off the 66:39 mark by Keira D’Amato from 1 July 2023 at Gold Coast in Australia. Kelati won the USATF 10 km nationals in 2023 and was 21st in the Cross Country Worlds (10 km) in Bathurst last February. She was fourth on the track last year in the USATF 10,000 m, but may have found a home in the longer event.

Jason Siegel, the head of the Greater Orlando Sports Commission, told reporters on Friday that the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials coming 3 February could be worth from $12-15 million in economic impact for the area.

The City of Orlando is encouraging spectators to watch the race from four downtown areas; the runners will run a 2.2-mile loop in downtown and then run four laps of an 8 km course that will finish on Rosalind Avenue.

● Badminton ● China scored two wins at the Malaysia Open in Kuala Lumpur (MAS), both in Doubles, as top-seeded Wei Keng Liang and Chang Wang won the men’s final over India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, 9-21, 21-18, 21-17, and in the all-China women’s Doubles final, Sheng Shu Liu and Ning Tan swept aside Shu Xian Zhang and Yu Zheng by 21-18, 21-18.

Denmark’s Anders Antonsen took the men’s Singles title from seventh-seed Yu Qi Shi (CHN), 21-14, 21-14, and top-seed Se Young An (KOR) gave up the first set to Tokyo Olympic runner-up Tzu Ying Tai (TPE), but won by 10-21, 21-10, 21-18.

Japan’s second-seeded Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino won the Mixed Doubles in a 21-18, 21-15 sweep over Won Ho Kim (KOR) and Na Eun Jeong (KOR).

● Biathlon ● The French grip on the women’s IBU World Cup was finally slowed in Ruhpolding (GER), with Norwegian veteran Ingrid Tandrevold winning Saturday’s 7.5 km Sprint in 19:25.4 (0 penalties), ahead of Mona Brorsson (SWE: 19:43.6/0) and Italy’s Lisa Vittozzi (19.44.4/0). French stars had won five races in a row and Lou Jeanmonnot finished fourth in 19:50.2 (0). For Tandrevold, a four-time Worlds gold medalist on relays, it was her second win of the season and fifth medal.

Sunday’s women’s 10 km Pursuit went to Vittozzi, who won the season-opening event and got her second gold in 30:30.7 (1), ahead of Tandrevold (30:31.4/1) and fellow Norwegian Juni Arnekliev (30:39.8/0). Jeanmonnot was fourth again (31:01.8/2).

The men’s 10 km Sprint on Saturday was also a Norwegian victory for veteran Vetle Christiansen (22:27.2/0), beating Tommaso Giacomel (ITA: 22:44.1/1) and Norwegian star Tarjei Boe (22:47.3/0). American Campbell Wright had his best finish of the season in 12th (23:17.3/1).

Norway swept medals in Sunday’s 12.5 km Pursuit, with Johannes Dale-Skjevdal winning a tight finish over Christiansen, 30:38.0 (2) to 30:39.7 (3). Seasonal leader Johannes Thingnes Boe got his sixth medal in 12 races in third (30:40.2/2).

Norway won its fourth straight men’s 4×7.5 km World Cup relay this season in 1:09:49.6 (8), well ahead of Germany (1:10:34.6/7) and Italy (1:10.48.3/10). The French women took the 4×6 km relay in 1:08:44.5 (4), edging Sweden (1:08:53.2/3) and Germany (1:09:31.2 (3)

● Bobsled & Skeleton ● The first IBSF World Cup of 2024 was in St. Moritz (SUI), with a continuation of the German domination from the end of 2023.

Johannes Lochner, the 2023 Worlds gold medalist, teamed with Georg Fleishhauer to take the Two-Man race in 2:10.74, just 0.25 up on Olympic champ Francesco Friedrich and Alexander Schueller (2:10.99). Swiss Michael Vogt and Sandro Michel got the bronze in 2:11.29. The top American sled was in 13th, with Frank Del Duca and Adrian Adams (2:12.73).

Sunday’s Four-Man was the third win in five races this season for Lochner, winning both runs and totaling 2:08.89 to defeat twice Olympic champ Friedrich (GER: 2:08.99) and Latvia’s Emils Cipulis (2:09.29). The top American sled was with Del Duca, in 14th (2:10.72).

The women’s Monobob was another win for 2018 Olympic champ Lisa Buckwitz (GER), her third in four races this season, in 2:22.78, leading teammate Laura Nolte (2:22.91) and Australia’s Breeana Walker (2:22.93). American star Elana Meyers Taylor was fourth (2:23.25) and Kaysha Love – the only one other than Buckwitz to win this season – was ninth (2:24.01).

The Two-Woman title was won by Germans Nolte and Neele Schuten, who took over on the second run and won at 2:16.59, just ahead of first-run leader Buckwitz and Lauryn Siebert (2:16.67). Swiss Melanie Hauser and Mara Morell grabbed third in 2:16.97; Americans Love and Azaria Hill finished sixth (2:17.85) and Meyers Taylor and Emily Renna timed 2:18.04 for eighth.

In Skeleton, Italy’s Amedeo Bagnis, the 2023 Worlds runner-up, won the men’s division in 2:14.07, easing past Beijing Olympic champ Christopher Grotheer (GER: 2:14.59) and Worlds bronze medalist Seung-gi Jung (KOR: 2:13.96). Bagnis is the fourth different winner in four races this season.

Kimberley Bos (NED) took the women’s Skeleton in 2:18.61 for her second straight win, again edging Valentina Margaglio (ITA: 2:19.34), with America’s five-time Olympian Katie Uhlaender getting the second U.S. medal of the season in third (2:19.45). American Mystique Ro was eighth (2:19.97). It was Uhlaender’s first World Cup medal since February 2013!

● Cycling ● The 2024 season of the UCI Women’s World Tour began in Australia with the Santos Tour Down Under, decided on the final day with a win for Australian Sarah Gigante.

The first two stages, on Friday and Saturday, were mass-finish sprints, so while Denmark’s Cecile Uttrup Ludwig led going into Sunday’s final stage, it was the final climb to the finish at Willunga Hill that would decide everything.

There were 25 riders who started within 10 seconds of the lead, but Gigante broke free with 2.2 km left of the 93.4 km ride from Adelaide and won the stage by 16 seconds over Nienke Vinke (NED) in 2:30:38. That gave the 23-year-old Gigante her first major win on the Women’s World Tour in 7:57:33, 20 seconds ahead of Vinke, 33 seconds up on Australian Neve Bradbury and 37 seconds clear of fourth-placer Amanda Spratt (AUS).

Ruth Edwards was the top American, in 16th (+1:21).

● Fencing ● The FIE World Cup schedule resumed in Paris with men’s and women’s Foil, with China’s Qingyuan Chen winning the women’s final over Elena Tangherlini, by 15-13. Chen, the 2023 Asian champ, won her first FIE World Cup gold. Tangherlini, 25, earned her first major international medal.

Italy swept all four medals in the men’s Foil, with 2023 World Champion Tommaso Marini winning a 15-12 decision against 2018 World Champion Alessio Foconi. Teammates Guillaume Bianchi and Filippo Macchi won the bronze.

The U.S. team of Miles Chamley-Watson, Chase Emmer, Nick Itkin and Alex Massialas took the men’s team title, defeating Italy in the semis, 45-44 and Japan in the final, 45-39. Italy took the women’s gold with a 45-41 win over France, with Japan and Poland receiving the bronzes.

A Sabre Grand Prix was on in Tunis (TUN), and American Colin Heathcock, 18, won his first major international medal with a surprise gold via a 15-9 final win over home favorite Fares Ferjani (TUN). To get to the final, Heathcock defeated three-time Olympic Champion Aron Szilagyi of Hungary, 15-13!

Spain’s Lucia Martin-Portugues (ESP) scored her first Grand Prix gold at 33 with a 15-5 rout of Nisanur Erbil (TUR) in the women’s final.

● Figure Skating ● At the European Championships in Kaunas (LTU), the 2023 champions repeated in the Men’s Singles and Ice Dance, with Italy taking two titles.

France’s Adam Siao Him Fa defended his 2023 gold with a clear, 276.17 to 256.99 win over Estonia’s Aleksandr Selevko, with last year’s silver winner – Matteo Rizzo (ITA) – in third at 250.87. Siao Him Fa won both the Short Program and the Free Skate.

Italy’s defending Ice Dance champs, Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri won their second title in a row and their fourth career European medals (2-0-2) with wins in Rhythm Dance and Free Dance on the way to a 214.38 total. Britain’s Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson were second in both segments and scored 210.82, with Alison Reed and Saulius Ambrulevicius (LTU) third at 203.37. In the last five Europeans, Guignard and Fabbri have finished 3-4-3-1-1.

In Pairs, a close competition saw Free Skate winners Lucrezia Beccari and Matteo Guarise take the title at 199.19, moving up from third after the Short Program. Georgia’s defending champs, Annastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava, led after the Short Program, but finished fifth in the Free Skate to earn silver (196.14) and 2023 runner-ups Rebecca Ghilardi and Filippo Ambrosini took a second medal for Italy at 195.68 for bronze.

Belgium’s Loena Hendrickx, the Worlds 2022 silver winner and 2023 bronze medalist, won her first European title and Belgium’s first title since 1947, when Micheline Lannoy and Pierre Baugniet took the Pairs gold! Hendrickx won both the Short Program and Free Skate on the way to a 213.25 total to dethrone defending champ Anastasiia Gubanova (GEO), who scored 206.52. Belgium got a second medal from Nina Pinzarrone (202.29) in third.

● Football ● There will apparently be 2026 FIFA World Cup matches at SoFi Stadium after all. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told reporters on Friday during a news conference on other matters:

“We have actually just secured the World Cup in our region.

“For a few months we weren’t exactly sure if we were going to get it but we are. And that’s going to come up very soon.”

It had been previously reported that no agreement had been reached on using SoFi Stadium, owing to cost issues, including widening of the field to meet FIFA requirements for a full-sized pitch of 105 x 68 m (345 x 223 feet).

● Handball ● The men’s European Handball Championship kicked off last week, with what was reported as a world indoor record attendance mark of 53,586 at the Merkur-Spiel Arena in Dusseldorf (GER) to see France beat North Macedonia, 39-29 and Germany pound Switzerland, 27-14.

Those are the only games to be played in Dusseldorf; the remainder of the tournament will be held at more conventional arenas, with the final matches at the 19,750-seat Lanxess Arena in Cologne.

● Luge ● The FIL World Cup circuit hit Innsbruck (AUT), which doubled as the European Championships, and another strong showing for home team Austria!

Reigning men’s World Champion Jonas Mueller took the men’s Singles, with the fastest times in each race, totaling 1:38.655, ahead of teammate Nico Gleirscher (1:38.981). German Max Langenhan, the 2023 Worlds runner-up, won the bronze in 1:39.083; Jonny Gustafson was the top American, in ninth (1:39.807). It was Mueller’s first win of the season.

Austria’s Beijing 2022 bronze medalists Thomas Steu and Wolfgang Kindl took the European title and their first win of the 2023-24 World Cup – after three silvers – in 1:18.690, edging Latvia’s Martins Bots and Roberts Plume (1:18.862). Germany’s three-time Olympic winners, Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt, finished third (1:18.986), with Americans Dana Kellogg and Frank Ike in eighth (1:19.389).

Austria’s Madeleine Egle won her third World Cup race of the season in the women’s Singles, finishing in 1:19.200 over two races, ahead of 2021 World Champion Julia Taubitz (GER: 1:19.224) and Germany’s reigning World Champion Anna Berreiter (1:19.439). Americans Ashley Farquharson, Emily Sweeney and Summer Britcher finished 4-6-7 in 1:19.477, 1:19.602 and 1:19.678.

Two-time World Champions Jessica Degenhardt and Cheyenne Rosenthal (GER) won the women’s Doubles for the third straight time, in 1:20.178, ahead of Italy’s Andrea Voetter and Marion Oberhofer (1:20.192) and American Chevonne Forgan and Sophia Kirkby (1:20.384), who won their second medal of the season.

Fellow Americans Maya Chan and Reannyn Weiler were sixth in 1:20.553.

Austria took the team relay for their fourth win in five events, in 2:52.190 (M. Egle, Steu/Kindl, Mueller, Selina Egle/Lara Kipp), edging Germany (2:52.376), Italy (2:52.651) and the U.S. (Farquharson, Kellogg/Ike, Gustafson, Forgan/Kirkby), fourth in 2:52.838.

● Nordic Combined ● Norway’s Jarl Magnus Riiber won the first five events of the FIS World Cup season, and resumed winning in the 2024 opener in Obertsdorf (GER). He moved from second after jumping on the 106 m hill by winning the 10 km race in 25:21.0. Austria’s Johannes Lamparter, the reigning World Cup champ, moved from fourth second in 25:22.0, just a second behind. Stefan Rettenegger (AUT) got third in 25:24.3.

Riiber completed a weekend sweep by winning the 7.5 km Compact race on Sunday, leading after the jump phase and crossing first in 18:43.9, ahead of Rettenegger (18:46.1) and Germany’s Manuel Faist (18:55.7). That gives Riiber seven wins in the nine events held this season.

Norway continued undefeated in the women’s World Cup on Saturday, with Mari Leinan Lund getting her first win of the season, finishing the 5 km race in 14:36.0, comfortably ahead of teammates Ida Marie Hagen (14:59.5) and World Champion Gyda Westvold Hansen (15:52.1).

Sunday’s 5 km Compact race saw the same three medalists, with Hagen winning in 14:33.9, followed by Westvold Hansen (14:56.7) and Leinan Lund (15:14.8). So, six races this season, and six Norwegian wins.

● Ski Jumping ● The first of three stages of the inaugural PolSKI tour opened in Wisla (POL) off the 134 m hill, with Japanese star Ryoyu Kobayashi getting his first win of the season.

Kobayashi won the prestigious Four Hills Tournament by finishing second in all four events, but stepped up on Sunday to move up from fifth after the first round to first overall, scoring 144.1 for a two-jump total of 269.4. That beat first-round leader – and seasonal leader – Stefan Kraft (AUT: 264.3) and Germany’s Andreas Wellinger (262.4). Kraft now has 10 medals in 13 events held this season.

The PolSKI Tour continues in Szczyrk on Tuesday and Wednesday and finishes in Zakopane next weekend.

The FIS Women’s World Cup tour was in Sapporo (JPN), for two competitions off the 134 m hill, with the first going to four-time Worlds silver medalist Eva Pinkelnig winning her second meet of the season, scoring 195.7 points. She finished second on both jumps to beat Jenny Rautionaho (FIN: 193.3) and Eirin Kvandal (NOR: 192.5). Raitionaho, 27, won her first-ever World Cup medal; her prior best was a fifth at Engelberg and Garmisch in December.

The home fans got a chance to cheer on Sunday, as five-time Worlds medal winner Yuki Ito got her second win of the season, winning both jumps and scoring 230.1. Germany’s two-time Olympic silver winner Katharina Schmid was second (224.0) and Slovenia’s Beijing 2022 team gold medalist Nika Kriznar third (218.2).

● Snowboard ● Beijing Olympic Parallel Giant Slalom champ Benjamin Karl of Austria got his second win of the season in the World Cup Parallel Slalom in Scuol (SUI), racing to the line ahead of Beijing runner-up Tim Mastnak (SLO) in the final. Three-time World Champion Andreas Prommegger (AUT) won the bronze over Italy’s Roland Fischnaller.

Lucia Dalmasso won the all-Italian final over Jasmin Coratti, grabbing her first career World Cup victory, at age 26. Japan’s Tsubaki Miki took the bronze, in front of Claudia Riegler (AUT).

● Swimming ● Kate Douglass, the women’s 200 m Medley Worlds gold medalist highlighted the final two days of the Tyr Pro Swim Knoxville with an American Record in the 200 m breaststroke.

Douglass crushed a good field that included 2022 World Champion Lilly King in 2:19.30, breaking triple Olympic gold medalist Rebecca Soni’s 2012 U.S. mark and zoomed up to no. 4 all-time, with the no. 5 performance! King was second at 2:24.34.

Freestyle superstar Katie Ledecky, who had already won the 1,500 m and 400 m Frees, took the 800 m Free by more than 12 seconds in 8:14.97, with Paige Madden second in 8:27.64. Austrian Freestyler Felix Auboeck also won three events, taking the 200-400-800 m triple; he won the 200 m Free in 1:46.70 on Friday and the 800 m Free on Saturday in 7:51.96. Olympic champ Bobby Finke finished third in 7:55.85.

Two-time Worlds 200 m Medley runner-up Carson Foster won both Medleys, taking the 400 m race over Finke in 4:13.04 to 4:18.61, and the 200 m final against Trenton Julian, 1:58.83 to 1:58.89. Shaine Casas, the 2022 Worlds 200 m Back bronze winner, doubled in the 100 m Butterfly (51.40 vs. 51.72 for Worlds 100 m Fly bronzer Dare Rose) and the 100 m Back in 54.53, beating 50 m Back World Champion Hunter Armstrong (53.97). Sprint star Michael Andrew took the men’s 50 m Free final in 21.87.

Canada’s four-time Worlds gold winner Summer McIntosh, 17, won the 200 m Free in 1:55.41 and the 200 m Medley in 2:07.16, just beating American Alex Walsh, the 2022 World Champion (2:07.63).

Worlds bronze medalist Katharine Berkoff won the 100 m Back in 59.06 over Claire Curzan (59.11), but Tokyo Olympic relay silver winner Curzan came from behind to win the 200 m Back in 2:07.38, ahead of Isabelle Stadden (2:08.42).

Canada’s Tess Ciepulcha won the women’s 400 m Medley over Ledecky, 4:41.54 to 4:44.82. Poland’s Kasia Wasick took the 50 m Free in 24.21, beating Americans Abbey Weitzeil (24.57), Douglass (24.67) and Rio 2016 100 m Free co-gold medalist Simone Manuel (24.82).

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TSX REPORT: Colombian President all-out to bring 2027 Pan Ams back; Israel banned by IIHF for its own “safety”; Biles dishes to Vanity Fair!

Rich Perelman

January 12, 2024

tsx pix 2024-111 gustavo petro astrid rodriguez 109 — Colombian President Gustavo Petro (l) and Sports Minister Astrid Rodriguez at a news conference asking to the 2027 Pan American Games to be given back to Barranquilla (Photo: Presidencia de Colombia)

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

★ To get The Sports Examiner by e-mail: sign up here! ★

★ On now: An Athens 1896 Olympic Champion medal and Steve Genter‘s Munich ‘72 medals trio highlight a 437-item, eye-opening show by RR Auction ★

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. Colombian President in full-court press to bring Pan Am Games back
2. Israel furious at ban by IIHF for “safety and well-being”
3. IOC offers slight loosening of athlete social videos for Paris
4. U.S. anti-doping detection “thousand-fold” better
5. Biles calls return to competition “exciting” but she was “petrified”

● Gustavo Petro, the President of Colombia, said the country will pay the $8 million it owes to Panam Sports right away and wants the 2027 Pan American Games to be held in Barranquilla. He plans to visit with Panam Sports chief Neven Ilic in the next few days, after the Pan Ams were revoked on 3 January.

● The International Ice Hockey Federation has banned Israel from playing in IIHF events for its “safety and well-being.” Israel Olympic Committee chief Yael Arad replied, “we are witnessing a precedent-setting and dangerous decision that stinks of antisemitism under the guise of safety for the athletes.” Is Russia behind this?

● The International Olympic Committee issued new social-media guidelines for Paris 2024, allowing athletes to post short videos now, but not any of the competitions or ceremonies. Very limited “thank you” messages will be allowed to non-Olympic sponsors during the Games period.

● The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency medical director said the ability to detect doping has increased a “thousand-fold” with the use of new technologies, as well as the development of the Athlete Biological Passport.

● A splashy Vanity Fair feature on gymnastics icon Simone Biles reviews her return to competition, her daily routine, her marriage to Packers safety Jonathan Owens and, of course, includes some spectacular photography.

● World Championship: Ice Hockey (Canada and U.S. breeze into women’s World U-18 Champs semis in Zug) ●

● Panorama: Doping (Spain’s CELAD says it has done nothing wrong) = Russia (World Taekwondo confirms Russian and Belarusian “neutral” participation) = NCAA (major new proposals on name-image-likeness, a huge fan database and coaching assistants) = Alpine Skiing (another win for Odermatt, this time in Wengen) = Athletics (Kenyan Chepchirchir hit for doping again) = Football (Girma named top U.S. women’s player in 2023) = Shooting (2: ISSF names Bessaguet and Vennekamp top shooters of 2023; USA Shooting confirms first five 2024 Olympians) = Swimming (Ledecky, King, Douglass star at Tyr Pro Swim Knoxville) ●

1.
Colombian President in full-court press
to bring Pan Am Games back

In a Tuesday news conference, Colombian President Gustavo Petro said he will push for the restoration of the 2027 Pan American Games to Barranquilla, now a national priority (computer translation from the original Spanish):

● “We want to notify you that the 8 million dollars that, for the granting of rights to the Pan American Games, are ready. They could be turned at any time if the party to the agreement so considers it.”

● “The national government, unlike some articles that have appeared, has always been supporting the Pan American Games.”

● “Procedures, some of which we were not aware of – that is the truth – [and] non-compliance that could already been seen from the last government and fears of some officials who had who had to do with the transfer of resources at the end of the year has resulted in this bad news, let’s say, a decision by an official of the Pan American Games in America and that has led to this problem.”

● “The chancellor, Alvaro Leyva, has express authorization to communicate with Presidents of the Republic, with Chancellors, if necessary and fundamentally with the Presidents of the Olympic committees of each country throughout America, in order to prepare a majority, both in the Executive Committee of Panam Sports and the possible holding of an extraordinary assembly.”

Petro, who took office on 7 August 2022, added that he will make a side trip to Chile during a planned voyage to Antarctica and visit with Panam Sports President Neven Ilic (CHI) and to the Chilean Olympic Committee.

To this end, another emergency meeting of the Panam Sports Executive Committee was held on Thursday to discuss the issue further. A letter to the other 40 National Olympic Committees asking for interest in replacing Barranquilla as the site for the 2027 Pan Ams was circulated on 5 January, with a request for replies by 30 January.

The agreement to host the 2027 Pan American Games in Barranquilla includes a $2 million payment already made and payments of $4 million from the Colombian government at the end of 2023 and by 31 January 2024. Panam Sports announced the removal of the 2027 Games on 3 January, citing “countless breaches of current contracts.”

2.
Israel furious at ban by IIHF for “safety and well-being”

The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) announced Wednesday that it has banned Israel from its events:

“After careful consideration, the IIHF Council has decided that, due to concerns over the safety and security of all participants in the Championships, Israel will not participate in IIHF Competitions for the time being.

“In accordance with IIHF’s duty of care to protect all participants at IIHF Competitions and its obligation to create corresponding health and safety policies, the IIHF Council, within its power found in IIHF Statute has decided to restrict the Israeli National Team from participating in IIHF Championships until the safety and well-being of all participants (including Israeli participants) can be assured.

“The IIHF Council took this decision after careful consideration and based on a risk assessment, discussions with the participating countries and discussions with the Hosts.”

Israel, an IIHF member since 1991, plays in the IIHF Division II-A in men’s events and Division III-B for women and was to play in the men’s Division II Worlds in Serbia in April and the Division III women’s Worlds in March in Estonia.

An appeal against the ban is forthcoming to the Court of Arbitration for Sport by the Israel Ice Hockey Association and the Israel Olympic Committee. The Israel Olympic Committee chair, Yael Arad – a new member of the International Olympic Committee – responded furiously in a statement:

“Unfortunately, we are witnessing a precedent-setting and dangerous decision that stinks of antisemitism under the guise of safety for the athletes.

“In personal conversations I had with the chairman of the International Federation, I witnessed a disappointing lack of transparency and opacity driven by a hidden agenda that has no place in world sports.

“The International Olympic Committee is aware of and supports our positions, and we will not allow this to happen.”

The Times of Israel reported the reply of the Israeli Ice Hockey Association, which noted that “sources within the International Ice Hockey Federation suggest that the underlying cause of the decision appears to be the alleged capitulation of the Federation’s chairman, Luc Tardif [FRA], to political pressures, including influences from Russia.”

Tardif told the Russian news agency TASS that the exclusion of Israel from the men’s Division II Worlds is not related to the presence of the UAE in the tournament; the two countries re-established relations under the Abraham Accords in 2020:

“The IIHF does not compare both political situations, we do not consider these situations from a political point of view. The only question is whether we, the IIHF and the organizers, can guarantee the safety of our competitions: players, staff, judges, fans, including Israeli players and officials.

“The decision on Israel is not related to the participation of the UAE team in the World Championship. We will regularly analyze the situation with the tournament.”

Observed: Since the Israeli response to the Hamas attack against it on 7 October 2023, Russian sports officials have consistently campaigned against sanctions placed on it vs. none being placed on Israel.

It matters not to the Russians, of course, that they have been the invaders of Ukraine since February 2022 and the Israelis went into Gaza to end the continuing, deadly attacks against it, especially those of 7 October.

Those with a geopolitical view of the actions taken by Russia, and by South Africa, which has filed a case for genocide against Israel at the International Court of Justice, see the development of the anti-Israel actions as part of a larger anti-U.S. campaign by Russia to try and bring together the BRICS countries (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) on the political and sports front. This is worth watching in the future.

And any involvement of Russia with the IIHF brings back memories of former, long-time IIHF President Rene Fasel, now 73, who was the IIHF President from 1994-2021. Born in Switzerland, he is an unabashed lover of Russia and obtained Russian citizenship in 2023. Although no longer directly involved in IIHF matters, he still wields influence.

3.
IOC offers slight loosening of athlete social videos for Paris

The International Olympic Committee announced a new version of its “IOC Social and Digital Media Guidelines” for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, which allows video sharing on social-media sites during the Games:

● “From competition venues up to 1 hour before the start of your competition and after you have left the mixed zone/doping control station

● “from training venues and practice areas

● “from the Olympic Village

● “at the Opening and Closing Ceremonies and/or

● “at the Champions Park.”

Video of the sports competitions and the awards ceremonies is prohibited, however, as are commercial posts (for money or as advertising), of the medical and doping-control areas and “using artificial intelligence (AI) or any AI generated content or outputs.”

Messages supporting non-Olympic commercial sponsors continue to be limited:

“During the Games Period, you may provide one simple “thank-you” message to each of your Non-Olympic Partner personal sponsors.

“A single thank-you message to each personal Non-Olympic Partner during the Games Period can be posted to multiple platforms (posting a single identical message to multiple platforms must take place at the same time). Some NOCs may permit athletes to post additional “thank-you” messages: please check with your NOC for further details.”

New rules for “other accredited persons” have also been included, with no video allowed of any ceremonies, the competition fields of play, the Olympic Village or training or practice areas. Videos must be of two minutes or less.

No photography or video of athlete or coach areas at the venues or in the Olympic Village are allowed.

4.
U.S. anti-doping detection “thousand-fold” better

In an interview with Triathlon Magazine Canada, U.S. Anti-Doping Agency Medical Director Dr. Matthew Fedoruk expressed confidence in the continuing ability to find doping cheats, thanks to better and better tools.

He cited the Athlete Biological Passport, which tracks athlete chemistry over time, as well as better testing technology:

“A good example, in addition to the Passport, of how the science is keeping up is the increase of sensitivity of the testing over the last 10 years.

“We’ve seen roughly a thousand-fold increase in the ability to actually detect these prohibited substances in samples. With the advent of new instrumentation methodology we’re down to a trillionth of a gram of substance in a millilitre of urine. To put that in perspective, that’s like a few grains of sugar in an Olympic size swimming pool.”

Fedoruk noted, however, that the advances in technology have to be balanced against human biology:

“The thing that keeps me up at night is the detection of some of these complex substances that our bodies produce naturally that as anti-doping authorities we need to be able to differentiate what is supposed to be there, what our bodies produce, and what might be synthetic in nature.

“In many instances the molecules are virtually identical in nature, so you have to have tests in place to be able to differentiate those two in addition to using the biological passport to alert you when the markers might be abnormal.”

He also pointed out that the re-testing of older samples with advanced technology as much as 10 years later is a further deterrent. The International Testing Agency has added dozens of sanctions based on this kind of testing for the London 2012 Olympic Games and is now working on samples from Rio 2016.

USADA testing is also being expanded to younger athletes, but with new methods that can be used for wider testing use:

“Urine testing is the gold standard, but the question is do we need that level of testing at the age group level?

“Maybe we have the flexibility to implement things like dried blood spot testing or other types of testing that would analyze for a smaller subset of substances. I think as the science advances, the ability to use these innovative tools that maybe bring the cost down and allow us to apply tests to a wider range of athletes are coming through the pipeline.”

5.
Biles calls return to competition “exciting” but she was “petrified”

In a lengthy Vanity Fair cover feature posted on Wednesday (10th), gymnastics icon Simone Biles discussed her time off from gymnastics after her adventures at the Tokyo Olympic Games, her return to stardom at the 2023 Worlds, and her life now with husband (and Green Bay Packers safety) Jonathan Owens.

Of her difficulties in Tokyo, where she lost her spatial awareness during routines – “the twisties” – she faced a variety of attacks from those who felt she let the U.S. team down and others who acclaimed her as a mental-health advocate. Of the latter, she said:

“I was not okay with that. If I can be a lending hand and help people, then I’ll be open, honest, and vulnerable, but you cannot stick me in front of a crowd and say, ‘Do everything she’s doing.'”

Then came time off, which felt a lot different than the break she took after her four-gold, one bronze performance in 2016 at Rio:

“I wish I could sit here and tell you it was glorious.

“When I took a break after 2016, I had the time of my life. I was doing anything and everything. But after 2020, it was kind of depressing until I started therapy and got help. I felt like a failure. Even though I was empowering so many people and speaking out about mental health, every time I talked about my experience in Tokyo – because it obviously didn’t go the way that I had planned – it stung a little bit. But all in all, it was the best decision.”

She came back near the end of 2022 and told writer Leah Faye Cooper that she got back to her routine reasonable quickly. Copper summarized:

“By January 2023, she was back to the training schedule she currently maintains four days a week: Up at 6:20 a.m. and out the door by 6:45 for 7 a.m. practice. Home at 10:30, then lunch. She tends to her three bulldogs – Lilo, Rambo, and Zeus – then naps for an hour to an hour and a half. Then back at the gym from 2 to 5 p.m. Thursdays and Saturdays are half days, Sunday is off.”

And she returned with her customary flair to the world stage against in October in Antwerp at the FIG Artistic Worlds, winning four golds – Team, All-Around, Beam and Floor – and a Vault silver:

“I felt like I was back in my element and it was exciting, but I was truly petrified. I had the training to back it up because we worked really hard, [but] I wasn’t as confident or as comfortable as I wanted to be.”

But she appreciated the success:

“It was kind of surprising. Just taking [the] risk of allowing myself to be vulnerable in front of a crowd competing again was a win for me.”

Much more in the story, including a series of ultra-stylish images by photographer Adrienne Raquel of Biles in spectacular designer couture.

≡ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ≡

● Ice Hockey ● The U.S. and Canada continued undefeated at the IIHF women’s World U-18 Championship ongoing in Zug (SUI), both winning their quarterfinal matches handily.

Canada (4-0) shut down Switzerland by 6-0, getting two goals in the first, one in the second and three more in the third period, including two goals from forward Sienna D’Alessandro, including the opening score. The Canadians out-shot the Swiss by 54-3.

The American women, also undefeated at 4-0, blanked Germany (0-4), 4-0, with two first-period goals from forward Josie St. Martin and a 58-7 edge in shots. Forwards Haley Box and Margaret Scannell got single goals in the second and third periods.

In the semis, Canada will now face the Czech Republic (3-1), which defeated Sweden by 4-2 in its quarterfinal and the U.S. will play Finland (3-1), a 2-0 winner over Slovakia. Those matches will take place on Saturday, with the medal matches on Sunday.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Doping ● The Spanish national anti-doping agency – known as CELAD – said Wednesday that the accusations against it for possible doping cover-ups and inconsistent procedures were wrong:

“All these news items are untrue and are merely interested and biased conjectures as a result of sensationalist interpretations that are far removed from the regulations in force and from the right of every athlete.”

The statement also noted that it was not aware of any inquiry from the World Anti-Doping Agency, despite WADA issuing a statement on 5 January that included:

● Russia ● An extraordinary meeting of the World Taekwondo Council confirmed that Russian and Belarusian “neutrals” will be allowed to compete in the federation’s events:

“The Council unanimously approved the participation of Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN) in World Taekwondo recognised competitions with immediate effect, as long as the athletes have already been declared eligible at World Taekwondo promoted competitions in line with IOC recommendations.

“World Taekwondo had previously not allowed AIN athletes to compete in World Taekwondo recognised competitions due to the complexity of the eligibility verification process which requires a very strict process and funding. However, the Council agreed that AIN who had already fulfilled the eligibility criteria to compete in promoted competitions should therefore be eligible to compete in recognised competitions as well.”

The existing approvals of Russian “neutrals” have been criticized, with a 27 December 2023 letter from 193 Ukrainian athletes accusing, among others, Tokyo Olympic +87 kg gold medalist Vladislav Larin of supporting the Russian war against Ukraine. The letter also included:

“Additionally, several other Russian athletes close to obtaining Olympic licenses have also openly supported the war against Ukraine. Among them are taekwondo athletes Maxim Khramtsov, Polina Khan, Kristina Adebayo, Georgy Gurtsev, Tatiana Minina …”

The International Olympic Committee has stated in its regulations for Russian and Belarusian “neutral” athletes for Paris 2024 that it will conduct its own verification of “neutral” status.

The World Taekwondo Council report also included, ironically:

“The Council approved the World Taekwondo Risk Management Policy and creation of a Global Integrity Unit tasked with conducting the risk assessment as well as building out an integrity framework across World Taekwondo’s Continental Unions for awareness building and monitoring and enforcement of integrity practices aligned with the IOC’s approach to integrity in sport.”

● NCAA ● Details of the NCAA Division I Council proposals for name-image-likeness programs are out, with four areas identified for revision: voluntary national registration for NIL service providers, disclosure to schools of all deals of $600 or more for research purposes, standardized agreements and comprehensive NIL education. In addition, there was some attempt to reduce direct recruiting inducements:

“The proposals would also clearly define an NIL entity for purposes of NCAA rules and expressly prohibit contact between NIL entities and prospects until the prospect signs a letter of intent, participates in summer activities or practices with the team, or enrolls at the school and attends classes.”

The new proposals also better define the nature of school support for its players:

● “Schools would not be permitted to directly compensate student-athletes for the use of their NIL but could identify potential NIL opportunities for student-athletes and even facilitate deals between student-athletes and third parties.”

● “However, student-athletes should be able to retain their own representation if they choose and must ultimately retain independent authority over any resulting terms in the NIL agreement.”

● “Further, any entity that is associated with or closely aligned with a school would be subject to the same rules as the school itself when it comes to NIL and may not directly compensate a student-athlete.”

The proposals, offered during the ongoing NCAA Convention in Phoenix, could be ratified as early as April. NCAA President Charlie Baker said in his address to the delegates that he would continue to seek legislation on NIL:

“To maximize these opportunities, it will be important for Congress to provide special status to student-athletes. That way, schools and conferences can engage in NIL and enhanced educational support without turning the student-athletes into something they are definitely not, which is employees.”

Baker also explained a new initiative with sports technology firm KAGR to help identify as many as 10 million college sports fans in the next year and increase their engagement:

“With their help, we’re going to build one of the largest college sports fans databases in the country – and possibly the largest women’s sports fan database in the world.

“We should be able to provide timely, useful, actionable information to college sports fans about the teams, conferences, championships and sports they’re interested in on a personalized basis.”

Additionally, the Division I Council proposed a measure to eliminate marijuana from testing at the NCAA Championships, and will treat it like alcoholic beverages, with a “harm-reduction strategy.”

A potentially important change in coaching support was proposed, to “Permit noncoaching, sport-specific staff members in sports other than football and men’s and women’s basketball to assist in drills and other limited activities during practices.”

These items will be voted on in June.

● Alpine Skiing ● Swiss star Marco Odermatt, the reigning World Cup overall champion, won the Downhill in front of home fans on Thursday in Wengen (SUI) for his sixth World Cup win of the season.

He finished in 1:43.32, beating France’s Cyprien Sarrazin (1:43.90) and Aleksander Aamodt Kilde (NOR: 1:44.13), with American Ryan Cochran-Siegle finishing seventh (1:44.55). Sarrazin had won the prior Downhill race at the end of 2023.

With a Super-G, another Downhill and a Slalom still to go in Wengen, Odermatt now leads the seasonal standings overall and is in front in the discipline standings for the Downhill, Super-G and Giant Slalom! He’s now won nine medals this season in 13 World Cup races.

● Athletics ● The Athletics Integrity Unit announced a provisional suspension of Kenyan marathoner Sarah Chepchirchir for testosterone. The winner of the 2017 Tokyo Marathon in a still-lifetime best of 2:19:47, she already served a four-year ban from February 2019 to February 2023 for doping. Now 39, if she is suspended again, her sanction could be for eight years.

● Football ● U.S. Soccer named defender Naomi Girma as its Female Player of the Year on Thursday, the first pure defender to win the award in its 39 years.

Still just 23, she won the award in her third season with the National Team. The announcement noted that she “started all 16 games she played, helping lead the U.S. defense to its lowest ever goals against average (0.17 goals allowed per game) in a calendar year (minimum 10 games played).”

● Shooting ● The International Shooting Sport Federation named Clement Bessaguet (FRA) and Doreen Vennekamp (GER) as its men’s and women’s shooters of the year.

Bessaguet, 32, won second straight silver in the 25 m Rapid Fire Pistol at the 2023 World Championships, won at the European Games, and took medals in four of the six ISSF World Cup events.

Vennekamp, 28, won the 25 m Pistol gold at the 2023 World Championships and equaled the world record with 40/40, in Baku (AZE). She also won the ISSF World Cup Final silver medal in the same event.

USA Shooting confirmed on Thursday that five athletes have – subject to acceptance by the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee – won places at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Ivan Roe was named for the men’s 10 m Air Rifle; Mary Tucker and Sagen Maddalena were named for the women’s Air Rifle and Lexi Lagan and Katelyn Abeln will compete in the women’s 10 m Air Pistol event. Tucker, Maddalena and Lagan will all be competing in their second Olympic Games.

● Swimming ● Veteran stars shined on the second day of the USA Swimming Tyr Pro Swim Series in Knoxville.

Freestyle superstar Katie Ledecky won her second event of the meet in the women’s 400 m Freestyle in 4:03.46, a time only seven others bettered in all of 2023, and ahead of Paige Madden, whose time of 4:05.66 was her fastest since 2021.

Breaststroke star Lilly King, the Rio 100 m winner, won that race in 1:05.67, a time only six others swam better than last year (including her). She beat Ireland’s Mona McSharry (1:06.23), the world no. 7 last season, Tokyo Olympic champ Lydia Jacoby (1:06.62) and Kate Douglass (1:06.67).

Douglass, the World 200 m Medley gold winner in 2023, took the women’s 100 m Free title in 53.12, comfortably ahead of fellow Americans Gretchen Walsh (53.64), Rio 2016 champ Simone Manuel (53.73), Torri Huske (53.82) and 2023 national runner-up Abbey Weitzeil (54.00).

Canadian star Summer McIntosh, still just 17, won the 200 m Butterfly easily in 2:05.73, an event in which she is the reigning World Champion.

The men’s 100 m Freestyle was another showcase for Worlds silver winner Jack Alexy, who had the fastest qualifying time (48,28) and won the final in 48.24, besting Brooks Curry (48.68) and Matt King (48.91).

Worlds silver winner Nic Fink won the men’s 100 m Breaststroke over sprint star Michael Andrew, 1:00.36 to 1:00.41 and Austrian Martin Espernberger took the 200 m Fly in 1:56.58 to 1:56.97 for American Trenton Julian. Fellow Austrian Felix Auboeck took the men’s 400 m Free in 3:46.78, with 1,500 m winner Bobby Finke of the U.S. fourth (3:52.06).

The meet continues through Saturday. A late scratch was Olympic star Caeleb Dressel, who noted on his Instagram account that the due date for his first child is too close and that he is remaining with wife Meghan.

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TSX REPORT: Paris 2024 names first torchbearers; Hidalgo to swim in the Seine; 2027 Pan Am Games hosting fee reportedly $20 million

Rich Perelman

January 11, 2024

tsx pix 2022-726 paris 24 opcer promo pic — The Paris 2024 concept for the Opening Ceremony on the Seine (Image: Paris 2024)

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. Paris 2024 names torch-bearing teams and runners
2. Gomis resigns from Paris 2024 amid anti-Israel post
3. Hidalgo promises to swim in the Seine!
4. Paris-area hoteliers worried, public-sector staff wants bonuses
5. Story states Pan Am Games hosting fee was $20 million

● The themes, teams and captains for the Olympic Torch Relay in Paris were revealed, with 69 teams of 24 scheduled to run during the procession across France and its overseas departments from 8 May to 26 July, the day of the opening ceremony. A separate relay will be held for the Paralympic Games from 25-28 August.

● Emelie Gomis, the French women’s basketball Olympic silver medalist from 2012, resigned from the Paris 2024 board and as a paid ambassador for the Terre des Jeux program in view of her anti-Israel post on Instagram on 9 October, two days after the deadly Hamas attack on Israel.

● Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo promised to swim in the Seine River prior to the Paris 2024 opening as a demonstration of the completion of the long-promised cleaning of the river, closed by law to swimmers since 1923! Paris 2024 chief Tony Estanguet said there is no back-up plan for the opening, only the Seine.

● The Ile-de-France regional association of hotels and restaurants asked public officials – including Hidalgo – to stop being so publicly negative about the preparations for the Games. At the same time, public-sector employees are asking governments for Games-period bonuses to keep from striking.

● A story from a Colombian journalist stated that the host fee for the 2027 Pan American Games was $20 million and that the Colombian government’s failure to pay an agreed-to $4 million segment of the fee due by the end of 2023 was a key factor in the Games being taken away from Barranquilla.

● World Championship: Ice Hockey (Canada and U.S. undefeated in women’s World U-18 Champs pool play) ●

● Panorama: U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee (101-member Winter Youth Olympic Games team named) = U.S. Center for SafeSport (quadrennial athlete survey now underway) = NCAA (Division I Council passes new NIL policies) = Curling (Russian and Belarusian ban extebded) = Fencing (Ex-Russians Bida and Lokhanov asking for U.S. citizenship) = Football (Argentina and Brazil both fined over World Cup qualifier melee) = Swimming (Ledecky and Finke win 1,500s at Tyr Pro Swim Series Knoxville) ●

1.
Paris 2024 names torch-bearing teams and runners

The Paris 2024 Olympic Torch Relay will be uniquely organized, with teams of 24 individuals running in 69 segments and the captains of each team the designated torchbearer. Those teams and their captains were announced on Wednesday, with 69 teams named, with captains and the dates on which they will carry the flame.

The first team will represent “Disability Sport” on 10 May, captained by Antoine Avati, a Paralympic athlete, to underline the importance of the hosting of the first Paralympic Games to take place in France. France previously hosted the 1992 Winter Paralympic Games in Tignes-Albertville.

Teams representing all of the Olympic sports will be included in the Olympic Torch Relay, with another relay to be organized prior to the opening of the Paralympic Games. There will be 1-2 teams running each of the route, over eight-minute legs. Each is designed to be a showcase for the featured federation, for example with 24 skateboarders participating in their relay legs.

The Paris 2024 Olympic Torch Relay will have 10,000 total torchbearers – mostly individuals – from 8 May to 26 July, the day of the opening on the Seine River.

The relay captains include athletes, coaches, officials and volunteers, some of whom are well known and some not. World Rowing President Jean-Christophe Rolland will lead the rowing-themed relay segment on 21 July. Beijing 2008 BMX cycling winner Anne-Caroline Chausson, now 46, will lead the cycling segment on 19 June; five-time World Champion swimmer Camille Lacourt will carry on 19 July, and Rio 2016 women’s RS:X sailing gold medalist Charlene Picon will captain the sailing-themed team on 4 June.

The Paralympic Torch Relay will have 1,000 total torchbearers and run from 25-28 August.

2.
Gomis resigns from Paris 2024 amid anti-Israel post

The French newspaper La Provence reported Wednesday that London 2012 women’s basketball silver medalist Emilie Gomis (FRA) has resigned from her position as a member of the Paris 2024 board of directors and from her paid post as an ambassador of the Terre des Jeux program for the organizing committee.

Gomis posted an Instagram message two days after the deadly Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October showing a map of France in 1947, 1967 and 2023 being covered by the Israeli flag and asking “What would you do in this situation?” This was prior to the Israeli response and was noted as clearly anti-Israel.

The Paris 2024 ethics committee reviewed the case and the organizing committee board noted Wednesday that it “considered that this publication contravened its duty of neutrality and no longer allowed it to be able to calmly carry out its missions with Paris-2024.

“Emilie Gomis, in a shared concern for appeasement and responsibility, wished to present her resignation from her mandate as member of the Board of Directors and ambassador of the Terre de Jeux 2024 label to Paris 2024 which takes note of this.”

An organizing committee statement cited by La Provence also added:

“The members of the Board of Directors and the General Assembly were thus able to note that Emilie Gomis condemned the attacks of October 7 in Israel, all forms of anti-Semitism or discrimination, contrary to her values. Emilie Gomis also shared his regrets regarding its publication and apologized.”

Gomis, 40, had already been dismissed from the Athletes Commission of the French National Olympic Committee (CNOSF) over the same incident.

3.
Hidalgo promises to swim in the Seine!

Then-Paris mayor Jacques Chirac promised in 1990 that the Seine River, in which swimming had been banned since 1923, would be cleaned by 1993. But he did not keep that promise, even after becoming French President from 1996-2007.

Current Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, who has made the renovation of the Seine a signature priority ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, made the same promise on Wednesday, with the river-cleaning project nearing completion.

“We will swim in the Seine,” she said at the Paris City Hall, stating that prior to the opening of the Games on 26 July, “a big collective swim in the Seine” will be arranged.

“Everyone said it was impossible; we did it,” said Hidalgo, who has presided over a €1.6 billion project to clean up the Seine and its main tributary, the Marne, open for public swimming, at least at specific sites. Three sites for public use are envisioned to be opened after the Games period. (€1 = $1.10 U.S.)

During the Games, the Seine will host the open-water swimming competitions and the triathlons.

As for the opening ceremony, to be held on the Seine on 26 July, Paris 2024 chief Tony Estanguet said in a radio interview:

“Today, with the artistic director for the ceremony, Thomas Jolly, we are working on an opening ceremony on the Seine. Our teams are not working on any other location.”

French President Emmanuel Macron had said in an interview that the ceremony could be moved in case of a security emergency.

4.
Paris-area hoteliers worried, public-sector staff wants bonuses

The worrying season prior to the Olympic Games has descended on Paris. The Ile-de-France Hotel and Restaurant Group (GHR) sent an open letter to all levels of governments – national, regional and local – asking to tone down their negative commentaries – “anxious communications” – about the Games.

Wrote GHR President Pascal Mousset:

“Why order Ile-de-France residents to remain teleworking during the Olympics? On the one hand, our workers cannot do it (as well as many others), and on the other hand, we do not wish to relive a situation which would be similar to that of confinements.

“Why acknowledge that transport will be a problem during the Olympics? A defeatist speech will not win us. Don’t we still have time to imagine alternatives and concrete solutions?

“In general, we would very much like all the authorities that you represent to hold, jointly and severally, a positive and responsible discourse. We cannot be helpless victims of dissonant and negative discourse.”

Mousset refers to multiple comments from government officials, including Paris Mayor Hidalgo and Prefect of Police Laurent Nunez, about conditions in Paris this summer, all expressing concern over security and transport, as well as Macron’s worries over the opening on the Seine.

At the same time, Agence France Presse reported that public-sector unions are pushing for extra pay during the Games:

“Tense negotiations between the government and police trade unions over Olympics bonuses are underway, with one union holding a first protest on Wednesday to demand a one-off payment of 1,500 euros per officer.

“Health workers, railway staff and other public sector staff from street cleaners to metro drivers are all formulating bonus pay demands, with Macron’s centrist government desperate to avoid strikes or disruption during the global showpiece.”

Observed: As veterans of Olympic and other major-event organizing committees know, nothing is easy. But the hoteliers and restauranteurs are also right: these things need to get worked out and the show must go on.

5.
Story states Pan Am Games hosting fee was $20 million

According to a story by Colombian journalist Jairo Giraldo Jimenez that appeared on the AIPS Web site Wednesday, the hosting fee for the 2027 Pan American Games agreed to by Colombia – with the event to take place in Barranquilla – was $20 million U.S.:

“Once the Atlantico capital was designated as the host of the grand event in 2021 and received the flag in 2023 in Santiago, Chile, the commitment of the national government was to pay a total of eight million dollars to Panam Sports, divided into two instalments of four million each.

“The agreed terms were as follows:

“● $2 million (already paid) from the Pumarejo [Barranquilla] City Hall.
“● $4 million by December 31, 2023, from the Ministry of Sports.
“● $4 million by January 31, 2024, from the Ministry of Sports.
“● $4 million for the year 2025.
“● $4 million for the year 2026.
“● $2 million for the year 2027.”

The $4 million payment due by 31 December 2023 was not paid and triggered the removal of the Games from Barranquilla. As noted in Wednesday’s post, a letter from Panam Sports has asked for National Olympic Committees with interest in the event to signal their interest by 30 January 2024.

Inquiries are being made by the Colombian Congress about the failure to make the payments, with the current Sports Minister, Astrid Rodriguez, being questioned; she took over the post in March of 2023. Another complication was the concern of Colombian President Gustavo Petro about the costs of the event, and a suggestion that the 2027 Pan Ams could be spread to venues also in the Caribbean.

The story noted interest from Paraguay, Brazil and Mexico for the 2027 Pan Ams, but also noted “that Chile and the United States are also expressing interest.” The U.S. reference is odd (and likely incorrect) with the 2028 Olympic Games coming to Los Angeles, but there are certainly American cities for which the Pan Ams would make sense at a future time. The U.S. has not hosted a Pan Ams since Indianapolis in 1987.

≡ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ≡

● Ice Hockey ● Two-time defending champ Canada and the U.S. – eight-time champions – finished undefeated in pool play at the IIHF women’s World U-18 Championship ongoing in Zug (SUI).

Both teams were 3-0, with the Canadians outscoring their opponents by 29-1 and the Americans by 19-2. In the quarterfinals, Canada will play the Swiss (0-3) and the U.S. will face Germany (0-3). Third-seed Sweden (2-1) will play the Czech Republic (1-2), and fourth-seed Finland (2-1) will match up with Slovakia (1-2).

The semifinals will be re-seeded and be played on Saturday (13th) with the medal matches on Sunday (14th). The U.S. and Canada have faced off against each other in the final of this tournament 13 times previously.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee ● The USOPC unveiled a 101-athlete team for the upcoming Winter Youth Olympic Games in Gangwon (KOR) beginning on 19 January:

“USA’s delegation will include 101 total athletes representing ten National Governing Bodies and ranging in age from 13 to 18. Team USA will compete in alpine skiing, cross country skiing, freeski, freestyle dual moguls, snowboard, ski jumping, nordic combined, ice hockey, biathlon, bobsled, skeleton, curling, luge and speedskating over 13 total days of competition.”

This is the largest-ever U.S. delegation to the Winter YOG, having sent 95 in 2020, 62 in 2016 and 63 at the inaugural edition in 2012.

● U.S. Center for SafeSport ● The 2024 edition of the SafeSport Athlete Culture and Climate Survey is underway, with participants asked to relate abusive experiences or other misconduct.

The survey is being operated through 9 February by a third party, Pacific Research and Evaluation, to ensure complete anonymity for respondents, with the results due in May or June. The first survey of this type was done in 2020 and attracted almost 4,000 responses.

● NCAA ● The Associated Press reported that the NCAA Division I Council approved new policies concerning name-image-likeness programs:

“The policy calls for creation of a database of deals that could be accessed by athletes and schools, a registry of companies that want to work with athletes and recommendations for standardized components of a NIL contract.”

Further details are forthcoming; the action took place during the ongoing NCAA Convention in Phoenix, Arizona.

● Curling ● The World Curling Federation board extended the suspension of Russia and Belarus, through the end of the 2023-24 season:

“Both Member Associations had previously been excluded from participating in World Curling events until 31 December 2023. This has now been extended following ongoing concerns that their involvement would damage the integrity of the events due to the conflict in Ukraine.”

● Fencing ● USA Today reported that former Russian fencers Sergey and Violetta Bida – husband and wife – and Konstantin Lokhanov are pursuing U.S. citizenship, with a view to possible qualification for the 2024 Olympic Games.

The story said that USA Fencing and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee are supporting the request for fast-tracked citizenship. Sergey Bida, 30, was a Tokyo Olympian for Russia and won a Team silver medal in Epee and was the 2019 Worlds silver medalist in Epee. His wife, Violetta, also left Russia after the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine and came to the U.S.; she is now pregnant.

Lokhanov, 25, stands 6-7 and was 24th in Tokyo in the men’s Sabre and was a member of the seventh-place Russian team entry.

Neither is guaranteed a place on the U.S. team if they do get citizenship. Both of the Bidas have had criminal charges filed against them in Russia for leaving the country as they were members of military reserve units.

● Football ● The 22 November violence at Brazil’s Maracana Stadium in Rio in the FIFA World Cup qualifier with Argentina has resulted in fines for both national federations. FIFA fined Brazil CHF 50,000 (CHF 1 = $1.18 U.S. today) and Argentina was fined CHF 20,000, both for “Order and security at matches.”

Those were the only fines those federations received. Argentina was also fined CHF 100,000 for team misconduct (delayed kick-off), discriminatory behavior by supporters and an invasion of the field of play for matches against Ecuador on 7 September and Uruguay on 16 November. Half of the fine must go to “a plan against discrimination” with the other half suspended for six months and one home match will be held with 50% of available seats.

Brazil was also fined CHF 5,000 for team misconduct (delayed kick-off) and security issues for an 8 September 2023 match against Bolivia, and CHF 15,000 for team misconduct in a game against Uruguay on 17 October 2023.

● Swimming ● The USA Swimming Tyr Pro Swim Series opened in Knoxville on Wednesday night, with the 1,500 m races. Superstar Katie Ledecky won the women’s race by more than 52 seconds in 15:38.81, the no. 17 performance all-time … of which she has all 17! Ashley Wall was second overall in 16:31.13 as the winner of the third section.

Tokyo Olympic champ Bobby Finke took the men’s 1,500 in 15:04.43, more than 10 seconds up on Austria’s Felix Auboeck (15:14.70), the 2021 World Short-Course 400 m Free gold medalist.

The meet has loads of big names, including Tokyo superstars Caeleb Dressel and Ledecky, using the meet as a check on their training progress heading toward the Olympic Trials in June, with competition continuing through Saturday.

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TSX REPORT: Panam Sports asks for new 2027 Pan Am Games hosts; 193 Ukrainian athletes sign petition to keep Russian war promoters out!

Rich Perelman

January 10, 2024

Ceremonia de clausura Juegos Panamericanos Santiago 2023 / Closing ceremony Santiago 2023 Pan American Games — Colorful closing of the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile. (Photo by Andres Pina/Santiago 2023 vía Photosport).

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. Panam Sports asks for Pan Am Games hosts for 2027 by 31 January
2. 193 Ukrainian athletes ask for exclusion of Russian war supporters
3. Russian Olympic Committee appeal vs. IOC coming on 26 January
4. USATF clarifies marathon Olympic selection rules
5. France Alps 2030 and Salt Lake City 2034 already talking

● Panam Sports wasted no time asking for new hosts for the 2027 Pan American Games after removing the event from Colombia last week, asking the other National Olympic Committees in the hemisphere to signal their interest by 30 January. Paraguay appears to be a sure bidder, with possible interest from Brazil and Mexico.

● A letter signed by 193 Ukrainian athletes asks the governments of France and Paris, along with the Paris 2024 organizers, not to allow specific Russian athletes who have supported Russia’s war against Ukraine to participate in this summer’s Olympic Games. Photographs of three athletes at pro-war events were included.

● The Russian Olympic Committee appeal against its suspension by the International Olympic Committee will be heard at the Court of Arbitration for Sport on 26 January. The suspension was directly linked to activities connected with the Russian invasion of eastern and southern Ukraine.

● USA Track & Field issued a more detailed selection procedure for the men’s and women’s marathon, with the Trials coming up on 3 February in Orlando. In the new document, issued on 27 December, the federation is freed from having to pick the top three finishers or one or more are not “qualified” on time or ranking.

● The French Alps and Salt Lake City bids were selected for “Targeted Dialogue” with the IOC in late November, an important step in becoming Olympic Winter Games hosts. Just six weeks later, a delegation from one of the French regions involved is visiting the Utah Olympic Park to exchange ideas and possible cooperation.

● Panorama: World Anti-Doping Agency (Gabon now complaint with World Anti-Doping Code) = Curling (World Curling now managing governance of Floor Curling) = Football (Brazilian judge restores elected CBF officials) = Swimming (USA Swimming memberships down in 2023, returning in 2024) = Triathlon (29 won $100,000+ in prize money in 2023) ●

1.
Panam Sports asks for Pan Am Games hosts for 2027
by 31 January

Moving on from removing the 2027 Pan American Games from Barranquilla, Colombia last week, Panam Sports President Neven Ilic (CRC) sent a letter last Friday to the other 40 National Olympic Committees in the Americas, asking for expressions of interest to host the 2027 Pan Ams:

“Panam Sports would like to know if your country is interested in hosting the XX Pan American Games in 2027. If you country wishes to host them, you must notify us in writing before January 31, 2024.”

The required documentation to be formally considered includes:

● Letter of intent from the National Olympic Committee.
● Letter of intent from the applying city.
● Letter of intent from the regional government (state or province).

In each case, a promise to respect the Panam Sports rules and an eventual host contract is required. Then there is the most important guarantee:

“A Letter signed by the highest governmental authority of the country in which the Applicant City is located in which the Government guarantees the financing of all costs related to the project of the XX Pan American Games 2027, together with respecting the Panam Sports Constitution, the Regulations of the Pan American Games and any agreements entered into by Panam Sports with the Applicant City and/or the Organizing Committee including, without limitation, the Host City Contract.”

A guarantee of access for athletes, officials and media to the country for purposes of attending the Pan Ams is also required.

While the Colombian government wants to get the Games back, a bid is expected from Paraguay, likely for the national capital of Asuncion. Mexico is also a possible destination, possibly for Guadalajara, which hosted the Pan Ams in 2011. A bid for Brazil for Sao Paulo to be the 2031 host could be moved up to 2027.

2.
193 Ukrainian athletes ask for exclusion of Russian war supporters

A letter was sent Tuesday by a group of 193 Ukrainian athletes to French President Emmanuel Macron, Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo and to Paris 2024 President Tony Estanguet, asking that specific Russian athletes not be allowed to compete at this summer’s Olympic Games because of war-supporting activities.

This is a new strategy, focusing on the International Olympic Committee’s regulations that Russian or Belarusian athletes who have supported Russian’s ongoing war against Ukraine not be allowed to compete in Paris. The letter specifically calls out three athletes with photographs at rallies:

● Vladislav Larin (taekwondo), Tokyo Olympic men’s +80 kg gold medalist
● Zaurbek Sidakov (wrestling), Tokyo Olympic men’s 74 kg Freestyle gold medalist
● Zair Uguev (wrestling), Tokyo Olympic men’s 57 kg Freestyle gold medalist

It also accuses nine others who “are close to obtaining Olympic licenses,” including Tokyo Taekwondo men’s 80 kg champ Maksim Khramtsov and Freestyle Wrestling men’s 97 kg winner Abdulrashid Sadulaev of complicity with the Russian war effort against Ukraine:

“We insist on not allowing these athletes and cancelling the licenses in these sports. An athlete who promotes war, an athlete who supports the actions of an aggressor country, should not have the right to compete for licenses at the Olympic Games.

“With this letter, we appeal to you to continue your support and advocate for the prohibition of participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in competitions for licenses at the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris. Such a ban can only strengthen and promote the worthy goals of peace and equality embodied by the Olympic movement and sport in general, and prevent the XXXIII Olympic Games from becoming a propaganda event of the Russian regime. …

“As long as Russian forces bombard Ukraine, targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure, and as long as Russian soldiers remain on Ukrainian soil, Russian and Belarusian athletes should not participate in sporting competitions.”

The message is signed by 193 Ukrainian athletes, including Olympic medalists such as Oleg Verniaiev (gymnastics) and Zhan Beleniuk (wrestling), and 2023 World Athletics women’s high jump winner Yaroslava Mahuchikh.

Observed: This is a clever new direction, alleging war support among athletes either qualified for Paris 2024 and close to it, in judo, taekwondo and wrestling. The IOC has said that it will conduct its own review of athletes from Russian and Belarus who are qualified by their respective International Federation before allowing their participation in Paris.

Having lost the battle with the IOC to exclude all Russians, the Ukrainian signatories are asking the French to keep them out, although Macron and Estanguet have emphasized that the question of participation is up to the IOC.

3.
Russian Olympic Committee appeal vs. IOC coming on 26 January

The appeal by the Russian Olympic Committee against its suspension by the International Olympic Committee will be heard at the Court of Arbitration for Sport on 26 January.

The suspension, on 12 October 2023, was in response to the Russian takeover of sports organizations that had been part of the Ukraine sports governance system prior to the Russian invasion that began in February 2022. Per the IOC’s announcement:

“The unilateral decision taken by the Russian Olympic Committee on 5 October 2023 to include, as its members, the regional sports organisations which are under the authority of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Ukraine (namely Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia) constitutes a breach of the Olympic Charter because it violates the territorial integrity of the NOC of Ukraine, as recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in accordance with the Olympic Charter.”

Being on suspension means that the Russian Olympic Committee receives no IOC funding and will be bypassed in any and all communications with Russian athletes who might be qualified to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

The ROC filed the appeal n 6 November.

4.
USATF clarifies marathon Olympic selection rules

A 27 December 2023 revision of the USA Track & Field selection procedures for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team has clarified who can make the team based on the outcome of the 3 February Olympic Marathon Trials.

The key to all of this is the qualifying approach of World Athletics. It has required qualification via difficult entry standards of 2:08:10 for men and 2:26:50 for women since November 2022, or via its “Road to Paris” quota place system, with the top 65 individuals (limited to three per country) considered qualified as of their standing on 30 January 2024. Further, an “unqualified” athlete may replace a “qualified” athlete if the replacement athlete has run 2:11:30 (men) or 2:29:30 (women) in the qualifying window.

Got all that?

With 20 days to go to 30 January, the U.S. has three women’s qualifying spots already reserved on time, with 13 women bettering the 2:26:50 standard. Moreover, 19 American women ran faster than 2:29:30 (so far), allowing them to allow be eligible to compete in Paris.

The men’s situation is tighter, as only two have met the 2:08:10 qualifying standard – Conner Mantz at 2:07.47 and Clayton Young at 2:08:00 – both at the Chicago Marathon. There are 14 more who have run 2:11:30 or better in 2023, and it is possible that a third quota spot would be granted to the U.S. based on the World Athletics World Rankings. Of course, a third spot could come from a U.S. man running 2:08:10 or faster at the Trials race or before.

The prior selection procedure document stated:

“The top three (3) place finishers for both the men and the women at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials – Men’s and Women’s Marathon, February 3, 2024 (the ‘Selection Event’) will select themselves via head-to-head competition for positions on the 2024 Olympic Games Team for the 2024 Olympic Games, provided they are each a Qualified Athlete at the conclusion of the Selection Event.”

Now, the procedure reads differently (strikeouts and emphasis added):

“The top ~~three (3)~~ place finishers for both the men and the women at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials – Men’s and Women’s Marathon, February 3, 2024 (the ‘Selection Event’) will select themselves via head-to-head competition for each of the available U.S. quota positions on the 2024 Olympic Games Team for the 2024 Olympic Games, provided they athletes are each a Qualified Athlete (as defined above) or have achieved at least 2:29:30 (women)/2:11:30 (men) performance during the qualification period, as of at the conclusion of the Selection Event.”

Essentially, this frees USATF from the problem of committing to the top three placers at the Marathon Trials if one or more are not qualified, meaning they have not run 2:11:30 (men) or 2:29:30 (women).

This is specifically noted in a following section, which previously stated:

“[I]f an athlete declines to participate on the Team or is not a Qualified Athlete at the conclusion of the Selection Event, USATF will offer that position to the next highest placing Qualified Athlete finishing in the Selection Event.”

With some technical changes, that process remains in place. A new section was added that restated what will happen in case the Trials can’t be held or is ended before its conclusion, now stating:

“USATF will select athletes who are either Qualified Athletes or have achieved at least 2:29:30 (women)/2:11:30 (men) performance during the Qualification Period.”

The new regulations further offer an opportunity for selection beyond the 30 January “Road to Paris” quota place system, now allowing “Any athlete ranked higher than the 81st athlete on the filtered Quota Place Road to Paris rank list on May 5, 2024 will be considered qualified.”

These changes are good in that they provide added clarity to the selection rules well in advance of the 3 February trials race in Orlando, Florida.

5.
France Alps 2030 and Salt Lake City 2034 already talking

The French Alps bid for the 2030 Olympic Winter Games and the Salt Lake City-Utah bid for the 2034 Winter Games were selected for “targeted dialogue” by the International Olympic Committee in late November, with a view to confirming their selections as hosts this summer.

About six weeks later, Salt Lake City will welcome a delegation from one of the two regions in the French bid – Provence Alpes-Cote d’Azur (PACA) – for a tour of the Utah Olympic Park on Thursday.

A legacy of the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, the park hosted bobsled, luge and skeleton and the ski jumping competitions (including in the Nordic Combined). An announcement of the tour explained:

“The visit – part of a larger tour of Utah organized through the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity – is aimed to exchange ideas and dialogue on ongoing Olympic and Paralympic legacy efforts, future Games hosting visions, and overall partnership opportunities between Utah and the French region.”

The French bid also includes the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes (AURA) region.

Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur Region President Renaud Muselier will lead the visitors and will meet with – among others – Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games Fraser Bullock, Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation President Colin Hilton and Park City Mayor Nann Worel.

It’s a good start on how the two probable organizing committees can help each other; the Paris 2024 and Los Angeles 2028 organizing committees have also held mutual-aid discussions.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● World Anti-Doping Agency ● Gabon completed the integration of the World Anti-Doping Code into its national legal framework and has been reclassified as compliant by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

This means that the only non-compliant signatories to the Code as North Korea, Russia, the Olympic Council of Asia and the International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation. Nigeria and Venezuela are contesting WADA claims of non-compliance at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

● Curling ● Interesting and potentially impactful cooperation between World Curling and Rock Solid Productions, a Toronto, Canada company which has created surfaces and equipment to create curling competitions without ice.

“Floor Curling” and “Street Curling” are both captivating possibilities for a much more widespread interest in the sport and Rock Solid is now officially tied in with World Curling as a development partner.

World Curling has standardized rules for Floor Curling and will manage the governance of the discipline. World Curling Federation President Beau Welling (USA) explained:

“We’ve seen substantial membership growth over the last number of years but many of our younger members don’t have access to ice to practice. Floor curling has a track record of successfully introducing curling to the masses and this new partnership will allow us to take it one step further by introducing tournaments to the off-ice discipline.”

● Football ● A 4 January ruling by a Brazilian Supreme Court justice restored Ednaldo Rodrigues as the head of the Brazilian football confederation (CBF), ending (for now) a possible clash with FIFA over government interference.

A lower court had ruled in December that a CBF election in 2022 was improperly held and removed Rodrigues and other electees, triggering concerns over governmental interference into sport, which has now been averted. The Brazilian Supreme Court will consider the ruling in full soon.

● Swimming ● USA Swimming reported a 3.9% decline in membership in 2022-23, but appears to be rebounding already in 2023-24.

SwimSwam.com reported that after the pandemic caused membership to drop considerably in 2020-21, total memberships rocketed back up (the federation’s membership years runs from 1 September to 31 August):

● 2019-20: 363,075
● 2020-21: 328,312
● 2021-22: 392,813
● 2022-23: 377,585

USA Swimming said that memberships for 2023-24 have already reached 297,000, on pace to easily surpass last year’s total.

● Triathlon ● Trirating.com provided a detailed examination of prize money won in the sport in 2023, with most of it coming from Ironman and Pro Triathlon Organization (PTO) races, but also from the World Triathlon Championship Series. The top earners:

1. $335,788: Anne Haug (GER)
2. $325,775: Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR)
3. $323,821: Ashleigh Gentile (AUS)
4. $281,700: Taylor Knibb (USA)
5. $246,760: Lucy Charles-Barclay (GBR)

A total of 29 athletes earned $100,000 or more in 2023, vs. 33 in 2022. In total, 818 athletes won prize money in 2023, vs. 762 in 2022.

Total prize money rebounded in 2022 after Covid-impacted years in 2020 and 2021, to $15.011 million, but was significantly down to $12.493 million in 2023. About a third came from Ironman and 70.3-branded races and 30% from PTO events. World Triathlon Championship Series races accounted for 14.7%.

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TSX REPORT: French poll shows confidence, some concerns on Paris 2024; IOC demands more women involved; Retton still recovering

Rich Perelman

January 9, 2024

tsx pix 2023-1114 paris 24 mascot Phryge coffee — A great graphic by Paris 2024 of its Olympic Phryge mascot taking a coffee break in Paris.

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. French confident on Paris 2024, but worried on security, transport
2. IOC pushing for more women at Paris 2024
3. World Athletics chief Coe says doping will never be wiped out
4. Parsons underscores Paralympics’ role for change
5. Retton says she has a long road to recovery ahead

● The latest polling on French attitudes on the Paris 2024 Olympic Games shows some confidence that the event will be a success, including the opening on the Seine, but with significant concerns on security and transport.

● The International Olympic Committee has told the National Olympic Committees that it expects every delegation to send both men and women to the Paris Games and that both male and female flagbearers for the opening are expected.

● World Athletics President Sebastian Coe (GBR) said that doping will never be completely eradicated because of the possibilities of financial gain: “it’s human nature.”

● International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons (BRA) said that the Paris 2024 Paralympics will be spectacular, but most importantly will advance the IPC’s accessibility and inclusion agenda. That’s what is really important.

● Gymnastics icon Mary Lou Retton, 55, said that her recovery from a near-death bout of pneumonia will take time, but that she was deeply touched by the public support of her recovery and has a lot to live for.

● Panorama: Los Angeles 2028 (Kolesinkov says 50 m Backstroke will be added to LA28 program!) = Athletics (2: Bates out of U.S. marathon trials; Lyles wants world records, more meets in big cities in 2024) = Bobsled & Skeleton (U.S. federation opens athlete commercial marketplace with Opendorse) = Field Hockey (FIH celebrates 100th anniversary!) = Football (German great Beckenbauer passes at 78) = Shooting (Lagan, Tucker, Roe lead five Paris qualifiers at U.S. trials) = Taekwondo (upsets at USA Taekwondo national team qualifier) ●

1.
French confident on Paris 2024, but worried on security, transport

Confident but concerned is probably the best way to characterize the newest poll from the Odoxa public-opinion firm in France, releasing a new poll on the public’s view of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games this summer, with 200 days to go.

The survey of 992 adults aged 18 and over on 3-4 January notably showed:

● 61% are confident in the success of the Games vs. 37% who are worried; the confidence factor is down seven points from the prior poll in October 2023.

● 59% are confident in the success of the opening ceremony on the Seine River vs. 39% worried; the confidence is down 12 points from the prior poll.

● Only 39% believe the “work” will be completed on time, down five points from the previous poll, vs. 59% who believe it will not.

● Only 33% are confident in the security measures, down by four points, vs. 65% who are worried.

● Only 24% believe the transportation programs will work as designed, down nine points, vs. 74% who are worried.

This poll reflects the police plan to require Paris residents to essentially obtain a free pass (a QR code) to access specific areas of Paris during the Games which have Olympic events taking place, although the specific areas to be regulated have not been disclosed.

In terms of public interest in the events, 55% said they intended to follow the Games and 42% said they would follow the Paralympics; 58% said they would follow both. That’s a much higher rate than for the other major 2024 events, such as the Euro 2024 football tournament (42%), the Six Nations Rugby tournament (42%), the 2024 Tour de France (39%) or the 2024 French Open tennis tournament (32%).

Observed: These results track with the situation in past Games where pessimism creeps in at the start of the Olympic year, but rises quickly later in the process, especially when the Olympic Torch Relay begins. The lack of confidence in security and transportation also reflects the current situation in France, which suffered a terrorist incident in early December where a German tourist was stabbed to death near the Eiffel Tower by a French national who said he was angered by “so many Muslims dying in Afghanistan and in Palestine,” and comments from Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo that the transit system upgrades planned to be completed prior to the Games will not finish in time.

Against the public concerns are sales of more than 7.6 million tickets and more than 200,000 applications for volunteer work against 45,000 identified positions.

2.
IOC pushing for more women at Paris 2024

Japan’s Kyodo News reported on a communication to the National Olympic Committees, asking firmly for more representation for women at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Under current president Thomas Bach (GER), the IOC has made gender equality a main focus of its reform efforts, and has trumpeted Paris for the first-ever gender-equal participation in the Games, with 5,250 men and 5,250 women (10,500 total).

But it is not stopping there, asking the NOCs to ensure that at least one female is included in all teams and that the flagbearers include a man and a woman (two are now allowed). The story noted that while 91% of the NOCs had male and female flagbearers, not all did, and that:

“[T]he delegations from Brunei, Suriname, the United Arab Emirates, and Vanuatu did not include a single female in the Tokyo Olympics due to the pandemic that forced the event to be postponed for one year until 2021.”

The IOC message also asked for more women on staff, citing statistics of only 13% of women as coaches and 19% as team leaders, and less than 30% overall.

3.
World Athletics chief Coe says doping will never be wiped out

Speaking on the “Up Front with Simon Jordan” podcast, World Athletics President Sebastian Coe (GBR) said that despite extensive efforts, it’s impossible to completely end doping in sports. But it’s much better now than it was:

“I feel like we’re now in much safer territory when it comes to doping.

“Will we ever get to the utopia of a sport that is drug-free? No, of course not, it’s human nature, risk versus reward.

“If you’re a street kid, in some countries the risk versus reward is huge and if you get caught and are returned to the street then that’s nothing ventured nothing gained, so it is a challenge.

“I think we’re in much better territory with doping, we have the systems in place now. Ideally, we wouldn’t be having to spend £8 million a year on an integrity unit, but I would rather have the short-term embarrassment of a high-profile positive test, than have the gentle decline into the morality of a knacker’s yard. (£1 = $1.28 U.S. today)

“For me, weeding out the cheats doesn’t make me feel good for exposing them, it’s more about protecting the clean athletes.”

The Athletics Integrity Unit, founded in 2017 and funded by World Athletics, has been an energetic force against doping in the sport and the concept has been copied by an expanding number of International Federations, including aquatics, biathlon and tennis.

But it has its hands full trying to contain doping issues in Russia (90 ineligibles), and more recently in Kenya, with 71 people listed on the “ineligible” list at present.

4.
Parsons underscores Paralympics’ role for change

The main role of the Paralympic Games and the Paralympic movement worldwide is to increase accessibility and inclusion. That was emphasized by International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons (BRA) in a Kyodo interview published Sunday:

“It’s a fundamental piece of our DNA. The Paralympic movement was created by Sir Ludwig Guttmann [GBR] 70-something years ago to include persons with disability through sport. That’s what we try to achieve.”

“We try to present the Games as an example that if you give opportunities to persons with disabilities, they can excel – and not only in sport. We believe that sport is a very visible phenomenon so people in a 10-second athletic race, people get it, because it’s sport, because it’s so powerful.

“So, we play our part in trying to make people understand that difference is a strength, that you need to respect difference, that the world is a more interesting and better place if we are able to respect each other’s differences. We know that sport cannot solve or cure all the problems in the world, but we believe it’s a very powerful way to change mentality.

“We saw it in Japan, for example, with the [2021] Games. We saw a big change in mentality, and how Japan perceives persons with disability, and now they are being more present in society.”

He was highly enthusiastic about the Paris Paralympic Games, noting:

“There are many projects in Paris and in France…to change perceptions. And of course, the games will be a catalyst for the acceleration. So, I think the combination of the two will provide a huge improvement in the quality of life of the 30 million French people with disabilities.

“In general, I believe these will be the most spectacular Games in history, due to the combination of the sport, the crowds and the venues and Paris. The high level of Paralympic sport is more evident than ever before.”

5.
Retton says she has a long road to recovery ahead

Olympic gymnastics icon Mary Lou Retton appeared in an interview on NBC’s “Today” show and said she is making a slow recovery from the pneumonia that nearly killed her in October.

“I’m not great yet. I know it’s going to be a really long road.”

She explained that she had rarely opened up about her medical conditions and explained that she had gone through more than 30 “orthopedic-type” operations over the years. Now 55, the astonishing $459,324 raised from 8,319 donors has allowed her medical insurance and give her the support needed to pursue her recovery.

But it was close:

“This is serious, and this is life. I am so grateful to be here. I am blessed to be here because there was a time when they were about to put me on life support.

“When you face death in the eyes, I have so much to look forward to. I’m a fighter and I’m not going to give it up.”

She was also struck by the outpouring of support she received:

“I just thought I was a washed up, old athlete; but the love, it touched me. Now that I’m alive and I made it through, there’s so many more positives than negatives.”

Retton was just 16 when she famously won the Olympic All-Around gold at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games and became the first female athlete to be pictured on the front of a Wheaties box. She was found at home alone, and ill, by a neighbor, who took her to a hospital; she was released, but back in another hospital a day later when her situation turned grave, but ultimately rebounded.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Olympic Games 2028: Los Angeles ● Will World Aquatics be allowed to add the long-sought 50 m distances in backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly in 2028? Russia’s Kliment Kolesnikov, the world-record holder in the 50 Back (23.55), thinks so. He told the Russian news agency TASS:

“I heard that to Los Angeles, they will add the ‘fifty,’ so that’s it: I’m going to perform at 50 meters on the back.

“It turns out that I will continue my career for another five years, although, of course, now I say this not without a share of irony. But to go to the Olympic Games in the 50-meter backstroke would really be fun.

“Basically, with each year gradually the thoughts and approach to swimming will change, the goals will also change. It may be that by 2028 I will be done with swimming altogether, but to go for a fifty, as I said, would be cool.”

Kolesnikov, 23, won the 2020 Olympic silver in the 100 m Back and bronze in the 100 m Free. No decision will be announced on the actual program of events for 2028 until after the Paris Games are concluded, possibly in December of this year or early in 2025. World Aquatics has been asking to add the 50 m distances beyond Freestyle for some time, but has run into questions about its overall athlete total and what reductions it would make in other events to keep its athlete number the same (or less) at the Olympic Games..

● Athletics ● U.S. marathoner Emma Bates, the 2021 Chicago Marathon runner-up and seventh at the 2022 Worlds (2:23:18: no. 10 all-time U.S.) said in an Instagram video that she will not be running at the U.S. Olympic Trials in February as she has not had enough time to prepare after suffering a foot injury at the Chicago Marathon in October and another injury in December.

She ran 2:22:10 for fifth at Boston in 2023 and was a clear contender for the U.S. team. Now 31, she explained, “we just know that there’s not enough time to be where I need to be” and added in her post:

“I don’t really know what to say. I don’t really know how to feel. … This one hurts a lot. But I’ll be ok. I’ll be ok.”

U.S. sprint superstar Noah Lyles told World Athletics in a look-ahead to 2024 that he’s looking for “three gold medals at the Olympics and a world record,” and says he’s looking to run “9.4″ for the 100 m and 19.10 for the 200 m, both of which would be world records.

And he is looking to making the sport more interesting and more attractive as well:

“I’d definitely like to see more walk-ins; now that people have seen them, I feel that we can actually organize it a lot better and find the track meets that want to partner up with it. And let’s get some track meets in some major cities in the U.S.: that’s truly what I want to see.”

● Bobsled & Skeleton ● If it works for college athletes, why not for bobsledders and skeleton racers?

USA Bobsled & Skeleton announced the opening of “a dedicated bobsled and skeleton marketplace to help athletes increase and simplify their personal brand promotional efforts.”

The program is operated through Opendorse, one of the leading name-image-likeness marketers in the collegiate athletics space, with USABS athletes available for personal sponsorships, appearances, social media posts and other opportunities.

Fourteen athletes are currently listed in the marketplace, including Beijing 2022 Olympic Monobob gold medalist Kaillie Humphries. She is offering individuals opportunities for a personal video salute, appearance and social media post, starting as low as $125!

Also in the marketplace is former sprint star Manteo Mitchell, a member of the U.S. Olympic track & field team in 2012 and who completed with a broken leg (!) in the heats of the men’s 4×400 m relay, winning a silver medal as the U.S. was second in the final. He now competes in Bobsled, trying to complete a rare summer-winter medal double.

● Field Hockey ● The Federation Internationale de Hockey (FIH) marked its 100th anniversary on Sunday, having been founded in 1924, in Paris (FRA) in a meeting hosted by the French federation.

The initial members were Austria, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, France, Hungary, Spain and Switzerland. A separate International Federation of Women’s Hockey Associations was formed in 1927 and the two organizations finally merged in 1982. Hockey was included first at the 1908 Olympic Games in London, and in 1980 for women.

The FIH now has 140 member nations and has continued to introduce new formats, including the national-team Hockey Pro League in 2019 and the Hockey 5s World Cup that will debut later this month in Muscat (OMA).

● Football ● One of the greats of the game, German defender, coach and World Cup organizer Franz Beckenbauer, passed away at 78 on Sunday (7th) at Salzburg (AUT).

He was a superb player, nominally a defender, but always an offensive presence as well, who scored 14 goals for West Germany in his national-team career from 1965-77. He played on the 1966 FIFA World Cup runner-ups, the bronze-medal-winning 1970 team and captained the 1974 World Cup winners, playing in front of a home crowd.

Although best known as a star for Bayern Munich, he played four seasons in the North American Soccer League for the powerhouse New York Cosmos from 1977-80.

He coached the West German team from 1984-90, finishing second in 1986 and became one of only three men in history to win the FIFA World Cup as both a player and a manager, as his team defeated Argentina, 1-0, in the 1990 final. Only Brazil’s Mario Zagallo – who passed away at 92 on 5 January – and France’s Didier Deschamps have also won the World Cup as a player and manager.

“Der Kaiser” as he was known, was the head of the successful German bid group for the 2006 FIFA World Cup and was the Chair of the organizing committee of the highly successful tournament. He faced accusations of bribery and fraud connected with the event, but was never charged by Swiss prosecutors and was fined by the FIFA Ethics Committee with regard to a 2014 inquiry.

● Shooting ● The third phase of the USA Shooting Olympic Trials for Air Pistol and Air Rifle concluded in Anniston, Alabama on Sunday, with five athletes in line to be officially named as 2024 Olympians.

USA Shooting announced that athletes would be named for five quota spots already earned, in the women’s Air Pistol (2) and Air Rifle (2) and the men’s Air Rifle (1).

The women’s 10 m Air Pistol final in Anniston went to Suman Sanghera, who scored 238.3 to best Tokyo Olympian Lexi Lagan (232.2), but Lagan won the three-phase Trials with a total of 575.6 points, ahead of Katelyn Abeln (571.2), who won a tie-breaker with Sanghera (also 571.2).

The women’s 10 m Air Rifle final saw Tokyo 2020 Mixed Team silver winner Mary Tucker score 252.5 for the win over Katie Zaun (250.1) and take the overall title at 633.9. Sagen Maddalena, the 2023 Pan American Games gold winner and a Tokyo Olympian, was fifth in the final, but second overall at 632.9 to beat out Tokyo Olympian Alison Weisz (632.3) and Zaun (630.2).

The men’s 10 m Air Rifle final was won by Tokyo Mixed Team silver medalist Lucas Kozeniesky at 251.3, ahead of Peter Fiori (249.1) and Ivan Roe (228.1), but Roe earned his first Olympic berth with an overall score of 631.9. Rylan Kissell stands second overall (630.3) and Kozeniesky third (629.4), with a second Olympian to be named (eventually) in this event.

In the men’s 10 m Air Pistol final in Anniston, Jay Shi won at 233.9 against Tokyo Olympian James Hall (231.7) and Nick Mowrer (213.2), but Mowrer – also a Tokyo Olympian – topped the three-stage combine at 579.4, with Shi second at 577.6 and Sam Gens third (572.2). The U.S. has two quota spots for Paris in this event, but no team members were to be announced after this phase.

● Taekwondo ● At the USA Taekwondo U.S. Team Trials in Charlotte, North Carolina, Pan American Games gold medalist Khalfani Harris swept to victory, but there were multiple surprises of other medal winners, including a 2022 World Champion!

In the men’s 54 kg class, top-seeded Matthew Alfonso defeated no. 3 Joseph Carillo in the final, while William Cunningham won the men’s 58 kg class, defeating third-seed Melvy Alvarez.

Fourth-seeded Emilio Cendejas took out no. 1 seed Jason Lewis in the elimination round and then defeated No. 3 Luis Orozco to win at 63 kg. At 68 kg, Pan American Games champ Harris swept past no. 6 Victor Rodrigues in the final to win the division. Top seed Aiden Bevel won the 74 kg class over Daniel Alexander and no. 1 Jonathan Healy, the Pan Am Games silver winner at +80 kg, took out third-seed Zeph Putnam for the +87 kg win.

Top-seeded Ashley Choi won the women’s 46 kg final over third-seed Hazel Della, and fifth-seed Montana Miller won in a surprise at 49 kg over top-seeded Maya Mata in the semis and then no. 2 Melina Daniel – the Pan Am Games bronze medalist – in the final.

No. 1 Sophia Oceguera won the women’s 53 kg class by beating Kayla Shanahan and Logan Weber won the 57 kg final over Jessica Gniedziejko. Fourth-seed Danica Deacon won the 62 kg final over no. 2 Chloe Chua, after Chua had beaten 2022 Worlds 53 kg champ Makayla Greenwood in her semifinal!

At 67 kg, 18-year-old Kristine Teachout, the 2023 Pan Am Games bronze medalist, won her division over no. 2 Makaela Usserman, while Brianne Usserman won the 73 kg gold over Sarah Grabot. At +73 kg, Naomi Alade upset no. 1-ranked Hannah Keck.

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MEMORABILIA: An Athens 1896 Olympic Champion silver and Steve Genter’s Munich ‘72 medals trio in an eye-opening show by RR Auction

Rich Perelman

January 8, 2024

tsx pix 2024-102 athens 1896 1st place medal (rr auc) — A magnificent 1896 Athens Olympic winner's medal - in silver in those days - on offer now by RR Auction (Photo courtesy RR Auction)

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

A sponsored post by RR Auction.

Olympic fans everywhere know who Mark Spitz was. Many fewer remember Steve Genter.

They were American teammates in the pool at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, West Germany and would compete together in the 200 m Freestyle and the 4×200 m Free relay. Spitz went on to win seven golds, in four individual events and three relays, all in world-record time. Genter almost beat him, after almost not being able to swim in the Games.

He suffered a collapsed lung about a week before the Games, but U.S. doctors allowed him to compete after a re-inflation procedure that required bed rest until the day before his first swim. He made the 200 m Free final easily, then led Spitz in the final at 100 m and 150 m before the procedure caught up to him and he faded to silver on the last lap.

Two days later, he swam third on the winning U.S. team in the 4×200 m Free relay and swam the next day in the 400 m Free. He finished third, with teammate Rick DeMont winning, but then disqualified for an asthma medication he had declared, but which had not been formally cleared by the International Olympic Committee. Genter stood to be promoted to silver, but in solidarity with DeMont, refused the silver medal and retained the bronze.

Now, at age 72, Genter is offering his set of Olympic gold, silver and bronze medals in a new offer from RR Auction as part of a sensational 437-item auction now open and continuing through 18 January.

This auction includes a mighty assembly of Olympic torches from 19 different Games: 1936-48-56-60-64-68-72-76-80-84-88-92-96-2000-04-08-12-16-20, and from 13 Winter Games, from 1956-72-80-84-88-94-98-2002-06-10-14-18-22.

But the prize of the auction might be an 1896 Athens winner’s medal – made of silver – in truly excellent condition that is projected to bring a $100,000 sales price!

Also up is the London 2012 boxing gold – his first of two – won by Cuban star Roniel Iglesias in the 64 kg Light Welterweight category, expected to sell for $50,000! And there are 36 more items valued at $10,000 or more:

● $45,000: Lake Placid 1980 Winter torch
● $40,000: Tokyo 1964 gold medal
● $40,000: Lillehammer 1994 Winter torch
● $35,000: Los Angeles 1932 gold medal
● $30,000: Berlin 1936 gold medal
● $25,000: Stockholm 1956 equestrian silver medal
● $25,000: Stockholm 1956 equestrian bronze medal
● $25,000: Tokyo 1964 badge for IOC President Avery Brundage
● $25,000: Turin 2006 Winter silver medal
● $22,000: Oslo 1952 Winter silver medal

● $20,000: London 1908 Comite d’Honneur badge
● $20,000: Paris 1924 gold medal
● $20,000: Innsbruck 1964 Winter gold medal
● $20,000: Mexico City 1968 gold-silver-bronze set
● $20,000: Calgary 1988 Winter torch
● $20,000: Calgary 1988 Winter silver medal
● $18,000: St. Louis 1904 participation medal
● $18.000: Tokyo 1964 torch
● $18,000: Calgary 1988 Winter gold medal
● $18,000: Lillehammer 1994 Winter silver medal

● $15,000: 1889 Zappas Olympics winner’s diploma
● $15,000: Melbourne 1956 torch
● $15,000: Cortina 1956 Winter torch
● $15,000: Montreal 1976 silver medal
● $15,000: Seoul 1988 gold medal
● $12,500: Munich 1972 gold medal
● $12,000: Melbourne 1956 silver medal
● $12,000: Atlanta 1996 gold medal
● $12,000: Beijing 2008 silver medal
● $10,000: Lillehammer 1994 Pinewood Winter torch

● $10,000: Tokyo 1964 Olympic flame safety lantern
● $10,000: Tokyo 1964 Olympic flame “sacred vessel”
● $10,000: Helsinki 1952 gold medal
● $10,000: Los Angeles 1984 gold medal
● $10,000: Seoul 1988 gold medal
● $10,000: Sydney 2000 silver medal

The rare 1908 London “Comite du Honneur” badge is in excellent condition and rarely seen, and one of the wildest items in the listing is a winner’s diploma from the 1889 “Zappas Olympics” in Athens, Greece that was a forerunner to the eventual revival of the Olympic Games.

Note that the projected prices for many Winter Games items surpass those for the summer Games. Bobby Eaton, the RR Auction Chief Operating Officer, explained:

“In the world of Olympic memorabilia collecting, Winter Games hold a distinctive allure, often commanding higher prices for both torches and winner’s medals, primarily due to one pivotal factor: scarcity. While the summer Olympics boast an impressive turnout of athletes, now more than 10,000 competitors, their Winter counterpart features a more exclusive group, with a range of 2,500 to 3,000 participants.

“The rarity factor becomes even more pronounced when considering Olympic torches. In the case of the Winter Games, collectors contend with a limited supply, spanning anywhere from 20 to 150 torches for various years, whereas the Summer Games can flood the market with approximately 10,000 torches in some instances.

“Beyond scarcity, the mindset of collectors also plays a crucial role in driving up prices. Collectors often aspire to complete sets of torches or winner’s medals, intensifying the demand and competition for these coveted pieces, ultimately contributing to their elevated value.”

There are Olympic medals on offer from 1896-1900-20-24-32-36-48-52-56-64-68-72-76-80-84-88-92-96-2000-08 and Winter Games medals from 1924-28-48-52-64-84-88-94-2006.

And for Los Angeles 2028 fans, lots of items from the 1932 Olympic Games in L.A. are available, including a souvenir bronzed miniature of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, with bidding starting at $150!

It’s an impressive roster from Boston-based RR Auction, which sponsors twice-a-year auctions of Olympic memorabilia, along with other shows on autographs, artifacts, music and other items. This auction will end on 18 January, so check out the lists now!

A sponsored post by RR Auction.

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TSX REPORT: Another event with money trouble (in Britain); some progress on NHL players in 2026 Winter Games; ex-biathlon chief on trial!

Rich Perelman

January 8, 2024

tsx pix 2019-217 diggins, jessica 750 (skiing) — American Cross Country Skiing star Jessica Diggins: a second FIS World Cup seasonal title!

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

★ To get The Sports Examiner by e-mail: sign up here! ★

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. Money to derail ‘26 European Athletics Champs in Birmingham?
2. IIHF: NHL might be at Milan-Cortina; Russia decision in February
3. Trial of former IBU chief Besseberg to start this week
4. WADA confirms continuing inquiry in Spain’s anti-doping agency
5. L.A. Rec & Parks asks to accelerate LA28 funding

● Another big event – the 2026 European Athletics Championships – is in jeopardy over money in Birmingham, England. The event needs more money than originally granted by the regional authority and the city is essentially bankrupt over a huge equal-pay fine from a worker lawsuit. This follows on money-related implosions of the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Victoria last year and the 2027 Pan Am Games, taken from Colombia last week. But the Colombians want the event back and are pursuing Panam Sports about it.

● International Ice Hockey Federation chief Luc Tardif of France is optimistic about NHL participation in the 2026 Winter Games in Italy as all sides are now ready to talk again about the conditions. The question of Russian and Belarusian participation in events will be discussed again next month.

● In Norway, the trial of former long-time International Biathlon Union chief Anders Besseberg for bribery and unfair advantage will begin next week, with Norwegian government wiretaps a crucial piece of evidence.

● The World Anti-Doping Agency confirmed that it is pursuing an inquiry with the Spanish national anti-doping agency (CELAD) over allegations of doping cover-ups and mismanagement, and said it has been doing so for some time.

● The LA28 Youth Sports Partnership with the City of Los Angeles got off to a slow start due to Covid-19 and difficulties in hiring staff, but a new request for 2024-25 shows the project accelerating with a $27.72 million request.

● World Championship: Ice Hockey (U.S. wins sixth men’s World Juniors title) ●

● Panorama: Olympic Games 2026 (Poland not ready to bid for ‘36) = Alpine Skiing (2: Vlhova wins Slalom in Kranjska Gora; Odermatt takes Giant Slalom in Adelboden) = Athletics (2: Ketema scores 2:16:07 debut win in Dubai; Ethiopia sweeps Xiamen Marathon) = Biathlon (France sweeps Oberhof women’s races) = Cross Country Skiing (2: Diggins finishes Tour de Ski as Laukli get first World Cup gold; six different winners at U.S. Nationals) = Luge (Austria and Germany split World Cup wins in Winterberg) = Modern Pentathlon (Bell and Gonzalez win USA Pent qualifier) = Ski Jumping (Kobayashi’s seconds take Four Hills title) = Table Tennis (China sweeps WTT men’s finals) ●

1.
Money to derail ‘26 European Athletics Champs in Birmingham?

Another large-scale event could be removed from its announced venue due to money: the 2026 European Athletics Championships in Birmingham (GBR).

The city very successfully hosted the 2022 Commonwealth Games, stepping in for Durban (RSA), which was removed over inadequate funding. Now, Birmingham is in financial trouble, facing a £760 million liability (about $967.1 million U.S. today) over an equal-pay case and declaring “effective bankruptcy” last September.

The event, which hosts about 1,500 athletes from 48 countries and territories, has been held since 1934, but never in Great Britain, which ranks second all-time in terms of total medals won.

The Europeans was supposed to be held with a £13.7 million grant from the West Midlands Combined Authority last March, but is apparently £2.2 million short (£1 = $1.27 U.S.). The BBC reported that £3 million from a grassroots development program could be diverted to the championships, cutting deeply into the youth sports plan. The matter will be considered as a 12 January WMCA meeting, which could also ask the national government for replacement funds for the youth development effort.

Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium, renovated for the Commonwealth Games, is the site and will be expanded again from its permanent 18,000 seats to about 32,000 as it had in 2022.

The drama over the 2026 European Championships funding continues the strain on high-profile events over costs, with the 2026 Commonwealth Games abandoned last year by the Australian state of Victoria over cost worries, and the Panam Sports continental association removing the 2027 Pan American Games from Barranquilla (COL) last week over contract issues, reportedly also over money.

This is now – officially – a trend, and one of considerable worry.

Ciro Solano, the head of the Colombian Olympic Committee, told Agence France Presse that the country will try and regain hosting rights for the 2027 Pan American Games:

“We are going to take action, we want to do everything amicably, we still have hope of recovering the Games.”

Solano admitted that the $4 million rights payment due to Panam Sports at the end of 2023 was not made, but feels that Colombia should be able to make things right and continue as host for 2027. He stated that the Panam Sports decision to revoke Barranquilla’s hosting is not final until voted on by the Panam Sports membership in February.

He also expressed concern that Paraguay had been lobbying to take the event from Colombia since August.

2.
IIHF: NHL might be at Milan-Cortina; Russia decision in February

International Ice Hockey Federation President Luc Tardif (FRA) told reporters at the men’s World Junior Championship in Sweden that he is optimistic about the possibility of having NHL players participating at Milan Cortina 2026:

“You can see I’m smiling.

“For the first time we are now meeting with all interested parties – the NHL, the NHLPA, the IIHF, the IOC. And I think all the planets are aligned. I will meet with IOC president Thomas Bach [GER] in mid-January. I believe we’ll have an announcement before the end of February. And since we are hopeful for the next Olympics, we will try to arrange a commitment for the next two Olympics. There is a common goal to participate.”

NHL players last participated in the Winter Games in 2014 in Sochi (RUS), but skipped the 2018 PyeongChang Games and, due to Covid-19, the 2022 Beijing Winter Games.

On the question of the re-entry of Russian and Belarusian teams, Tardif said it is up for discussion again:

“Every February and March we reconsider the situation about the geopolitics situation. That’s not a politics decision. It’s always for the security of our competitions and the security of our players, including Belarus and Russia.

“So that will be the question to our board on February 12 and 13. Is it possible to bring Russia and Belarus to the world championships in Denmark and Sweden, next world championship [in 2025]? And at the same time, we will talk about the participation of Belarus and Russia for the Olympic Games in 2026. The decision will be taken on February 12 and 13 considering that.”

The IOC’s recommended ban on Russian and Belarusian teams from February 2022 is still in force; Russia and Belarus last participated in the 2021 men’s Worlds.

Tardif emphasized Russian and Belarusian participation in IIHF events will depend “on the safety of the athletes and organizers and the IIHF’s ability to run a safe tournament.”

3.
Trial of former IBU chief Besseberg to start this week

The Norwegian National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime – known as Okokrim – will present its case against former International Biathlon Union chief Anders Besseberg next week in a Buskerud County courtroom in Norway, seeking to prove that he received extra benefits, illegal under Norwegian law.

Besseberg was the elected President of the IBU from 1992 – when it split with the modern pentathlon federation – until 2018, when he resigned under allegations of corruption. He was charged with aggravated corruption in April 2023, including “accepting bribes in the form of watches, hunting trips and trophies, prostitutes and a leased car which he enjoyed the use of from 2011 to 2018 in Norway.”

An IBU investigation led by British lawyer Jonathan Taylor concluded in 2021, and he spoke with the Norwegian paper Verdens Gang about what the inquiry found out. Some of the information came from government wiretaps of Besseberg’s phone calls:

● “On the phone, they had their guard down and spoke freely about what was going on and what their motivation was. We believe there is clear evidence of what was going on. Both were frustrated because the World Anti-Doping Agency went hard to expose Russian doping in biathlon. They almost tried to help the Russians fight back.”

● “Did the leadership in the IBU do everything they could to get rid of doping? The answer is ‘No, they didn’t.’ For example, syringes with EPO were found. It was Besseberg who was in charge, he chose not to do anything. And there were several such examples. They were ‘soft’ in the anti-doping work. When Russian athletes were taken, they were usually athletes at a lower level.”

● “We found no evidence of concrete corruption, but we know that prostitutes were made available to him. And we know that expensive hunting trips were given. But can we say that it led to something else? No, we can’t. We can only present the facts. We know that he favored Russian interests beyond what is expected of a sports leader who believes that Russia was an important nation for the sport. He went much further than that. Why? That is for others to decide.”

Taylor also spoke of the situation within the IBU, a paralysis which is likely not unknown in multiple organizations:

“When some people get positions in international sports, they stay in nice hotels and are driven around in limousines. They feel important and like it. Then they don’t think that it is their job to look after the sport and make sure that nothing wrong happens. And when new people join the board, it’s incredibly difficult to put your foot down and say, ‘Stop, this is wrong.’”

And as for Russian doping in the sport, Taylor said the evidence “is completely overwhelming.”

Besseberg has denied the charges and his attorney says a different portrait of him will be painted at the trial.

For Taylor, however, the bottom line as regards the sport Besseberg was responsible to:

“Besseberg was not interested in the integrity of international biathlon. He didn’t want to anger Russia. Rather, he sacrificed the integrity of the sport.”

4.
WADA confirms continuing inquiry in Spain’s anti-doping agency

“WADA has been looking into this matter for some time now. We are well aware of deep-seated issues within Spanish anti-doping. I am disappointed with the level of cooperation we have received from CELAD as we seek to improve the system for Spanish athletes. The fact that there are positive cases that have not been handled in a timely fashion, despite regular follow up by WADA, is unacceptable.”

That’s World Anti-Doping Agency President Witold Banka (POL), reacting to a story on the Spanish site Relevo that cited not just irregularities in testing, but cover-up efforts for certain athletes to allow them to continue competing from within the Spanish national anti-doping agency, known as CELAD.

WADA issued a statement on Friday that included:

“[WADA] confirms that all cases have been repeatedly followed up through the results management process and some are still pending.

“Indeed, in addition to pursuing CELAD on apparently delayed pending cases, WADA took the highly unusual action in 2023, of taking away three Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) cases from it and handing them over to the relevant International Federations to deal with instead. In another two such ABP cases, WADA imposed strict deadlines on CELAD for the rendering of a decision.

“WADA can also confirm that for several months, as part of its compliance monitoring program, it has been aware of ongoing problems related to CELAD, including several issues to do with testing and results management. Related to that, WADA provided to CELAD a corrective action report that needed to be addressed as a matter of urgency, including with respect to a number of delayed cases. This matter is ongoing.”

The statement also noted WADA’s dissatisfaction with the implementation of a Spanish law that was supposed to create a compliant structure with the World Anti-Doping Code, deepening the crisis and opening Spain to sanctions, which could include a loss of flag and anthem privileges at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

In Spain, the CELAD scandal has roused the interest of prosecutors, with the Spanish High Council of Sports (CSD) passing on a complaint which noted “irregularities in the use of public funds and in the control and sanctioning of doping.”

The CSD asked CELAD director Jose Luis Terreros to resign, and if not, said it will work with the Interior Ministry to have him removed.

5.
L.A. Rec & Parks asks to accelerate LA28 funding

The unique and highly-publicized Youth Sports Partnership program between the LA28 organizing committee and the City of Los Angeles’ Recreation and Parks Department, using $160 million in funds advanced by the International Olympic Committee, got off to a slow start.

That appears to be changing.

The agreement, signed in September 2020, offers funding designed to be used “to subsidize and offset funding for youth sports and fitness classes or programs at designated recreation centers and or through signature programs or other non-profit or specialized sport and fitness partners, as well as for marketing and for the implementation of a safe sport program.” LA28 agreed to funding on a consistent schedule of $6.4 million in 2020 and then $19.2 annually from 2020-21 through 2017-28. However, City Recreation and Parks hasn’t been able to use that much; its actual requests have totaled just $29.66 million through the 2022-23 fiscal year and $48.46 million through the 2023-24 fiscal year:

● 2020: $4.48 million ($4.48 million received)
● 2021-22: $7.65 million ($7.65 million received)
● 2022-23: $17.53 million ($13.22 million received)
● 2023-24: $18.80 million (none shown so far)

That’s against an LA28 commitment of $83.2 million for that period! And spending by the Recreation and Parks Department were short of the funding received in 2020 and in 2021-22. Now, however, the City appears ready to catch up.

In a 223-page submittal confirmed last week, it is asking for $14.82 million to balance its actual spending and requests through 2022-23. And then there is the funding request for 2024-25, for $27.72 million, which would bring the 5 1/2-year total to $67.89 million.

That would leave $92.11 million remaining in the LA28 funding commitment through the final three years of the deal (an average of $30.70 million annually!).

The new funding request for $27.72 million includes:

● $18.24 million for recreation leagues and classes at 88 sites;
● $1.61 million for swimming classes;
● $6.69 million for Signature programs in aquatics, fitness and adaptive sports;
● $1.17 million for SafeSport training, marketing and promotion.

The baseline participation level from the 2018-19 fiscal year was 148,274 individuals, with the 2024-25 goal at $211,859, a projected 43% increase.

The Youth Support Program got off to a slow start due to strict Covid-19 remedial measures in Los Angeles County, and a lack of instructors once restrictions were eased. But the City now appears poised to fully implement the program originally envisioned as LA28’s legacy, in place ahead of the Games.

The next stop for the plan is the L.A. City Council’s Ad Hoc Committee on the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

≡ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ≡

● Ice Hockey ● The U.S, men finished undefeated and won their sixth IIHF men’s World Junior Championship title in Gothenburg (SWE), in front of 11,512 spectators with a 6-2 victory homestanding Sweden.

The Swedes (5-2) piled up a 17-5 goals-against total in the group stage, with all five against in the 5-4 shoot-out loss to Finland. It gave up only two goals each in its quarterfinal and semifinal wins, but against the U.S., – which had outscored its opponents by 39-13 – it gave up three goals in the first 35 minutes.

Forward Gabe Perreault opened the scoring at 16:56 of the first period for the U.S. on a deflected shot in front of goal, with Sweden’s Otto Stenberg tying it just 2:13 into the second. The Americans then went up 3-1 with back-to-back goals from Isaac Howard at 9:24 (on a breakaway) and 14:19 of the second on a shot from the goal line, but the Sweden’s Jonathan Lekkerimaki got close at 3-2 on a power-play goal at 19:55 of the second.

Swedish hopes dimmed, however, as Zeev Buium scored for the U.S. just 1:19 into the final period and Ryan Leonard pushed the lead to 5-2 at 16:12 of the period on a steal-and-shot. A final goal – for the 6-2 final – came on an empty-netter from Rutger McGroarty at 16:50.

There was a late-game mix-up with eight penalties against five players for roughing and unsportsmanlike conduct with 31 seconds to play, but no serious damage done.

In a wild third-place game, the Czech Republic defeated Finland, 8-5, with five goals in the final period to overcome a 3-5 deficit at the start of the third!

The Americans finished 7-0 and won its sixth title in this tournament, previously in 2004-10-13-17-21. Sweden, which won in 1981 and 2012, took the silver for the 12th time. Sweden’s Hugo Havelid was named Best Goaltender and teammate Axel Sandin Pellikka as Best Defender. The U.S.’s Cutter Gauthier won for Best Forward.

Gauthier and Jiri Kulich (CZE) tied with 12 points as the top scorer; Lekkerimaki led with seven goals, ahead of Kulich and American Gavin Brindley, with six each.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Olympic Games 2036 ● Polish Minister of Sport Slawomir Nitras said in a Friday radio interview that the country is not ready to pursue a bid for the 2036 Olympic Games:

“It would be necessary to make a bid and participate in a competition with other countries. Poland is not ready for that today.”

● Alpine Skiing ● The FIS women’s World Cup resumed in Kranjska Gora (SLO) with a Giant Slalom and Slalom, and a Saturday win for Canadian Valerie Grenier.

Competing at the site where she scored her only prior World Cup gold, Grenier ranked fourth after the first run, trailing Beijing 2022 Olympic Slalom champ Petra Vlhova (SVK) by 0.35. But Grenier won the second run with a spectacular 53.61 clocking, 0.22 faster than everyone else and good enough for a 1:50.51 total that was a clear 0.37 seconds better than 2021 World Champion Lara Gut-Behrami (SUI) and Italy’s 2022 Olympic runner-up Federica Brignone (1:51.02). Vlhova ended up fourth (1:1.12) and U.S. star Mikaela Shiffrin was ninth (1:52.39). American teammate A.J. Hurt was 18th.

On Sunday, it was Vlhova who mastered difficult weather conditions and led the Slalom after the first run by 0.26 and held steady on the second run to win in 1:47.62, ahead of German Lena Duerr (1:48.34 and Hurt (1:48.49), who had the fastest second run in the field to jump up from 16th!

This was a breakthrough for Hurt, 23, who had previously finished in the top 10 in a World Cup race just once, in December in the Giant Slalom at Tremblant (CAN). Shiffrin did not finish the first run after straddling a gate. It was Vlhova’s 31st career World Cup win.

Swiss star Marco Odermatt, the reigning World Cup champ, scored his fourth win and fifth medal in the last six World Cup races in Saturday’s men’s Giant Slalom in front of home fans in Adelboden (SUI).

Really, no one was close as Odermatt led after the first run by 1.04 and with the second-fastest time on the second run, he won at 1:54.06, some 1.24 ahead of Norway’s Aleksander Aamodt Kilde (1:55.32). Filip Zubcic (SLO) grabbed the bronze at 1:55.83, with River Radamus of the U.S. in fourth (1:55.95), with the quickest second run in the field. It was Odermatt’s 29th career World Cup gold.

Sunday saw the second win of the season for Austria’s 2017 Worlds Slalom runner-up Manuel Feller, who was fifth-fastest in the first run and sixth in the second run, but that was good enough to win in 1:52.62 over Atle Lie McGrath (NOR: 1:52.64) and Austrian teammate Dominik Raschner (1:52.85).

Radamus was again the top American, finishing 19th in 1:54.77.

● Athletics ● The famously flat Dubai Marathon produced another sensational time as Ethiopian Tigist Ketema debuted with a win in the women’s race in 2:16:07, making her the no. 8 performer in history!

Ketema, 25, has run 4:00.91 for 1,500 m in 2021, but blew past a good field with 5 km left and sailed home with the victory by more than two minutes on countrywomen Ruti Aga (2:18:09) and Dera Dida (2:19:29). Aga equaled her lifetime best, set last year.

Ethiopia also swept the men’s race, with Addisu Gobena winning in 2:05:01, beating Lemi Dumecha (2:05:20) and Dejane Megersa (2:05:42).

At the Xiamen Marathon in China, Ethiopia’s Asefa Kebebe outran Kenya’s Felix Kirwa over the last seven kilometers to win in 2:06:46 to 2:06:52. In the women’s race, Ethiopian Bekelech Gudeta won easily in a lifetime best of 2:22:54, with Morocco’s Fatima Gardadi second at 2:24:12.

● Biathlon ● France has taken possession of the IBU women’s World Cup, with wins in both individual races in Oberhof (GER). On Friday, it was the third straight World Cup gold for Justine Braisaz-Bouchet in the 7.5 km Sprint in 22:32.0 (2 penalties), clear of runner-up Franziska Preuss (GER: 22:47.4/0) and France’s Sophie Chauveau (22:47.6/1).

In Saturday’s 10 km Pursuit, Braisasz-Bouchet had to settle for second, but behind French teammate Julia Simon – the reigning World Champion in the event – who won by 18.9 seconds in 31:45.2 (2). Braisaz-Bouchet won a medal in her fifth straight race (and six of the last seven) in 32:04.1 (3), ahead of Ingrid Tandrevold (NOR: 32:29.6/2).

Simon’s win gave France its seventh win in the 10 races this season, with four for Braisasz-Bouchet, one for Simon and two for Lou Jeanmonnot.

Germany got its third win in the men’s World Cup with a 10 km Sprint victory for Benedikt Doll, the 2017 World Champion, in 24:12.2 (1), just beating five-time Worlds gold medalist Sturla Holm Laegreid (NOR: 24:14.0/1) and fellow Norwegian Endre Stroemsheim (24:17.6/1).

Stroemsheim, 26, got his first career World Cup win on Saturday in the 12.5 km Pursuit, in 33:04.2 (2), leading a Norwegian sweep with Laegreid second again (33:22.0/2) and Johannes Dale-Skjevdal third (33:40.6/1).

Norway won Sunday’s 4×7.5 km men’s relay in 1:17:34.2 (7), more than two minutes ahead of Germany (1:19:36.1/15) and Italy (1:20:24.7/16). The French (of course) took the women’s 4×6 km in 1:12:42.5 (12), ahead of Norway (1:12:51.8/10) and Sweden (1:13:16.0/8).

● Cross Country Skiing ● The 18th Tour de Ski concluded at Val di Fiemme (ITA), with Sweden making a run at leader Jessie Diggins of the U.S. in Saturday’s 15 km Classical Mass start.

Linn Svahn won her third Tour de Ski race in 53:49.7, just ahead of teammate Frida Karlsson (53:50.1) and German Katharina Henning (53:51.3). Diggins was eighth, but only 5.7 seconds back of the winner and entered Sunday’s 10 km Freestyle Mass Start some 43 seconds up on Jonna Sundling (SWE) and 44 seconds ahead of teammate Frida Karlsson.

But Sunday came up gold for Diggins and the U.S., with a sensational surprise: the first career World Cup win for 23-year-old American Sophia Laukli! She charged past Norway’s two-time World Cup champion Heidi Weng in the final 800 m and won in 38:16.5, to 38:33.6 for Weng and 38:54.2 for Delphine Claudel (FRA).

“I don’t know if I fully believe it,” she said afterwards. “I was really excited for today and after being third last year I was like ‘there’s not a lot of room for improvement but it would be super, super cool to win,’ so I didn’t want to have too high expectations but I really could not be happier for this.”

Diggins was sixth in 39:05.0 and celebrated her second Tour de Ski victory – also in 2021 – with a total time of 4:13:19.0, finishing 31.6 seconds up on Weng and 39.7 seconds ahead of Finn Kerttu Niskanen. U.S. teammate Rosie Brennan finished 12th in the final standings.

Norway’s Erik Valnes, who won the season’s first race for the men, took his third career World Cup gold in Saturday’s 15 km Classical, timing 50:50.6, ahead of Sweden’s William Poromaa (50:51.5) and 1.1 seconds up on Swiss Cyril Faehndrich (50:51.7). Tour de Ski leader Harald Amundsen was sixth, but cruised into Sunday’s race with a huge, 1:34 lead over Valnes.

In the 10 km Free finale, France’s Jules Lapierre, who like Laukli had won one World Cup medal in his career before Sunday, won in the 10 km Freestyle Mass Start in 33:00.7, just edging Friedrich Moch (GER: 33:03.1), who won his second career individual World Cup medal. France’s Hugo Lapalus took third (33:16.7), also his first-ever World Cup medal.

Amundsen was a clear winner in the men’s Tour de Ski, finishing at 3:41:21.9, with Moch coming up to second (+1:19.2) and Lapalus getting third (1:32.8). Valnes fell back to sixth (+2:17.7).

The U.S. National Championships were held at Soldier Hollow in Utah, six different winners in the six senior events.

Norway’s Andreas Kirkeng took the men’s 10 km race in 23:50.8, trailed by Joe Davies (USA) in 23:53.1. American John Street Hagenbuch won the men’s 20 km in 46:35.8, with Tom Mancini (FRA: 47:15.8) second. Luke Jager of the U.S. won the Sprint in 3:45.60, with Mancini second in 3:49.91.

Swede Tilde Baangman took the women’s 10 km in 27:13.3, ahead of Sydney Palmer-Leger (USA: 27:32.5), and Americans Haley Brewster (54:37.2) and Kendall Kramer (54:43.5) were 1-2 in the women’s 20 km. The women’s Sprint went to Karianne Dengerud (NOR: 4:37.14), ahead of Alayna Sonnesyn (USA: 4:37.64).

● Luge ● The fourth of nine stages in the 2023-24 FIL World Cup was in Winterberg (GER), with Austria and Germany splitting wins in the four events.

It was a familiar winner in the women’s Singles, as Austria’s two-time Olympic relay medalist Madeleine Egle won her second race of the season in 1:51.392, taking the first heat and logging the no. 2 time in the second run. That was just 0.029 better than Germany’s 2021 World Champion, Julia Taubitz (1:51.421), who won the second run. Another Austrian, Hannah Prock, took the bronze in 1:51.697; the top American was Ashley Farquharson in sixth (1:51.936), and Emily Sweeney was ninth (1:52.154).

The Austrian men’s Doubles team was Juri Gatt and Riccardo Schoepf scored an upset win in the men’s Doubles, finishing second in both runs to win in 1:26,145, ahead of triple Olympic champs Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt (GER: 1:26.211). The Germans were only seventh after the first run, but had the fastest time in the second round to jump to silver.

Germans Hannes Orlamuender and Paul Gubitz took third (1:26.236), with Americans Zachary Di Gregorio and Sean Hollander eighth in 1:26.657, and Dana Kellogg and Frank Ike in 10th (1:26.807).

In the women’s Doubles, Germany’s two-time defending World Champions Jessica Degenhardt and Cheyenne Rosenthal won their second straight World Cup race in 1:27.131, ahead of Italy’s Worlds bronze winners Andrea Voetter and Marion Oberhofer (1:27.155). Austria’s Selina Egle and Lara Kipp took third (1:27.175), with Americans Chevonne Forgan and Sophia Kirkby in fifth (1:27.474) and teammates Maya Chen and Reannyn Weller in sixth (1:27.534).

On Sunday, Germany’s Max Lagenhan won his third men’s Singles title in three tries, scoring the fastest runs in both rounds for a 1:43.695 total, ahead of Italy’s Dominik Fischnaller (1:43.871) and Kristers Aparjods (LAT: 1:43.877). Jonny Gustafson was the top American, in 10th, at 1:44.579.

The Germans won the Team Relay with Anna Berreiter, Wendl and Arlt, Lagenhan and Degenhardt and Rosenthal, in 3:11.425. Austria finished second, 0.043 back and the U.S. was third with Farquharson, Di Gregorio and Hollander, Gustafson and Forgan and Kirky, in 3:12.676.

● Modern Pentathlon ● At the USA Pentathlon Olympic and World Cup qualifier in San Antonio, Texas, Tristen Bell and Madison Gonzalez won the men’s and women’s division in a four-discipline competition which included fencing, swimming and the Laser Run, but skipped riding (although riding will be included at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games).

Bell, second at the 2023 U.S. Nationals, won the fencing and was second in swimming, then dominated the Laser Run in 11:16 to win with 1,201 points. Sam Ruddock (1,068) was second, with Caleb Allen third (1,061) and 20-year-old Kian O’Boyle fourth (1,053).

Gonzalez was the 2023 Nationals bronze winner, was third in fencing segment, but won the swimming comfortably and was a clear winner – by 38 seconds – in the Laser Run (13:18) to compile a 1,034 point total. Corinne Thompson, the Nationals fourth-placer last year, was second with 959 points; Jordan Towns finished third with 847.

● Ski Jumping ● This was amazing. The finish of the 72nd Four Hills Tournament was in Bischofshofen (AUT), off the 142 m hill, with Austria’s three-time World champion, Stefan Kraft, grabbing his sixth win of the season.

Kraft was second after the first jump, but passed Japan’s Ryoyu Kobayashi in the second round and scored 288.9 points to 287.6 for the Japanese star. Anze Lanisek (SLO), the 2021 World Champion, got the bronze at 281.8.

Kobayashi was the leader of the Four Hills coming in, and had won the event in 2019 (winning all four phases) and in 2022 (winning the first three). This time, be won none, but was second in all four events! That gave him 1,145.2 points, ahead of Germany’s Andreas Wellinger (1,120.7) and Kraft (1,112.7).

With his third Four Hills title, Kobayashi is one of only six men to do so. The record belongs to Finland’s Janne Ahonen with five, from 1999-2008; Kobayashi now joins three others with three each. At 27, he could yet move up!

● Table Tennis ● At the WTT Finals for men in Doha (QAT), China swept both titles, with second-seed Chuqin Wang defeating no. 1 Zhendong Fan in the final in straight sets: 11-8, 11-9, 14-12, 11-7. That reversed the results of the 2023 World Championships, where Fan had beaten Wang in the final and was Wang’s fourth win in 13 career tries against Fan.

It was another all-China final in the Doubles, but with an upset in the final. World no. 23 Licen Yuan and Peng Xiang swept aside fifth-ranked Gaoyuan Lin and Shidong Lin, by 11-8, 11-2 and 11-8.

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TSX REPORT: Winter Youth Olympic Games “metaverse” could be the future; ESPN and NCAA to ink eight-year, $920 million rights deal

Rich Perelman

January 5, 2024

tsx pix 2024-104 gangwon 2024 metaverse pix — Scenes from the Gangwon 2024 metaverse app for the Youth Olympic Winter Games starting 19 January (Photo: Gangwon 2024).

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

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★ Click here to get our new, 920-event International Sports Calendar
for 2024 and beyond, by date and by sport! ★

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. Is the Winter Youth Olympic Games “metaverse” the future?
2. Olympic sports nowhere in top U.S. TV audiences of 2023
3. NCAA and ESPN agree on 8-year, $920 million championships deal
4. MetLife Stadium converting seats for 2026 FIFA World Cup
5. Paralympic star Pistorius paroled from prison

● The Winter Youth Olympic Games starts in Gangwon, Korea on 19 January and will be showcased in a metaverse project from the province and the national Ministry of Science and Information and Communication Technology. It could foreshadow major changes in the future of the Olympic Games.

● Football dominated the U.S. sports television scene in 2023, with the top 50 telecasts in audience size all from NFL games. No Olympic-sport events (including team events in international competition) made the top 50 of events outside of the NFL.

● The NCAA and ESPN agreed on an eight-year extension of U.S. rights to national championship events in sports outside of Football Bowl Subdivision and NCAA Division I men’s tournament games, but including women’s basketball, for $920 million, a huge increase over the prior deal.

● New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium is re-working its sideline seating plans to offer FIFA a full-sized field for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and seeking to host the championship match. It is believed that MetLife and AT&T Stadium in Dallas are the favorites for the final.

● Paralympic sprint star Oscar Pistorius of South Africa was released on Friday on parole and will be on probation – with close supervision – into 2029, almost 11 years after shooting his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. He has maintained that he mistook her for an intruder.

● World Championship: Ice Hockey (U.S. and Sweden advance to men’s World Juniors final) ●

● Panorama: Cross Country Skiing (Diggins and Amundsen lead in Tour de Ski heading into final weekend) = Ski Jumping (Teen star Prevc completes sweep in Villach) ●

1.
Is the Winter Youth Olympic Games “metaverse” the future?

During the International Olympic Committee presidency of Thomas Bach (GER), the Youth Olympic Games has been transformed into a living laboratory. At the 2018 YOG in Buenos Aires (ARG), the concept of an out-of-stadium opening ceremony was demonstrated at the famed Obelisco; six years later, the opening of the 2024 Olympic Games will be on the Seine River in Paris.

Also in Buenos Aires, break dancing debuted and made such an impression, the Paris 2024 organizers added it to the Olympic program.

So when an new concept debuts at a YOG, it’s worth paying attention to. On Thursday, the IOC shared a new project for the Winter Youth Olympic Games in Gangwon (KOR), opening on 19 January:

“The International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Gangwon 2024 Organising Committee (YOGOC) and the Gangwon-do Province, with the support of the Ministry of Science and Information and Communication Technology (MSIT), announce the launch of a metaverse focused on the Winter YOG Gangwon 2024 as an extension of the Gangwon-do Province’s Metaverse.”

What is this? The announcement described it as

“From virtual tours of the venues to games and challenges where fans can compete against other users in online mini games of ski jumping, bobsleigh and curling, the Gangwon 2024 Metaverse enables fans to engage with the YOG in new and exciting ways. Users based in the Republic of Korea will also be able to enjoy streaming of sporting events. The metaverse also provides an opportunity to meet and interact with other fans around the world as well as inspiring visitors to try new winter sports and learn about the Olympic values.”

The application runs in six languages and allows users to create their own avatar, which can do a hip-hop dance and a “YOG dance,” whatever that is. Visits are enabled to nine venues, the Youth Olympic Villages and four tourist attractions of the region.

Observed: Those looking to the future can see the possible applications of such a program for the IOC and every International Federation. A multi-lingual platform to which personal subscriptions can be sold, allowing direct viewing of events (live or on-demand), and gaming with personal avatars against current or historical stars, not to mention merchandise sales, trading of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), betting, ticket sales and so on.

Could a future metaverse project eliminate the need for rights-holding broadcasters altogether, with the IOC selling directly to consumers around the world? Eventually, yes!

That’s why this introductory program is interesting on multiple levels, and bears watching, especially of engagement levels among the younger demographic.

2.
Olympic sports nowhere in top U.S. TV audiences of 2023

Nielsen’s U.S. television audience rankings for the calendar year 2023 are out, with American football completely dominating the lists.

As far as the top 50 sports broadcasts of the year, they were all National Football League games, topped by February’s Super Bowl between Kansas City and Philadelphia, with 112.17 million viewers. The no. 50 broadcast was of the January “wild card” playoff match between the Los Angeles Chargers and Jacksonville, at 20.61 million.

Not including NFL games, the top 50 audiences included 18 college football games, 13 NBA games, 10 college basketball games (all in the NCAA Tournament, including the women’s title game), six Major League Baseball games (all in the playoffs), and one event each in auto racing, golf and horse racing. No. 50 on that list was the third game of the baseball World Series between Texas and Houston, which drew 8.13 million viewers.

The top Olympic-sport event was the U.S. vs. Netherlands group-stage match on 26 July on FOX and Telemundo, which drew 7.59 million combined.

This was a year without an Olympic Games; beyond the women’s World Cup and other football matches, the USA Gymnastics Championships featuring the return of Simone Biles drew 2.664 million on NBC on 27 August. The top audience for the World Athletics Championships in Budapest was 1.32 million on NBC, also on 27 August.

3.
NCAA and ESPN agree on 8-year, $920 million
championships deal

ESPN and the NCAA announced an eight-year agreement worth a total of $920 million for an extension of its rights to national championship events beginning in the fall of 2024, with 40 NCAA championship events to be included:

Men (20):
● Baseball
● Basketball (Divisions II-Division III)
● Basketball (men’s Division I international rights)
● Basketball (men’s National Invitation Tournament)
● Cross Country
● Fencing
● Football (FCS-Division II-Division III)
● Gymnastics
● Ice Hockey
● Lacrosse
● Soccer
● Swimming & Diving
● Tennis
● Track & field (indoor and outdoor)
● Volleyball
● Water Polo
● Wrestling

Women (20):
● Basketball (Divisions I-II-III)
● Basketball (women’s National Invitation Tournament)
● Beach Volleyball
● Bowling
● Cross Country
● Fencing
● Field Hockey
● Gymnastics
● Ice Hockey
● Lacrosse
● Soccer
● Softball
● Swimming & Diving
● Tennis
● Track & field (indoor and outdoor)
● Volleyball (Divisions I-II-III)
● Water Polo

The deal was reported at $115 million per year (vs. $40 million now), with a value of $65 million a year placed on the women’s basketball tournament by the NCAA. Multiple events will again air on ABC.

4.
MetLife Stadium converting seats to land
2026 FIFA World Cup final

The Associated Press reported that MetLife Stadium, located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, is re-working its field-level seating to create more space for 2026 FIFA World Cup matches in its continuing effort to land premium matches, including the championship game.

A total of 1,740 seats are in discussion to be moved to create a full-sized field. The stadium, opened in 2010, seats 82,500.

FIFA requires a 105 m by 68 m field for World Cup play, and the current MetLife dimensions offer 105 m in length, but 64 m in width. Stadium spokesperson Helen Strus indicated that changes to the corners and along the sidelines were needed and will be replaced after the World Cup with removable seating sections.

MetLife Stadium and AT&T Stadium in Dallas are mentioned as the most likely sites for the 2026 FIFA World Cup final.

5.
Paralympic star Pistorius paroled from prison

South African Paralympic sprint star Oscar Pistorius is due to be released from prison on Friday (5th), just short of 11 years after he shot and killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in his Pretoria home.

Now 37, Pistorius won six Paralympic Games golds in the 100-200-400 m in 2004-08-12, but then shot Steenkamp on 14 February 2013, claiming he believed she was an intruder. He was convicted in September and sentenced in October of 2014 to five years imprisonment. He was briefly released in 2015, then re-sentenced to six years and then 13 years on appeals.

He was granted parole in November 2023 and will be released Friday. He will not be allowed to speak to news media; the South African corrections department released a statement which included:

“Just like other parolees, Pistorius is restricted from conducting media interviews. An elevated public profile linked to Pistorius does not make him different from other inmates nor warrant inconsistent treatment.”

He will be under supervision by the state correctional authorities until his full sentence period runs out in December 2029.

≡ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ≡

● Ice Hockey ● The United States and host Sweden will play in the final of the IIHF men’s World Junior Championship in Gothenburg on Saturday.

The home Swedes (5-1) won the first semifinal at the Scandinavium before 11,512 fans with a 5-2 victory over the Czech Republic (3-3), breaking open a 2-2 tie with three third-period goals. Forward Jonathan Lekkerimaki scored on a power play at 5:14 of the period to re-take the lead, then forward Noah Ostlund got an even-strength goal at12:00 and Lekkerimaki got his second of the game at 13:02 for the 5-2 final. Sweden had a 15-8 shots edge in the third to thrill the home crowd.

The U.S. (6-0) had to come from behind against Finland (3-3), trailing 2-0 at the end of the first period, after goals by Oiva Keskinen just 1:51 into the game and then Rasmus Kumpulainen at 12:45.

But in the second period, a Finnish penalty led to a power-play goal from forward Jimmy Snuggerud at 12:10 and forward Will Smith tied it at 2-2 with a score at 16:16. The two sides played another 20 minutes without scoring, but with just 3:13 left in the third, forward Cutter Gauthier scored on a power play for a 3-2 lead. But 40 seconds later, the U.S. suffered a hooking penalty on Gabe Perreault and had to sweat out the power play to secure the 3-2 victory and advance to the final.

The top two goal scorers in the tournament will feature in the final as Gavin Brindley of the U.S. and Finland’s Lekkerimaki both have six goals. The overall scoring leader is Gauthier of the U.S., with 12 points (2+10).

The U.S. has won this title five times, in 2004-10-13-17-21 and has been second twice; the Swedes won in 1981 and 2012, but has lost in the final 11 times, most recently in 2018. The two sides met in the 2013 final in Ufa (RUS) with the Americans taking a 3-1 win.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Cross Country Skiing ● Through five of seven stages of the 2024 Tour de Ski women’s tournament, American Jessie Diggins has a 44-second lead and has won medals in four of the five events held so far.

She collected another bronze on Thursday in the 20 km Classical Pursuit in Davos (SUI), finishing behind Finland’s four-time Olympic medal winner Kerttu Niskanen (1:12:00.7) and U.S. teammate Rosie Brennan (1:12:01.5), just 0.8 behind. Diggins was third in 1:12:09.4, claiming her eighth medal in the 14 World Cup races held so far.

Diggins won the 2021 Tour de Ski, the only American ever to do so, and she leads Niskanen – who has won two of this season’s Tour de Ski races – by 44 seconds, Jonna Sundling (SWE) by 52 seconds and Heidi Weng (NOR) by 57 seconds. The remaining races are in Val di Fiemme in Italy, with a 15 km Classical Mass Start on Saturday and a 10 km Freestyle Mass Start on Sunday.

The men’s leader is overall World Cup seasonal leader Harald Amundsen of Norway, who won his third race of the 2023-24 campaign in the 20 km Classical Pursuit in 57:57.7, trailed by teammates Henrik Doennestad (57:58.2) and Martin Nyenget (58:32.3) for a medals sweep.

Amundsen now has a 1:39 lead on Doennestad and Nyenget heading to Val di Fiemme. He also has a 929-734 lead on two-time defending World Cup champ Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR), which had to skip the Tour de Ski due to illness.

● Ski Jumping ● The unstoppable Nika Prevc, still just 18, continued her supremacy on the FIS women’s World Cup tour, winning her fourth event in the last five with a sweep of the jumping off the 98 m hill in Villach (AUT) on Thursday.

Prevc (SLO) dominated, earning the top scores in both rounds and finishing at 275.6 points, well ahead of Austria’s Worlds Normal Hill silver winner Eva Pinkelnig, 35, who had the second-best jumps in both rounds and scored 255.3. Slovenian Nika Kriznar, the Beijing Olympic Normal Hill bronze winner, took the bronze Thursday at 251.8.

Pinkelnig, the 2022-23 World Cup seasonal winner, has also been on a tear, with a win and consecutive silvers in her last three starts.

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TSX REPORT: Panam Sports drops Barranquilla as 2027 host; Oudea-Castera, Estanguet say IOC owns Russia-Belarus issue; Snoop Dogg joins NBC

Rich Perelman

January 4, 2024

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

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★ Click here to get our new, 920-event International Sports Calendar
for 2024 and beyond, by date and by sport! ★

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. Panam Sports removes ‘27 Pan Am Games from Barranquilla
2. Ukrainian appeal to CAS asks to bar Russia and Belarus
3. Estanguet, Oudea-Castera say IOC owns the Russia-Belarus issue
4. Gomis to be removed from CNOSF Athletes Commission
5. Snoop Dogg joins NBC Olympic Primetime shows

● Panam Sports revoked the hosting of the 2027 Pan American Games from Barranquilla in Colombia for “countless breaches of current contracts.” No new host, or a process to find one, was announced.

● A Ukrainian lawyer filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport to prevent the International Olympic Committee from allowing Russian or Belarusian competitors at the 2024 Paris Games. He also asks to have Russian and Belarusian athletes and fans banned for life!

● In separate interviews, the French Sports Minister and the head of Paris 2024 said that the IOC is in charge of who is invited to compete at this summer’s Olympic Games.

● French Olympic basketball silver medalist Emilie Gomis will reportedly be dismissed from the Athletes Commission of the French National Olympic Committee for an anti-Israeli social-media post a couple of days after the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October. An inquiry will also be made by Paris 2024, for whom she is an ambassador for the Terre de Jeux program and is on the Board of Directors.

● Rapper and cultural icon Snoop Dogg will join NBC’s Olympic telecasts as a roving commentator as the network tries to boost sagging primetime ratings for the Games.

● World Championship: Ice Hockey (U.S. into semis, Canada out at men’s World Juniors) ●

● Panorama: Paris 2024 (French court allows student housing use for first responders) = Winter Games (Catalonia bid efforts over for now) = Cross Country Skiing (Chanavat and Svahn win Tour de Ski sprints in Davos) = Equestrian (Saudis double Jumping World Cup prize money) = Football (U.S. Justice Dept. appeals Lopez and Full Play Group acquittals) = Ski Jumping (2: Hoerl wins third Four Hills stage; Prevc wins third women’s gold in last four) ●

1.
Panam Sports removes ‘27 Pan Am Games from Barranquilla

There had been whispers of issues with the 2027 Pan American Games in Barranquilla, Colombia and on Wednesday, the whisperers were proved right:

“Panam Sports informs the public that its Executive Committee has unanimously decided to withdraw the venue of the XX Pan American Games to the city of Barranquilla, Colombia.

“The resolution has been taken after countless breaches of current contracts.

“It should be noted that on October 19, at a meeting in Santiago de Chile and after receiving an official letter from the Colombian authorities dated October 25, Barranquilla requested an extension of the deadlines to be able to fulfill the contract. The proposal was accepted by Panam Sports, with a new date of December 30, 2023 and January 30, 2024.

“However, given the lack of response once the new deadline has passed, the Executive Committee of Panam Sports, on January 3, 2024, has made the unwavering determination to withdraw the right to be the host city of the continental event in 2027.”

This follows a pattern of difficulties with continental games. The 2023 African Games in Accra (GHA) has to be postponed to 2024 over a lack of organization and funding. The 2026 Commonwealth Games was handed back by the Australian state of Victoria in 2023 over the projected costs. Now there is no host for the 2027 Pan American Games.

In fact, of the 41 members of Panam Sports, only 12 have organized the Pan Ams:

● 3: Canada, Mexico
● 2: Argentina, Brazil, United States
● 1: Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Peru, Venezuela

The U.S. is in no position to help with the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles and 2034 Winter Games likely in Salt Lake City. Canada has the 2026 FIFA World Cup coming and Mexico also has the 2026 FIFA World Cup and possibly the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, in conjunction with the U.S.

South America has hosted two in a row – Lima (PER) in 2019 and Santiago (CHI) in 2023 – and would have had a third in Barranquilla. Among the 12 South American nations, Bolivia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Suriname and Uruguay have not hosted Pan American Games and Paraguay has been mentioned as a possible replacement.

It’s no small undertaking, as the 2023 edition had 6,909 athletes from the 41 Panam Sports members, competing in 425 events in 39 sports, plus the Parapan American Games that followed, with another 1,943 athletes (31 countries) competing in 17 sports.

The globalization of sports, with athletes competing all over the world in their own disciplines, has lessened the impact of regional sports championships and events like the Pan American Games have tried to use Olympic qualifying as a major attraction for athletes in some sports, with mixed results.

2.
Ukrainian appeal to CAS asks to bar Russia and Belarus

The Ukrainian sports site Champion.com posted a story describing an appeal by Ukrainian sports lawyer Yuriy Yurchenko to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to overturn the International Olympic Committee’s 8 December decision to allow individual “neutral” Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

The appeal asks the Court to confirm that the right to peace and autonomy from foreign invasion has greater value than the anti-doping decisions which have kept Russian athletes sidelined in the past under CAS sanctions.

Apparently filed on 29 December 2023, the appeal asks for much more than simply keeping Russian and Belarusian athletes out of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, including:

● “[T]he International Olimpic [sic] Committee is prohibited from allowing athletes and coaches of the Russian Federation and athletes and coaches from the Republic of Belarus to participate in the 2024 Olympic Games in any status.”

● “[A]thletes and coaches of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus are prohibited from taking part in any international competitions under the flag of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus, for life.”

● “[C]itizens of the Russian Federation and citizens of the Republic of Belarus are prohibited from attending any international competitions, including the Olympic Games, for life.”

The request of the appeal is for a single arbitrator.

The appeal has no chance of success as written, as no athletes are going to be banned for life, much less all Russian and Belarusian citizens. But it is a novel way to keep the Ukrainian push against Russia and Belarus front and center in the sports world.

The appeal itself was not available, so it is not known if Yurchenko was filing an appeal for anyone beyond himself.

Yurchenko was able to raise the CHF 1,000 required to file the appeal within a couple of days via an online fundraising appeal. No word from the Court of Arbitration for Sport yet on the process to be followed.

The head of the Ukrainian National Olympic Committee said that it refused IOC funding in the aftermath of allowing “neutral” Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete at the 2024 Olympic Games. NOC chief Vadym Gutzeit said on Tribuna.com said that IOC funds were used when Russians and Belarusians were not allowed in competition, but:

“When they were admitted to international competitions, I suggested to the executive committee that if they were allowed, then we could not take funds to the IOC. And everyone supported me.

“Thanks to the Cabinet of Ministers and the Ministry of Finance, athletes are fully provided for next year, for the purchase of equipment and training camps. So it doesn’t make sense, because it’s not necessary.”

3.
Estanguet, Oudea-Castera say IOC owns the Russia-Belarus issue

French Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera told RMC Radio on Wednesday that the IOC is the responsible party to decide whether Russian and Belarusian athletes compete this summer at the Games. Asked about the claims of “ethnic discrimination” coming from Russian President Vladimir Putin, she replied:

“We don’t care what he thinks.

“There are rules set by the IOC, it is the IOC which has the authority to decide who participates, who does not participate.

“We must establish this framework and ensure that it is respected to the end, and do everything so that the Russian power does not exploit sport for its own glory. These are provocative messages. We also heard him talk about ‘ethnic discrimination,’ all of which is nonsense.”

Similarly, Paris 2024 chief executive Tony Estanguet, a three-time Olympic champ in canoe slalom, said in an interview last week:

“Personally, I understand the decisions that were taken, I respect them, I rather support them.

“Sanctioning athletes who have no responsibility in international conflicts, I find it inappropriate. And I think it’s pretty good to allow athletes who have no contact with these authorities to be able to participate. …

“These will be very small delegations. We are talking about a few dozen athletes compared to several hundred usually. Somehow, I find it good to give the possibility to certain athletes who are in no way responsible for what is happening to be able to realize their dream by participating in the Games.”

4.
Gomis to be removed from CNOSF Athletes Commission

Former French women’s basketball star Emilie Gomis, a member of the silver-medal-winning London 2012 Olympic team, will reportedly be removed from the Athletes Commission of the French National Olympic Committee for a anti-Semitic social media post.

On 9 October 2023, two days after the Hamas attack on Israel, Gomis posted a message showing a map of France dated 1947, then 1967 and 2023, with the country being covered by an Israeli flag, implying an Israeli takeover of Gaza and border territories, but without any mention of the wars waged against Israel that caused its military actions.

Gomis, now 40, apparently apologized, but an ethics case was brought against her by the CNOSF. Also a member of the Paris 2024 Board and a paid ambassador for the “Terre des Jeux” program, she may be removed from both of those posts after a hearing of the Paris 2024 ethics body later this month.

5.
Snoop Dogg joins NBC Olympic Primetime shows

“I grew up watching the Olympics and am thrilled to see the incredible athletes bring their A-game to Paris. It’s a celebration of skill, dedication, and the pursuit of greatness.

“We’re going to have some amazing competitions and, of course, I will be bringing that Snoop style to the mix. It’s going to be the most epic Olympics ever, so stay tuned, and keep it locked. Let’s elevate, celebrate, and make these games unforgettable, smoke the competition, and may the best shine like gold. Peace and Olympic LOVE, ya dig?”

That’s Snoop Dogg, announced on New Year’s Eve as a new member of the NBC Olympic Primetime crew for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Molly Solomon, Executive Producer and President, NBC Olympics Production explained his role:

“Snoop is already an Olympic gold medal commentator, generating tens of millions of views for his highlights commentary on Peacock of the dressage competition during the Tokyo Olympics.

“That performance alone has earned Snoop a job as our Special Correspondent in Paris. We don’t know what the heck is going to happen every day, but we know he will add his unique perspective to our re-imagined Olympic primetime show.”

The key words are “re-imagined Olympic primetime show,” which fell to its lowest rating ever for the Tokyo Games in 2021, averaging 15.1 million viewers, compared to 27.5 million for Rio 2016 and 31.1 million for London in 2012.

An acclaimed rapper from his debut album, Doggystyle, in 1993, Snoop Dogg – born Calvin Broadus, Jr. in Long Beach, California in 1971 – has become a ubiquitous part of American culture through music, films, concerts and television commercials.

The year-end announcement was in the works for some time. Snoop shot a promotional video in Los Angeles in November for NBC with American stars Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes (beach volleyball), Suni Lee (gymnastics), Jagger Eaton (skateboard) and A’ja Wilson (basketball) that appeared on 31 December.

≡ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ≡

● Ice Hockey ● The U.S. advanced to the semifinals of the 2024 IIHF men’s World Junior Championship in Gothenburg (SWE), while two-time defending champion Canada was eliminated.

The American men, 4-0 in group play, slammed Latvia in its quarterfinal, winning by 7-2 off of three scores in both the first and second periods. Defender Drew Fortescue scored just 1:31 into the game, then forward Gabe Perreault got a goal at 11:42 for a 2-0 lead; after a Latvian goal by forward Dans Locmelis at 13:50, Danny Nelson scored 13 seconds later for the 3-1 edge at the break.

Rutger McGroarty scored on a second-period power play to increase the lead to 4-1 and then Will Smith and Perreault got goals for a 6-1 lead at the end of the period. Oliver Moore got the seventh U.S. goal and Lochmelis scored a second on a power play for the final goal of the game.

The U.S. will face Finland (3-2), which eliminated Slovakia, 4-3, in overtime, on Thursday.

Canada was eliminated by the Czech Republic (3-2) in a tight, 3-2 game, with forward Jakub Stancl scoring the winner at 19:49 of the final period, his second goal of the game! This will be the first time since the 2019 tournament that the Canadians will not reach the semifinals; they are 20-time winners of this championship.

The Czechs will play host Sweden in their semi, , who managed a 3-2 overtime against Switzerland, as defenseman Axel Sandin Pellikka got the winner on a power play at the 15:22 mark of the extra period.

The medal matches will take place on Friday (5th).

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● A French administrative court determined that the Regional Centres of University and Academic Services (CROUS) can have students move from their usual accommodations during the Olympic period to other accommodations, with a small honorarium (€100) and some Olympic tickets.

The 3,000 rooms requested by the Sports Ministry will be used for security and medical staff. A student group had sued to allow the students to stay where they were during the Games.

● Olympic Winter Games: Future ● Minister of the Presidency of the Catalonia region in Spain, Laura Vilagra, said Tuesday that the Catalan government has dropped – for now – any effort to bid for the Olympic Winter Games.

A possible Spanish bid for the 2030 Winter Games had been discussed, but imploded over in-fighting over where events would be staged. Now, with 2030 targeted for the French Alps, 2034 for Salt Lake City and Switzerland preferred for 2038, Climate Department Secretary Anna Barnadas said in a radio interview that future hosting would be difficult to be “celebrated at latitudes like Catalonia’s.”

● Cross Country Skiing ● The 18th Tour de Ski moved along in Davos (SUI), with France’s Lucas Chanavat and Swede Linn Svahn grabbing victories in Wednesday’s Freestyle Sprint.

Chanavat had already won the first Sprint of the Tour, in Tolbach (ITA) and just edged Swede Edvin Anger, 2:15.07 to 2:15.32. Italy’s two-time Olympic Sprint silver winner Federico Pellegrino got the bronze in 2:15.51, with American Gus Schumacher an encouraging fourth (2:17.13). It’s Anger’s first career individual World Cup medal!

Svahn also won the Tolbach Sprint and got to the line this time in 2:32.35, with a narrow victory over Kristine Skistad (NOR: 2:33.65) and American Jessie Diggins (2:34.08). Diggins remains in the overall seasonal lead and in the Tour de Ski, with a 20 km Classical Pursuit on Thursday and two stages at Vai di Fiemme (ITA) over the weekend remaining.

● Equestrian ● Saudi Arabia continued its sports outreach efforts by adding to the prize purse for the 2024 FEI World Cup Finals in Dressage and Jumping.

Both will be held in Riyadh from 16-20 April, with the Dressage prize money rising from €300,000 to €400,000, and the Jumping prizes doubling from €1.3 million to €2.6 million! (€1 = $1.09 U.S.)

Noted the FEI:

“This significant increase in prize money – the highest amount ever seen at an FEI World Cup Final – is likely to be a one-time opportunity, making the 2024 World Cup Finals in Riyadh an exceptional and unprecedented event. It also highlights the Organisers’ dedication in welcoming the global equestrian community to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and for the first time as hosts of the FEI World Cup Finals.”

● Football ● The U.S. Department of Justice appealed a ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Pamela Chen that acquitted former Fox International Channels head Hernan Lopez and Argentina-based Full Play Group SA after their March 2023 convictions for money laundering and wire fraud related to acquiring media rights for a Copa Libertadores tournament, and Full Play’s actions in trying to acquire rights to the Copa America and other matches.

The filing with the Second Circuit Court of Appeals asks to reinstate the convictions or order a new trial, noting that “The court’s analysis ignored trial proof of those counts, which would survive even under the court’s new, post-verdict erroneous legal rule.”

● Ski Jumping ● The third stage of the 72nd Four Hills Tournament was in Innsbruck (AUT), off the 128 m hill and saw the third different winner so far, as Austria’s Jan Hoerl – a Beijing 2022 Winter Games Team gold medalist – took his second career individual World Cup win.

Hoerl scored 267.5 points, ahead of Japan’s Ryoyu Kobayashi (258.7), who was second for the third straight time, and Michael Hayboeck (AUT: 254.0). Kobayashi now leads the Four Hills, 857.6 to 852.8 over Andreas Wellinger (GER) with one more event on Saturday off the 142 m hill in Bischofshofen (AUT). The Japanese star is gunning for his third Four Hills title, having won in 2019 and 2022.

There’s no stopping Slovenia’s Nika Prevc, who won again on Wednesday off the 98 m hill in Villach (AUT), beating Austria’s Eva Pinkelnig and Canada’s Abigail Strate by 262.7-236.7-233.6.

Prevc had the highest-scoring jumps in both rounds, and now has won three of the last four World Cups. Strate also has medals in three straight events, going bronze-silver-bronze after having won one career World Cup medal before this season!

Jumping continues at Villach on Thursday, before the women head to Sapporo (JPN) to resume on the 12th.

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SPECIAL: It’s here! Our updated, 920-event International Sports Calendar for 2024 and more now posted!

Rich Perelman

January 3, 2024

The Games of the XXXIII Olympiad in Paris is almost here, but there are lots of events coming before, so it’s time for an update to our TSX calendar – an exclusive 920-event listing – for 2024, with a few of the larger events beyond to 2028.

Our updated International Sports Calendar focuses on sports and events on the Olympic and Winter Games program for 2024 and 2026, 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 Olympic year ahead.

Two calendars are included in the single PDF download: an 20-page listing in chronological order and a 21-page listing by sport (and in date order within each sport).

It’s free! Get your download right now here!

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TSX REPORT: The top stories of 2024? The end of the 2022 Winter Games, spotlights on LA28 and Thomas Bach, and, finally, Paris 2024!

Rich Perelman

January 2, 2024

tsx pix 2022-211 valieva, kamila 2 wiki (Ttckcv21) — Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva, in the middle of the final event to be decided at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games! (Photo: Ttckcv21 via Wikipedia)

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

★ To get The Sports Examiner by e-mail: sign up here! ★

★ Best wishes for a happy and healthy 2024 from The Sports Examiner! ★

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

What will be the big stories of 2024? Certainly the Olympic Games in Paris this summer, but there are loads of legal, political and business stories that will command attention before and after. The biggest stories of 2024 (we think):

5. The conclusion of the Valieva case and the 2022 Winter Games
4. A year, and new challenges for LA28
3. Will Thomas Bach stay, or will he go?
2. What about Russia?
1. At long last, the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris

● Panorama: Athletics (two arrested in death of Uganda’s Kiplagat) = Badminton (Shu gets second U.S. title) = Cross Country Skiing (Diggins takes Pursuit in Tour de Ski stage 3) = Ski Jumping (2: Lanisek wins in Garmisch; Pinkelnig wins in Obertsdorf) ●

● Schedule: Nearing the end of our technical migration and upgrades, so look for the next edition of TSX on Thursday (4th). ●

LANE ONE:
Projecting the top stories of 2024, from no. 5 to no. 1

The 2024 Olympic Games in Paris will be the highlight of the year, no doubt, but there are other stories that will be talked about in the run-up and well afterwards. Today, let’s look at our projected top-five stories in international sport in 2024.

5.
The conclusion of the Valieva case and the 2022 Winter Games

Way back on 25 December 2021, 15-year-old Kamila Valieva won the Russian women’s championship and tested positive for trimetazidine, a prohibited substance under the World Anti-Doping Code.

However, it took a long time for the Stockholm lab to process her sample and in the interim, she won the European Championship and was the favorite for the Olympic title at the Beijing Winter Games.

She competed in the Team Event, winning the Short Program and the Free Skate, and Russia won the gold medal over the U.S., 74-65, with Japan third (63) and Canada fourth (53), on 7 February 2022. But the report of her positive test came in the same day and the awards ceremony was never held.

Valieva was initially suspended by the Russian Anti-Doping Agency, then had her sanction reversed by the appeals committee and after a challenge – in Beijing – to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, was allowed to compete in the women’s Singles event, eventually finishing fourth.

That is essentially where we are now, almost two years later. After a long inquiry by RUSADA, the World Anti-Doping Agency got tired of waiting and intervened with a filing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, joined by the International Skating Union and, also, RUSADA itself.

Two hearings were held in 2023, in September and November, and a decision by the arbitrators is due by the end of January or perhaps into early February.

Unbelievable. But the last event to have medals awarded for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games will finally be closed this year, possibly with a ceremony during the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris!

4.
A year, and new challenges for LA28

Los Angeles was awarded its third Olympic Games back in 2017, an unprecedented 11 years ahead of a 2028 Games. In August, the sporting world’s attention will fully turn to Los Angeles at the conclusion of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris.

And the LA28 organizers are in transition.

The organizing committee has remained small and mostly quiet, developing its plan for using all existing venues for the 2028 Games, and funding – with the help of advanced funds from the International Olympic Committee – a $160 million youth sports partnership with the Los Angeles Recreation and Parks Department.

But in 2023, a lot happened. In October, its request for five additional sports – baseball and softball, cricket, flag football, lacrosse and squash – was approved and with the add-back of modern pentathlon and weightlifting, there will be a record 35 sports at the 2028 Olympic Games, with a 36th – boxing – likely to be added back as well.

The number of athletes who will compete will swell beyond the recommended 10,500 to at least 11,242.

In December, LA28 announced that chief executive Kathy Carter would transition to a Senior Advisor role and that Chief Business Officer Brian Lafemina, who had operating responsibilities that covered most of the Games preparations, had left the organization.

The organization will have to expand, the planning effort will have to be accelerated, and sponsorship sales will continue. LA28’s revenues have been modest this far, but far more is expected now:

● 2020: $2.63 million in revenue
● 2021: $21.97 million
● 2022: $121.6 million projected
● 2023: $181.7 million projected

A financial report covering 2022 is not due until the second quarter of 2024.

In addition to new leadership, LA28 could also reveal an engaging venue plan that could nationalize the 2028 Games. Although not officially announced, the flatwater canoeing and rowing events have been moved from Lake Perris in Riverside County – east of Los Angeles – to the Long Beach Marine Stadium used for the 1932 Olympic Games. But it was noted at October’s IOC Session when the added sports were approved that some of them could well be held outside of Los Angeles.

Baseball at Yankee Stadium? Perhaps the Canoe Slalom events and Softball in Oklahoma City, which has perhaps the best venues in the U.S. for both events? How about Lacrosse at an eastern venue, where the sport has high visibility? And what about the plans for Cricket and Flag Football, both of which have massive potential as Olympic sports?

Look for the LA28 organizers to come out of their shell in 2024. In the Hollywood tradition, it should be entertaining!

3.
Will Thomas Bach stay, or will he go?

Spontaneity is not usually part of an IOC Session, as the all-member meetings of the International Olympic Committee are known. But in Mumbai (IND) last October, Algerian member Mustapha Berraf, also the President of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) addressed IOC President Thomas Bach (GER) with prepared remarks from the floor which included (as interpreted at the time):

“There have been a number of changes and crises that you have had to deal with, which you have dealt with very well, thanks to the support of us all. The changes that you have to face, we have to face in the IOC, takes place at a time of great divisions in the world, and I think it is necessary, really, that we have this exceptional leadership which you have shown.

“Therefore, on behalf of the African National Olympic Committees, and the African members of the IOC, suggest that we make the necessary arrangements so that President Thomas Bach should be allowed to carry out an additional term of office, which would allow the IOC to go through this period of torment with a President who has proved his mettle, and which will allow the IOC to prepare a transition in a very much more serene manner.”

This was a stunner, as Bach has made no such request and has spoken openly of decisions which will be taken by his successor. And he has promoted potential future IOC leaders with appointment and assignments, notably of Olympic swimming champ and Zimbabwean member Kirsty Coventry, Aruban member and 2028 Coordination Commission Chair Nicole Hoevertsz (ARU) and 2024 Coordination Commission chief Pierre-Olivier Beckers (BEL).

Bach was asked repeatedly about Berraf’s comments and responded:

● “Well, the situation was as follows: I had heard some rumors before that some members who wanted and want me to continue my mandate, but I did clearly not expect that this would come to the Session, that it would be brought up in the Session. Now, after yesterday, I had a number of conversations with a number of IOC colleagues and from this I can conclude that there were mainly two motivations for them, which are coming together.

“There are a number of these colleagues that think and feel that an election campaign, so early before the election would, or is, disrupting the preparations for the Olympic Games Paris, which are so important for the entire Olympic Movement and this is why they would like to avoid this, and then they all wanted to express their recognition for the work having been accomplished by the IOC in the last 10 years and they wanted to show their strong support for this.”

● “From what I have heard from these members is they are concerned about an early campaign at this moment, which would disrupt the preparations for the Games in Paris, and for the rest, you may understand that such an answer you don’t give out [to] offend and you don’t give out over the media.

“But this has to be discussed with the people concerned and then the media will be informed.”

No more has been heard and the questions surrounding Paris 2024, Russia, Ukraine and elsewhere have been at the top of the agenda. In order to allow Bach to serve beyond 2025, changes would have to be made to the Olympic Charter, which Bach helped to revise.

If not resolved by the end of the Paris Olympic Games, it will become the outstanding question in the Olympic Movement beginning on 12 August 2024.

2.
What about Russia?

At the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver (CAN), Russia won a modest – for them – 15 medals, with three golds, five silvers and seven bronzes.

That was unacceptably low production, ranking sixth in terms of total medals. So something had to be done.

What was done was a state-sponsored doping system that boosted Russia to the top of the medal table – with 33 totals medals – at the Sochi 2014 Winter Games! But the details came out, starting with a 2014 documentary on the German ARD television channel and a damaging inquiry by Canadian IOC member Dick Pound in November 2015. Three medals were eventually removed and reassigned.

Russia has been in conflict with the Olympic Movement ever since, with reduced teams in Rio in 2016, PyeongChang in 2018, Tokyo in 2021 and Beijing in 2022. Then came the invasion of Ukraine a few days after the end of the 2022 Winter Games, followed by an IOC recommendation not to allow Russian or Belarusian competitors in international competitions, followed by most of the International Federations.

But in 2023, the IOC changed course and asked the IFs to allow “neutral” Russian and Belarusian athletes to be able to compete under strict conditions. Most have followed the IOC’s lead. And in December, the IOC issued its own guidelines for allowing individual Russian and Belarusian “neutrals” to compete in Paris in 2024.

This has infuriated both the Russians and multiple European governments who support Ukraine, with both calling out the IOC for making the wrong decision!

In response, the bellicose rhetoric out of Russia was followed by the announcement of Russian-hosted, Olympic-style competitions in 2024, including the BRICS Games in June (BRICS = Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) and a World Friendship Games to be held in September.

The IOC led a chorus against this move at the Olympic Summit in December, with the meeting summary specifically noting:

“[T]he Russian government, following a decree from the President of the Russian Federation, intends to organise clearly politically motivated sports events in Russia.

“WADA [World Anti-Doping Agency] expressed strong opposition to such events from an anti-doping perspective. The WADA President emphasised that it would be contrary to the spirit of the World Anti-Doping Code to have such an event in a country that is non-compliant. One of the consequences that WADA is seeking in the latest compliance case against RUSADA that was referred to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) recently is that Russia cannot be awarded any major events. Additionally, such events would be organised by the very same Russian government, a government that was implicated in a systemic doping-programme at the Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014, and later also the manipulation of anti-doping data. Under these circumstances, athletes could have no confidence in a safe and fair competition. …

“The President of ANOC and representatives of Continental Associations of NOCs declared that their organisations would in no way support the participation of athletes in such events.”

Moreover, the IOC suspended the Russian Olympic Committee for taking over Ukrainian sports organizations in areas of eastern Ukraine currently controlled by the Russians.

So 2024 sets up as another year of conflict between Russia, the IOC, WADA and others. Bach and the IOC are determined to have some Russian and Belarusian athletes in Paris as a show of “unity” under the Olympic flag. But it is also quite possible that Russian autocrat Vladimir Putin will decide – on behalf of his nation’s athletes – that none will go to Paris.

And as long as Russia remains in Ukraine, there is no prospect of reconciliation.

1.
At long last, the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris

The long-awaited return of the Olympic Games to Europe will come with the return of the Games to Paris exactly 100 years after the 1924 Games, with an opening ceremony on 6 km of the Seine River through the heart of the city!

That opening promises to be the signature of the 2024 Games, which will feature 32 sports and 329 events, including the Olympic debut of break dancing. And there will be another signature innovation, the introduction of mass-participation races to accompany the marathons, allowing a limited number of runners to experience the Olympic course.

There have been the usual doubts about the organization of the Games: traffic and transportation readiness, security amid terrorist incidents in France, the impact of the Hamas attack on Israel and the Israeli response on the large Islamic population in the country and so on. But the Paris 2024 organizers, led by former Olympic canoeing gold medalist Tony Estanguet, will reach their sponsorship revenue targets, have sold a sensational 7.6 million tickets so far and have seen the French government’s Olympic construction agency nearly finish the required venues, on time and within the budgeted guidelines.

The setting should be spectacular and there are hopes for not only brilliant competitions on the fields of play, but heightened interest from television viewers, especially in the U.S.

Crucial to the IOC’s financial future beyond 2032 is a rebound of American viewing interest in the Games. The three consecutive Games in Asia in 2018-2021-2022 have crushed NBC’s ratings; where the last Games in Europe – in London in 2012 – drew 217 million total U.S. viewers, that number went down to 198 million for Rio in 2016 and then cratered at 150 million for Tokyo in 2021. The average primetime audience in Tokyo of 15.1 million fell to 11.4 million for the 2022 Beijing Winter Games.

But the competition should be spectacular, with brilliant performers in every sport, the likely return of American gymnastics superstar Simone Biles in gymnastics, the Australia-U.S. duel in the pool, Noah Lyles trying for perhaps four track & field golds and French stars looking for home-Games glory like star judoka – and two-time Olympic champ – Teddy Riner, and swimmer Leon Marchand.

It should be great. Let’s hope it is. It needs to be.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Athletics ● Two men have been arrested in Kenya in the stabbing death of Ugandan Olympian Benjamin Kiplagat on Sunday.

Police said robbery was the apparent motive for the assailants, as his mobile phone and money were taken. He was found in his brother’s car outside of the running mecca of Eldoret. Kiplagat, 34, was a steeplechase Olympian in 2008-12-16. He made the Olympic final in 2008 and had a best of 8:03.81 from 2010.

● Badminton ● The USA Badminton National Championships in Morrisville, North Carolina produced all-new champions, although one former champion reclaimed the top spot.

That would be top-seeded Howard Shu, who took his second men’s Singles title – he also won in 2014 – with a 21-14, 14-21, 21-18 victory over second-seed Enrico Keoni Asuncion.

Unseeded Ella Lin won her first U.S. title by defeating the top-seeded – and former national champ – Esther Shi by 12-21, 21-16, 21-18.

The men’s Doubles final was cut short, after Arthur Heng Lee and Samuel Li took the first set, 21-13, with Sattawat Pongnairat and Shu retiring. Defending women’s Doubles champs Annie and Kerry Wu reached the final, but lost to Francesca Corbett and Allison Lee, 21-16, 21-18.

The Mixed Doubles winners were Jeffrey Chang and Chloe Ho, by 18-21, 21-19, 21-17, over Kai Chong and Stella Pan.

● Cross Country Skiing ● The third of seven races in the 2024 Tour de Ski, the 20 km Freestyle Pursuit in Tolbach (ITA) was another win for the irrepressible Jessie Diggins of the United States, increasing her overall lead in the seasonal World Cup standings.

Diggins, the first American to ever win the Tour de Ski – in 2021 – was in front from the start and finished with a 46.5-second win in 58:18.7, beating Victoria Carl (GER: 59:05.2) and Linn Svahn (SWE: 59:06.9). American teammate Rosie Brennan was 15th in 60:22.5.

With her 17th individual World Cup victory, Diggins now has 943 points on the season, after 12 of 34 events, ahead of Emma Ribom (SWE: 828) and Brennan (787).

The men’s 20 km Pursuit winner was also the seasonal leader, Norway’s Harald Amundsen, in 52:38.0, followed by teammates Erik Valnes (53:10.9) and Jan Jenssen (53:42.6). American Gus Schumacher finished 10th in 53:47.2.

The Tour de Ski moves on to Davos (SUI) for races on Wednesday (Sprint) and Thursday (Classical Pursuit).

● Ski Jumping ● Stage two of the Four Hills Tournament was in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (GER), off the 142 m hill and the sixth career World Cup individual gold for Anze Lanisek (SLO).

Japan’s Ryoyu Kobayashi, the 2022 Beijing Olympic Normal Hill champion, led after the first round, but Lanisek had the best second jump in the field and won at 295.8 points, to overtake Kobayashi (292.6). Andreas Wellinger (GER), the winner in Obertsdorf, finished third with 291.4 points.

Next up is Innsbruck (AUT) for stage 3 on Wednesday, with the final stage on Saturday in Bischofshofen (AUT).

The women’s jumping in Obertsdorf (GER) – off the 137 m hill – was a victory for Austrian star Eva Pinkelnig, who got her 10th career World Cup win by coming from fifth to first on her second jump and finished at 272.1 points to edge Canada’s Abigail Strate (269.4). Eirin Kvandal (NOR) and Jacqueline Seifriedsberger (AUT) tied for third at 261.6.

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TSX REPORT: The top stories of 2024? Here they are, from no. 10 to no. 6, starting with a world-record watch in April!

Rich Perelman

January 1, 2024

tsx pix 2023-1008 kiptum, kelvin (BACM-Kevin Morris) — A world record 2:00:35 for Kenya's Kelvin Kiptum in Chicago in October! (Photo: Bank of America Chicago Marathon-Kevin Morris)

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

★ To get The Sports Examiner by e-mail: sign up here! ★

★ Best wishes for a happy and healthy 2024 from The Sports Examiner! ★

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

What will be the top stories in international sport in 2024? Some of the same from 2023, but also new drama in multiple sports, plus the forthcoming Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The first half of our top 10 stories to watch:

10. Kiptum after the 2:00 marathon barrier in Rotterdam
9. Winter Games drama in Milan, Cortina, France and Salt Lake City
8. World’s biggest-ever swim meet on tap at U.S. Trials?
7. Is the Commonwealth Games at an end?
6. FIFA will confirm its future path in 2024

● Panorama: Olympic Games (Olympedia.org site updates ended) = Paris 2024 (Ukraine participation decision still to come) = Olympic Esports Games (Japan reported to be site of inaugural event) = France (law to offer tax-free status to IFs held unconstitutional) = Alpine Skiing (2: Shiffrin wins 93rd in Lienz; Odermatt takes Bormio Super-G) = Athletics (Chebet gets 5 km world record in Barcelona) = Boxing (new USA Boxing transgender policy takes effect) = Cross Country Skiing (Ogden and Diggins get bronzes for U.S.) = Ice Hockey (U.S. undefeated in men’s World Juniors) = Ski Jumping (2: Wellinger takes Four Hills opener; Prevc wins second straight) = Swimming (McKeever suspended by SafeSport) ●

● Errata: Some readers of Friday’s post saw Ethiopian star Tigist Assefa’s world women’s marathon record shown as 2:37:44; it’s 2:11:53. Sorry about that; quickly corrected! ●

LANE ONE:
Projecting the top stories of 2024, from no. 10 to no. 6

A lot of the stories that dominated 2023 are going strong into 2024, notably the build-up to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. But there are other stories which will be important, so let’s count down the TSX top-10 projected stories of the new year, starting with nos. 10 to 6:

10.
Kiptum after the 2:00 marathon barrier in Rotterdam

Kenya’s two-time Olympic champ Eliud Kipchoge showed that a sub-2:00 marathon is real with his 1:59:40.2 time trial in Vienna (AUT) in 2019, but his best in a competitive marathon was his world-record 2:01:09 in Berlin (GER) in 2022.

Then came countryman Kelvin Kiptum in 2023, who smashed the world record with a brilliant 2:00:35 world-record win in Chicago in October. This was no fluke, following up his 2:01:25 win in London (GBR) in April, and his 2:01:53 debut in Valencia (ESP) in December of 2022.

And now he is taking direct aim at the first sub-2:00 marathon in competition, at the NN Marathon Rotterdam in the Netherlands on 12 April, as he told the all-sports daily, La Gazzetta dello Sport (ITA). Asked about his plans, he was clear:

“It’s already known, the Rotterdam Marathon on April 14. I would like to grow further, and so, inevitably, break the barrier.”

The Rotterdam course is notoriously fast and flat, and Kiptum’s agent, Marc Corstjens (BEL), is the elite-athlete coordinator for the race, as Kiptum explained why he is targeting a non-World Marathon Majors race:

“The organization is linked to my management. In 2022 I was supposed to run it, to make my debut but a slight injury stopped me. This will be the right time. …

“I’ll go there to run fast, the course is ideal and the crowds in the streets push you to give your best. I would love to be a part of the rich history of this marathon.

“If the preparation goes in the right direction, with peaks of 270 kilometres [168 miles] per week, and the weather conditions permit, I will go for it.”

Although Kiptum, 24, is looking for a world record in Rotterdam, he also is looking to compete in the Paris Olympic marathon, where he could race head-to-head with Kipchoge, 39. Both are on the Kenyan list of 10 potential selectees for Paris:

“As a team we will collaborate, but then everyone looks out for themselves. I could also aim for the Tokyo 2025 World Championships, I saw the race in Budapest which fascinated me.”

9.
Winter Games drama in Milan, Cortina, France and Salt Lake City

True, Paris 2024 is next up, but the International Olympic Committee has been busy with the Olympic Winter Games, both with the 2026 edition in Milan and Cortina in Italy, and with the next three host selections.

The chaos over the venue for bobsled, luge and skeleton in Cortina d’Ampezzo has reached a fever pitch. A request for proposal from construction firms in Italy to build a replacement track for the historic Eugenio Monti track from the 1956 Winter Games in Cortina drew no bidders last summer. The head of the 2026 organizing committee, Italian IOC member Giovanni Malago, told the IOC Session in October that a facility outside the country would be found by the end of the year.

But Italian politicians, notably Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, have insisted that an Italian venue be used, whether the now-abandoned Turin 2006 track or a scaled-down, quick-build version of some kind of track in Cortina. In the meantime, proposals from existing, operating facilities in Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Lake Placid in the U.S. are on the table.

The decision is supposed to be made by the end of January, with the IOC clearly favoring an out-of-Italy solution and Italian politicians digging themselves into a hole by demanding an “Italian solution” to the problem. How long can this go on? (In case you were wondering, the next national election in Italy need not be called until 2027, although it could be held earlier.)

Meanwhile, the race for the 2030 and 2034 Winter Games hosting sites are scheduled to end just prior to the opening of the Paris 2024 Games in July, with the French Alps bid targeted for 2030 and the essentially-complete Salt Lake City bid ready to receive the 2034 Games.

There is a small chance that something could go wrong with the French bid, which was developed quickly after Japan’s bid for Sapporo collapsed from public distrust and the Salt Lake City effort was focused on 2034. But the IOC really does not have another choice, and wants to use some of the Paris 2024 team to continue on to the 2030 Winter Games, as well as continue the engagement of some of the 2024 sponsors.

Switzerland was chosen for “preferred dialogue” for the 2038 Winter Games, but the target to revamp its bid into a smaller number of clustered venue groups is no later than 2027.

8.
World’s biggest-ever swim meet on tap at U.S. Trials?

USA Swimming held its Olympic Trials at the CHI Health Center Omaha, bringing in temporary pools and selecting its team in front of capacity crowds of 14,000 or more in 2008, 2012, 2016 and less due to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021.

But the opportunity to create a mega-meet opened up for 2024 and in 2022, the federation announced that the 2024 Olympic Swimming Trials would be held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, home of the NFL’s Colts.

That plan, using essentially one end of the stadium and temporary pools for competition and warm-up, could seat as many as 35,000 people for each session from 15-23 June.

A wide range of ticket options are available, from $55.99 (including fees) and up, including deckside seating at $393.40 (including fees). There are still lots of tickets available, naturally leading to worries that the event will not live up to its billing.

More likely is that sales will come later rather than sooner as the 2024 Games gets closer and the awareness spreads. According to the International Swimming Hall of Fame, the largest-ever crowd for an indoor swimming competition was 25,000 in Berlin (GER) in 1936, a mark which could be overtaken by the 2023 Trials.

And the swimming extravaganza in Indianapolis will part of the usual “Trials Week” program which highlights swimming, track and field and gymnastics as a major promotion for NBC of its upcoming Olympic coverage:

● 15-23 June: U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Swimming, in Indianapolis
● 21-30 June: U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Track & Field, in Eugene
● 27-30 June: U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Gymnastics, in Minneapolis

All three will be widely showcased, as NBC and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee work to promote viewing of the Paris 2024 Games, after three straight Olympics in Asia (2018-21-22) have cratered U.S. interest to its lowest level ever.

7.
Is the Commonwealth Games at an end?

The first British Empire Games was held in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada in 1930 and save for a hiatus due to World War II, has been a popular event, with some of the most memorable performances in sports history.

But after a calamitous 2023, the future of this event is very much in doubt. The 2022 edition was highly successful in Birmingham (ENG), which stepped in for original host Durban (RSA), which abandoned the event due to cost concerns in 2017.

Birmingham had planned to host the 2026 Games, but when it moved up, the Commonwealth Games Federation needed to find a new host. Finally, the Australian state of Victoria stepped up and agreed to stage the 2026 Games and signed a host agreement in April 2022. But 16 months later, Victoria pulled out, again over cost concerns and paid A$380 million (about $259 million U.S. today) to break its contract.

So now the CGF is again trying to find a host. Many Commonwealth countries think that since Australia was going to host in 2026, it should find a new host somewhere else in the country. But a proposal from Gold Coast – which hosted in 2018 – went nowhere, as the state government of Queensland is much more interested in working on the 2032 Olympic Games to be held in Brisbane.

No one else has come forward, and the Games could slide to 2027 if a host can be found. Moreover, there are no bidders lining up for the centennial Games in 2030, and a bid from Hamilton to stage the Games again fell through, again over costs.

The CGF issued a strategy document in October 2021, creating a flexible approach, with only athletics and swimming as required sports and suggesting a limit of 15 sports total. But no one seems interested.

Will anyone step forward? Is the Commonwealth Games – after almost a century – dead?

The coming year might well tell the tale, not only for the Commonwealth Games, but raising continuing questions about other regional, multi-sport continental games, all of which appear to be less and less appealing in the age of Olympics or bust.

6.
FIFA will confirm its future path in 2024

Following on from the enormous success of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, the world’s richest International Federation will try to cement its long-term legacy with a series of event awards in 2024.

First will be the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, with bids from Brazil – whose member federation may be suspended for governmental interference – as well as a three-nation European bid from Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands and a joint U.S.-Mexico bid.

That decision is expected at the FIFA Congress in May 2024. The U.S. and Germany have hosted this event previously, but it would be a first for Brazil, Belgium, the Netherlands and Mexico.

It’s worthwhile to remember that FIFA has targeted what seemed like an outrageous target of $11 billion U.S. in revenue for its 2023-26 quadrennial, and President Gianni Infantino (SUI) publicly announced a goal of making football (soccer) the no. 1 sport in the U.S. (or maybe no. 2 to American Football, at least in the near term).

How FIFA will achieve these aspirations is becoming clear: hold as many of its major trophy events in the U.S. as possible, and depend on U.S. fans and sponsors to push the federation to new financial heights. With a seemingly endless number of stadiums available thanks to the National Football League and college football, not to mention a sports-hungry population, the U.S. capacity for handling expanded tournaments that can generate new, unimagined levels of revenue for FIFA:

● The smallish Club World Cup, first held in 2000, and in 2023 in Saudi Arabia with seven teams, will expand to a startling 32 teams for 2025 and be held in the U.S.

● The 2026 FIFA World Cup will return to the U.S. for the first time since the record-setting 1994 tournament, with some games in Canada and Mexico, and the event will not just expand, but explode to 48 teams and 104 matches, from 32 teams and 64 games in 2022! The windfall will be FIFA’s.

And for Infantino to complete a three-year program to skyrocket U.S. support of soccer, look for the 2027 Women’s World Cup to also be given to the U.S. and Mexico, which can easily handle a 32-team, 64-match event.

Keep in mind that for the first time, there is no national organizing committee for the FIFA World Cup. FIFA is doing it itself, with offices in Coral Gables, Florida. And that organizing office can easily keep going for 2027 and handle the Women’s World Cup as well (and will likely lead the effort for the 2025 Club World Cup, with all three tournaments using several of the same venues).

And FIFA could decide to expand the 2027 tournament even after the selection, as the U.S. has the capacity and FIFA’s own organizing team will have just completed a 48-team event in 2026.

That’s a roadmap to meet FIFA’s goals for the U.S. and for its 2023-26 revenue goals. Next up will be the confirmation of the 2030 FIFA World Cup for Spain, Portugal and Morocco, with opening matches in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, and the 2034 World Cup, for which Saudi Arabia is the only bidder.

Coming so quickly – 12 years – after the World Cup in Qatar in 2022, FIFA is being criticized for its pursuit of Gulf State hosts, run by monarchies with controversial human-rights records. Infantino is unmoved; remember his victory lap during a news conference in Doha near the end of the 2022 World Cup over the event’s impacts on Qatari law and customs:

“Without the pressure of the World Cup, I believe, that the changes that would have happened in Qatar maybe not have happened, or not at least at that speed.”

Coming up Tuesday, a look at the projected top five stories ahead for 2024 in international sport, including – at last – an official end to the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Olympic Games ● A sad announcement on X (ex-Twitter) from super-statistician and Olympic historian Dr. Bill Mallon (USA) on the authoritative Olympedia.org site:

“For about 20 years now, my group, which we call the OlyMADMen (now 28 strong), has created and updated a website, Olympedia, with complete information about the results of the Olympic Games – Summer, Winter, Youth, Intercalated, Ancient, and more. 1/n

“Olympedia contains almost anything you need on the Olympics, including complete results of all events in all sports, and bios of every Olympian, and much more. In 2016 Olympedia was purchased by the IOC but we have had a contract with them to update it since that time. 2/n

“As of 1 Jan 2024 our contract with the IOC is not being renewed. The OlyMADMen will no longer update Olympedia after today, 29 Dec. We do not know if the IOC will continue to keep Olympedia online, but we do not expect them to update it. 3/n

“It’s been a fun run, but all good things come to an end. Thank you for your support of Olympedia over the years. 4/n”

Mallon wrote in an e-mail that he does expect the site to continue to operate in the near future, but has no idea beyond that.

● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● Ukraine’s decision on participation at the 2024 Paris Games is still up in the air, according to acting Youth and Sports Minister Matviy Bidnyi. He told the BBC last week:

“First of all, we do not use the word boycott as such. We say that this is our position: we will not participate in the competition if athletes who support Russian aggression, who support this bloody regime, are allowed to participate. This is a matter of principle for us.

“We will analyze what will happen, how the IOC will react to the arguments we are now presenting, to our appeals, petitions, speeches, etc.

“But again, we understand that [a boycott] will be, in principle, a blow to our athletes. We are also aware that we are taking a risk.”

“The Olympic Charter provides for sanctions for such actions and it is possible that we will be offered to participate in the next Olympic Games [2028] as neutrals. So this is quite a radical step.”

● Olympic Esports Games ● Kyodo News reported that Japan is the preferred site for the inaugural Olympic Esports Games in 2026.

The International Olympic Committee wants to hold an Olympic Esports Games to further engage with youth, but on its own terms and rejecting electronic games which promote violence. For Japan, the event is a way to stay close to the IOC while its issues with the imploded Sapporo Winter Games bid are resolved and the legal proceedings involving the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games are concluded.

● France ● A French government initiative to provide a major tax break for international federations and their employees who relocate to France was removed from a finance bill last week by the French Constitutional Council. The proposal was:

“These provisions amend the general tax code in order to provide, on the one hand, that international sports federations recognized by the International Olympic Committee are exempt from business property taxes, value added contributions and corporate taxes. for certain activities and, on the other hand, that the employees of these federations, tax domiciled in France, are exempt from income tax on the salaries and wages paid to them in respect of these same activities for five years from the time they take office.”

The article was held as unconstitutional as the tax exemptions – designed to attract federations to the country – were held “as violating the principle of equality before public offices.”

● Alpine Skiing ● American superstar Mikaela Shiffrin closed out a historic 2023, in which she became the biggest winner ever on the FIS World Cup circuit, with her 93rd career win in Friday’s Slalom in Lienz (AUT).

She roared to a big lead in the first run in 52.81, with U.S. teammate Paula Moltzan second at 53.95. Moltzan hit a groove in the snow and did not finish the second run, but Shiffrin was just as good, winning the second run at 55.94 for a 1:48.75 total. German Lena Duerr was fifth-fastest on both runs, good enough for second (1:51.09), with Michelle Gisin (SUI: 1:51.20) in third.

In 2023, Shiffrin recorded 13 wins and now has record totals for World Cup wins (93) and Slalom wins (56). She ends the year with a 900-637 lead in the overall World Cup standings over Italy’s Federica Brignone.

Friday’s men’s Super-G in Bormio (ITA) was the fourth win of the season – in just 10 races – for reigning World Cup champ Marco Odermatt (SUI), who won by almost a second in 1:27.72, beating Austria’s Raphael Haaser (1:28.70) and Norwegian star Aleksander Aamodt Kilde (1:29.03).

Odermatt now leads the overall World Cup standings with 636 points to 464 for the now-injured Marco Schwarz (AUT) and 240 for Kilde, after 10 of 41 races.

● Athletics ● A world record in the women’s 5 km for Kenyan star Beatrice Chebet at the Cursa dels Nassos race in Barcelona (ESP) on Sunday.

The race was set up to be fast and Chebet, the 2023 World Road champ, finally ran away from Ethiopia’s Ejegayehu Taye in the final 500 m to win in 14:13, breaking the 14:19 best by Taye from this race in 2021. Taye finished second in 14:21, equaling the no. 3 performance ever, with Lilian Rengeruk (KEN) third in 14:26, moving her to no. 3 on the all-time performers list.

Said the winner: “I came to Barcelona determined to better the world record as I felt capable of that. This world record means a lot for me, I can’t believe it.”

● Boxing ● “Since boxing’s IF has not determined transgender eligibility and boxing is considered a combat sport, USA Boxing’s overriding objective is the safety of all boxers and fair competition between all boxers.”

That’s from the USA Boxing transgender policy which took effect on Monday and interestingly has elements not usually seen in such protocols.

For most sports, the opportunity for at-birth females to compete in the men’s division is open, without qualifications. In view of the nature of boxing, that’s not good enough for the federation, which requires:

“● The athlete has declared that his gender identity is male and has had gender reassignment surgery.

“● The athlete for a minimum of four years after surgery has had quarterly hormone testing and presents USA Boxing documentation of hormone levels.

“● The athlete must demonstrate that his total testosterone level in serum has been above 10 nmol/L for at least 48 months prior to his first competition (with the requirement for any longer period to be based on a confidential case-by-case evaluation, considering whether or not 48 months is a sufficient length of time to minimize any advantage in men’s competition).”

Continued testing is also called for. As far as the more controversial male-to-female eligibility standards:

“● The athlete has declared that her gender identity is female and has completed gender reassignment surgery.

“● The athlete for a minimum of four years after surgery has had quarterly hormone testing and presents USA Boxing documentation of hormone levels.

“●The athlete must demonstrate that her total testosterone level in serum has been below 5 nmol/L for at least 48 months prior to her first competition …

“● The athlete’s total testosterone level in serum must remain below 5 nmol/L throughout the period of desired eligibility to compete in the female category.”

All boxers under age 18 must compete in the birth gender. Although there are sports with lower testosterone requirements than the 5 nmol/L level required by USA Boxing, the requirements for gender reassignment surgery and four-year waiting period are uniquely strict.

● Cross Country Skiing ● The FIS World Cup tour was in Tolbach (ITA) for the beginning of the 18th Tour de Ski, a highly-prized, seven-stage in-season tournament with Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR) and Frida Karlsson (SWE) the defending champions.

Neither figured in the medal ceremonies, as France’s Lucas Chanavat got his first World Cup victory since January of 2020, winning the Freestyle Sprint in 2:35.75, ahead of teammate Jules Chappaz (2:35.97) and American Ben Ogden (2:36.24).

The American Ogden, 23, finally broke into medal contention earlier this season, with a Sprint fourth on 9 December and now has his first World Cup medal.

In the men’s 10 km Classical Interval Start, Finn Perttu Hyvarinen got the win in 23:08.6, trailed by Norway’s Erik Valnes (23:24.8) and Harald Amundsen (23:25.8). Ogden finished ninth in 23:54.8. For the 32-year-old Hyvarinen, it was his first career individual World Cup medal!

The women’s Freestyle Sprint was a 1-2 for Sweden, with Linn Svahn (3:01.22) and Jonna Sundling (3:01.29), and Kristine Skistad (NOR: 3:01.51) in third. It’s the 10th career World Cup gold for Svahn, all but two in Sprint races.

The 10 km Classical Interval Start gold was won by Kerttu Niskanen (FIN: 25:48.0) – the Beijing 2022 Olympic 10 km runner-up – comfortably in front of Victoria Carl (GER: 25:54.7) and American Jessie Diggins (25:58.7), the overall World Cup leader.

Diggins has five medals this season (2-2-1) in 11 races and ends the year with 893 points, ahead of Emma Ribom (SWE: 800) and U.S. teammate Rosie Brennan (771) in the World Cup standings.

The Tolbach racing concluded with a 20 km Freestyle Pursuit on Monday.

● Ice Hockey ● At the men’s World Junior Championships in Gothenburg (SWE), the U.S. concluded pool play with a 4-0 record, outscoring its opponents by 29-9.

Sweden defeated two-time defending champs Canada, 2-0, in their pool game, but lost to Finland in a shoot-out to finish at 3-1 and win Group A. The Canadians were also 3-1, but finished with nine points, in second place.

The quarterfinals will begin on Tuesday with the U.S. facing Latvia and Sweden taking on Switzerland.

● Ski Jumping ● The 72nd Four Hills Tournament has started, with the first stop at the 137 m hill in Obertsdorf (GER). German Andreas Wellinger, the 2018 Olympic Normal Hill champ, took the opener with the biggest first jump in the field and scoring 309.3 points to 306.3 for Japanese star Ryoyu Kobayashi and 298.9 for seasonal leader Stefan Kraft (AUT).

Stage two is in Garmisch-Partenkirchen on Tuesday.

The women were in action in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (GER) on Saturday, with Nika Prevc (SLO) taking her second straight win this season, scoring 267.4 to 254.5 for Eirin Kvandal (NOR) and 247.4 for Abigail Strate (CAN). It’s the third medal of the season for Kvandal and second career medal for Strate.

● Swimming ● Former U.S. Olympic women’s coach and long-time University of California women’s coach Teri McKeever was suspended by the U.S. Center for SafeSport last Thursday, for “emotional misconduct.”

According to Swimming World Magazine:

“As part of the SafeSport notice, McKeever admitted fault in emotionally and physically abusing swimmers, including pressuring them to train or compete while injured. She also admitted to using racist and demeaning language.”

Her suspension is for three months, and probation for another 12 months, and not allowed to contact any of the athletes who made allegations against her. She said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times:

“I acknowledge that my expectations were exceedingly high, and that at times, my frustration with swimmers who weren’t coachable or did not believe in themselves or the team was not productive for the team.”

McKeever’s teams at Cal won four NCAA team titles during her term as head coach from 1992 to 2022, when she was dismissed after an investigation into her conduct. She was the head coach of the U.S. women’s team at the 2012 London Olympic Games.

Russian Evgeny Rylov, the Tokyo Olympic 100-200 m Backstroke gold medalist, told the Russian news agency TASS he is more interested in supporting Russian President Vladimir Putin’s re-election campaign than in the Paris Olympic Games:

“First of all, this is a new experience for me, communication with many new people, new information, it helps me develop. I have never denied that I support the president and his work, so I am very glad that I was invited. I believe that the president pays great attention to sports, and it pays off, since every year more and more people go in for sports. If you take my area, then with the number of children who now go swimming, the pool is only freed up on New Year’s Eve, and before that everything is packed.

“If we talk about the Olympic Games in Paris, then at the moment the support of the president is more important for me, but I also cannot deny the importance of sport, because sport helped me reach certain heights and position in society. I am not going to participate in the next Olympics, but We will have our own competitions next year, and I really want to perform well there.”

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TSX REPORT: The biggest stories of 2023, no. 5 to no. 1, with canceled events, Russia and Paris 2024 at the top of the agenda

Rich Perelman

December 29, 2023

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

★ To get The Sports Examiner by e-mail: sign up here! ★

● HAPPY NEW YEAR! ●

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

In a difficult, troubled year, a lot of turmoil marked the top stories in Olympic sport during 2023; our top five:

5. Crouser, Lyles and Kipyegon lead a great year in T&F
4. French Alps, Salt Lake and Swiss (?) get Winter Games
3. LA28 expands to largest Games ever with 36 sports
2. Victoria’s Commonwealth Games withdrawal a true shocker
1. Russia, security and Tahiti dominate Paris 2024 build-up

● Panorama: International Olympic Committee (New Year’s message from President Bach) = Russia (Law passed to allow payment of foreign athletes to compete in Russia) = Spain (Prosecutors inquiring into possible testing issues by Spain’s anti-doping unit) = Alpine Skiing (2: Shiffrin takes 92nd win at Lienz; Sarrazin surprises in Bormio downhill) = Athletics (USATF membership totals up for 2023) ●

LANE ONE:
The top stories of 2023, from no. 5 to no. 1

It would be nice if the top stories of 2023 were about athlete achievement on the field of play. Instead, it was a year of war, politics, anger, broken promises and more, with some sparkling sporting events thrown in (you can see nos. 10 to 6 here):

No. 5:
Crouser, Lyles and Kipyegon lead a great year in T&F

There were lots of bad things that happened in the world and in sport in 2023, but the year in track and field was mostly great, including a long list of world records (and world bests):

Men:
● 2,000 m: 4:43.13, Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR)
● Two Mile: 7:54.10, Ingebrigtsen
● Steeple: 7:52.11, Lamecha Girma (ETH)
● Marathon: 2:00:35, Kelvin Kiptum (KEN)
● Vault: 6.22 mi (20-4 3/4i), Mondo Duplantis (SWE)
● Vault: 6.23 m (20-5 1/4), Duplantis
● Shot: 23.38 mi (76-8 1/2i), Ryan Crouser (USA)
● Shot: 23.56 m (77-3 3/4), Crouser

Women:
● 1,500 m: 3:49.11, Faith Kipyegon (KEN)
● Mile: 4:07.64, Kipyegon
● 5,000 m: 14:05.20, Kipyegon
● 5,000 m: 14:00.21, Gudaf Tsegay (ETH)
● Marathon: 2:11:53, Tigist Assefa (ETH)
● 35 km Walk: 2:37:44, Kimberly Garcia (PER)
● 35 km Walk: 2:37:15, Maria Perez (ESP)

● Mixed 4×400 m: 3:08.80, United States

World Athletics also recognized, for the first time, world marks in the road mile, with American Hobbs Kessler taking the men’s record at 3:56.13 and Nikki Hiltz of the U.S. getting the first women’s mark at 4:27.97, which was broken by Ethiopia’s Diribe Welteji (ETH) at 4:20.98 at the inaugural World Road Running Championships – another good innovation – in Latvia in October.

Crouser’s 23.38 m indoor mark (76-8 1/2i) was not ratified due to the slope of the landing area, a decision he objected to, but then made moot by exploding at UCLA’s Drake Stadium in May with a brilliant 23.56 m (77-3 3/4) performance that wasn’t ratified until November, after a survey was done of the facility!

The World Athletics Championships was held in new facility in Budapest (HUN), with near-capacity crowds of 30,000+ for most sessions and spectacular competition on the field. American sprint star Noah Lyles surprised with a win in the 100 m, then defended his 200 m title and anchored the winning U.S. 4×100 m relay for three golds and lots more attention for 2024. Crouser scared his May world record with a win at 23.51 m (77-1 3/4) and Duplantis won his third straight Worlds vault gold.

American Sha’Carri Richardson realized her enormous potential with a shock win in the women’s 100 m (10.65) over favored Jamaican Shericka Jackson, but Jackson came back to defend her 200 m title (with Richardson third). And Richardson got a third medal with an anchor leg on the 4×100 m relay.

Kipyegon won both the women’s 1,500 m and 5,000 m, and the women’s vault ended with a tie between Australia’s Nina Kennedy and Olympic champ Katie Moon of the U.S. And with world-record holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone not competing, Dutch hurdler Femke Bol won the 400 m hurdles in 51.70, the no. 8 performance in history.

This was one of the best seasons in history and set up an even better 2024 and beyond. Look for a sub-14 minute 5,000 m this coming year, and after Kipyegon’s performance in the mile, are we that far away from a woman running under four minutes?

No. 4:
French Alps, Salt Lake and Swiss (?) get Winter Games

The International Olympic Committee had been dragging its feet on figuring out what to do about hosts for the 2030 Winter Games, but solved its issues – apparently – at the end of November with the decision to “target” the French Alps bid for 2030 and to essentially award the 2034 event to Salt Lake City, Utah.

The assignments for 2030-34 won’t be final until a vote in the middle of 2024, but the expectation is that both will be approved. The bid process for 2030 was dragged out by IOC concerns over whether natural-snow conditions could be found for future sites, the strong preference of the ready-to-go Salt Lake City bid for 2034 and the collapse of the Sapporo (JPN) bid due to rising costs and the emergence of multiple scandals in the organization of the Tokyo 2020 Games.

With the IOC’s encouragement, bids from 2030 were developed in Sweden, Switzerland and for the French Alps, with a partnership of the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes (AURA) and Provence Alpes-Cote d’Azur (PACA) regions. The French came in late, but were rewarded for having most of their facilities already set, but with some holes, and a ready organizing committee-in-waiting in the existing Paris 2024 staff.

The Salt Lake City is truly solid, with no added venues needed and the sites from the successful 2002 Winter Games still in active use. The wait for 2034 will aid its domestic sponsorship efforts, separated from the Los Angeles sales efforts for the 2028 Olympic Games.

Amid talk of a rotation or even a disassembly of the Winter Games, with events in multiple nations, the IOC surprised with a designation of the Swiss bid for “preferred dialogue” – a new category – for 2038. Most of the venues needed for a Winter Games are available in the Swiss plan, but it is too de-centralized for the IOC’s taste at the moment. The designation essentially gives the IOC and the Swiss until 2027 to work out a plan and go ahead with an award for 2038.

The IOC has stability and time to consider what to do about the Winter Games amid its climate concerns. The only loser was Sweden, which once again failed – for the ninth time – to host a Winter Games.

No. 3:
LA28 expands to largest Games ever with 36 sports

Tremendous anticipation and chatter around whether the Los Angeles 2028 organizers would include cricket as an added sport, with the potential of a television-rights windfall in India which could bring LA28 some added cash in a shared deal with the IOC.

But the reality was even stranger, with LA28 asking for five sports to be approved at the IOC Session in Mumbai, India in October: baseball and softball, cricket, flag football, lacrosse and squash!

The IOC approved them all and with the add-back – by the IOC – of a better-behaved weightlifting federation and a revised modern pentathlon, the total number of sports for 2028 will set an Olympic record of 35. At present, there is no federation for boxing, with the International Boxing Association dismissed in June and the new World Boxing group still in formation, but it is more than likely that boxing will be brought in also, to raise the total to 36.

And these new sports will add at least 742 more athletes to the program, blowing past the 10,500 limit suggested in the Olympic Charter. There was also a tantalizing mention that some or all of these added sports could be held outside of the Los Angeles area. Baseball at Yankee Stadium in New York? Softball at its national center in Oklahoma City? Lacrosse at an eastern venue, where it is more popular?

It’s a huge expansion of the Games program, contrary to the reductions brought on during the Thomas Bach presidency at the IOC, but in a sports-loving host country with endless facilities, the possibilities are enticing.

What about flag football, strongly supported by the National Football League, with significant sponsorship implications? With football (soccer) continuing to grow in popularity – significantly among women – flag is a crucial initiative for the NFL to super-charge its growth among women as players, not just as spectators of tackle football.

The LA28 organizers have been quiet about their plans, but have a clear concept that these added sports can expand interest in the Games, now only in 2028 but for the future as well. But make no mistake, the long-term impact of cricket could be enormous.

No. 2:
Victoria’s Commonwealth Games withdrawal a true shocker

Contracts mean nothing. That was one of the major lessons of 2023, with 18 July a key date which be remembered as a pivot point in sports history.

That’s when then-Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews called a news conference to say that after signing an agreement with the Commonwealth Games Federation to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games in April 2022, the state was withdrawing in 2023.

Why? Money. Andrews said that the government’s estimates of the actual cost of hosting the Games on a regional basis – and not primarily in Melbourne – could be A$6-7 billion, instead of the A$2.6 billion projected (A$1 = $0.68 U.S. today). That, he said, could not be justified.

Victoria had to pay A$380 million as a settlement for the withdrawal, a lot less than the amount Andrews feared if the state had to go through with the hosting. As of now, the 2026 Commonwealth Games has no home, with the state of Queensland rejecting another Gold Coast hosting (it hosted in 2018) and no other offer to stage the event, in Australia or elsewhere.

After a long and happy history beginning in 1930, the future of the Commonwealth Games is very much in doubt.

But that was not the only event which was turned upside down in 2023. A much smaller event, the ANOC World Beach Games, expected to be held in August in Bali (INA), was canceled when Bali governor Wayan Koster – playing to pro-Palestinian political feelings in Indonesia – announced and maintained under pressure that Israeli qualifiers would not be allowed to compete at the event (this was more than three months before the Hamas invasion of Israel).

The Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC), which owns the event, protested, but Koster persisted and the event was canceled on 5 July – two weeks before Victoria pulled out of the Commonwealth Games – on the excuse that the Indonesian government had not released funds needed for the event. No one believed that lie; it was anti-Semitism, pure and simple. And ANOC would not stand for it, with 1,500 athletes losing out; ANOC later reimbursed all of the participating National Olympic Committees for their travel costs.

Indonesia had already had another event removed for its anti-Israel policy, as the FIFA men’s U-20 World Cup – scheduled for May – was rescinded by FIFA on 29 March because of its refusal to host the Israeli team, also scheduled to play in Bali. The tournament was moved to Argentina and held as scheduled, with the Israelis winning the bronze medal.

FIFA was apparently not that upset with Indonesia, however, as it awarded it the FIFA men’s U-17 World Cup, played in November, after Peru pulled out as host.

Of course, the ANOC and FIFA agreements had non-discrimination clauses in them, but that didn’t matter to Indonesia. In 2023, in fact, contracts did not matter.

No. 1:
Russia, security and Tahiti dominate Paris 2024 build-up

There were grave concerns coming into 2023 about the ability of the Paris 2024 organizers to maintain a balanced budget and for the government’s Solideo construction agency to complete the Olympic housing and sports venues projects in time and on budget.

Both of those worries have dissipated, as Paris 2024 has just about reached its sponsorship targets and has sold 7.6 million Olympic tickets, with another million to be placed on sale in 2024. Solideo reported that it will turn over the sites it is responsible for on time.

Instead, new issues dominated the headlines, starting with Russian and Belarusian participation. Essentially banned due to an IOC edict since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in February of 2022, IOC chief Bach engineered – citing the symbolic impact of “universal participation” in the Olympic Games – a protocol in March to have international federations allow participation in their events of individual Russian and Belausian “neutrals” who have “not supported” the war against Ukraine.

Most of the federations bought in, albeit at inconsistent levels of enthusiasm, with some only allowing participation in 2024, such as in aquatics and gymnastics. World Athletics and the International Surfing Association said no, and the Federation Equestre Internationale said it would allow participation in 2024, but not in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, since the qualifying period has ended.

Multiple European governments protested, but the Paris 2024 organizers and French President Emmanuel Macron said the decision is up to the IOC. Ukraine has threatened a boycott, but no firm decision has been made as yet. The Russians, for their part, have savagely criticized Bach and the IOC as tools of the West and specifically of the U.S., but without any significant impact.

The IOC’s own protocol for Russian and Belarusian participation in Paris was released in early December. Bach is intransigent on this point: there will be Russians and Belarusians in Paris, but not many.

There were other issues for Paris 2024, including worries about security, especially of holding the Games opening as a parade on the Seine River in the middle of Paris, witnessed by 100,000 ticket holders on the river-side level and several hundred thousand more on the upper levels. No confirmation is exactly how many people will be able to attend has been made, with concerns over the capacity of the area, capacity of the transport system and the available of enough private and public security, police and military to handle the crowds and potential troublemakers.

The 7 October Hamas attack on Israel and the response has heightened fears of terrorism, especially at the opening.

A test event in open-water swimming had to be canceled due to poor water quality in the Seine following heavy rains, but a triathlon test event was held under better weather and was satisfactory.

Police officials have been in the spotlight, with questions about staffing, training and a plan – for security reasons – to remove some of the famous book stalls that line the Seine for the opening. A plan to restrict transit and require passes (a QR code) for residents to access areas around some of the venues in Paris has been criticized on civil liberties grounds. And politicians of opposing parties have been criticizing each other over failures to complete promised transit works or resolve homelessness issues in the French capital.

So what else is new?

The year ended with a compromise on the building of a new judging tower in French Polynesia (Tahiti) for the surfing events. A planned new tower of 46 feet in height raised an emotional backlash about damage to the local coral at the famed Teahupo’o site, with petitions circulated to remove the event from Tahiti altogether. But discussions produced a solution, essentially to rebuild the old and unsafe wooden judging tower with a new, aluminum structure that will keep impact to the environment to a minimum.

The Paris 2024 organizers achieved a lot in 2023 and are poised for a considerable success in 2024. But as dependable as the sunrise is the steady stream of angst, complaints and back-biting that will continue through the closing ceremony of the Paralympic Games next September.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● International Olympic Committee ● President Thomas Bach (GER) offered his New Year’s message on Thursday, extolling the virtues of the Olympic Games as a symbol of hope:

“Deep in our hearts, we are all longing for something unifying. Something that brings us together, despite the differences we have. Something that gives us hope. Something that inspires us to address problems in a peaceful way. Something that brings out the best in us. We are longing for the Olympic Games Paris 2024 to unite the entire world in peaceful competition.”

And he sounded again the watchwords of his term and his vision of the Olympic Games, now and in the future:

“With the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024 only months away, the athletes, the fans, the entire Olympic community – all of us – are looking forward to a new era of Olympic Games: younger, more inclusive, more urban, more sustainable.”

● Russia ● How will the Russian Sports Ministry attract foreign athletes to compete in its BRICS Games next June and the World Friendship Games next September?

Pay them.

The Russian news agency TASS reported on Monday:

“Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law that, among other things, gives the Russian Olympic and Paralympic Committees (ROC and RPC) the authority to finance the participation of foreign athletes in competitions in the Russian Federation. …

“In particular, the ROC, RPC, the Russian Deaflympic Committee and the Special Olympics of Russia are given the right ‘to provide financial support for the participation of foreign citizens and stateless persons as athletes and (or) teams of foreign citizens in official sporting events on the territory of the Russian Federation and abroad.’”

Just for information, the current exchange rate for the Russian ruble to the U.S. dollar is 88.75:1.

● Spain ● A story on the Spanish sports site Relevo reported that the Spanish anti-doping agency (CELAD) carried out sample collection with a single company and did not use a second collection officer from a different company as apparently required, from 2017-22. This procedure could allow for cover-ups of doping-positive samples, or for nullification of tests since the multi-agent process for collection was not used.

The matter is now under investigation by Spanish government authorities, as CELAD is at least partially publicly funded.

● Alpine Skiing ● She did it again! U.S. superstar Mikaela Shiffrin won her 92nd career World Cup race on Thursday, taking the women’s Giant Slalom in Lienz (AUT) with a dominating first run.

Shiffrin, the overall World Cup leader, flew down the course as the no. 3 starter and took the lead at 1:01.82, with Swede Sara Hector well back at 1:02.45 in second place.

Italy’s 2022 Olympic runner-up Federica Brignone moved from fifth into the lead on the second run in 1:02.91, to give her a total of 2:06.36. Although Shiffrin’s second run of 1:04.16 ranked only 17th, it was still enough for a comfortable total of 2:05.98, and a win by 0.38 over Brignone.

Hector finished third with a two-race total at 2:06.43, with Americans A.J. Hurt in 11th at 2:07l81 and Paula Moltzan in 16th at 2:08.21.

The win was Shiffrin’s fourth of the season, and her eighth medal out of 13 World Cup races held so far. Brignone now has six medals this season (3-1-2). The women will be back on the slopes on Friday for a Slalom in Lienz before the New Year’s break.

Good news and bad news on the famed Stelvio downhill course in Bormio (ITA) on Thursday, with France’s Cyprien Sarrazin, now 29, winning his first World Cup race since December of 2016!

Sarrazin hadn’t won a World Cup medal since December of 2019, but his winning run came from fourth in the order, and held up against reigning World Cup champ Marco Odermatt (SUI) in the no. 6 slot, 1:50.73 to 1:50.82. Canada’s Cameron Alexander, starting fifth, ended up with the bronze (1:51.96), his second career World Cup medal.

The bad news came from the 17th starter, overall World Cup leader Marco Schwarz (AUT), skied over a bump in the course halfway down and suffered a season-ending right knee injury. He had to be flown off the course in a helicopter and received treatment in Innsbruck (AUT), about 130 miles away.

Odermatt resumed the seasonal lead and won his fourth medal in nine World Cup races held so far. A Super-G will be held on Friday.

● Athletics ● USA Track & Field reported improved membership numbers at its annual meeting in December, with 115,444 total members in 2023, ahead of the 2022 total of 104,958, but still short of the pre-pandemic total of 123,833 from 2019.

Adult members grew considerably from 39,621 to 73,004, well ahead of the 2019 total of 45,989, but youth memberships were way down. That total was 77,840 in 2019, 65,337 in 2022 and just 42,440 in 2023.

For comparison, USA Swimming’s last report was for 2021, with 331,228 members; USA Gymnastics has approximately 200,000 members.

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For our updated, 850-event International Sports Calendar (no. 4) for 2023 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

TSX REPORT: The biggest stories of 2023, no. 10 to no. 6, included Simone Biles’ triumphant return to the mats, and “the kiss”

Rich Perelman

December 28, 2023

tsx pix 2023-827 biles, simone (usag-john cheng) — The incomparable Simone Biles (Photo courtesy USA Gymnastics/John Cheng)

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

★ To get The Sports Examiner by e-mail: sign up here! ★

Happy Holidays!

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

Time for the top stories in Olympic sport during 2023, starting from no. 10 to no. 6:

10. Kuss stuns with La Vuelta a Espana victory
9. Russia x Ukraine: the Olha Kharlan incident
8. Chaos, Italian style: the sliding sports at Milan Cortina
7. Spain wins FIFA Women’s World Cup, and then, the kiss
6. Biles brilliant in return to Worlds with four golds

● Panorama: Paris 2024 (Bach does not foresee Ukrainian boycott) = Russia (4: Fencers who defected to U.S. in June now wanted on criminal charges; RUSADA working on legislation to comply with WADA; government pays Olympians for missed competitions; look for athlete parades in 2024) = Aquatics (World Aquatics sponsored 122 athletes in 2023) = Figure Skating (U.S. judge Williams warned on “national bias” in judging) = Football (FIFA warns Brazil on government interference on elections) = Gymnastics (Dolgopyat to auction Worlds gold in January for war relief) = Wrestling (Indian federation suspended over new chaos after elections) ●

LANE ONE:
The top stories of 2023, from no. 10 to no. 6

It was a wild year in international sport, as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continued and brought sport and politics together and in conflict. Then the Hamas attack on Israel in October intensified feelings everywhere and athletes, officials, federations and fans all had to deal with it, and still are.

Our list of the top international sport stories this year starts today with no. 10 through no. 6:

No. 10:
Kuss stuns with La Vuelta a Espana victory

A talented climber, American cyclist Sepp Kuss had been a key player for his Dutch-based Jumbo-Visma team in 2023, helping teammate Primoz Roglic (SLO) win the Giro d’Italia (while finishing 14th overall) and teammate Jonas Vingegaard (DEN) repeat as Tour de France champion (while finishing 12th).

But during the Vuelta a Espana, the third Grand Tour of the year, Kuss, 26, broke through with a dominating, 26-second win in the 183.1 km sixth stage, with a misery-inducing uphill finish to the Observatorio Astrofísico de Javalambre.

That moved him from 12th to second overall and opened the possibility for greater glory. He took the race lead a couple of stages later, finishing two seconds back of Roglic in stage eight and had a 43-second lead on the field.

Not many expected him to stay there, and as Kuss had played a supporting role for Roglic and Vingegaard earlier in the year, would he again?

Kuss stayed in the lead and would not be deterred. On the mountain stages, he was at his best, finishing second, eighth, third and 10th on the mountain stages nos. 13-14-17-18. He clearly had a chance to win, with Vingegaard and Roglic his primary opponents. He had a 1:37 lead over Roglic and 1:44 over Vingegaard after stage 14, but that was down to eight seconds after the penultimate climbing stage (17).

Would Vingegaard pass his teammate? Nope; Kuss padded his lead on the 18th stage, the last climbing route, and held on, with Vingegaard and Roglic finally supporting him in the final stages and Kuss won by 17 seconds overall after the 21st and final stage on 17 September.

It was the first win for an American in a Grand Tour since Chris Horner in 2013, and he was the first rider since 1957 to compete in all three Grand Tours in a single season and win one. In a word, historic.

No. 9:
Russia x Ukraine: the Olha Kharlan incident

It had to happen, and it did. Despite all the assurances to the contrary, a Russian and a Ukrainian met in competition and it turned out badly.

After the International Olympic Committee issued recommendations that “neutral” Russian and Belarusian athletes be re-admitted to international competition in March, Ukraine initially boycotted any events with Russian “neutral’ entries. But eventually, the desire to qualify for the 2024 Paris Games won out and the Ukrainian government relented and allowed its athletes to compete without restrictions, even if it meant meeting a Russian or Belarusian “neutral” opponent.

Then came the World Fencing Championships in Milan (ITA) in July and four-time World Sabre Champion Olha Kharlan of Ukraine was matched against a lesser Russian, Anna Smirnova. Kharlan dispatched her quickly in the round-of-64 by 15-7. At the end of the bout, Kharlan moved to tap swords with Smirnova, as had been the custom during the pandemic. But Smirnova wanted a handshake – which was in the FIE rules – and when Kharlan would not oblige, sat on or next to the piste for 45 minute or more in a likely pre-planned protest.

The FIE – not the match referee – disqualified Kharlan, not only eliminating her from the individual Sabre tournament, but also the team event and seriously impacted her chances of qualifying for the 2024 Olympic Games. Moreover, Kharlan had asked FIE interim President Emmanuel Katsiadakis (GRE) prior to the bout if tapping swords would be permissible instead of a handshake and he said it would be. But she was out.

A day later, IOC President Thomas Bach (GER) – a fencer in his competitive days – wrote to Kharlan and guaranteed her a place at Paris 2024 if she did not otherwise qualify. Then the FIE – under IOC pressure – reversed its sanction and allowed Kharlan to compete in the Team event, where Ukraine finished fourth.

What a mess. The incident showed the FIE as incompetent, and that incidents between Ukraine and Russia could – and did – happen. There were no other incidents of this magnitude during the rest of 2023, but one was enough.

One concrete legacy of the situation was a change in the FIE rules adopted later in the year, allowing a salute of the opponent and dropping the handshake requirement. Call that the “Kharlan rule.”

No. 8:
Chaos, Italian style: the sliding sports at Milan Cortina

The winning Milan Cortina bid for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games included a plan to demolish the historic Eugenio Monti track for bobsled, luge and skeleton in Cortina d’Ampezzo and replace it with a new track that would be part of a larger amusement park.

The IOC was against the idea, especially since there was no firm plan on how to promote it, and as the Cesana Pariol track for the Turin 2006 Winter Games had to be abandoned six years later due to lack of use.

After delays brought the building concept into question, the Cortina concept completely fell apart in 2023. A summer request for proposal from the Italian government’s Olympic infrastructure agency – known as Simico – to build the facility for about €85 million, with a total, finished project cost of €124 million (€1 = $1.11 U.S. today), drew no bidders. None.

Re-use of the Cesana Pariol facility was also proposed, but it would also need to be refurbished , at an initial cost for 2025 of perhaps €20 million, then millions more to convert it from an ammonia-based system, consider environmentally unfriendly.

By the time of the IOC Session in Mumbai (IND) in October, organizing committee chair Giovanni Malago told his fellow IOC members that a track outside of Italy would be chosen soon. But the issue became entangled in Italian politics, with government ministers insisting the track had to be in Italy, and Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini insisting on a somewhat scaled-down plan that would still build a new facility in Cortina!

The IOC tried to shut this down in early November and requests for proposals were sent out, asking for interested facilities to bid to host the 2026 sliding events. Four responses came in from existing tracks, from Austria (for Innsbruck), from Switzerland (St. Moritz), from Germany (Koenigssee) and even from the U.S. (for Lake Placid)! They are still waiting for an answer.

The IOC is demanding a resolution and a decision is now supposed to be made by the end of January, with Salvini insisting that a new track in Cortina is the best solution. Ah, politics.

No. 7:
Spain wins FIFA Women’s World Cup, and then, the kiss

By all accounts, the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup was a smashing success. The tournament was expanded from 24 to 32 teams, and drew a sensational 1.978 million or 30,911 spectators per match in Australia and New Zealand.

The matches were taut, with an average of just 2.64 goals each, and the two-time defending champion U.S. team was eliminated – on penalty kicks – by Sweden in the round-of-16 playoffs. Australia’s Matildas became the darlings of the tournament, winning their group and then advancing with close wins over Denmark and France (on penalties) to reach the semifinals against England. That match drew an average viewing audience of 7.13 million, reportedly the largest in Australian history, peaking at 11.15 million!

England and Spain advanced to the final and in another tense encounter, Olga Carmona’s 29th-minute goal stood up for a 1-0 Spanish victory.

Then came the victory ceremony. Among other crude gestures, Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) President Luis Rubiales forcibly kissed star defender Jenni Hermoso, creating a huge scandal.

Rubiales tried to claim that the kiss was consensual, then released an apology video, then – under pressure to resign – insisted on staying in office and fighting any effort to remove him. Those efforts were quickly undertaken by multiple governmental, sports and football groups. A petition signed by 81 Spanish players said they would not play for the national team if Rubiales remained in office.

He was suspended for 90 days by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee, six days after the tournament ended, a Spanish government inquiry was opened and Hermoso filed suit against Rubiales on 6 September. He finally resigned on 10 September.

He was banned by FIFA for three years on 30 October, but the legal aspects of the case have yet to be concluded.

A great, historic tournament was tarnished at the end. But it was historic.

No. 6:
Biles brilliant in return to Worlds with four golds

No one would have blamed U.S. gymnastics superstar Simone Biles if she had walked away from the sport after her adventures at the Tokyo Olympic Games, withdrawing prior to the Team final due to spatial awareness difficulties (the “twisties”) and then returning to win a Beam medal.

But at 26, she was back, taking her eighth U.S. national All-Around title and moving on to the 2023 World Championships in Antwerp (BEL) … as good as ever!

Biles dominated the meet, leading the U.S. to a seventh straight women’s team title, then winning the All-Around, Beam and Floor titles, taking a silver in the Vault and fifth on her least favorite event, the Uneven Bars.

The five-medal performance confirmed Biles as the most decorated World Championships gymnast of all time, with 23 Worlds golds, four silvers and three bronzes for a total of 30 medals, from 2013 to 2023. The next closest is USSR/BLR star Vitaly Scherbo, who won 23 (12-7-4) in the men’s competitions from 1991-96.

And Biles is on track for a third Olympic Games, where she has won seven medals (4-1-2), including a Team silver and Beam bronze in Tokyo. With another five-medal output – or better, who knows? – she could move up to no. 2 all-time with 12 total medals, second only to Soviet Larisa Latynina, who won 18 (9-5-4) from 1956-64.

Surely, this will be the last Olympic appearance for Biles, who is now married and looking to the future … or is it? Could be consider one more appearance, in front of adoring home fans in Los Angeles in 2028?

Coming on Friday, from no. 5 to no. 1!

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● International Olympic Committee President Bach said in an interview that he expects Ukraine to compete at the 2024 Olympic Games. He told the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag:

“Why should Ukraine penalize its own athletes for the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian army and deprive them of their dream of the Olympics?

“You are not a supporter of war just because you don’t fulfil Ukraine’s every demand, especially as we have supported the Ukrainian athletes with unprecedented solidarity since the start of the war.”

He said that the restrictions on Russian and Belarusian athletes and the elimination of national symbols would underscore the sanctions imposed; he noted the bitter criticism of the IOC’s position from both Russia and Ukraine as “That means we have obviously struck a good balance.”

● Russia ● “The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs has put the fencers Sergei and Violetta Bida on the wanted list for criminal charges, who took part in the US Championship without the consent of the Russian side.”

That’s from a story from the Russian news agency TASS on Monday, concerning the two Epee fencers, who now live in California and were entered in the USA Fencing National Championships last summer. The announcement from the Ministry noted “Sergei Olegovich Bida is wanted under an article of the Criminal Code,” and was apparently an active member of the Russian Guard; his wife was also, apparently, also listed as a member of the Russian military.

Sergei Bida competed as a neutral at the USA Fencing Championships, finishing 17th in the Division I men’s Epee tournament, but Violetta Bida did not compete.

Sergei Bida’s former coach, Alexander Glazunov – who was fired after the Bidas left the country – told TASS he does not expect to see them back anytime soon:

“Sergey got in touch, wished him a happy birthday, then we got in touch again. He’s doing well, what else can I say? He’s in California, fencing and coaching at a club in San Jose, competing in neutral status at the U.S. Championships.

“The man accepted such a life, such a decision, I don’t think he will be given citizenship so quickly, so I’m not sure about his performance at the Olympics, both the upcoming one and the next one in Los Angeles. He fences, trains children, advertises for his club. …

“An apology? Who am I to him? Yes, I was a personal trainer, but everyone chooses their own destiny. He wanted to completely change his life. As far as I know, he didn’t sign any declarations, at least that’s what he told me.”

Sergei Bida was a Tokyo Olympic Epee Team silver medalist and the 2019 Worlds Epee silver medalist, and came with his wife to the U.S. in June of 2023. She is also an Epee fencer and was a 2019 Worlds Team silver medalist. They are now affiliated with the Academy of Fencing Masters in San Jose, California.

The Russian Anti-Doping Agency is formulating legislative proposals which will meet the requirements of the World Anti-Doping Agency in order to lift Russia out of its non-compliant status. According to RUSADA Director General Veronika Loginova:

“[W]e do not have legislative initiative, but the development and approval of anti-doping rules is within our competence. RUSADA is ready to work towards amending the federal law, in developing formulations in order to our legislation has been improved. We conveyed our position on what points need to be changed in the law, this will help in our work and help make it even more effective. We asked once again to make changes to a number of points so that the legislation is harmonious and meets the requirements.

“There was a national anti-doping plan, there was a point of harmonizing legislation according to world standards. Now we are looking for compromises, as should be correctly spelled out in our law. The draft federal law that we discussed earlier will be withdrawn, there were comments [on it]. A new project will be prepared, which we will see in January.”

The Russian Olympic Committee distributed payments to 120 athletes in 15 sports who have missed international competitions in 2023 due to international sanctions.

The funds went to Olympians who are still competing, with RUB 500,000 for gold medalists (about $5,457 U.S. today), RUB 250,000 for silver medalists, RUB 150,000 for bronze winners and RUB 150,000 for Olympians who did not medal.

Look for athlete parades in Moscow in 2024, per Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin:

“Parades have always been held for some significant events for our country, initially they were dedicated to something. There was [an athlete’s] parade on August 12, 1945, all these parades demonstrated the power and restoration of our country, the diversity of the system of physical culture and departmental sports. When will we offer concept for approval by the president, we must keep in mind the current realities of life in Russia. This should be a parade not for the sake of a parade, but as a symbol of the importance of sports for our country.”

The new emphasis on parades is at the request of Russian President Vladimir Putin, from a suggestion by International Boxing Association President Umar Kremlev (RUS).

Look for the IOC and those international federations who care to take a close look at any parades – one could come as soon as March – in vetting Russian entries for Paris 2024.

● Aquatics ● An interesting paragraph in the new-year message from World Aquatics President Husain Al-Musallam (KUW) on the federation’s outreach activities direct to athletes:

“2023 was also the 10th year of our pioneering World Aquatics Scholarship Programme. Across the year, 122 athletes participated in the programme in swimming, open water swimming and diving, at 69 training centres globally. A further 20 of our athletes benefitted from Artistic Swimming Grants through the programme. Additionally, new World Aquatics Training Centres were established in two locations; CN Antibes (Antibes, France); Bond University at Robina, a suburb in the city of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. I am looking forward to seeing this programme continue to thrive in the coming year.”

Looking ahead to the 2032 Olympic Games in Brisbane with the Robina training center at Gold Coast is a great way to impress swimming-crazed Australia.

● Figure Skating ● American figure skating judge Doug Williams was given a warning by the International Skating Union for “national bias” in judging U.S. skaters at the 2023 ISU World Championships in March in Saitama (JPN).

The complaint was filed by the ISU Singles and Pairs Technical Committee, specific to his scoring for the women’s Free Skate; he was also a judge for the Short Program. In the Free Skate, he was considered to have inflated the scores of Americans Isabeau Levito, Amber Glenn and Bradie Tennell. As to Levito’s marks:

“While his marks were in the corridor, they were overall higher for her than for her close competitors”. Regarding components, “with a fall by this US skater, a mark of 9.50 given by Mr Williams was impossible and not near a 10.00. Conclusion: National Bias.”

The accusations, in a nutshell, were:

“The Complainants ([Technical Committee] and Vice President) analysed the marks of the Alleged Offender and concluded that he had acted with serious national bias. Mr Williams is accused that not only did he give higher marks to the three USA skaters than most other Judges, but that he also gave lower marks than the majority of all other Judges to those Skater’s strongest Competitors.”

Williams protested that he did nothing wrong and noted that he had never been warned or sanctioned for any of his scoring across many years. The ISU Disciplinary Committee determined that the request for a suspension was too much:

“That sanction would be overly punitive in the present circumstances. In cases of national bias, the [Disciplinary Committee] will only consider a suspension without any prior letter of warning/comparable intervention in exceptional circumstances, where the misconduct is significantly higher. That standard is not reached in the present case.

“Therefore, a warning is the appropriate sanction from the DC in this case.”

The decision is appealable to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

● Football ● FIFA has warned the Brazilian football federation (known as the CBF) that it could be suspended after a Brazilian court removed CBF head Ednaldo Rodrigues and his appointees and installed a temporary president and called for swift elections.

Rodrigues was removed on 7 December by a Rio de Janeiro court due to issues with his election and the decision was affirmed by an appellate court last week. Elections were required to be held within 30 days.

The FIFA letter included:

“FIFA member associations must manage their affairs independently and without undue influence from any type of third party. …

“FIFA and CONMEBOL will send a joint mission to Brazil during the week of January 8, 2024 to meet with respective stakeholders to examine the current situation and work together to find a solution to the current situation, in due respect for the applicable regulatory framework of the CBF and its autonomy.

“FIFA and CONMEBOL would like to strongly emphasize that, until such mission takes place, no decision affecting CBF, including any elections or call for elections, shall be taken. Should this not be respected, FIFA will have no other option but to submit the matter to its relevant decision-making body for consideration and decision, which might also include a suspension.”

Brazil’s men’s team is currently in the midst of 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches and Brazil is bidding for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

● Gymnastics ● Artem Dolgopyat won Israel’s first-ever Artistic World Championships gold with his October triumph in the 2023 Worlds men’s Floor Exercise. Now he is auctioning the medal to raise money:

“What is a world champion worth if my country is hurting? For me, the State of Israel is in first place,” he told The Times of Israel. Bidding starts at $100,000, with the proceeds earmarked to aid towns close to the Gaza border that were attacked on 7 October.

The auction will be held on Sunday, 7 January at 9 p.m. Israel time.

● Wrestling ● More turmoil in India, where the Wrestling Federation of India was suspended by the India’s Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports on Sunday after new President Sanjay Singh announced that national junior championships would be held this week!

The wrestling federation has been in chaos since multiple wrestlers demanded the removal of the prior president, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who has been accused of sexual assault. He left, but the election of close aide Sanjay Singh on 23 December triggered new concerns, with the ministry stating that the federation “appears to be (in) complete control of former office bearers in complete disregard to the Sports Code,” as evidence by the snap championships announcement, of U-15 and U-20 nationals “without following due procedure and not giving sufficient notice to wrestlers” for preparations.

Further, the Indian Olympic Association – the National Olympic Committee in India – issued a letter which included:

“The Indian Olympic Association has recently become aware that the recently appointed President and officials of the WFI have made arbitrary decisions in violation of their own constitutional provisions and against the principles of good governance espoused by the IOC and further without following due process overturned the rulings of the IOA appointed ad hoc committee.”

A three-member temporary committee has been formed to run the federation for now.

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LANE ONE: USA Track & Field financial statements raise question of “a going concern”?

Rich Perelman

December 26, 2023

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

★ To get The Sports Examiner by e-mail: sign up here! ★

Happy Holidays!

● Schedule: System upgrades are continuing, so the next post will appear on Thursday (28th). ●

There’s no doubt that USA Track & Field’s $9.58 million contribution to the Oregon 22 organizing committee for the 2022 World Athletics Championships put a strain on its finances.

On Friday, USATF posted its 2022 audited financial statements, dated 30 November 2023, in which the auditors, Indianapolis-based RSN US LLC included a warning in its report:

“[M]anagement is required to evaluate whether there are conditions or events, considered in the aggregate, that raise substantial doubt about USATF’s ability to continue as a going concern within one year after the date that these financial statements are issued or are available to be issued.”

That’s not good.

However, there is no reason to think that USATF is going under anytime soon. Why?

Nike.

The apparel and shoe giant accounted for 58% of USATF revenues in 2022, paying $19.98 million in 2022, of which $725,838 was deducted for commissions, being paid over the length of the contract to former Nike executives Adam Helfant and Chris Bevilaqua, who helped broker the deal. So, USATF is receiving about $19.26 million a year from Nike in an agreement which will continue to 2040.

As for the impact of its $9,584,986 contribution to Oregon 22, a special note on this item included:

“USATF expects its investment in the World Outdoor Championships to generate revenues and other benefits in future years by way of increased broadcast and intellectual property revenue, rights fees, memberships and event registrations.”

However, USATF’s revenues have stalled since the Nike deal was signed in 2014; the reported revenues show a deep reliance now on Nike and grants from the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee (2013 shown for comparison):

● 2013: $19.6 million ~ 63% from 2 sponsors and USOC
● 2014: $35.1 million ~ 80% from 2 sponsors and USOC
● 2015: $32.4 million ~ 73% from 2 sponsors and USOC
● 2016: $37.3 million ~ 65% from 2 sponsors and USOC
● 2017: $35.1 million ~ 68% from 2 sponsors and USOC
● 2018: $34.5 million ~ 72% from 2 sponsors and USOC
● 2019: $34.3 million ~ 71% from 1 sponsor and USOC
● 2020: $37.5 million ~ 74% from 1 sponsor and USOPC
● 2021: $34.6 million ~ 66% from 1 sponsor and USOPC
● 2022: $36.5 million ~ 69% from 1 sponsor and USOPC

In the meantime, expenses over the last five years have shown an increasing trend:

● 2018: $33.7 million
● 2019: $37.2 million (World Champs year)
● 2020: $23.3 million (pandemic)
● 2021: $35.5 million (Olympic year)
● 2022: $45.6 million due to Oregon 22 contribution
(2022 expenses were $36.0 million without the Worlds expense)

USATF’s net assets at the end of 2022 were shown as $548,002, which triggered the “going concern” warning from the auditors. However, there was $12.7 million in cash and investments, down from $26.0 million at the end of 2021, plus a line of credit of $3.1 million still available.

And there is $19.26 million a year from Nike, through 2040.

USATF’s board of directors has made no comment on the organization’s finances, perhaps in part because such thin reserves are not a new problem. At the end of 2019, after a big spending year of $37.2 million, reserves were down to $473,704. But the pandemic saved USATF in 2020, as revenues remained steady thanks to the Nike deal and USOPC grants and expenses went down to just $23.3 million, rebuilding the reserve to $9.3 million.

No such luck in 2023, however, and the audit firm was clearly worried.

The financials are also noted that USATF chief executive Max Siegel had $2.5 million in deferred compensation posted on the federation’s tax return for 2021, essentially related to the Nike deal. In 2022, Siegel obtained an interest-bearing loan from USATF in 2022 of $952,730 to pay the taxes on money he had not received yet, with the loan expected to be repaid as of 15 January 2023. The outstanding balance at the end of 2022 was $405,347.

The statements showed $7.14 million in “Grants and Support Payments,” which appears to be for athlete and/or program payments during 2022, but includes Elite Athletes ($4.0 million), World Championships ($157,500), Sports Performance ($2.4 million), Grass Roots Programs ($341,111) and Member-Based Programs ($251,573).

The 2014 Nike deal was a game-changer for USATF and continues to be its financial lifeline. But the federation has not broken through with other superstar sponsors or events that have raised its revenue level above where it was in the years immediately after the deal was signed.

It will be fascinating to see how USATF weathered its 2023 finances, but we likely won’t know for another year, until the next set of financials is released. The USATF Board has been mum on its financial situation and the U.S. team performed brilliantly at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest last summer.

Will USATF stay lucky in 2024? If not, its finances may become an issue long before its 2023 reports become public.

Rich Perelman
Editor

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TSX REPORT: Climate has IOC considering Winter Games disassembly; social media abuse higher at T&F World Champs; Lee resigns USA Fencing

Rich Perelman

December 25, 2023

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

★ To get The Sports Examiner by e-mail: sign up here! ★

Happy Holidays!

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. IOC ready to disassemble Winter Games due to climate
2. World Athletics Champs social-media abuse up in 2023
3. USA Fencing’s Lee resigns as Board Chair amid allegations
4. ANOC refunded World Beach travel costs
5. ISU loses appeal on old eligibility rules at European Court of Justice

● A news story on Olympics.com explains how the International Olympic Committee is considering breaking apart mid-century Olympic Winter Games due to climate concerns. It’s radical.

● Social-media abuse remains at modest levels overall, but the number of incidents rose at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest. Some 47 athletes received abuse, of which 44% were Americans.

● Ivan Lee, a U.S. fencing Olympian in Sabre and a Hall of Famer, resigned as the head of the USA Fencing Board of Directors on Friday on an allegation of possible misconduct.

● The Association of National Olympic Committee saw its ANOC World Beach Games implode due to anti-Israel restrictions by host Indonesia, but did right by its partners and refunded the travel costs of the National Olympic Committees.

● The International Skating Union lost an appeal at the European Court of Justice over its old participation restrictions (since revised), which reinforced the idea that federations cannot maintain monopolistic control over athletes for the benefit of their own events.

● Panorama: Russia (2: Russians not allowed at 2024 Euro Track Cycling Champs in Apeldoorn; FIG relaxes Rhythmic uniform regulations for Russians as neutrals) = Alpine Skiing (Schwarz stars on second run to win at Madonna) = Football (FIFA Forward reports details $2.8 billion in worldwide grants) = Freestyle Skiing (2: surprise winners in Innichen Ski Cross; Anthony continues Moguls sweep) = Snowboard (Hofmeister remains undefeated in Parallel at Davos) = Swimming (2: Caesars to offer betting on February Worlds; Chinese star Sun appears out for Paris) ●

● Errata: Several readers noted an error in Friday’s post concerning Nick Ponzio, now suspended for doping for 18 months, in that he is not the Italian record holder in the men’s shot. He was the national indoor recordman in 2022, but was later passed by Zane Weir. Sorry about that. ●

1.
IOC ready to disassemble Winter Games due to climate

The International Olympic Committee has loudly worried about where mid-century editions of the Olympic Winter Games will be held.

Continuing climate issues have clouded the future adequacy of potential hosts for the snow events to the point where the event may be rotated among safe sites, or completely disassembled.

In a lengthy post for the Olympics.com site, former longtime Associated Press Olympic correspondent Steve Wilson (GBR) explored the current thinking about what to do about Winter Games as early as 2050.

Said Christophe Dubi, the IOC’s Olympic Games Executive Director:

“I don’t think there is a Doomsday scenario where we say, ‘OK, by 2050 no more Olympic Winter Games.’ But the Games will have had to have adapted themselves to the conditions at that point in time.

“Sometimes the period you are in requires longer-time thinking and sometimes it’s immediate actions that are needed. I think for the Winter Olympics we are at a point where both are needed. We need to find some really compelling evolutions for the immediate future.”

The short-term answer came on 29 November as the IOC Executive Board selected the French Alps bid for “targeted dialogue” with a view to selection as host for 2030, Salt Lake City for 2034 and a “preferred” dialogue with Switzerland to modify its bid in order to be selected for 2038. That will give the IOC some time to figure what to do in the 2040s.

The story also specified requirements in finer detail:

“The [Executive Board] recommended that the IOC targets future potential hosts that use, if possible, only existing or temporary venues and offer snow sports venues that would be climate-reliable until at least 2050, with projected average temperatures below 0 degrees Celsius [32 F] during the Games period.”

The IOC’s own study indicated that suitable Winter Games hosts – by weather – are currently available in 15 countries, in which at least 80% of the sites required for the Games are extant. That number could drop to 10-12 by 2050 and possibly less by 2100.

A rotation system for the Winter Games is possible, but also has issues, such as if a country or community sours on the idea.

But there is also now consideration of disassembling the organization of the Winter Games, described with much more detail by Wilson:

● “The idea is to introduce a decentralised system in which the cost of organising the Olympic competitions would be based on the costs associated with world championships in each sport. [IOC Future Host Commission/Winter Chair Karl Stoss (AUT)] noted that the cost of certain Olympic events was four times higher than at world championships.

“‘There is no reason for such a difference in costs,’ he said. ‘There is a difference between ‘nice to have’ and ‘need to have’.”

● “Organisation of certain Olympic sports competitions would be outsourced to the experienced international and national event organisers who run World Cup and World Championship events on a regular basis. This would of course be contextual and depend on the experience in each market. …

● “Procurement would be left to separate organising committees at each of the venues. Hosts would sign up local sponsors earlier to lock in revenue for their Games budgets. Major budget items would be front-loaded to ease financial strains.”

This is a completely new concept for an Olympic Games of any kind. It foresees no requirement for an Olympic Village, and creates a hub for the Games wherever the ice events are – curling, ice hockey and the skating disciplines – and leaves the snow events to be distributed widely. That includes alpine skiing, biathlon, bobsled-luge-skeleton, the Nordic skiing disciplines, freestyle and snowboard and so on.

It’s not a traditional Winter Games, but more a collection of world championship-class events tied together by a common schedule, environmental graphics and worldwide television.

It may or may not be better, but it is a sustainable future concept, in which the Olympic program could be completely exploded to create a 24-hours-a-day “Winter Games” in which events are held in multiple countries on multiple continents across a two-week period.

Observed: Dubi has been clear in news briefings that this kind of thinking should also take the Olympic Games into account as well. The future of events, from the IOC’s point of view, is dependent on the weather and how it will be controlled to allow athletes to compete at their best and allow spectators to watch them in reasonable conditions.

This is a much better way to approach the Olympic Games from a cost standpoint than currently used, but the true discipline – not specially mentioned by Dubi, but obvious – is to rein in the wishes of the International Federations, who insist on Olympic perfection at any cost, since they aren’t paying for it, even if they expect less from their world championship hosts.

That may be more challenging than finding acceptable winter weather.

2.
World Athletics Champs social-media abuse up in 2023

As part of its safeguarding efforts, World Athletics has undertaken a measurement of social media abuse at its major events over the past three years, with the 2023 study by ThreatMatrix showing an increase in abusive posts on Instagram and X (ex-Twitter) compared to the Oregon 22 Worlds. The numbers for Tokyo 2020, Oregon 22 and Budapest 2023:

Tokyo 2020:
● 240,707 tweets analyzed
● 161 tracked athletes
● 132 discriminatory posts from 119 authors (0.05%)
● 23 athletes received abuse: 70% women, 30% men

Oregon 2022:
● 427,624 posts on Instagram and Twitter analyzed
● 461 tracked athletes
● 59 discriminatory posts from 57 authors (0.01%)
● 27 athletes received abuse: 70% women, 30% men

Budapest 2023:
● 449,209 posts on Instagram and X analyzed
● 1,344 tracked athletes (77.5% on Instagram)
● 258 discriminatory posts from 237 authors (0.06%)
● 47 athletes received abuse: 51% men, 49% women
● Abuse was 90% on Twitter, 10% on Instagram

The kinds of abuse were fairly consistent:

● Tokyo: 29% sexist, 26% racist, 25% doping
● Oregon: 29% sexist, 20% slurs, 19% racist
● Budapest: 35% racist, 16% sexual, 15% general abuse

Each event had its own characteristics, with 63% of abuse in Tokyo targeted at just two athletes (both American women); two athletes received almost 40% of the Oregon 22 abuse (one man, one woman), and in Budapest, two athletes received 44% of all abuse and U.S. athletes were targeted for 44% of abuse. None of the athletes targeted were identified in the reports.

Observed: Happily, the numbers are fairly small in terms of percentages, and the percentage of athletes targeted has gone down considerably, from 14.3% of the Tokyo 2020 sample, down to 5.8% of the Oregon 22 sample and 3.5% (47/1,344) for Budapest. The Budapest figures also show the importance of Instagram as a primary social-media follow site for track & field athletes, far more than Twitter, which was also much more the focal point of abuse.

3.
USA Fencing’s Lee resigns as Board Chair amid allegations

A stunning Friday message sent to USA Fencing members included:

“Recently, USA Fencing received information alleging conduct by our Board Chair, Mr. Ivan Lee, that would constitute a violation of the SafeSport Code. In line with our unwavering commitment to the safety of our athletes and the fencing community, we immediately reported the information to the U.S. Center for SafeSport, and have taken immediate action to suspend Mr. Lee, member No. 100004642, from USA Fencing, effective Dec. 22, 2023.

“Upon being informed of his suspension, Mr. Lee voluntarily resigned from his positions as Chair and At-Large Member of the USA Fencing Board of Directors.

“In light of Mr. Lee’s resignation, the Board of Directors held an emergency session and voted to name Mr. David Arias as the new Chair of the Board. The emergency session was led by Arias, USA Fencing’s most recent Chair.”

Lee, 42, was a three-time Worlds medal winner in the men’s Sabre division in 1998-2000-01, a 2004 Olympian, was inducted into the USA Fencing Hall of Fame in 2004 and after retiring from the New York Police Department, became the coach of the Long Island University women’s fencing team. He resigned as the LIU coach in mid-December.

He was elected as an At-Large Board member of USA Fencing in June 2023 and was elected as the Board Chair in September. A Board meeting was held on 16 December, but an emergency meeting was held on Friday (22nd) to consider the situation concerning Lee.

With the report of the allegation of misconduct to the U.S. Center for SafeSport, that organization will have jurisdiction over the investigation and consideration of possible sanctions against Lee, which can be appealed.

USA Fencing has been hit with several SafeSport-related issues over the past few years, and Arias is taking a second turn as temporary Chair, after he stepped following a Board revolt removed elected federation President Peter Burchard in October 2021. Arias wrote in a Reddit post on Friday:

“On Friday, I was asked to be chair again but remember that the current Chair position can be changed again at anytime. I can do the job well for now but don’t expect to be Chair past this Season. …

“Lastly, I consider a big part of my job is to find my replacement, and encourage others to get involved as Committee or Board members.”

4.
ANOC refunded World Beach travel costs

It seems like a long time ago, when Indonesia’s ban on Israel’s participation in the ANOC World Beach Games forced its cancellation on 4 July on the excuse that the government’s funding was not available.

But the Association of National Olympic Committees did not walk away from its constituents, as noted by ANOC chief Robin Mitchell (FIJ) in his year-end message:

“For ANOC, we cannot reflect on this year without acknowledging the great disappointment of the cancellation of the ANOC World Beach Games Bali 2023. We at ANOC worked hard to minimise the impact of the cancellation with the full reimbursement of NOCs’ travel expenses processed in less than three months.

“However, we recognise that this does not make up for the athletes who missed out on the chance to fulfil their dream. We have a responsibility to them to learn lessons from this most regrettable situation and turn it into an opportunity to build for a stronger future.

“With that in mind, the ANOC Executive Council, at its recent meeting, approved the creation of a Working Group to analyse the Games concept and ensure that it is delivering maximum value to NOCs and their athletes, IFs and other stakeholders.”

Observed: It will be fascinating to see how ANOC deals with the Indonesian refusal to allow Israel to participate in planning any future editions of the World Beach Games, especially now that Israel and Ukraine are both now fighting off invasions, by Hamas in Gaza and Russia in eastern Ukraine.

The IOC, interestingly, by changing from a pure voting process to select Olympic hosts, which ended up in the selection of Beijing for the 2008 Olympic Games and Sochi for the 2014 Winter Games and Beijing again for 2022, has now selected Paris, Milan-Cortina, Los Angeles, the French Alps, Brisbane and Salt Lake City for 2024-26-28-30-32, assuming the “targeted dialogue” protocol for 2030 and 2034 results in final selection as hosts in 2024.

What path will ANOC follow, and what guarantees will it requires vis-a-vis Israel in the future?

5.
ISU loses appeal on old eligibility rules at
European Court of Justice

A long-running legal battle over then-current regulations of the International Skating Union about competing in non-ISU events appeared to be settled on Thursday as the European Court of Justice decided against the ISU’s appeal of a 2020 General Court of the European Court holding that the ISU’s then-rules were illegal. The ECJ summary:

“Following the European Commission and the General Court, the Court of Justice confirms that the rules of the International Skating Union, which empower it to subject international skating competitions to its approval and to impose severe penalties on athletes who take part in unauthorised competitions, are unlawful because they are not subject to any guarantee ensuring that they are transparent, objective, non-discriminatory and proportionate. They give the ISU a clear advantage over its competitors and have unfavourable effects for athletes as well as consumers and broadcast audiences.”

In other words, an international sports federation may not enforce an absolute monopoly on participation limited to its own events.

The case was brought in June 2014 by Dutch speed skaters Mark Tuitert – the 2010 Olympic gold medalist in the men’s 1,500 m – and Niels Kerstholt, who wanted to compete in an “Ice Derby” event in Dubai (UAE), an event with which the ISU had concerns over ties to gambling interests. While this reason was seen as legitimate, the ISU’s rules at the time were considered so severe – potential lifetime bans for any athlete competing an event not previously authorized by the ISU – that they had to be overturned.

(The event, which was supposed to pay prize money of $2 million, never took place.)

The ISU changed its rules in 2018, so the holding in the case does not impact their current regulations, which now include, Rule 102 (1)(c):

“Participation of Skaters and Officials in national competitions and in non-competitive events, e.g. appearances, endorsements, exhibitions, shows and other events with a recreational or show type character are subject to respective rules and conditions of their ISU Members only.

“Such rules and conditions are not part of the ISU eligibility rules under this Rule 102. However, ISU Members may not unduly restrict their Skaters to participate in non-competitive events. They may share payments received by their Skaters for participation in such noncompetitive events in consideration of past and present support of such Skaters, but with no more than 10%.”

Based on these changes, the ISU shrugged off the loss, with a statement that noted in part:

“The ISU takes note of the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union issued today. The ISU procedure considered in the judgment was amended in 2018 following discussions with the European Commission with a view to implementing its decision of 8 December 2017. The Court of Justice judgment has thus no impact on the ISU’ s current procedure for approving third party skating events.”

The European Court of Justice did award costs to the athletes in accordance with the sections of the prior holding of the General Court in which they were held to be correct.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Russia ● The Union Cycliste Internationale has allowed Russian and Belarusian cyclists who are “neutral” to compete in its events, but its approval is no guarantee of acceptance.

With the European Track Cycling Championship coming up from 1-14 January in Apeldoorn (NED), the Dutch government is not allowing Russian or Belarusian entries. The Russian news agency TASS reported comments from the coach of the Russian track cycling team, Alexander Kuznetsov:

“The Dutch authorities opposed the participation of our athletes in the European Track Cycling Championships. A letter with this content was received today. The European Cycling Union has nothing to do with this ban.”

In gymnastics, TASS reported that the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) has relaxed its rules slightly for rhythmic gymnastics uniforms:

“[T]he International Gymnastics Federation decided to lift the color restrictions, requiring athletes to obtain prior approval from the FIG for competition clothing and apparatus for rhythmic gymnastics. Any use of clothing other than that which has been approved by the International Federation shall result in the athlete’s refusal to participate in the competition or disqualification. The ban on the use of national symbols, as well as symbols of national federations and Olympic committees of countries, has been maintained.”

The original restrictions had required rhythmic gymnasts to wear only white.

● Alpine Skiing ● Austria’s Marco Schwarz picked up his sixth career World Cup gold with a victory at Madonna di Campiglio (ITA) in the men’s Slalom on Friday.

He was only sixth after the first run, with France’s 2022 Olympic slalom Champion Clement Noel the leader. But Schwarz’s second run put him in the lead, with the top five finishing between 16th and 22nd-fastest on the second run, or failing to finish. Schwarz had the third-best second run and won at 1:40.51, ahead of Noel (1:40.76) and Britain’s Dave Ryding, who moved up from 18th with the second-fastest second run in the field (1:40.90).

Next up are a Downhill and Super-G in Bormio (ITA) on 28-29 December.

● Football ● FIFA released its FIFA Forward report for 2016-22, showing distribution of $2.792.2 billion to its 211 member association and the regional confederations.

The confederation spending of $546.0 million was firstly aimed toward competitions ($157.3 million or 28.8%), then development ($87.2 million), zonal associations ($78.0 million), governance ($72.2 million) and women’s football ($62.1 million).

The much-larger distribution of $2.246.2 billion was to the member federations and significantly funded federation operations, infrastructure and national teams:

● $459.1 million for administration and governance
● $421.4 million for infrastructure support
● $360.8 million for national teams
● $198.0 million for competitions
● $182.1 million for equipment
● $116.2 million for women’s football

The infrastructure funding created 577 new and renovated fields, 208 competitions that involved 19.517 clubs or teams, national team support for 175 training camps and 234 tournaments and learning and training programs for 190,622 coaches, administrators, referees and others.

In terms of the geographic distribution:

● $518.7 million: Africa
● $494.3 million: UEFA
● $406.7 million: Asia
● $328.0 million: CONCACAF
● $110.6 million: Oceania
● $89.6 million: CONMEBOL

And the U.S.? The U.S. Soccer Federation received $8.7 million in grants, with the largest portion going to women’s football ($2.8 million), with development activities getting $2.0 million and $1.5 million for competitions.

● Freestyle Skiing ● Friday’s second of two competitions in Ski Cross at Innichen (ITA) went to France’s Terence Tchiknavorian, who took his first World Cup medal in a year and got the third win of his career. He got to the line ahead of Germans Tim Hronek and 2023 Worlds silver medalist Florian Wilmsman.

The women’s race went to Sixtine Cousin (SUI), 24, who won her first-ever World Cup medal, ahead of France’s Marielle Berger Sabbatel and Olympic champ Sandra Naeslund (SWE). It’s the fourth seasonal medal in five races for Berger Sabbatel and third for Naeslund, the seasonal leader.

In the Moguls events in Bakuriani (GEO), Australia’s 2022 Olympic champion, Jakara Anthony, is on a roll.

She won her fourth straight Moguls event in four tries on Friday, scoring 79.08 to beat Rino Yanagimoto (JPN: 77.10) and Hannah Soar of the U.S. (71.18), then came back and won her second straight Dual Moguls title on Saturday. She defeated Maia Schwinghammer (CAN) in the final; Anthony now has won six of the seven Moguls-Dual Moguls events held this season, and took the bronze in the other.

In the all-American bronze-medal race, Olympic Moguls silver winner Jaelin Kauf won over Alli Macuga.

The men’s race had familiar faces on the podium, with Japan’s 2017 World Champion Ikuma Horishima winning the Moguls gold, 77.11 to 75.85 over Sweden’s Filip Gravenfors, with all-time great Mikael Kingsbury (CAN: 75.21) third and American Nick Page fourth (73.42).

In the Dual Moguls, Kingsbury won his 84th World Cup gold – extending his own record – by defeating Horishima in the final; Page won the bronze over Gravenfors. It’s Page’s fifth career World Cup medal.

● Snowboard ● Saturday’s Parallel Slalom at Davos (SUI) was a surprise win for Italy’s Daniele Bagozza in the men’s race, crossing the line ahead of Arvid Auner (AUT) for his first World Cup medal – and first win – since January of 2020! Fellow Italian Edwin Coratti got his second medal of the season in third and took the seasonal points lead after three of 14 races.

The women’s final was another win – her third in a row – for German Ramona Theresia Hofmeister, the 2018 Olympic Parallel Giant Slalom bronzer. She sailed past Italian Lucia Dalmasso, who won her second consecutive silver, with Austria’s Worlds bronze medalist Sabine Schoeffmann taking her second straight bronze.

● Swimming ● SwimSwam.com reported that Caesars Sportsbook will offer odds and wagering on the swimming sector of the 2024 World Aquatics Championships to be held on Doha (QAT) next February.

Adam Pullen, Assistant Director of Trading, explained:

“I think swimming is one of the best, one of the more interesting sports to watch and wager on … We’ve seen a lot of interest – a lot of things can happen. You’re deciding races by hundredths of seconds, and it definitely gets the blood flowing when you got a little action on it, too.”

He said that the experience generated by the Doha Worlds will help in setting odds for the Paris Olympic Games next July.

The wait to see if Chinese distance star Yang Sun – the six-time Olympic medalist in the 200-400-1,500 m Freestyles – who was banned for refusing to cooperate with a test in September 2018 and eventually had a ban imposed of four years and three months, would be selected for the 2024 Olympic Games appears to be over.

Sun’s suspension is due to be completed in May, but the Chinese swimming federation announced criteria which emphasize the 2022 and 2023 World Championships – in which he did not compete – and the April 2024 Chinese national championships.

The regulations specifically note that swimmers who have been sanctioned for doping for more than a year are not eligible. That’s lets the 32-year-old Sun out for sure.

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TSX REPORT: LA28 reports $1.6 billion in sponsor sales; Paris 2024 judging tower to be built in Tahiti; European Super League wins a round in court

Rich Perelman

December 22, 2023

The LA28 emblem designed by Olympic gold medalist swimmer Simone Manuel (USA)

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

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. Wasserman: LA28 now has 63.5% of sponsorships committed
2. Surfing judging tower construction going ahead in Tahiti
3. Baltic states asking for IOC “clarifications” on Russia
4. USA Boxing slams IBA’s new “U.S. federation”
5. European “Super League” given new life by Court of Justice

● LA28 Chair Casey Wasserman said that $1.6 billion in sponsorship commitments have been contracted so far, nearly two-thirds of the budget target, with five years to go. It was reported that the top two executives of the organizing committee have moved on.

● Although the International Surfing Association suggested a remote judging and production scheme that would not require the building of a new judging tower in Tahiti for the Paris 2024 Olympic competition, the Paris ‘24 organizers said a new tower will be built.

● The Baltic States issued a letter to the International Olympic Committee, asking for Russian and Belarusian entries not to be allowed to participate at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The International Equestrian Federation specified the rules under which Russian and Belarusian entries may participate in 2024 competitions, but noted that since qualifying has been completed, neither will be in Paris. And Russian swim stars Kolesnikov and Rylov said they will not participate as neutrals.

● A very direct letter from USA Boxing blasted the International Boxing Association and its new “member federation” in the U.S., founded by Olympic silver medalist and pro boxing star Roy Jones Jr. and emphasized that it is the only federation that governs Olympic boxing in the U.S.

● A European Court of Justice decision breathed new life into the proposed European Super League for football. The holding did not settle the case brought by the Super League promoter, but clarified a legal question about federation rules; the proceedings will now return to a Madrid court room for further litigation.

● Panorama: Paris 2024 (3: Estanguet says sponsorship, ticket sales on track; SOLIDEO says 89% of construction will be done by year-end; Macron says security issues could cause OpCer changes) = Milan Cortina 2026 (still no resolution to the sliding track issue, now wholly political) = Winter Games (Sapporo suspends bid activity for a while) = Alpine Skiing (Vlhova beats Shiffrin in Courchevel Slalom) = Athletics (three more doping positives reported) = Freestyle Skiing (Schmidt and Naeslund take Innichen Ski Cross opener) = Gymnastics (2: USA Gymnastics names athletes of the year, and new Hall of Fame class) = Shooting (ISSF dismisses SecGen Grill!) = Taekwondo (China wins World Cup Team Championships in Wuxi) = Water Polo (USAWP chief Ramsey to retire after Pairs) ●

1.
Wasserman: LA28 now has 63.5% of sponsorships committed

In the wake of Monday’s Los Angeles Times story that chief executive Kathy Carter is transitioning to a senior advisor role, two more important revelations in The Times in a follow-up story:

● “On Wednesday, LA28 chairman Casey Wasserman announced that sponsorships have now exceeded 65%, or about $1.6 billion, and promised additional deals will be announced in the new year.”

● “LA28 saw its chief executive Kathy Carter and chief business officer Brian Lafemina step down in recent days. The committee characterized both moves as part of a planned transition into a new phase of preparations.”

On sponsorship, the LA28 budget forecast $2.517.7 billion in domestic partnership programs, sold primarily through a joint venture with the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee called U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Properties (USOPP). Carter headed that organization from 15 October 2018 and then became LA28 chief executive on 14 September 2021.

As Carter transitions to an advisory role, the senior executive at the USOPP is Chris Pepe, its Chief Commercial Officer, on board since February 2019.

Lafemina had a crucial role as the Chief Business Officer, essentially in command of all operations. A Senior Vice President of the National Football League from 2010-18, he spent a year with the Washington Redskins (now Commanders) as the President of Business Operations, then came to LA28 in April 2019.

In an LA28 presentation to the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF), Lafemina was shown as the head of the Games Planning and Delivery division, which includes Revenue and Commercial operations, Venue Infrastructure, Venue Management and 14 departments overseen by long-time LA28 Chief Operating Officer John Harper, who has been with the LA28 project since the bid stage.

Carter and Lafemina were the two highest-paid executives at LA28, with Carter receiving compensation for both her LA28 and USOPP roles of $2.02 million in 2021, and Lafemina receiving $1.48 million from LA28. They were the only staff reported to receive more than $1 million in 2021, the last year for which tax returns have been posted.

In terms of the LA28 revenue target of $6.884 billion, Wasserman’s comment tracks with Carter’s testimony to the Los Angeles City Council ad hoc committee on the Olympic Games in June, where she said that 64-65% of revenues had been “contracted.”

LA28’s budget shows $1.535 billion coming from the International Olympic Committee through the Host City Contract signed in 2017. With $1.6 billion already committed in sponsorships according to Wasserman, that’s more than $3.1 billion total, with significant guarantees on hospitality sales and merchandise that could drive the total to the $4.4 billion amount that would be 64% of the total revenue target. That’s with five years to go on the sponsorship side and without the sales of any tickets yet.

At the 19 December meeting of the Long Beach City Council, a contract proposal was approved to assist with the preparations and opportunities for the 2028 Olympic Games. Per the Council agenda:

“Recommendation to adopt Specifications No. RFQ CM23-261 and award a contract to KPMG LLP, of Los Angeles, CA, to establish a strategic plan and provide preparation tools and resources necessary to guide the City of Long Beach with the planning and implementation of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, in an amount of $497,600 with a fifteen percent contingency of $74,640, for a total amount not to exceed $572,240 for a period of two years with the option to renew for three additional one-year periods.”

The project includes four primary responsibilities, starting with the formulation of a strategic plan, development of a communications plan, cost estimates and ongoing reporting and project oversight.

At the Council meeting, Assistant to the City Manager Jorge Godinez explained, “While the city has a rich history with the Olympics, we acknowledge that the landscape has evolved significantly since the last Olympics here in 1984. Our current staff does not have first-hand experience from that era.”

2.
Surfing judging tower construction going ahead in Tahiti

It appeared that the controversy over the construction of a new judging tower at the 2024 Olympic surfing site at Teahupo’o in Tahiti had been solved with an agreement to build essentially a replacement of the current wooden structure.

But on Tuesday, the International Surfing Association revealed that it had offered its own proposal that would eliminate the building of a new tower:

“On December 9th, the ISA sent a proposal to the French Polynesian Government and Paris 2024 organizers to run the Olympic Surfing competition in Teahupoo, without building a new aluminum tower on the reef.

“The ISA proposal included judging the competition remotely, with live images shot from land, water and drones.”

The judges would be located in a land-based tower, with access to all of the camera angles provided by the Olympic Broadcasting Services production team.

But on Thursday, Paris 2024 chief executive Tony Estanguet said the tower construction project is going ahead:

“We respect the almost unanimous decision taken locally to continue with the launch of the construction work.”

Moetai Brotherson, the French Polynesia President, said that the scaled-down project had been approved and should be completed in 13 May 2024, in time for a World Surf League competition that could serve as an Olympic rehearsal as well. Added Estanguet on the ISA proposal:

“This is an option that had been looked into but it had been discarded because it would mean the events being judged from a 900-meter distance.

“We can’t broadcast like this in good conditions and in terms of sporting fairness, it would be a problem. Events have always been judged from a tower.

“Tahiti asked to host the surfing events and we will continue to work with all stakeholders to make it happen.”

3.
Baltic states asking for IOC “clarifications” on Russia

“The Baltic Olympic Committees have sent a letter to the IOC. It emphasizes that allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the Paris Olympic Games is an unacceptable step, and demands immediate explanations to the Olympic Committees and the wider public about the aspects mentioned in the decision. We believe that such a decision is unacceptable while hostilities are going on in Ukraine and the civilian population is suffering from Russian war crimes, but they are supported by Belarus,’ said the letter prepared by LOK.”

That’s from the Latvian Olympic Committee last Friday, speaking for itself and the National Olympic Committees of Estonia and Lithuania, and its announcement further noted:

“Eight countries (Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway) coordinate their views and maintain close communication on this issue. LOK believes that the opinion of Ukraine and their further actions are particularly important. …

“In supporting Ukraine, the main goals are the participation of the Ukrainian team in the Paris Olympic Games with the full support currently available to it, as well as to ensure that athletes with neither Russian nor Belarusian passports do not participate in the Paris Olympic Games.”

The Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) announced familiar, specific criteria for the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes as neutrals, including “the absence of active support for the war in Ukraine, no contract with the Russian or Belarusian military or with any other national security agency, and compliance with all FEI Rules and Regulations.”

However, the announcement also clarified their status for Paris 2024:

“According to the Olympic Qualification Systems for Equestrian, individual qualification is secured through the FEI Olympic Rankings for Jumping, Dressage, and Eventing, which cover the period from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2023. Since Russian and Belarusian athletes have not competed in FEI Events since 2 March 2022, no representatives of these nations will take part in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.”

Russian swim star Kliment Kolesnikov, 23, told the Russian news agency TASS that he does not see himself competing in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games as a “neutral” athlete:

“The conditions haven’t changed. What’s the point of participating then? We were just given an official document. I realized for myself that I wouldn’t go to the Olympics under such conditions.

“I have studied the proposed conditions well, and I can say that I was one hundred percent right in my previous assessments. These conditions are a joke, ridiculous, because even if you look at them, putting aside personal assessments, it turns out that they give an advantage over us to guys from other countries during the Olympics. We will perform in unequal conditions, and I think it is wrong to go to perform in unequal conditions.”

Kolesnikov won the Tokyo Olympic silver in the 100 m Backstroke and the bronze in the 100 m Freestyle.

Teammate Evgeny Rylov, the Tokyo Olympic 100-200 m Backstroke gold medalist, said he would not compete as a neutral. Vladimir Salnikov, the head of the Russian Swimming Federation and himself a four-time Olympic gold winner, told TASS:

“This is natural, because the conditions that are offered to people who stood at the highest level at the Olympic Games are unacceptable in their content. I regard them as humiliation. If they want to see us, then we must go without any restrictions and discrimination. If neutral status in the world is considered a certain necessity, then we will invite everyone to act in a neutral status.

“In the current conditions, I don’t consider the refusal of the Olympics a step back, we should feel a sense of self-worth, so his statements did not surprise me.

“If you want to see someone, you open doors, and when the restrictions are through the eye of a needle, it means that there is no such desire. And trying to impose yourself and crawl in on your knees, it’s not about sport.”

4.
USA Boxing slams IBA’s new “U.S. federation”

“At the IBA Ordinary Congress held earlier this month in Dubai, the IBA Congress voted to accept membership from ‘U.S. Boxing Federation,’ a new organization led by Roy Jones Jr., a Russian citizen since 2015 and paid ambassador of IBA. … the statement that anyone has ‘replaced’ USA Boxing in a governing role of the federation is not true. Whatever entity Roy Jones, Jr. is associated with is not recognized as a representative of the United States of America in international sports competition under American law.

“USA Boxing has not decided to ‘return’ to IBA, and the presidency of the National Federation for Olympic-style boxing in the United States of America has not in fact been ‘replaced.’ The United States of America does not recognize Roy Jones, Jr. as having authority to represent the United States of America in any function related to Olympic-style boxing, and he is not involved whatsoever with the governance of amateur or Olympic boxing in the United States of America.

“USA Boxing membership deserves to know the truth behind what appears to be [a] fraudulent organization.” (Underlines in original)

That’s from a tense, four-page letter distributed to the U.S. boxing community by USA Boxing Executive Director Mike McAtee on 18 December, blasting the International Boxing Association announcement of a “new” U.S. boxing organization as a member federation. McAtee continued:

“U.S. Boxing Federation is not recognized or certified by the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC), the National Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC), or any State Boxing Commission. USA Boxing is the only National Governing Body (NGB) relating to Olympic-style boxing that is certified/recognized and supported by the USOPC, ABC, and every State Boxing Commission.”

McAtee also noted the unprecedented withdrawal of recognition of the IBA by the IOC in June and the importance of the newly-formed World Boxing group:

“Given the landslide vote at the June 22 Extraordinary IOC Session to withdraw IBA’s recognition, World Boxing’s journey towards IOC recognition is the only legitimate pathway to preserving boxing’s place in the Olympic Movement.“

USA Boxing also announced a significant partnership with professional boxer and promoter Jake Paul to assist and promote U.S. boxers on the road to Paris 2024.

Part mentor and part promoter, Paul’s project with USA Boxing was described:

“Accompanying the team on their journey to gold, Paul will work side-by-side with Team USA boxers while they train at the Colorado Springs Olympic Training facility in early 2024 with famed coach Billy Walsh, before joining the team at their matches in Paris. Throughout this time, Paul will provide fans a rare inside look into what it’s like for athletes to train and compete for their countries at the Olympics.”

Said McAtee:

“We want to make sure our athletes are recognized for this rare and outstanding accomplishment and are able to carry some of that well-deserved brand value with them to the next phases of their personal journeys. There is no one more suited to partner with USA Boxing in this capacity than Jake Paul, the awareness he brings to the sport for the youth is unparalleled and we could not be more thrilled to welcome him and his audience to Team USA.”

5.
European “Super League” given new life by Court of Justice

The European Court of Justice ruled Thursday, in a narrow decision, that FIFA and the European Football Union (UEFA) hold a dominant position in regard to the organization of football matches and as such, abused their position via their rules on the approval, control and sanctions vs. potentially competing competitions, such as the European Super League proposal of 2021.

The Court’s announcement was very careful to state what it had actually decided and what it actually meant:

● “The FIFA and UEFA rules making any new interclub football project subject to their prior approval, such as the Super League, and prohibiting clubs and players from playing in those competitions, are unlawful. There is no framework for the FIFA and UEFA rules ensuring that they are transparent, objective, non-discriminatory and proportionate.”

● “Similarly, the rules giving FIFA and UEFA exclusive control over the commercial exploitation of the rights related to those competitions are such as to restrict competition, given their importance for the media, consumers and television viewers in the European Union.”

● “[T]he Court holds that, where an undertaking in a dominant position has the power to determine the conditions in which potentially competing undertakings may access the market, that power must, given the risk of conflict of interest to which it gives rise, be subject to criteria which are suitable for ensuring that they are transparent, objective, non discriminatory and proportionate. However, the powers of FIFA and UEFA are not subject to any such criteria. FIFA and UEFA are, therefore, abusing a dominant position.”

● “That does not mean that a competition such as the Super League project must necessarily be approved. The Court, having been asked generally about the FIFA and UEFA rules, does not rule on that specific project in its judgment.”

The case was a referral from the Commercial Court in Madrid (ESP) concerning the question of a FIFA and UEFA monopoly under European law, and the case will now revert back to the Madrid court.

However, the A22 Sports Management firm, which backed the Super League proposal in 2021, hailed the ruling and immediately proposed a much larger project that the original Super League concept. It now suggests a 64-club, three-tier men’s concept and a two-tier, 32-club women’s competition to try and replace the existing UEFA Champions League and Women’s Champions League. A22 Sports also promised free television viewing of all matches.

Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, the only clubs still supporting the Super League proposal, endorsed the Court’s holding, but almost every other organization – FIFA, UEFA, the European Club Association, the FIFPro players association and others – came out against the new league concepts.

UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin (SLO) told reporters, “We will not try to stop them. They can create whatever they want. I hope they start their fantastic competition as soon as possible, with two clubs.” Leagues across Europe came out against the Super League proposal. In Britain, legislation could be proposed to keep clubs there from participating in a Super League.

Which means that this story is hardly ending, but perhaps is just beginning.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● At his year-end news conference in Paris, organizing committee chief Tony Estanguet was enthusiastic about the progress made and cited some powerful indicators of success next summer.

The domestic sponsorship program expanded by 36 companies in 2023 and stands at 58 overall and at €1.2 billion (€1 = $1.10 U.S.), or 97% of the budgeted goal. Some 7.6 million tickets have been sold so far, with another 1.0 million still to be offered. The number of tickets reserved for hospitality sales by OnLocation was given as 750,000.

The organizing committee has 2,100 staff members and will reach 4,200 or so prior to the Games. The volunteer program, which was set at 45,000 total, received 313,000 applications from 150 countries. So far, so good.

Nicolas Ferrand, the head of the French government agency responsible for Olympic construction projects, known as SOLIDEO, said that the program is on schedule, with 84% completion as of 19 December and a year-end target of 89% completion.

“In 12 days, we will finish the work [for the year], and on March 1, we will hand over the works to Paris 2024. When SOLIDEO was created in January 2018, general opinion said that we would not succeed, that France would finish the works in pain in the last days. But we are on schedule.”

Ferrand noted that the SOLIDEO budget of €1.721 billion was also on track, although half of the contingency had been eaten by inflation.

On Wednesday’s edition of the France 5 television talk show “C a vous,” French President Emmanuel Macron noted that if circumstances demand it, there could be options for changes to the Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony that will take place on the Seine River:

“You’re 15 days from the Olympic Games. You have a series of terrorist attacks. What do you do? Well you don’t organize on the Seine.

“As we are professionals, there are obviously plans B, plans C, etc. It’s the difference between organizing, planning and immediately, perhaps in a catastrophe, no longer having any ambition and saying we’re repatriating. No, we organize ourselves.

“If we consider that there is a level of risk, imbalances, a level of insecurity, of potential threats, [then it] would be likely to revise the initial plan. This is what we do every time for these events. You organize them consciously, but you have to plan everything.”

Paris 2024 head Estanguet has said that the Seine project is the only being focused on.

● Olympic Winter Games 2026: Milan Cortina ● The latest meeting of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Games organizing committee on Tuesday brought no closure to the question of the sliding track. Instead, Sports Minister Andrea Abodi said afterwards:

“We need a few more days for technical investigations. I believe that in the next few days there will be a way to arrive at a technical determination and allow the Foundation to decide by the end of the year, at the first few days of 2024 at the latest, with the confirmed priority of choosing an Italian option.”

In the background of the political battle over the sliding sports venue is that no company bid for the project when it was offered during the summer. Despite viable proposals to use existing tracks in Austria, Germany, Switzerland or the U.S., the focus of the politicians is for an “Italian solution.”

● Olympic Winter Games: Future ● After a Tuesday meeting with the Japanese Olympic Committee, Sapporo (JPN) Mayor Katsuhiro Akimoto said that his city’s bid efforts are being suspended.

“We have decided to suspend, rather than withdraw or scrap, in order to maintain our opportunities for future bids.”

Sapporo was considered a front-runner for 2030, but the high cost of the Tokyo Olympic Games, rising cost projections for a second Sapporo Winter Games and the Tokyo organizing committee scandals all took a toll. The International Olympic Committee has targeted the French Alps proposal for 2030, Salt Lake City for 2034 and possibly the Swiss bid for 2038, making 2042 the next Winter Games likely to be available.

● Alpine Skiing ● At the FIS Alpine World Cup women’s Slalom at Courchevel (FRA), the event’s stars – American Mikaela Shiffrin and Slovakia’s Petra Vlhova – went head to head again, with Vlhova taking this showdown.

Shiffrin had the fastest first run at 55.24, with Vlhova right behind at 55.41. But Vlhova, the Olympic gold winner in 2022, was sensational on the second run, posting the fastest time of 52.73, with Shiffrin second in the field, but in 53.14 and that was enough to give Vlhova a 1:48.14 to 1:48.38 victory. It’s her 30th career World Cup victory.

Austria’s Katharina Truppe moved from fifth to third on the second run (1:50.20) for the bronze; American Paula Moltzan was fifth in 1:50.78.

● Athletics ● More doping announcements from the Athletics Integrity Unit, with marathoner Thomas Kibet (KEN) suspended for three years from 3 November 2023 for the use of the steroid Norandsterone. Kibet has a best of 2:10:59 from December of 2022.

Fellow Kenyan Maurine Chepkemoi, 25, was also banned for three years, for Erythropoietin (EPO), from 4 December 2023. He has a marathon best of 2:20:18 from 2021.

/Updated/Italian shot put star Nick Ponzio, who threw collegiately at USC, was suspended for 18 months by the Italian anti-doping agency for “whereabouts” violations. His ban will end on 27 August 2024, after the Paris Olympic Games. Ponzio, who began throwing for Italy in 2021, held the national indoor record at 21.61 m (70-10 3/4) for a while in 2022 (since surpassed).

● Freestyle Skiing ● Canada’s Jared Schmidt won his third straight FIS World Cup Ski Cross title, this time in Innichen (ITA), beating France’s Nicolas Raffort and Youri Duplessis Kergomard to the line.

These are the first three World Cup wins of Schmidt’s career; he had previously won two World Cup bronzes in 2021.

In the women’s final, Sweden’s Olympic champ Sandra Naeslund took her second win of the season and 39th of her career, ahead of 2013 World Champion Fanny Smith (SUI) and Hannah Schmidt (CAN).

A second competition at Innichen is slated for Friday.

● Gymnastics ● USA Gymnastics announced its annual award winners on Thursday in all of its disciplines:

● Artistic/Men: Fred Richard, the three-time NCAA winner for Michigan and the Worlds All-Around bronze medalist.

● Artistic/Women: Joscelyn Roberson, a Worlds Team gold winner, U.S. Nationals Vault winner and 10-time international medalist.

● Rhythmic: Evita Griskenas, four-time World Cup medal winner and a Paris Olympic qualifier after winning five Pan American Games medals.

● Trampoline & Tumbling: Three-way tie with Ruben Padilla, Kaden Brown and Jessica Stevens, all members of the U.S. gold-medal team performance at the World Championships.

● Acrobatic: Men’s pair Angel Felix and Braiden McDougall, national champions and World Cup Series winners.

USA Gymnastics also revealed its Class of 2023 Hall of Fame selections, including:

● Sasha Artemev, a member of the 2008 Olympic Team bronze winners and a Worlds Pommel Horse bronze medalist in 2006

● Jana Bieger, who won three 2006 Worlds silvers in Team, All-Around and Floor, and was a national team member from 2003-09.

● Ivana Hong, a Worlds Team gold medalist in 200 and took the Worlds Beam bronze in 2009.

● Savannah Vinsant, a two-time U.S. champ in Trampoline and the first American to reach an Olympic Trampoline final when she finished sixth at London 2012.

Off-the-mat selections included Youri Vorobyev, who has helped multiple Worlds medalists and was honored an Acrobatic Gymnastics coach, and Dr. Rich Sands, an Artistic Gymnastics coach who also served as the federation’s Director of Research and Development from 1987-95, who was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

● Shooting ● A fairly ominous Wednesday announcement from the International Shooting Sport Federation:

“On 19 December 2023, the ISSF Executive Committee in an extraordinary meeting has decided to dismiss Mr Willi Grill [GER] as ISSF Secretary General with immediate effect and to terminate his employment contract effective on 31 March 2024.

“Until 31 March 2024 Mr Grill is released from all his duties.

“This decision was made after careful consideration of results of an independent internal investigation.”

Grill came in on 1 December 2022 with the election of Italian President Luciano Rossi, who will take on his duties in additional to his own until a new Secretary General is hired in the first quarter of 2023. The statement noted that the federation’s Executive Committee will meet in February “to discuss candidates to fill the vacant ISSF Secretary General position and improvements for the office structure within the ISSF Headquarters in Munich to ensure the highest professional standards.”

● Taekwondo ● China won the 2023 World Taekwondo World Cup Team Championships on home soil in Wuxi on Tuesday, taking down Uzbekistan in the three-round final by 36:30.

It was the only close for the six-member, mixed-gender team, which defeated India in the quarterfinals by 90:21, then downed Brazil by 88:43 to advance to the final. Uzbekistan advanced by beating Morocco (78:58) and the Daejon Metro City team from Korea, 48:32.

China, Uzbekistan, and third-place Brazil all qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

● Water Polo ● Chris Ramsey, the 17-year chief executive of USA Water Polo, will retire following the 2024 Paris Games, and the organization is beginning a search for his replacement.

The high-profile national teams did well, especially the women, who won three Olympic golds and five World Championship titles, with the men winning a 2008 Olympic silver. During Ramsey’s tenure, the organization’s budget increased from $4 million to $16 million annually, membership has doubled over the past decade and the USAWP development program – which began with 300 players in 2009 – is now over 6,000.

You can receive our exclusive TSX Report by e-mail by clicking here. You can also refer a friend by clicking here, and can donate here to keep this site going.

For our updated, 850-event International Sports Calendar (no. 4) for 2023 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

SPOTLIGHT: Making The World Better For Kids By Advancing Play Equity

LA84 Foundation

December 21, 2023

★ The Sports Examiner is delighted to present this important contribution from our patron, the LA84 Foundation, a national leader in the role of sports in positive youth development. Opinions expressed are those of the LA84 Foundation. ★

The LA84 Foundation is a legacy of the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, and its work is a shining example of play equity. Founded on the principles of fair play, education and access to sport for all, as the LA84 Foundation’s 40th anniversary nears it has left an indelible impact on the landscape of youth sports and social development.

Committed to helping kids from all backgrounds become “Life Ready Through Sports,” the LA84 Foundation has supported 4 million youth, provided funding to 2,500 nonprofit organizations, built or refurbished 400 fields of play, courts and pools, and trained over 200,000 coaches.

The organization continues to be a catalyst for change for kids across Southern California, and the LA84 Foundation’s impact has expanded significantly since establishing its charitable partner, the Play Equity Fund. This 501(c)3 public charity addresses systemic issues, removes barriers, and unlocks new public and private resources for its nonprofit partners so all kids can receive the lifelong benefits of sports, play and movement.

“Leveling the playing field for all kids is fundamental to our work and who we are,” said Renata Simril, President & CEO of the LA84 Foundation, and President of the Play Equity Fund. “We believe all young people can succeed with opportunity, which demands access.”

The efforts of the two organizations and their work for play equity matter more today than ever before. A growing mental health crisis among young people following the isolation and hardships of the COVID-19 pandemic only give this critical work more urgency – as does the steady rise in the gap between the children who have access to play and those who do not.

Research shows 80% of youth do not meet federal guidelines for physical activity, and children from households with incomes below $25,000 are five times less likely to participate in sports programs than their peers from more affluent homes. Many schools have defunded enrichment programs, including sports, and physical education is an unfunded mandate offered one or two days weekly.

In the spirit of the holidays, your support of the Play Equity Fund can make a difference in young lives. By investing in youth sports scholarships that empower the next generation by providing equipment, uniforms and transportation. Or sponsorship of a student leadership series to inspire the transformative impact of sports and play on positive youth development.

Your support will help the Play Equity Fund get more girls involved in sports through a community-based initiative with 13 nonprofit organizations, coaches and parents that expands access in east and south Los Angeles. Through its advocacy efforts, the Play Equity Fund is stressing to elected officials and policymakers how important sport, play and movement is to student success.

The LA84 Foundation and the Play Equity Fund are committed to one mission – ensuring all kids have access to the transformative power of sport and play by raising awareness, expanding resources, changing policies and making real investments. By creating opportunities through removing barriers to access, you can help the Play Equity Fund build bridges toward a more promising tomorrow for kids.

The LA84 Foundation and the Play Equity Fund established “Play Day,” the annual National Day of Play, and on June 29 it will be one of many events in 2024 celebrating LA84’s 40 years of impact. Play Day annually uplifts the essential role that healthy activity has on supporting childhood development and community well-being, and it shows how sports have the power to connect us with each other.

In 2023, the Play Equity Fund shipped Play-Day-In-A-Box kits packed with balls, cones, jump ropes and other gear to 150 organizations from California to Massachusetts. These kits supported over 5,000 kids nationally. A resolution establishing “Play Day’ in the State of California was unanimously passed by the California State Senate in partnership with the LA84 Foundation and the Play Equity Fund, encouraging all children to get out and play.

In 2022-23, the Play Equity Fund and LA84 Foundation have served approximately 250,000 youth, and awarded nearly $12 million in grants. With your help, the organizations aim to do much more to continue to make play accessible and equitable for all kids.

The Play Equity Fund and the LA84 Foundation believe in the power of sport to build pathways to success and well-being for young people – and with this work being so crucial for kids today and for future generations – look forward to 2024.

Learn More & Join the Play Equity Movement: https://playequityfund.org/

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

You can receive our exclusive TSX Report by e-mail by clicking here. You can also refer a friend by clicking here, and can donate here to keep this site going.

For our updated, 850-event International Sports Calendar (no. 4) for 2023 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

TSX REPORT: Coe says again, no Russians in track in Paris; LA28’s Carter steps back; two U.S. coaches indicted for aiding doping

Rich Perelman

December 19, 2023

World Athletics Championships Oregon22 - Previews — World Athletics President Sebastian Coe (GBR) (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images for World Athletics)

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

★ To get The Sports Examiner by e-mail: sign up here! ★

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. Coe reiterates: no Russians in track & field in Paris
2. LA28’s Carter steps away from CEO role
3. U.S. Justice charges two more for Rodchenkov Act doping
4. Media chaos as satiric story leads to Paris 2024 “lockdown” talk
5. Backstage: USOPC behind “Best Practices” symposium

● World Athletics President Sebastian Coe told reporters on Monday that unless something changes in the war with Ukraine, there will be no Russians competing in track & field at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

● The LA28 organizing committee’s chief executive, Kathy Carter, will transition to a senior advisor role and a new CEO will be hired, according to a story that appeared late Monday afternoon in the Los Angeles Times.

● The U.S. Department of Justice indicted two U.S. coaches for violations of the Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act of 2019, for obtaining and dispensing performance-enhancing drugs to a Nigerian athlete (likely Blessing Okagbare), a Swiss athlete and a British athlete.

● A story in a satirical French newspaper was taken seriously by other French news media, reporting that a “lockdown” of Parisians during the 2024 Olympic Games was being discussed by the government. Corrections were posted, but the confusion isn’t helpful.

● The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, in coordination with Olympic Solidarity and Panam Sports, hosted the fifth Symposium for the Best Practices of the Americas in Miami, a little-known, but important – and appreciated – outreach effort by the world’s richest National Olympic Committee.

● Panorama: Alpine Skiing (Odermatt doubles up at Alta Badia) = Athletics (2: Four more doping suspensions from the Athletics Integrity Unit; World Athletics Continental Tour schedule announced, including Gold meets in Los Angeles and New York) = Boxing (World Boxing announces new tournament in January in England) = Swimming (2: USA Swimming offering 20% off Olympic Trials tickets through Saturday; Russian star Chikunova comes to pool deck in a fur coat!) = Wrestling (U.S. Senior Nationals qualifies wrestlers for Olympic Trials) ●

● Schedule: Some needed hardware, software and site updates have been put off for too long, so look for our next post on Friday, 22 December (unless in case of breaking news). ●

1.
Coe reiterates: no Russians in track & field in Paris

“Our stance is clear. There’s no chance that we’re going to revisit that between now and Paris unless circumstances dramatically alter between Russia and Ukraine.”

That’s World Athletics President Sebastian Coe (GBR), speaking to reporters on Monday in a series of year-end roundtables, and speaking to the situation for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and Russia.

Coe’s federation has been one of the toughest in dealing with the Russians on varying issues, especially on doping, but also on the war against Ukraine. He also explained how he interprets the outcome of the Olympic Summit of 5 December – which he attended – from which the International Olympic Committee issued regulations three days later on how Russian and Belarusian “neutral” athletes might be able to participate in Paris:

“The most important thing is that the autonomy and independence of international federations to make these judgements is really important. We made a judgement which we believe was in the best interest of our sport.

“The IOC has probably done what they were always destined to do. I hope those other international member federations that don’t necessarily see the world the way I do respect the decision we’ve made in the same way I respect the decision they’ve made.

“Do I see anything changing in the foreseeable future? I don’t know. The world changes every five minutes, the situation could change. We do have a working group that is monitoring the situation within the sport and it will advise and guide [the World Athletics] Council on what circumstances might need to exist for any exclusion to be lifted.”

World Athletics under Coe has been consistently tough on Russia in view of the doping scandals and cover-ups during that involved Lamine Diack (SEN) when he was the head of the then-IAAF. For the 2016 Rio Games, just after the state-sponsored doping scandal broke, only one Russian athlete was allowed to compete. At Tokyo 2020, the Russian Olympic Committee team in track & field consisted of 10 athletes, who won two medals (1-1-0).

Now, for 2024, it appears that none will be allowed to compete.

Coe praised the performances in the sport in 2023, noting “I think Budapest was the best world championships we’ve ever had and there were seven world records in an outstanding season.”

He also underlined the future direction for track & field:

“I want people to look back on 2024 and 2025 in the same way they look back on 2016, which was a root and branch review of the sport. And that we did things that made a significant difference… and that the sport looked different and will never look the same again.

“This doesn’t mean jettisoning 150 years of history and heritage but it is saying that too much of what we do is through rote and because ‘we’ve always done it’ – and it isn’t good enough. We have to do things differently and make sure the things we want to preserve and cherish are done in a way that they can be preserved and cherished in front of new audiences.

“I want to see more young people watching our sport and greater spectator activation. I want to improve the product on television, as I don’t think it’s that good in many places.

“I’m absolutely focused on what the product looks like. How we can use it to grow the sport? How we can bring more people, more technical officials, more coaches and volunteers into it and, critically, how we can future-proof the sport? The Netflix documentary next year will help do that – and there are other things being worked upon.”

Discussions are also underway to consider better ways to stage meets in the future and mentioned the long jump and triple jump as events that could benefit from improved presentation.

Coe also spoke to the federation’s continuing scrutiny of women’s participation and the situation for transgender women and those with “differences in sex development” that have exceptionally high testosterone levels, and promised to “protect” the women’s category.

2.
Kathy Carter steps away from LA28 chief executive role

The chief executive of the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games organizing committee, Kathy Carter, is stepping back from that role and will become a senior advisor, according to a story posted late Monday afternoon by the Los Angeles Times.

“As anticipated, because LA28 is moving from a commercial and planning phase to an operational and delivery phase, now is the right time for me to pass the torch,” said Carter in a statement. LA28 Chair Casey Wasserman added:

“I am deeply grateful for Kathy’s leadership and many contributions to the Olympic and Paralympic movement. She will always be a defining part of our success at LA28 and I will continue to rely upon her advice during this transition and beyond.”

Carter, whose background was in football as the highly-successful head of Soccer United Marketing, bringing sponsors to the U.S. Soccer Federation and Major League Soccer in their growth phases after the 1994 World Cup – the first held in the U.S. – joined the LA28 effort in October 2018 as the head of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Properties group, the marketing joint venture between the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee and LA28.

She was promoted to be LA28’s chief executive in September 2021, with a continued focus on sponsorship marketing, coordination with the City of Los Angeles and the finalization of the sports program, with LA28 becoming the biggest Olympic Games in history with the addition of five sports – baseball-softball, cricket, flag football, lacrosse and squash – for a total of 35 or 36, depending on the eventual fate of boxing (which will be up to the International Olympic Committee).

The LA28 organizing committee has remained fairly compact and quiet, working through the myriad contracts and processes necessary to meet its obligations to the City and make more detailed arrangements with the competition venues and support sites which will host the competitions, athletes, officials and media in 2028. It will be much more visible after the Paris 2024 Games are concluded.

3.
U.S. Justice charges two more for Rodchenkov Act doping

An indictment filed by the U.S. Department of Justice concerning the Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act of 2019, which allows prosecutors to chase down doping enablers and providers, has charged coaches Dewayne Barrett and O’Neil Wright with provide performance-enhancing drugs to three athletes. Per Monday’s announcement:

“The charges in this Indictment arise from an investigation of a scheme to provide Olympic athletes with PEDs, including drugs widely banned throughout competitive sports such as human growth hormone, clenbuterol, and the “blood building” drug erythropoietin, in advance of and for the purpose of corrupting the 2020 Olympic Games that convened in Tokyo in the summer of 2021.

“BARRETT and WRIGHT purported to coach athletes, including Olympic-level athletes competing on behalf of Nigeria (“Athlete-1”), Switzerland (“Athlete-2”), and the United Kingdom (“Athlete-3”), but instead, in order to obtain an unfair and unlawful advantage, BARRETT and WRIGHT provided those athletes with prohibited, performance-enhancing drugs that were obtained and administered without valid prescriptions.

“BARRETT was a track and field coach and personal trainer based in the New York City area who operated a fitness facility located in Manhattan. WRIGHT, a former Olympic-level sprinter, was a track and field coach based in Atlanta, Georgia. Neither BARRETT nor WRIGHT are doctors. CC-1, an individual who held himself out as a naturopathic doctor, but was not a licensed doctor, supplied banned drugs to athletes at BARRETT and WRIGHT’s behest.”

The reference to “CC-1″ is obviously to Eric Lira, previously charged in January 2022 for providing similar drugs to Nigerian sprinters Blessing Okagbare (banned for 11 years) and Divine Oduduru, who was banned for six years in October.

No identification has been made of the three athletes cited in the indictment, but Athlete-1 appears to be Okagbare; the others were apparently sprinters in the 100-200-400 m events, with Barrett and Wright obtaining drugs from Lira during the first half of 2021, in advance of the Tokyo Olympic Games. The Athletics Integrity Unit is now investigating the allegations as to doping by the athletes.

Lira pled guilty in May to violating the Rodchenkov Act, which carries a maximum potential sentence of 10 years in prison. He is yet to be sentenced.

4.
Media chaos as satiric story leads to Paris 2024 “lockdown” talk

Oh boy. Satire is always dangerous if the reader doesn’t get the joke and that’s what happened last week with a story that appeared in the French weekly Le Canard enchaine – “The Chained Duck” – which is a satirical look at the news.

A 6 December story was headlined “JO: le prefet annonce l’enfer dans les transports” – or “Olympic Games: Prefect announces hell on the transports” in English – and added in a sub-head (in French), “In a letter to minister Clement Beaune, he ‘informs him of “worrying tensions.’” A cartoon showed a Metro train running into a banner that read (in French), “Closed due to chaos.”

The story jokingly asked whether this would be the start of an “Olympic lockdown”?

The “Prefect” mentioned in the story was the Prefect of Ile-de-France and Paris, Marc Guillaume. His letter came after Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo warned of transport issues because all of the planned infrastructure for the new rail lines will not be completed by the time of the Games and Prefect of Police Laurent Nunez proposed limited access – with residents needing QR codes – for some areas of Paris which are involved in the Games.

A post on X (ex-Twitter) by Le Canard enchaine proclaimed (computer translation):

“Disruption in the metro! The prefect of the Ile-de-France region denies the Minister of Transport who swore on November 23 that ‘we will be ready’ for #JO2024. The senior official wrote to him to announce an avalanche of ‘saturations’…”

Instead of taking this as the intended joke, other French media picked up the story as serious. La Libre ran a story that started (computer translation):

“‘Olympic Containment’: in August, Parisians will be at a standstill to serve the Games.

“The Minister Delegate for Transport has made a promise: the 800,000 visitors to the Olympic Games will be able to get to the venues by public transport. But this promise will be kept at the expense of the mobility of the people of Ile-de-France.

“For a while now, we have known that traffic in Paris promises to be ‘hard-core,’ as Clement Beaune, Minister Delegate for Transport, had warned. But what will this consist of, exactly? The Minister was clearer last Thursday. He asks Ile-de-France residents to ‘organize differently.’ Concretely, he calls on residents of Paris and its region to do ‘more teleworking’ and to ‘take time off’ during the Games period. In other words, Ile-de-France residents are asked to stay at home or leave space so as not to congest the public transport network, then intended for the 800,000 spectators of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

Once the mistake became obvious, the corrections came. The very serious national daily Le Monde had to offer a retraction on X:

“Correction: withdrawal of the expression ‘Olympic confinement,’ which we wrongly attributed to the prefect of the Île-de-France region.”

Naturally, the story had already spread like wildfire on French social sites, and Guillaume denied even mentioning a lockdown in his letter to Beaune.

The incident illustrates the enormous attention being paid to the Games in the host city, a lesson for all future organizers, and news media, to learn from. Wow.

5.
Backstage: USOPC behind “Best Practices” symposium

The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee is the largest and richest National Olympic Committee in the Western Hemisphere and probably the largest anywhere. With that comes jealousy from others, but the USOPC has made some unique efforts to share information and strategies, especially with its Panam Sports neighbors.

Starting in 2012, the then-USOC created the Symposium for the Best Practices of the Americas as a sharing and relationship-building effort in Miami, Florida. That very first session was favorably described:

“[T]he real worth of the two-day symposium was the frank discussions and the candidness of the participating Olympic committee leaders.

“Canada, Brazil Argentina, Chile, USA, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Jamaica were all unrestricted in revealing their plans, structures and methodology. Topics on the agenda included governance, marketing, athlete and coach development and their high performance plans and systems. …

“The Americas best practices symposium signalled that the Americas Olympic movement is prepared to address the issues and obstacles. The willingness of the likes of Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Mexico and USA to be their brother and sister’s keeper is one small step in the right direction.”

Fast forward to 2023 and the fifth Symposium concluded on 10 December, again in Miami, with attendance not only from 40 National Olympic Committees, but also staff from the IOC’s Olympic Solidarity team, the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games organizing committee and Panam Sports. The cost of the program was shared by the USOPC, Olympic Solidarity and Panam Sports.

There were eight formal sessions over the two days:

● Planning: Future of Present Decisions
● Good Financial Governance
● Performance Innovation
● Demonstrations of Sport Analytics Tools and Resources
● Enhancing and Evidencing the Social Impact of NOCs
● Athlete Safeguarding and Mental Health
● Legacy of the Pan American Games
● Social Media and Digital Marketing

Delise O’Meally, the USOPC Vice President for International Relations explained:

“Our goal is to advance sporting excellence in our region by providing a forum for the NOCs to engage in high-level discussions regarding leadership, management and sport performance principles that are essential to the success of NOCs.”

Just as critical for some of the attendees will be new relationships with other NOC leaders, including USOPC President Gene Sykes and chief executive Sarah Hirshland, as well as O’Meally and others from the USOPC International Relations team.

The Panam Sports Awards, honoring the top athletes from the recent Pan American Games, was integrated into the program on Saturday evening, bringing athletes into the program as well.

Observed: Most people don’t have any idea that such a program takes place. But for the USOPC, it’s bad business to be disconnected from the rest of the world and especially from the other National Olympic Committees in the Americas, and the IOC’s Olympic Solidarity staff. These kinds of seminar events and the face-to-face discussions are good business, in both the short and long term.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Alpine Skiing ● Switzerland’s reigning World Cup champ Marco Odermatt showed that he is going to be tough to dislodge this season as he completed a sweep of the two Giant Slalom races at Alta Badia (ITA) on Monday.

He was once again the leader after the first run in 1:14.39 and just as in the first race, had the second-fastest second run to finish in 2:28.14, a full 1.05 ahead of Austria’s Marco Schwarz, the 2021-23 Worlds Giant Slalom bronze winner (2:29.19).

Slovenia’s Zan Kranjec finished third. River Radamus was the top American, in 14th.

Odermatt has won all three Giant Slaloms this season and has bronze medals in a Downhill and a Super-G for five podiums in the seven races held so far. The victory was his 27th career World Cup gold.

Next up: a Friday Slalom at Madonna di Campiglio (ITA).

● Athletics ● The Athletics Integrity Unit continues to announce sanctions at a rapid pace, with three Kenyans hit with bans of 18 months to eight years:

● Joyce Chepkemoi, 28, a 30:33 10 km road runner and 65:50 half-marathoner, was suspended for 18 months for the use of triamcinolone acetonide, a synthetic corticosteroid.

● Rebecca Jepchirchir Korir, 31, a 2:28:14 marathoner was banned for two years for methylprednisolone, a corticosteroid.

● James Mwangi Wangari, 29, a 27:23.04 10,000 m man from 2016, was hit for eight years for a second doping offense, this time for norandrosterone, a steroid. He had previously served a four-year doping ban from 2017-21.

Sitora Khamidova of Uzbekistan, 34, the 2023 Asian Half Marathon Championships runner-up, was provisionally suspended for steroid use.

World Athletics unveiled the first full list of Continental Tour events, with 190 events listed and 12 at the top-tier Gold level.

This includes two in the U.S.: the second Los Angeles Grand Prix on 18 May at UCLA’s Drake Stadium and the New York City Grand Prix at Icahn Stadium in New York on 9 June. Two U.S. meets have Silver-level status: the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa on 26-27 April and the NACAC New Life Invitational in Miramar, Florida on 25 May.

● Boxing ● The new, 27-member World Boxing federation announced a first tournament under its brand for 17-20 January in Sheffield (ENG) under the title “World Boxing Cup: GB Open Sheffield 2024.”

The event will be staged by England Boxing in association with World Boxing and GB Boxing and supported by the National Lottery, UK Sport and Sheffield City Council. It’s the first in a series of tournaments using the Olympic weight classes, with fighters accruing points towards a series final at the end of 2024.

● Swimming ● One of the showcase events of the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2024 will be the swimming trials at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana from 15-23 June, potentially creating the largest-ever audience for a swim meet with more than 30,000 seats available.

USA Swimming is offering a 20% discount on tickets purchased this week – through Saturday, 23 December – for each corresponding date in June. Thus, the discount will be available on Tuesday for June 19, on December 20 for June 20 and so on through the 23rd. The prior day discounts have already passed.

Taking swimming’s Olympic selection meet to an NFL football stadium is new; the swimming trials sold out at the CHI Health Center Omaha (as now named) in 2008-12-16-21, but had been previously held in Indianapolis in 1984-92-96-2000.

Tickets are offered for 2024 across six levels of the stadium, now from $216.42 for the 100 level to $45.64 on the 600 level.

The seats on sale in this promotion apply to both the morning qualifying and evening finals on each day.

Russian Evgeniia Chikunova, 19, the world-record-setter in the women’s 200 m Breaststroke (50 m pool) earlier this year, made quite the fashion statement at last weekend’s short-course (25 m) Vladimir Salnikov Cup, coming onto the deck for her race in a three-quarter-length fur coat and a giant fur hat! She told the Russian news agency TASS:

“The idea came right before the Salnikov Cup. When I was trying on different outfits at home, I saw a fur coat in my mother’s closet. That’s when I realized that something could be done about it. Only then we found something like a voluminous hat; I’m glad that we managed to assemble such an image,

“I even bought a wig, although I was almost unprepared; I didn’t comb it. But overall it was spectacular.”

This meet has a history of swimmers coming to the pool in unique costumes; Chikunova ditched the coat and hat and won her race in 2:16.89.

● Wrestling ● Olympic qualifying is serious business and American wrestlers are pointing for the Olympic Trials next April in State College, Pennsylvania. To get there, USA Wrestling offered the Senior National Championships over the weekend in Ft. Worth, Texas, with the top five finishers all qualifying for the Trials.

Competition was limited to the six Olympic weights in each discipline. The men’s Freestyle winners included four top seeds: Spencer Lee (57 kg), Quincy Monday (74 kg), Kollin Moore (97 kg) and Dom Bradley at 125 kg. At 65 kg, no. 3 seed Andrew Alirez, the 2023 NCAA champ, won his second Nationals crown (also in 2020). At 86 kg, 2019 Nationals winner Alex Dieringer defeated top-seeded and two-time Nationals winner Mark Hall.

Lee, Moore and Monday each won their second national titles.

The Greco-Roman winners also qualified for the Pan American Olympic qualifier in Acapulco (MEX) in February. Pan American Games gold medalists Ildar Hafizov (60 kg) and Kamal Bey (77 kg) and runner-up Cohlton Schultz (130 kg) were advanced to the finals in Ft. Worth, and all won decisively. Tokyo 2020 Olympian Alejandro Sancho won at 67 kg, Spencer Woods won by technical fall at 87 kg and Alan Vera defeated Joe Rau, 12-5, at 97 kg.

In the women’s Freestyle finals, Sage Mortimer overcame an early deficit to win over Samara Chavez, 12-10, at 50 kg, and Vayle-Rae Baker won her first U.S. title with a win over top seed Katie Gomez at 53 kg. The 2019 World 55 kg Champion, Jacarra Winchester, highlighted the women’s Freestyle finals, pinning Ashlynn Ortega in the higher-weight 62 kg championship match.

Second-seed Amanda Martinez won at 57 kg, defeating top-seed Alex Hedrick, 4-1. Two-time Worlds bronze winner Mallory Velte won the 68 kg title with a walkover in the final over the injured Cheyenne Bowman. At 76 kg, two-time Nationals winner Precious Wieser won a third with a pin against Marlynne Deede.

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For our updated, 850-event International Sports Calendar (no. 4) for 2023 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

TSX REPORT: Russia says it will not fund any “neutral” athletes; Italian minister insists on Cortina sliding track; Armstrong’s “rocket fuel”

Rich Perelman

December 18, 2023

tsx pix 2023-1217 pozdnyakov, stanislav (eurofencing) — Stanislav Pozdnyakov, President of the Russian Olympic Committee (Photo: EuroFencing)

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

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. ROC chief rips IOC again, says no funding of “neutrals”
2. Minister Salvini: 2026 sliding track “must be in Cortina”
3. L.A.’s Metrolink shuts down for Olympic & World Cup upgrades
4. Lyles follows up on World Athlete of the Year disappointment
5. Armstrong: EPO is the “rocket fuel” that changed sport

● Russia’s war of words against the International Olympic Committee continued, with the head of the Russian Olympic Committee saying that any Russian athlete who competes as a neutral will not receive funding. He also said the IOC would nullify the results of any Paris medal winner who participates in the post-Paris World Friendship Games. And he added in some other insults.

● The Italian minister for infrastructure declared that the bobsleigh, luge and skeleton track for the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games must be in Cortina, even though no company bid on the project during the summer and time is running out. A decision on the venue is expected in January.

● The massive Metrolink system in Southern California will be shut down for four days at the end of December for maintenance and upgrades, some aimed at the 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Really, Metrolink said so.

● Sprint superstar Noah Lyles posted his opinion of the World Athletics World Athlete of the Year going to six winners and not two. He said he felt his three Worlds victories were not good enough to merit a solo award, although he knows that was not the federation’s intent.

● Disgraced U.S. cycling star Lance Armstrong explained once again his doping methods during his career and named the one substance he called “rocket fuel.”

● World Championships: Handball (France wins third women’s title in re-match with Norway) = Skateboarding (Japan sweeps Street Worlds titles in Rome) ●

● Panorama: Alpine Skiing (2: Paris, Kriechmayr and Odermatt star in Italy as Bennett medals again; Flury and Brignone win at Val d’Isere) = Badminton (Axelsen and Tai win World Tour Finals Singles golds) = Biathlon (Boe and Braisaz-Bochet sweep Lenzerheide) = Bobsled & Skeleton (German sleds sweep bob races at Innsbruck) = Break Dancing (Japan’s Issin and Riko sweep BfG World Series in Hong Kong) = Cross Country Skiing (Klaebo sweeps Trondheim, more medals for Diggins, Brennan) = Curling (Homan overcomes Swiss stars at Grand Slam Masters) = Freestyle Skiing (3: U.S.’s Ferreira and Forehand take men’s Copper Mountain titles; Kingsbury and Anthony star in Moguls; Werner and Vinecki take Aerials golds) = Ice Hockey (U.S. women beat Canada in Rivalry Series Thursday, lose on shoot-out Saturday) = Luge (Germans sweep four at Whistler) = Nordic Combined (Lamparter stops Riiber, Hagan stops Hansen in Ramsau) = Short Track (Canada’s Dandjinou wins in Seoul, three more U.S. medals!) = Ski Jumping (Paschke and Kraft, Pagnier and Prevc win at Engelberg) = Snowboard (4: Kunitake and Murase win Big Airs at Copper Mountain; Hirano and Choi take Halfpipe; Hofmeister sweeps PGS openers; Hammerle and Sigenthaler win Ski Cross) = Table Tennis (China sweeps both events at WTT Women’s Finals) = Taekwondo (Russian fighters win three in Grand Slam Champions) ●

1.
ROC chief rips IOC again, says no funding of “neutrals”

At a meeting of the Russian Olympic Committee in Moscow on Friday, President Stanislav Pozdnyakov expanded on the usual line of criticism of the International Olympic Committee with direct threats against any athletes who choose to participate as “neutrals” at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games:

“This is a painful topic for all of us, I’m sure you have repeatedly discussed with each other the potential participation of athletes in the Games in a neutral status, polar opinions are expressed.

“As the head of the ROC, I voice a clear position: we perfectly understand athletes who want to compete at international competitions, strive to represent Russia and defend the honor of the country and the team, their sporting honor. We live in a free state, where everyone, as the president rightly noted, has the right to make his own choice.

“But we must remember that by agreeing to “neutralization,” athletes become hostages of other people’s interests. And we strongly recommend that you thoroughly understand the nuances of the proposed conditions in order to clearly understand the extent and consequences of the personal responsibility assumed. …

“Athletes that will receive payments won’t include athletes who have accepted neutralization. The ROC will not support athletes with neutral status.”

Pozdnyakov continued to blast the IOC’s sanctions and call it a captive of its sponsors:

“We call on our colleagues in Lausanne to disavow their recommendations and reinstate the ROC as a full member of the Olympic Movement and return to the principles outlined by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the Olympic movement.

“Today, I assessed the actions of our colleagues in Lausanne, whose unconstructive and contradictory position towards our organization continues to sow divisions inside the big Olympic family, threatening its credibility, which we strongly oppose. Unfortunately, senior IOC officials have been unable [to make the right decision] due to the pressure the committee is facing from its Western sponsors. This pressure now supersedes common sense, but sooner or later it will once again prevail at the IOC. …

“This is definitely not Olympism. This is something else that ultimately brings destruction to world sports, and the perpetrators of all this disgrace will have to be held accountable to history.

“Sanctions and restrictions are aimed at completely destroying the system of physical and moral education in our country, and for years and years to come. There should be no illusions in this sense: this is a global challenge, based on the West’s geopolitical claims to exclusivity and the struggle to determine the world order. Suspending athletes, preventing them from financing, interfering in issues of changing citizenship are dirty methods of such struggle.”

And Pozdnyakov went further, accusing the IOC of belittling Russia with its regulations for admitting Russians and Belarusians for competition in Paris:

“A week ago in Lausanne they announced their readiness to admit Russian and Belarusian athletes to the Paris Olympics, and then immediately mockingly announced how many of them had been admitted. This number in itself is an eloquent assessment of their efforts. Representatives of the IOC are not ashamed to pronounce this figure, but we have no desire to even comment; everything is clear without words.”

The IOC stated that, so far, six Russians and five Belarusians had qualified for Paris. The IOC told the Russian news agency TASS that the qualifiers cannot be confirmed until later:

“As stated in the principles relating to the participation of individual neutral athletes and their support personnel with Russian or Belarusian passports at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games: International Federations will be required to provide a list of qualified and eligible neutral athletes to the IOC upon completion of qualification in the relevant event sport/discipline, and then the IOC will review these lists to make a final decision on the application for the sport. This means that the IOC will only be able to confirm the names at a later stage in the process.”

Pozdnyakov also said that he believed the IOC will also interfere with athlete participation in the BRICS Games to be held in Kazan next June and the World Friendship Games in Russia in September:

“We know very well that the Friendship Games and the BRICS Games and other formats are being prepared. From my point of view, if an athlete takes part in the Olympic Games, then he absolutely will not be able to take part in the Friendship Games. And if he takes part, his result at the Olympic Games will be cancelled.”

Despite the IOC’s detailed announcement and accompanying regulations, Russia Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin said he is waiting for more information:

“The President [Vladimir Putin] said quite clearly yesterday: everyone’s right is to choose to participate in a neutral status. The conditions that exist today assume only a neutral status, no specific regulations on the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes have yet been announced.

“As soon as decisions are made in detail, we will build our actions together with the Russian Olympic Committee and our federations. That is, so far we have not heard anything new from the International Olympic Committee.”

2.
Minister Salvini: 2026 sliding track “must be in Cortina”

What has become a multi-episode soap opera concerning a venue for the bobsled, luge and skeleton competitions at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan Cortina 2026, continued on Friday with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure Matteo Salvini telling reporters:

“The bobsleigh track, respecting costs and times, must be in Cortina.

“As promised in recent days we have worked on the issue of the bobsleigh track. We are listening to the territories, from Monday [18th] we will also informally begin to involve everyone.”

According to the Rome daily Il Fatto Quotidiano, a Tuesday meeting of the Milan Cortina 2026 Foundation – the governing body of the organizing committee – is scheduled to review the progress of the search.

Despite continuing indications to the contrary, Salvini insisted that time is not an issue:

“Is there time? Absolutely yes, because the engineers tell me this.”

The governmental body tasked with construction of 2026 Winter Olympic sites, known as Simico, received no offers from contractors over the summer to build the planned track in Cortina, to replace the now-demolished Eugenio Monti track from the 1956 Winter Games. Completion is needed by the next winter season – in early 2025 – for testing, but no one seems interested. A suggestion to use the Cesana Pariol track built for the Turin 2006 Winter Games, but abandoned in 2012, would also require significant upgrades, with no legacy use in sight.

Proposals for the use of tracks in Austria (Innsbruck), Germany (Koenigssee), Switzerland (St. Moritz) and the U.S. (Lake Placid) have all been received, but now the issue has become political, as all will require some funding to be ready for the 2026 Games.

Andrea Abodi, the Italian Minister for Sport and Youth, also chimed in on Friday, suggesting that worries about the sliding venue are overblown:

“Do we need a miracle for the bobsleigh track? Miracles are not created by men or women, we must try to find a solution, it will be an Italian solution.

“I understand that there is a concentration on the bobsleigh, skeleton and luge track, but there are many other fundamental things about the Olympics and Paralympics that are going very well and I would like to see them talked about. We are collecting financial resources, promotion is also increasing in schools. I am convinced that the track will be in Italy, Simico is studying the solutions. It is clear that there is an expectation of a solution which will be available by January.”

The International Olympic Committee has been clear that only an existing, working track will be satisfactory and expects a decision by the end of January.

3.
L.A.’s Metrolink shuts down for Olympic & World Cup upgrades

The Southern California Metrolink train system will shut down for four days from 26-29 December for maintenance and upgrades, in part to get ready for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic and Paralympic Games.

That’s not a guess, it’s what the Southern California Regional Rail Authority says:

“Metrolink and Arrow trains will be out of service for four days starting on Tuesday, December 26 through Friday, December 29. We will resume with our regularly scheduled train service on Saturday, December 30. While the trains rest, we work. We’re making the most of the closure to clean, repair and upgrade our rail network, including a new signal system that will provide better operational throughput and reliability in and out of Union Station for our trains.

“Our commitment to you goes beyond just daily rides. This short break allows us to:

“● Implement the SCORE L.A. Union Station Modernization Project, a 3-year project to update all track and signal systems where trains enter and exit at LAUS.

“● We are getting ready for the global stage! By modernizing our rail network, we are preparing our system for the World Cup, Olympics, and Paralympics.”

Union Station will not close, and the Metrolink and Arrow systems, which span across most of the Los Angeles area, including Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside and San Diego counties, are not related to the L.A. Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus and subway service in Los Angeles County.

But it is a demonstration of the impact that these mega-events have in driving government efforts to upgrade their systems, using the events essentially as excuses for work that should be undertaken as a part of normal service progress.

4.
Lyles follows up on World Athlete of the Year disappointment

American sprint superstar Noah Lyles was clearly upset about the unannounced expansion of the World Athletics’ World Athlete of the Year award from one man and one woman to three in each gender on 11 December. He said he wanted to take some time to think about what to say, and did so on X (ex-Twitter) on Friday:

“I believe I found the right words for what happened at the AOY awards. When they decided to split the award without telling any of us, including the fans that voted. It made me feel that none of our achievements were good enough to be AOY.

“I’m guessing that was not WA’s goal but that is how it made me feel. I do believe that there should be more awards included in the event but not with exclusion of the AOY award.

“I wish they would have waited until next year to change the format of the awards or not change it in the middle of the process. I also wish @WorldAthletics would have had a conversations with the athletes so we could come up with a more structured plan.”

Atlanta 1996 Olympic icon Michael Johnson, a two-time winner of the award in 1996 and 1999, added:

“I’m sure that was not their intent, but it is a consistent flawed approach by WA that more is always better. It devalues the AOY to have more than one AOY. And the reactive and surprise decision disregards the will of the fans and lacks respect for the athletes.”

5.
Armstrong: EPO is the “rocket fuel” that changed sport

Lance Armstrong’s story is well known: a cancer survivor who became the seven-time winner of the Tour de France, from 1999-2005, then confessed to doping in 2013 and had his wins nullified.

Now 52, Armstrong has spoken in detail about his doping regimen in recent years and explained it again in an appearance on commentator Bill Maher‘s Club Random podcast.

Asked whether it is possible for a doper to mask their drug use, Armstrong explained:

“Yes, you can. … In a sense, you would foil the system, but what I always said – and I’m not trying to justify what I ever said as something I would want to repeat again – but one of the lines was, ‘I’ve been tested 500 times and I’ve never failed a drug test.’

“That’s not a lie. That is the truth. There was no way around the test. … Now, the reality and the truth of all of this is, some of these substances, primarily the one that is the most beneficial, has a four-hour half-life. So certain substances, whether it be cannabis or anabolics, or whatever, have much longer half-lives.”

That substance was oxygen-enabler erythropoietin (EPO), and Armstrong underlined:

“With EPO – which was the rocket fuel that changed not just our sport but every endurance sport – you have a four-hour half-life, so it leaves the body very quickly. With a four-hour half-life, you can just do the math.”

Most cycling stages take four hours or less, and Armstrong was well aware of the testing protocol, and how long after a race he would be tested. As for side effects:

“The truth is, you had a drug that was undetectable, that was wildly beneficial to performance and recovery. Both are important, but primarily to performance. … And, as we were led to believe, which I don’t disagree with, if taken under the care of a doctor was safe.”

≡ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS ≡

● Handball ● The 26th IHF Women’s World Championship came down to a re-match of the 2021 final, with undefeated France facing once-beaten Norway, and reversing the outcome, as the French managed a 31-28 victory and their third Worlds gold.

The two sides had met in a second-pool group match on 10 December, with France eking out a 24-23 win, and Estelle Nze Minko scoring six goals for the winners. The French steamed into the final after a 37-28 semifinal win over Sweden, taking a 19-11 halftime lead and cruising home, behind Tamara Horacek’s nine goals.

The Norwegians had more trouble with host Denmark, urged on by the biggest crowd of the tournament – 12,136 in Herning – and the Danes had a 14-9 lead at half. But the reigning champs reversed the score in the second half and after a 23-23 tie, it was on to overtime. There, Norway won, 6-5, for the 29-28 final thanks to a sensational 15 goals from Henny Reistad!

So for the fourth time in the past seven Worlds, France and Norway played for the title. Norway won in 2011 and 2021, the French in 2017. This time, the French had control of the match at half by 20-17 and held on for a 31-28 win, paced by five goals each from Horacek and Lena Grandveau. The Norse got eight scores from Nora Mork, but it was not enough.

This was Norway’s ninth final, with four wins; the French celebrated third world championship in seven finals. Reistad was named the Most Valuable Player and Czech star Marketa Jerabkova won the scoring title with 63, ahead of Reistad (52).

Denmark thrilled another big crowd of 11,877 with a win in the bronze-medal game over Sweden by 28-27. The final, also in Herning, drew 12,031.

● Skateboard ● The 13th edition of the World Skate Street World Championships was held in Rome (ITA), but was primarily a showcase for Japan’s skaters, who took five of the medals available.

Japan swept the men’s final, with Sora Shirai, 22, the 2020 Worlds bronze winner, scoring 276.81 in the final to ace teammates Kairi Netsuke (273.60) and Yuto Horigome (273.28). Netsuke had the best score on his full run of 86.97 on his second attempt, with Shirai scoring 86.00 on his first run, but Shirai scored 95.66 and 95.00 on two of his tricks to win the title. Horigome, 24, the Tokyo 2020 gold medalist, won his third career Worlds medal (1-1-1).

Alex Midler was the top American, in fifth (262.93) while six-time World Champion Nyjah Huston finished seventh at 251.38.

Seventeen-year-old Yumeka Oda (JPN) took the women’s title at 265.75, with the highest-scoring run of the final (84.22) and earned the highest score on any trick at 94.80. That was just good enough to edge defending champ Rayssa Leal (BRA: 15), who finished at 261.90.

Momiji Nishiya of Japan, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic winner – now 16 – won the bronze for the second straight Worlds, scoring 245.76, just ahead of 13-year-old Chloe Covell of Australia – the 2022 silver medalist – who scored 245.11.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Alpine Skiing ● More history at the second men’s Downhill at Val Gardena (ITA) on Saturday, after American Bryce Bennett stunned with his Thursday win. This time it was Italian star Dominik Paris claiming the win, his 23rd career World Cup gold and 19th in the Downhill.

Starting from the 12th position, Paris was the only one to finish under two minutes, at 1:59.84, beating out Norway’s Alexander Aamodt Kilde (2:00.28), with Bennett third in 2:00.44.

It was Paris’s first win in 22 months and ties him for no. 2 all-time for most World Cup Downhill golds. Bennett won his second World Cup medal in three days after having won one in his career coming in!

On Friday, the Super-G was the 17th career win for Austria’s 2021 World Champion Vincent Kriechmayr (1:28.39), just ahead of countryman Daniel Hemetberger (1:28.41) and reigning World Cup champ Marco Odermatt (SUI: 1:28.42). Jared Goldberg of the U.S. tied for 10th (1:28.78) and Bennett was 14th (1:28.80).

The men’s tour moved on to two Giant Slaloms at Alta Badia (ITA), with Sunday’s race another showcase for Odermatt, who led after the first run and was second-fastest on the second to win in 2:29.23, 0.19 seconds up on Croatian Filip Zubcic (2:29.42), followed by Slovenia’s Zan Kranjec (2:31.49). Tommy Ford was the top American, in ninth (2:32.75).

A second Giant Slalom will be held on Monday.

The women were in Val d’Isere (FRA) for a Downhill and Super-G, with a Swiss 1-2 on Saturday with Jasmine Flury winning in 1:43.47, ahead of Joana Haehlen (1:43.69) and Cornelia Huetter (AUT: 1:43.71). It was the second career win and third career World Cup medal for Flury, 30, who won the World Championship gold earlier this year in the Downhill.

Haehlen won her fifth career World Cup medal and Huetter won her 22nd.

Sunday’s Super-G was another triumph for Italian star Federica Brignone, who won her third race this season (and 24th all-time), in 1:21.58, a healthy 0.44 up on Kajsa Vickhoff Lie (1:22.02), with Italian teammate Sofia Goggia getting third (1:22.17).

This was an exceptionally difficult course and the FIS report noted 26 of the 58 starters did not finish, including American star Mikaela Shiffrin. According to FIS, “That non-finish rate of 44.8 per cent is the highest for a women’s super-G World Cup race since at least as far back as the 1999/2000 season.”

● Badminton ● Superpower China put finalists in four events in the HSBC BWF World Tour Final in Hangzhou (CHN), with a $2.5 million prize purse, but came away with two titles as three no. 1-ranked entries won their classes.

World no. 1 Viktor Axelsen (DEN) took the men’s Singles with a 21-11, 21-12 sweep of no. 7 Yu Qi Shi (CHN), preceded by wins for China’s top-ranked women’s Doubles team of Qing Chen Chen and Yi Fan Jia over Ha-na Baek and So-hee Lee (KOR) by 21-16, 21-16, and the no. 1 Mixed Doubles pair of Si Wei Zheng and Ya Qiong Huang, who rushed past Yan Zhe Feng and Dong Ping Huang (CHN), 21-11, 21-18.

Tokyo 2020 Olympic runner-up Tzu Ying Tai (TPE) won the women’s Singles crown with a 12-21, 21-14, 21-18 win over Rio 2016 Olympic champ and reigning World Champion Carolina Marin (ESP), and sixth-ranked Koreans Min-hyuk Kang and Seung Jae Seo upset no. 1 Wei Keng Liang and Chang Wang (CHN), 21-17, 22-20.

● Biathlon ● The third stage of the IBU World Cup was in Lenzerheide (SUI) and reigning World Cup overall champ Johannes Thingnes Boe (NOR) has taken over.

He got his third World Cup medal of the season in Friday’s 10 km Sprint, finishing second to German Benedikt Doll, the 2017 World Champion, who finished in 23:15.8 (0 penalties) to 23:21.2 for Boe (1 penalty), with Philipp Nawrath (GER: 23:52.6/1) getting third.

Then Boe got his second win of the season in the 12.5 km Pursuit, winning by 24.7 seconds in 32:30.0 (3), over Norwegian teammates Endre Stroemsheim (32:54.7/2) and Sturla Holm Laegreid (32:59.1/1) for their second sweep of the season.

The 15 km Mass Start on Sunday was another Boe win, this time by 14.6 seconds in 35:00.1 (2), leading a Norwegian sweep with Johannes Dale-Skjevdal (35:14.7/1) and older brother Tarjei Boe (35:29.1/1). In fact, the Norwegians took five of the top six places.

The women’s races were a renaissance performance for France’s Justine Braisaz-Bochet, the Beijing Olympic Mass Start winner, back from maternity and ready to go. She won the 7.5 km Sprint in 22:13.0 (0) over Ingrid Tandrevold (NOR: 22:25.2/0) and Lisa Vittozzi (ITA: 22:30.2/2) on Thursday and then skied away with the 10 km Pursuit, in 27:31.0 (3), beating teammate Julia Simon (27:56.2/2) and Marit Skogan (NOR: 28:44.6/2).

She completed the weekend sweep with Sunday’s 12.5 Mass Start, winning her eighth career World Cup gold by more than five seconds over Swedish sisters Elvira Oeberg, 36:04.6 (0) to 36:10.1 (2) and reigning Mass start World Champion Hanna Oeberg (36:15.2/2). French biathletes have now won five of the season’s eight races!

American Deedra Irwin finished a very creditable eighth in the Sprint, 21st in the Pursuit and 13th in the Mass start.

● Bobsled & Skeleton ● Stage three of eight in the IBSF World Cup was in Innsbruck (AUT), with American Kaysha Love competing in two rounds of the women’s Monobob after winning the opener last week.

Both races were won by German Lisa Buckwitz, a 2018 Olympic winner in the two-woman sled. She won Friday’s race in 1:51.17 over Beijing Olympic fifth-placer Breeana Walker (AUS: 1:51.42) and German teammate Laura Nolte (1:51.47), the Beijing two-woman gold winner. Love was fourth (1:51.70) and fellow American Elana Meyers Taylor was fifth (1:52.07).

Buckwitz also won on Saturday, with the fastest first run and second-fastest second run in 1:49.42, followed by Love at 1:49.53 and the fastest second run in the field. Walker grabbed third in 1:49.55 and Meyers Taylor was sixth in 1:49.90.

Through three of eight races, Love has a slim 627-618 lead over Buckwitz in her first year as a driver.

Sunday’s two-woman racing was a sweep for Buckwitz and the Germans. Buckwitz and Vanessa Mark had the best of both runs and won in 1:45.20, ahead of 2023 World Champion Kim Kalicki and Leonie Fiebig (1:45.29) and Nolte and Neele Schuten (1:45.64). Meyers Taylor and Jasmine Jones were sixth (1:45.82) and Love and Jestana Mattson finished eighth in 1:46.44.

The two-man World Champions, Johannes Lochner and Georg Fleischhauer (GER) won their second race of the season in 1:41.94, leading a German sweep with Olympic champs Francesco Friedrich and Alexander Schueller at 1:42.02, and Adam and Issam Ammour third in 1:42.68. Americans Frank Del Duca and Joshua Williamson finished fourth in 1:42.75.

Sunday’s four-man was the second straight win for Friedrich, the double Olympic gold medalist, in 1:40.89, with Lochner just behind at 1:41.03 and Latvia’s Emils Cipulis taking the bronze (1:41.35). Del Duca’s U.S. sled was 15th at 1:42.37.

The men’s Skeleton was another quality win for Britain’s 2023 World Champion Matt Weston in 1:44.84, beating Worlds bronze winner Seung-ji Jung (KOR: 1:44.99) and Felix Keisinger (GER: 1:45.16). Dutch star Kimberley Bos, the Worlds silver medalist this year, took the women’s race in 1:47.91, ahead of Valentina Margaglio (1:48.08) and Britain’s Tabitha Stoecker (1:48.11).

● Break Dancing ● A sweep for Japan at the BfG World Series in Hong Kong, with 17-year-old Isshin Hishikawa (Issin) defeating Asian Champion Heon-woo Kim (Wing) of Korea in the men’s final, 6:3, 5:4, 1:8 (2-1). Hiroto Ono (JPN: Hiro10) won the bronze medal over Chen Sun (TPE: Quake), also by 2-1.

The Japanese women also went 1-3, with 16-year-old Riko Tsuhako (Riko) winning by 7:2, 0:9 and 7:2 (2-1) in the final against Ukraine’s European silver medalist Stefani (Anna Ponomarenko), and Ayane Nakarai (Ayane) took the bronze over Antilai Sandrini (Anti) of Italy, also by 2-1.

● Cross Country Skiing ● Norway extended its perfect record in the men’s FIS World Cup, this time in front of home fans in Trondheim (NOR).

Six different Norwegians had won the first six men’s races, but four-time World Cup overall champ Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo took over, winning Friday’s Sprint, Saturday’s 20 km Skiathlon and Sunday’s 10 km Classical.

He took the Freestyle Sprint in 2:39.28, a scant 0.81 seconds ahead of Lucas Chanavat (FRA: 2:40.09) – the 2023 World Cup Sprint discipline runner-up – and 1.69 seconds up on Norwegian teammate Harald Amundsen. The Skiathlon was even closer, with Klaebo winning by just 0.7 seconds over Britain’s Andrew Musgrave, 43:50.7 to 43:51.4 – Musgrave’s third career World Cup medal – and 0.8 up on Norway’s Didrik Toenseth (43:51.5). Ben Ogden of the U.S. was 17th, in 45:21.6.

On Sunday, Klaebo skied away to a big win by 17 seconds, leading a Norwegian sweep, ahead of Paal Golberg, 24:32.1 to 25:00.8, with Henrik Doennestad third (25:04.2). Ogden was the top American again, in eighth in 25:27.3.

The women’s racing was a continuation of the season-long fight between Sweden, Norway and Americans Jessie Diggins, the seasonal leader, and Rosie Brennan. In the Freestyle Sprint, Kristine Skistad (NOR: 3:04.71) got to the line first for her third medal of the season, trailed by Linn Svahn (SWE: 3:04.86) and Emma Ribom (3:04.87), with Diggins fourth (3:08.74).

Saturday’s Skiathlon was the seventh career win – and second of the season – for Swede Ebba Andersson, the 2023 World Champion, in 49:23.4, ahead of Diggins (49:38.6) and Heidi Weng (NOR: 49:40.1). Brennan was eighth (50:15.9); it was Diggins’ fourth medal in the last six races!

Sunday’s 10 km Classical Interval Start saw German Victoria Carl get her first career World Cup gold and second career individual medal in 28:13.6. Brennan got second in 28:33.2 for her third medal of the season, with Andersson third (28:35.2) and Diggins fourth (28:41.9).

Diggins still leads the seasonal standings, 809-737-726, over Ribom and Brennan after nine of 34 events.

● Curling ● A major showdown in the women’s final at the Grand Slam of Curling Masters, in Saskatoon (CAN), as Canada’s Rachel Homan, a three-time Worlds medalist and 2017 World Champion faced four-time defending World Champion Silvana Tirinzoni (SUI).

The Swiss had to play catch-up thanks to a four-point outburst for Homan’s rink in the third end for a 4-1 lead. It was 5-2 after five ends and then the Swiss grabbed two points to close to 5-4. But in the seventh, Homan scored three and closed out an 8-4 win for her 14th career Grand Slam title.

The men’s final saw a repeat win for Italy’s Joel Retornaz, the 2022 Worlds bronze medalist, who scored twice in the fourth against Ross Whyte (SCO), then saw the game tied, but got the winning point in the eighth for a 3-2 win and Retornaz’s second straight Grand Slam victory.

● Freestyle Skiing ● Two-time Olympic Halfpipe medalist Alex Ferreira swept to a second straight World Cup win on Saturday at Copper Mountain, Colorado, leading an American sweep in the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix.

Ferreira salted away the event on his first run, scoring an impressive 97.0 and waiting to see if he would be challenged. Fellow American Hunter Hess got close, at 95.0 on his second run, but could do no better. Birk Irving of the U.S., the 2021 Worlds bronze medalist, moved up to third in the final round at 92.50, passing comebacking teammate (and three-time Olympic slopestyle medal winner) Nicholas Goepper (90.75) and two-time Olympic gold medalist David Wise (89.00) in fifth.

Beijing Olympian Mac Forehand of the U.S. took the men’s Big Air title, coming from fifth after the first round to record scores of 93.00 and 94.00 for a 187.00 total. Italy’s Miro Tabanelli grabbed second (at 185.00 (95.00/90.00/46.00) on his first two jumps, followed by Norway’s Olympic Big Air winner Birk Ruud (184.00).

Big Air and Halfpipe Olympic champ Eileen Gu (CHN) won Friday’s Halfpipe event over 2023 World Champion Hanna Faulhaber of the U.S. for the second time this season. Gu was superb, scoring 94.75, 95.75 and 93.00 on her three runs, while Faulhaber’s best came on her second run (92.00). Britain’s Zoe Atkin, the 2023 Worlds runner-up, scored 91.00 on her first run and took the bronze.

Saturday’s Big Air final was another win for France’s reigning World Champion, Tess Ledeux at 189.00 for two runs, ahead of Beijing Olympic bronzer Mathilde Gremaud (SUI: 185.50), who had won the first two World Cup events this season. Britain’s Kirsty Muir grabbed third at 173.75.

The Moguls skiers were at Alpe d’Huez (FRA), with Canadian star Mikael Kingsbury continuing to set records, winning the Friday Moguls men’s event with 86.55 points, leading a Canadian 1-2 ahead of Elliot Vaillancourt (77.44), with Japan’s 2017 World Champion Ikuma Horishima third (77.23). It was Kingsbury’s 82nd World Cup, extending his own mark, but the first career medal for Vaillancourt, at age 24.

In Saturday’s Dual Moguls, it was a Swedish 1-2, with Walter Wallberg – the 2023 Worlds runner-up in this event – taking the win over teammate Rasmus Stegfeldt, who was also second in the season opener. Kingsbury won the race for bronze.

The women’s Moguls winner was Beijing 2022 Olympic champ Jakara Anthony, who has now won all three events this season, scoring 79.98 to top Americans Jaelin Kauf (75.64) – the Beijing Olympic runner-up – and Olivia Giaccio (74.82).

Anthony then won the Dual Moguls on Saturday, giving her four wins in five events this season, beating Giaccio in the final, with fellow American Alli Macuga getting third over countrywoman Tess Johnson. Anthony has won a medal in every event this season (4-0-1).

The second of six stages in the Aerials World Cup was in Changchun (CHN), with 2021 Worlds Mixed Team silver winner Pirmin Werner (SUI) taking the gold at 122.62, with American Chris Lillis, an Olympic gold Mixed Team winner in Beijing, second with 122.17 points and China’s Tianma Li third (121.68). Quinn Dehlinger of the U.S. finished seventh (118.10).

The U.S. got a win on the women’s side, with aptly-named Winter Vinecki (94.25) taking getting her second career win and fourth individual World Cup medal, ahead of 2023 World Champion Fanyu Kong (CHN: 81.42) and two-time Worlds gold medalist Laura Peel (AUS: 80.96).

● Ice Hockey ● The 2023-24 Rivalry Series between the U.S. and Canadian women moved to Kitchener, Ontario on Thursday, but the Americans pulled out an overtime win to go 3-0 on the series.

The U.S. was the aggressor in the first period, with 12-8 shots edge, but Canada’s Danielle Serdachny scored at 7:44 of the period for a 1-0 lead. Kirsten Simms tied it at 16:10 of the period on a solo goal and then Abbey Murphy took the lead for the U.S. with a hard shot from the middle of the Canadian zone just 1:03 later.

Canada tied in the second period at 6:58 from Emily Clark on a rebound in front of the American net and neither side could score in the third period, leading to overtime. And just 28 seconds into the overtime, star forward Hilary Knight scored for the 3-2 win. Canada had 34 shots to 22 for the U.S., but the Americans killed all six penalties on the evening.

Game four of the series came on Saturday in Sarnia, Ontario was tight again, with the U.S. getting a second-period, shorthanded goal from a Megan Keller tipin off a Kelly Pannek pass at 8:19 and then an Alex Carpenter tipin of a Cayla Barnes pass for a goal at 4:46 of the third to go up, 2-0.

But Serdachny scored at 10:06 of the period and Ella Shelton tied it at 12:39. Neither side could score in the third, or in overtime, so in the penalty shoot-out, Marie-Philip Poulin scored against U.S. keeper Nicole Hensley, the only successful shot of the nine taken for a 3-2 win.

Three more games will be played, on 7-9-11 February in 2024.

● Luge ● Germany swept aside all opposition at the FIL World Cup in Whistler (CAN), winning the men’s and women’s Singles and Doubles.

Worlds silver medalist Max Langenhan (GER) won his third race of the season in the men’s Singles, in 1:40.093, just clear of Austria’s World Champion Jonas Mueller (1:40.348) and Latvia’s Kristers Aparjods (1:40.572). Three-time Olympic champs Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt managed their first win of the season, 1:17.300 to 1:17.348 over Thomas Steu and Wolfgang Kindl (AUT), with Germans Hannes Orlamuender and Paul Constantin Gubitz third (1:17.405).

Tucker West (8th) and Jonny Gustafson (9th) were the top American Singles finishers and Zachary Di Gregorio and Sean Hollander finished 13th in the Doubles.

Julia Taubitz, the 2021 World Champion, led a German sweep in the women’s Singles, finishing in 1:18.066, beating teammates Anna Berreiter (1:18.177) and Merle Fraebel (1:18.179). American Emily Sweeney was fourth in 1:18.221 and Ashley Farquharson was seventh in 1:18.238.

The women’s Doubles was a German 1-2 with Jessica Degenhardt and Cheyenne Rosenthal winning in 1:18.371, slightly ahead of Dajana Eitberger and Saskia Schirmer (1:18.451), with Andrea Voetter and Marion Oberhofer (ITA: 1:18.466) third. The top American sled was fourth, with Chevonne Forgan and Sophia Kirkby (1:18.514). Americans Maya Chan and Reannyn Weiler finished seventh in 1:18.768.

Germany won the team relay opener as well, in 2:48.665, followed by Austria (2:49.215) and the U.S. squad of Sweeney, Di Gregorio and Hollander, West and Forgan and Kirkby was third in 2:49.11.

● Nordic Combined ● Would Norway’s unbeaten streaks continue at Ramsau (AUT)?

The Norwegian men had won all five events this season, with four-time World Cup overall champion Jarl Magnus Riiber winning the last four. But On Friday, it was reigning World Cup winner Johannes Lamparter who took the Mass Start 10 km and then jumping off the 98 m hill, with 139.2 points. Riiber was second at 135.4 and German Manuel Faisst (131.3) third.

Lamparter doubled up on Saturday in the Compact 98 m jumping and 7.5 km race, winning in 17:09.6 to 17:11.2 for Riiber, who has been first or second in all seven races this season. Austria’s Stefan Rettenegger got third (17:11.5).

There was another streak on the line, this one for Norway’s dominant Gyda Westvold Hansen, who had won the first two races of the season and 13 World Cup races in a row over three seasons. She added a 14th on Friday in the Gundersen 98 m jumping and 5.0 km race, timing 14:41.2 to win easily over teammate Ida Marie Hagen (15:23.2) and Finn Minja Korhonen (16:22.4).

And Norway’s streak of women’s stayed intact on Saturday, but it was Hagen who got to the line first to end Hansen’s win streak, in the Compact 98 m jumping and 5.0 km race in 13:11.8 to 13:15.2 for Hansen. Lisa Hirner was third for Austria (14:00.8); American Annika Malacinski was eighth in 14:29.3.

● Short Track ● The fourth leg of six in the 2023-24 ISU World Cup was in Seoul (KOR), with the hosts taking three wins, but the U.S. women continuing to produce medals in multiple events.

In the entire, six-meet World Cup season of 2022-23, the U.S. women won eight medals: three silvers and five bronzes. Coming into Seoul, Kristen Santos-Griswold had three wins herself, plus one silver and two bronzes, with Corinne Stoddard scoring a silver and a bronze.

In the first-day women’s 1,000 m, Belgium’s Olympic bronze winner Hanne Desmet won in 1:29.303, with Santos-Griswold second in 1:29.313 and Dutch six-time Worlds gold medalist Xandra Velzeboer in third (1:29.696).

In the 1,500 m, Korea’s Gil-li Kim won her third straight World Cup in 2:35.785, with Stoddard taking silver in 2:35.865, and then Kim won again on Sunday in 2:23.746, with Santos-Griswold taking silver in 2:23.968, with Desmet third (2:24.283) and Stoddard fourth (2:24.441).

That’s 11 individual medals for Santos-Griswold and Stoddard so far (3-5-3), not counting a couple of relay medals, with two events remaining. A great sign for 2026, in view of the U.S. being shut out in 2022 in Beijing.

Velzeboer won the women’s 500 m, edging teammate Selma Poutsma at the line, with both timed in 43.128. The Dutch also won the women’s 3,000 m relay.

The men’s events featured a new star, with 22-year-old William Dandjinou of Canada winning Sunday’s second 1,500 m race in 2:18.661, reversing the result of Saturday’s race, won by 2023 World Champion Ji-Won Park (KOR: 2:16.323) with Dandjinou second (2:16.482). American Brandon Kim was fourth in Saturday’s first race in 2:16.849.

Dandjinou now has five medals (2-1-2) this season, his first career World Cup individual podium. Teammate Steven Dubois, the triple Olympic medal winner from 2022, won the men’s 1,000 m in 1:27.099, ahead of Beijing 1,500 m winner Dae-heon Hwang (KOR: 1:27.113).

Beijing 500 m gold winner Shaoang Liu (CHN) won his specialty in a late rush in 41.196, just ahead of Korea’s Yi Ra Seo (41.205). The Chinese also won the 5,000 m relay.

In the Mixed Relay, the Dutch won in 2:41.701; the U.S. team of Andrew Heo, Kim, Santos-Griswold and Stoddard received a penalty, but were awarded a bronze, along with Korea (also penalized).

● Ski Jumping ● At the FIS World Cup off the 140 m hill in Engelberg (GER), it was a third straight for the home team with 33-year-old Pius Paschke getting his first career World Cup win (and second medal, also this season!) at 316.8 points, coming from sixth after the first jump and winning the second round.

Norway’s Marius Lindvik was second (315.1) for his first medal of the season, with seasonal leader Stefan Kraft (AUT: 313.3) third. Kraft, a three-time World Champion, has medaled in six of seven events this season.

Sunday saw Kraft take his fifth win of the season – everyone else combined has three – with 327.9 points, coming from fifth after the first round with the highest-scoring jump of the day in round two. Teammate Jan Hoerl was second (323.9) and Paschke got another medal in third (320.1).

The women’s jumping at Engelberg started with a second straight win for France’s Josephine Pagnier (293.0), ahead of 2023 World Champion Alexandria Loutitt (CAN: 290.2) and 2021 World Champion Ema Klinec (SLO: 289.4). Pagnier, 21, won her third medal of the season (2-1-0), after coming in with one career medal.

Slovenia took over on Saturday, with 18-year-old Nika Prevc (305.3) winning and Klinec a close second at 302.7. Norway’s Eirin Maria Kvandal got third (297.0). Pagnier continues to lead the seasonal standings, ahead of Loutitt.

● Snowboard ● At the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix at Copper Mountain, Colorado, the FIS Big Air World Cup concluded (!) with its fourth stage, and a dominating win for Japan’s Hiroaki Kunitake, scoring 181.25 to 169.50 for Sam Vermaat (NED) and 169.25 for 2018 Olympic Slopestyle winner Red Gerard of the U.S. The seasonal totals showed Japan’s Kira Kimura as the winner, with 196 points, to 180 for China’s Yuming Su. Gerard was seventh as the top U.S. finisher (120).

Japan’s Kokomo Murase, the Beijing Olympic bronzer, won the women’s Big Air opener back in October and won again on Friday at 197.00, well ahead of teammate Mari Fukada (174.00) and Britain’s 2023 Worlds winner in Slopestyle, Mia Brookes (155.75). Hailey Langland of the U.S. was fourth (139.25). Brookes finished 3-4-2-3 in the four events and took the seasonal title with 250 points to 215 for Fukada (5-6-4-2).

In the Halfpipe, Japan scored again with Beijing Olympic champ Ayumu Hirano getting his sixth career World Cup win at 91.00, to beat Chaeun Lee (KOR: 80.00) and 2021 World Champion Yuto Totsuka (JPN: 78.00).

This was the second of five World Cups, with 15-year-old Gaon Choi (KOR) winning the women’s competition at 92.75 for her first World Cup medal (and first win), ahead of 19-year-old Mitsuki Ono, the Worlds bronze medalist (JPN: 90.00) and two-time Worlds medalist Maddie Mastro of the U.S. (88.25).

The Parallel Giant Slalom season got started at Carezza and Cortina d’Ampezzo (ITA) on Thursday and Saturday, with a 1-2 finish for the home team, with Maurizio Bormolini winning the first men’s race for his third career World Cup win, bearing teammate Edwin Coratti in the final. Austria’s Olympic gold winner Benjamin Karl won the bronze.

In Cortina, Karl took the final over teammate (and three-time World Champion) Andreas Prommegger, with Italy’s amazing six-time Worlds medalist Roland Fischnaller – now 43 – third.

The women’s Carezza winner was Germany’s 2018 Olympic bronze medalist Ramona Theresia Hofmeister, over Austria’s Beijing Olympic runner-up Daniela Ulbing in the final. The 2023 World Champion, Tsubaki Miki (JPN), won the bronze.

Hofmeister doubled up with another win in Cortina for her 17th career individual World Cup win, this time over Italy’s Lucia Dalmasso, with Sabine Schoeffmann (AUT) third.

At Cervinia (ITA), Olympic champ Alessandro Hammerle (AUT) took the men’s Ski Cross final, beating Australia’s Adam Lambert and Beijing Olympic runner-up Eliot Grondin (CAN), who won the season opener.

Swiss Sina Sigenthaler got her first World Cup medal and first World Cup win in the women’s final, over Australian stars Belle Brockhoff and 2023 Worlds runner-up Josie Baff, with American Stacy Gaskill fourth.

Italy won the SnowCross Team event over France, with the Swiss third.

● Table Tennis ● China swept both divisions of the WTT Women’s Finals in Nagoya (JPN), with Tokyo Olympic silver winner – and no. 1 ranked – Yingsha Sun defeating teammate Yidi Wang, the 2021 Worlds bronze medalist in the Singles final by 4-2 (12-10, 11-6, 8-11, 11-5, 6-11, 11-7).

Sun and five-time Worlds gold medalist Manyu Wang teamed up in the Doubles final and won over Japan’s Miyu Nagasaki and Miyuu Kihara by 3-1 (12-10, 8-11, 11-4, 12-10).

● Taekwondo ● The World Taekwondo Grand Slam Champions event in Wuxi (CHN) was dominated by Russian athletes competing as “neutrals,” who won three of the eight classes.

Tokyo Olympic men’s +80 kg gold medalist Vladislav Larin won his class by two rounds to one (2:1) in an all-Russian “neutral” final against Rafail Aiukaev, Olympic silver medalist Tatiana Minina won the women’s 57 kg division by 2:0 over China’s Zongshi Luo, and 2023 Worlds +73 kg bronze medalist Polina Khan took the +67 kg title over China’s Shunan Xiao, 2:1.

China claimed two wins, from Yushuai Lang in the men’s 68 kg division, beating Worlds 74 kg winner Marko Golubic (CRO) by 2:1, and in the women’s 67 kg class, as Jie Song won over countrywoman Mergyu Zhang in a walkover.

The men’s 58 kg class was an upset win for Gashim Magomedov (AZE), who defeated reigning World Champion Jun-seo Bae (KOR) by 2:0; Iran’s Mehran Barkhordari took the 80 kg title over Jasurbek Jaysunov (UZB) by 2:1.

In the women’s 49 kg, Turkey’s Elif side Akgul swept Mi-Reu Kang (KOR), 2:0.

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TSX REPORT: IOC leads $45 million refugee pledge, but what about its own athletes? Putin calls for Paris rules analysis; Bennett’s Downhill shocker!

Rich Perelman

December 15, 2023

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

★ To get The Sports Examiner by e-mail: sign up here! ★

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. LANE ONE: IOC leads $45 million refugee aid pledge; what about Olympic athletes?
2. Putin says IOC’s Olympic restrictions must be analyzed
3. Takahashi pleads not guilty to Tokyo 2020 bribery charges
4. U.S.’s Bennett surprises with Val Gardena Downhill win!
5. Hibbert and Alfred win Bowerman Awards for 2023

● The International Olympic Committee announced a $45 million “Joint Sport Pledge” at the Global Refugee Forum in Switzerland, leading an investment in sport for refugees. But as the IOC reaches out to the grass roots, what about an investment in its most high-profile ambassadors: its Olympic athletes? Is it time for Olympic athletes to get some money for making it to the ultimate showcase?

● Russian President Vladimir Putin said during his year-end news conference that the IOC’s regulations for the participation of Russian athletes must be analyzed carefully, and that if the top Russian athletes cannot compete, then the Russian Olympic Committee and sports ministry “need to assess the situation and make a balanced decision.”

● Former Tokyo 2020 Executive Committee member Haruyuki Takahashi pled not guilty to charges of receiving bribes from companies seeking to be Olympic sponsors or seeking work from sponsors.

● American Bryce Bennett raced to a stunning, upset victory in the Downhill in the FIS Alpine World Cup at Val Gardena in Italy. It’s Bennett’s second career World Cup medal; the other was another win at Val Gardena two years ago.

● At the annual Bowerman Awards, Arkansas freshman jumper Jaydon Hibbert of Jamaica and Texas sprint star Julien Alfred of St. Lucia were recognized as the top collegiate track & field athletes of the year.

● Panorama: Russia (WADA skeptical of Russian anti-doping program) = Athletics (four more doping bans announced) = Basketball (Williams named USA Basketball 3×3 women’s athlete of the year) = Cycling (no mechanical fraud in World Tour and Women’s World Tour tests) = Fencing (USA Fencing stalwart Cheris passes at 78) = Football (2: women allowed again in Tehran stadium; FIFA announces player of the year finalists) = Swimming (Grimes heads U.S. open-water team for Doha) = Weightlifting (Theisen Lappen wins at Grand Prix II) ● 9

● Update: Yesterday’s story on the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Endowment Awards did not clarify that the awards luncheon was held on Wednesday (13th). Bruce Baumgartner (Gen. Douglas MacArthur Exemplary Service Award) and Dale Neuburger (George Steinbrenner III Sport Leadership Award) attended, but Mary Lou Retton (William E. Simon Award) had a family member present to receive her award as she is still recovering from her illness. The post has been updated. ●

1.
LANE ONE:
IOC leads $45 million refugee aid pledge;
what about Olympic athletes?

The International Olympic Committee made a grand, but also curious, gesture at the Global Refugee Forum held in Geneva (SUI) on Wednesday, offering a $45 million “Joint Sport Pledge’ to aid as many as 500,000 displaced persons.

According to the IOC’s statement, President Thomas Bach (GER) “presented the Joint Sport Pledge on behalf of more than 100 organisations, including over 40 National Olympic Committees and International Federations, as well as governments, refugee-led organisations, UN agencies, civil society organisations, private sector representatives and beyond.”

The statement also noted that the IOC is pledging $15 million to support refugee athletes and the third IOC Refugee Team that will appear in Paris next summer, promote refugee support through media outreach attached to the Olympic Games, use sport to promote mental health of child refugees and create helpful coalitions.

The $45 million commitment is not all in cash: “The commitments made as part of the pledge are as diverse as the pledging entities, and include financial, technical and material support, as well as policy commitments and those that create opportunities for resettlement and complementary pathways.”

But this is quite remarkable. The IOC’s Refugee Athlete Scholarship currently supports 62 athletes from 11 countries, who now live in 19 other countries as refugees. The IOC’s Olympic Solidarity program sponsored 1,146 Olympic Scholarships for Athletes – Paris 2024 in 2022, across 145 National Olympic Committees.

But the Joint Sport Pledge goes well beyond the support of elite and near-elite athletes to grass roots programs, which have mostly been the province of the National Olympic Committees and the International Federations, not so much the IOC. The Olympic Solidarity budget for the Paris 2024 cycle is now $590 million.

But with all of this support for those in need, what about the IOC’s biggest allies and leaders of its future: its Olympic athletes?

Yes, there are plenty of known superstars who will be in Paris and attract vast attention, from U.S. basketball players to Indian javelin throwers to French judoka and Australian swimmers. But as those involved in the Olympic Movement are well aware, most athletes struggle to get by and many are in sports with little commercial profile, such as canoeing, modern pentathlon, sailing and so on.

With the IOC taking in $7.6 billion in the 2017-20/21 cycle, and sitting on $3.62 billion in reserves at the end of 2022, the IOC is well positioned to make an investment in its future through the athletes who compete in the Olympic and Olympic Winter Games.

Why not pay Olympic athletes?

The cries for prize money make little sense for the IOC and are in conflict with the history of the Olympic Games, which, in ancient times, saw the city-states which sent athletes to the Games also reward them for success. This is still true today, with National Olympic Committees paying medal bonuses to athletes who reach the Olympic podium.

It was modern Olympic Movement founder Baron Pierre de Coubertin of France who referred a banquet audience during the 1908 London Games to a sermon he had heard days before in a church service:

“The Bishop of Pennsylvania recalled this in apt terms: ‘In these Olympiads, the important thing is not winning, but taking part.’ Gentlemen, let us remember this strong statement. It applies to every endeavor, and can even be taken as the basis of a serene and healthy philosophy. What counts in life is not the victory, but the struggle; the essential thing is not to conquer, but to fight well. To spread these precepts is to help create a more valiant, stronger humanity, one that is also more scrupulous and more generous.”

De Coubertin’s comment was formalized for the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles and shown on the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum scoreboard as:

“The important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning, but taking part – The essential thing is not conquering but fighting well. ~ De Coubertin”

It has become one of the iconic mottos in sports.

Adapted to today’s situation, an investment by the IOC in its athletes – all of its athletes, not just those who win medals – would be for an honorarium to all Olympians.

What would this cost? A lot, but actually manageable given the IOC’s revenues, for the roughly 14,000 athletes who compete in the Olympic (11,000) and Winter (3,000) Games:

● 14,000 x $1,000 = $14 million (U.S.)
● 14,000 x $2,000 = $28 million (U.S.)
● 14,000 x $3,000 = $42 million (U.S.)
● 14,000 x $4,000 = $56 million (U.S.)
● 14,000 x $5,000 = $70 million (U.S.)

● 14,000 x $7,500 = $105 million (U.S.)
● 14,000 x $10,000 = $140 million (U.S.)

For star North American and European athletes, this may not seem like a lot, but it could be life-changing for athletes in low-revenue sports and for those in countries with low wage standards. How much change could such gifts bring to those in developing countries?

If the IOC can spend money, time and resources on these exceptionally worthwhile refugee projects, does it not have the energy to distribute some of its wealth to those athletes who achieve the title of Olympian?

The IOC’s commendable work on the Joint Sport Pledge should be exceeded by its willingness to invest in the people it says it values most: its Olympic athletes.

Rich Perelman
Editor

2.
Putin says IOC’s Olympic restrictions must be analyzed

At his year-end news conference, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave no direct indication whether “neutral” Russian athletes will be able to participate in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, but introduced some doubt into the process:

“I’ve always said that athletes are training for years, and we must provide them with an opportunity to participate in grand tournaments, including the Olympic Games.

“Everyone knows that this is our flag flying, everyone knows that this is our athlete participating, it is obvious. That’s why I kept supporting the participation of our athletes in such competitions, but at the moment we need to thoroughly analyze conditions on behalf of the International Olympic Committee.

“If these artificial conditions seek to prevent our leaders, the athletes who are capable of winning gold, silver and bronze medals [from participating], exhaust our team and make it seem that Russian sports is dying instead of developing, then the Ministry of Sports and the Russian Olympic Committee need to assess the situation and make a balanced decision.”

He also reiterated his criticism of the IOC as having become a tool of its sponsors:

“Everything that international officials impose in regard to the Russian sports movement contradicts and perverts the original idea of Pierre de Coubertin … The Olympic Movement was established to unite people, not divide them.

“International officials have become too deeply involved in the business side of the sports movement today and they rely heavily on their donors. If things go on like this, they will bury the Olympic Movement.”

State Duma member and Turin 2006 Olympic speed skating gold medalist Svetlana Zhurova said the IOC’s tactics may be aimed at forcing Russians not to go to Paris:

“If now we ban athletes from participating, and after some time the IOC returns our athletes with the flag and anthem, what then? You need to be balanced, and conditions can change in different directions.

“There is still time before the Olympics, and the president does not want to be the politician who prohibits athletes from going to the Olympics. But the West is just waiting for this.”

Putin’s comments were also expanded on by four-time biathlon Olympic relay gold medalist Alexander Tikhonov, who suggested that only those athletes who are potential medal winners should go to Paris:

“Everything needs to be weighed and left to the professionals. The discussion should involve the heads of federations, the athletes themselves and representatives of the government or the president. We have time to make a decision.

“Many of our athletes have already lost their chances of qualifying for the Olympics, we will no longer be able to form a full delegation, and if we now send those who have no claims to medals, they will laugh at us. They will say that it was right that they did not allow us in, because we were of no use. But I wouldn’t go even if I was competing for a medal.”

3.
Takahashi pleads not guilty to Tokyo 2020 bribery charges

The man at the center of the Tokyo 2020 sponsorship selection scandal, former Dentsu senior director Haruyuki Takahashi, was in court on Thursday and unlike all of the other defendants in the case, did not plead guilty.

“I assert my innocence on all the charges. It was strictly business and it was not a bribe.”

Takahashi, 79, who was a member of the Tokyo 2020 Executive Committee and played a lead role in the procurement of a record-setting $3.3 billion in domestic sponsorship revenue, is accused of receiving payments totaling about ¥198 million (~$1.39 million U.S.) in payments from various companies trying to get sponsorship status or other work from Tokyo 2020.

Prosecutors say he received money from multiple companies between 2017-22, including:

● Aoki Holdings, a business suit retailer
● Kadokawa Corpation, publishers
● Sun Arrow, a maker of plush toys
● ADK Holdings, an advertising agency
● Daiko Advertising

Two other companies, Amuse Consulting and Common 2, may have been fronts through which Takahashi also received payments. In the case of Aoki Holdings and Kadokawa Corporation, the allegation is that the companies became sponsors at a discounted rate thanks to Takahashi; Sun Arrow received a license to make toys with Tokyo 2020 marks and of the mascots; the advertising agencies wanted help to be named as agents for other companies who were sponsors or suppliers.

Ten people have pled guilty to providing bribes, all of whom have received suspended sentences. The trial will extend into January.

This is a separate inquiry from the big-rigging scandal concerning test events and then venue management contracts, with criminal charges being pursued against several companies, including Dentsu. That trial is ongoing and will continue in 2024.

4.
U.S.’s Bennett surprises with Val Gardena Downhill win!

This wasn’t supposed to happen. The way that FIS Alpine World Cup races are structured, the medal winners almost always come from the first group of skiers, numbers 1-15. After they race, there is a break and then skiers 16-22 go, then 23-30 and, finally, nos. 31 to the end.

After the first three Downhill races of the men’s World Cup season were canceled due to bad weather, Thursday’s race at Val Gardena (ITA) turned out to be a shocker. After the top 15, Norwegian star Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, a 12-time World Cup downhill winner and the 2023 Worlds runner-up, was a happy 0.02 seconds up on reigning World Cup champion Marco Odermatt of Switzerland, 1:23.83 to 1:23.85.

France’s Nils Allegre, starting 25th, scared the leaders with a 1:23.93 finish and was in third place, in position to win his first World Cup medal.

Then came American Bryce Bennett, starting 34th, who had won one career World Cup medal, a gold in the Downhill at Val Gardena in December 2021. And lightning struck again.

Bennett, 31, zipped down this hill that he knew well, accelerated where it would do the most good and crossed in a stunning 1:23.80, to take his second career win and second career World Cup medal.

“I did not expect the green light! I wanted to put down a run that I was going to be proud of and I left everything on the hill. I knew I had to take risk in two spots, but there is the chance to lose speed. And if you lose speed here, you’ll never get it back.

“I’m super excited to start the season like this – first downhill of the season!”

Beyond his two wins in Val Gardena, Bennett has four other top-five finishes, all in Downhills and four of his six top-fives have been at this race. There is a Super-G on Friday and then another Downhill on Saturday, with the chance for another shocker.

Bennett’s victory was the first for a U.S. man on the World Cup circuit since his 2021 win, and beyond that, since December 2020 when Ryan Cochran-Siegle won a Super-G at Bormio (ITA).

5.
Hibbert and Alfred win Bowerman Awards for 2023

The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association announced the winners of the annual Bowerman Awards on Thursday, given to the top collegiate track & field stars of the season.

The ceremony, held during the USTFCCCA Convention at the Gaylord Rockies Resort in Aurora, Colorado, started on a fun note as 2019 winner – and World 110 m hurdles champ – Grant Holloway welcomed, with considerable charm, the past winners on hand before turning the show over to ESPN’s John Anderson, helming the show for the 10th time. Holloway came back for some more hosting duties later in the program and clearly has a future in this area.

The men’s winner was double NCAA triple jump champion Jaydon Hibbert (JAM) of Arkansas, who – as a freshman – won the NCAA Indoors at 17.54 m (57-6 1/2) and the outdoor title at 17.56 m (57-7 1/2). He also owns the collegiate records, with his NCAA Indoor mark and his world-leading 17.87 m (58-7 1/2) outdoor winner at the SEC Championships. Both are also world U-20 records.

All of this at age 18, making Hibbert the youngest ever to win the Bowerman. He beat out NCAA Indoor heptathlon champ Kyle Garland (USA/Georgia) and NCAA outdoor winner (and collegiate record setter) Leo Neugebauer (GER) of Texas.

The women’s trophy was presented to Texas star Julien Alfred (LCA), who dominated the sprints, winning the NCAA Indoor 60 m and 200 m (collegiate records in both) and then took the 100 m (10.72w) and 200 m (21.73w) outdoors, and helped the Longhorns to a 41.60 win in the 4×100 m.

Also nominated were Britton Wilson and Jasmine Moore. Arkansas’ Wilson won the NCAA Indoor 400 m and was second in the NCAA Outdoor 400 m and seventh in the 400 m hurdles, after winning both at the SEC Championships and setting two collegiate records in the flat 400. Florida’s Moore was the NCAA Indoor long and triple jump champion and NCAA outdoor triple jump winner and third-placer in the long jump.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Russia ● “WADA remains skeptical and wary of Russia. We must remain vigilant and ensure that all inspection results are communicated to the Olympic organizers. We call on anti-doping organizations to introduce biological passports for all athletes from Russia who could potentially compete at the Olympics in a neutral status.

“Athletes from all over the world want to know that all their opponents, no matter where they are from, face the same anti-doping conditions. To achieve this goal, anti-doping organizations must use all available tools.”

That’s from the World Anti-Doping Agency to the Russian news agency TASS, requesting an Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) be established for possible Paris 2024 participants. The ABP measures a series of personal, biological variables, against which future data can be matched for review and possible doping violations.

As of 14 December, it was reported that six Russians and five Belarusians have qualified as possible Paris 2024 participants.

● Athletics ● The Athletics Integrity Unit announced more doping bans, including Colombian distance runner John Tello Zuniga, 37, for three years beginning on 25 August 2023 for the use of the steroid Clenbuterol. He has a best of 2:14:21 in the marathon from 2021.

Italian Ahmed Abdelwahed was banned for four years, from 7 September 2023 for the use of Meldonium. He was the 2022 European silver medalist in the men’s Steeplechase – that result has been nullified – and has a best of 8:10.29 from 2022.

Marathoner Samir Jouaher (MAR) was also banned, for six years, for use of Erythropoietin (EPO) and CERA, or Continuous Erythropoietin Receptor Activator. Jouaher ran 2:08:42 to win the Riyadh Marathon in Saudi Arabia on 11 February, but that result is now wiped out.

Vidal Basco (BOL), a 62:50 man in the Half Marathon and 28:34.37 for the 10,000 m (from 2019) was banned for four years for Clenbuterol.

● Basketball ● USA Basketball named LSU guard Mikaylah Williams as its 3×3 Female Athlete of the Year. She is a three-time FIBA 3×3 U-18 World Cup Most Valuable Player and led the U.S. to a fifth-straight World Cup gold.

Still just 18, Williams was named the Morgan Wootten National Player of the Year for her prep career at Parkway (Bossier City, La.) High School, and in her frosh season at LSU, scored 42 points on 14 November against Kent State.

● Cycling ● Good news on the cheating front. At the annual UCI World Tour and Women’s World Tour seminar in Lausanne, a report noted:

“When it comes to technological fraud, it was revealed that a total of 4,980 controls were carried out at 89% of UCI WorldTour events and 81% of UCI Women’s WorldTour events in 2023. No cases of technological fraud were discovered.”

● Fencing ● Sad news that Sam Cheris, 78, passed away, leaving a brilliant legacy of developing the sport in the U.S. during his tenure as President of the USA Fencing Board from 1988-90 and three terms as Treasurer. Inducted into the USA Fencing Hall of Fame earlier this year, he was saluted by Donald Alperstein, also a USA Fencing President:

“Youth fencing: Sam did that. Team athlete funding: Sam did that. Pulling USA Fencing out of insolvency and placing it on a firm financial footing: Sam did that. Creating a commission that allows referees to choose their own leadership: Sam did that. Requiring that the business of the FIE be conducted in English and Spanish, as well as French: Sam did that. Taking a random list of rules and codifying them as the FIE statutes: Sam did that.”

In addition to his role in the U.S., Cheris was a significant presence internationally, serving as a member of the Federation Internationale de Escrime (FIE) Executive Committee from 1996-2004, as well as the Publicity Commission (1989-92) and during four decades on the Legal Commission (1996-2023). He was inducted into the FIE Hall of Fame in 2014.

Outside of fencing, Cheris was a Denver-based attorney specializing in business affairs.

● Football ● A limited number of women were allowed to attend a men’s club football match in Tehran (IRI) on Thursday, a small but important step in a continuing campaign by activists against discrimination against women in Iran.

The group OpenStadiums posted an image of three women in the Azadi Stadium for the match between Persepolis and Esteghlal. Some 3,000 tickets for women were reported to be made available.

The post on X (ex-Twitter) included, “Historical day for women’s rights activists and the fight for equal access to public spaces will continue.”

FIFA has been involved in lobbying the Iranian government to relax such restrictions.

FIFA announced the finalists for its best player categories on Wednesday, with the awards to be presented on 15 January 2024 in London:

● Men: Erling Haaland (NOR/Manchester City), Kylian Mbappe (FRA/Paris Saint-Germain) and Lionel Messi (ARG/Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Miami)

● Women: Aitana Bonmati (ESP/FC Barcelona), Linda Caicedo (COL/Deportivo Cali and Read Madrid CF) and Jennifer Hermoso (ESP/CF Pachuca).

Messi won the award for 2022, when he led Argentina to the FIFA World Cup title.

● Swimming ● USA Swimming announced five swimmers to compete in the World Aquatics Championships open-water events in Doha in February 2024.

Katie Grimes, the 2023 national champion at 5 km and 10 km, will swim in both events, with Mariah Denigan, the 10 km runner-up and 5 km third-placer. Grimes won the bronze medal at the 2022 Worlds 10 km, with Denigan eighth.

The men’s squad will include Michael Brinegar (10 km), Josh Brown (5 km) and Ivan Puskovitch (5 km-10 km). Puskovitch finished fifth at 10 km and third at 5 km in the nationals races in 2023, with Brinegar 11th at 10 km. Brinegar has Worlds experience, finishing 12th at the 2019 Worlds 10 km event in Gwangju (KOR).

● Weightlifting ● The International Weightlifting Federation’s Grand Prix II in Doha (QAT) concluded on Thursday, with North Korea the strongest team with four wins in the men’s classes and five in the women’s. China scored three women’s wins and Armenia had one men’s and one women’s winner.

The U.S. got an impressive win from Mary Theisen Lappen in the women’s +87 kg class, lifting a combined total of 283 kg and decisively winning the Clean & Jerk at 163 kg. Second at the IWF World Championships, her total in Doha was the best of the year and 6 km up on her Worlds total.

Sarah Robles, the two-time Olympic bronze medalist and 2017 World Champion, won the Snatch title at 124 kg, but retired from the Clean & Jerk. Both will compete at the European Championships next February to continue their Olympic qualifying effort; only one will be able to represent the U.S. in Paris.

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TSX REPORT: Russians ask about athlete security in Paris; LA28 looking to add Paralympic sports; Brisbane’s A$2.7B Gabba project to be reviewed

Rich Perelman

December 14, 2023

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

★ To get The Sports Examiner by e-mail: sign up here! ★

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. Russia’s Pozdnyakov asks about athlete security at Paris 2024
2. LA28 discussing adding Paralympic sports, too
3. Brisbane’s Gabba redevelopment plans to be reviewed
4. Lyles, Kipyegon puzzled by World Athletics’ awards expansion
5. USOPE honors Neuburger, Retton and Baumgartner

● The head of the Russian Olympic Committee asked about what the security arrangements would be for Russian athletes who participate in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games since neither the Russian government, Russian Olympic Committee or its national sports federations will be involved.

● Andrew Parsons, the International Paralympic Committee President, said that the LA28 organizing committee is looking to add sports to its Paralympic Games program as well.

● The new leadership of the Queensland Labor Party said that the A$2.7 billion redevelopment project for the Brisbane Cricket Ground (Gabba) will be reviewed by an independent panel, for need and cost.

● The surprise awarding of six “World Athlete of the Year” award – instead of two – by World Athletics caught the awardees off guard, and Noah Lyles and Faith Kipyegon both commented on it after Monday’s ceremony.

● The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Endowment, the investment group for the 1984 Olympic surplus, announced three award winners for 2023, including ‘84 Olympic gold medalists Mary Lou Retton and Bruce Baumgartner, and long-time executive and administrator Dale Neuburger.

● World Championship: Handball (Sweden and Denmark into Women’s Worlds semis) ●

● Panorama: Football (Turkish club president punches referee in the face!) ●

1.
Russia’s Pozdnyakov asks about athlete security at Paris 2024

Russian Olympic Committee President Stanislav Pozdnyakov raised the issue of safety and security of Russian “neutrals” who would compete in Paris, noting that the ROC will not be involved due to its suspension by the International Olympic Committee:

“The Foreign Ministry in its comments always says that the issue of security is critical in this situation. This was also mentioned at the board of the Ministry of Sport.

“This will be handled neither by the national federation, nor by state services, nor by the national Olympic committee, which is cut off from the process by these [IOC] recommendations.”

Pozdnyakov is quite right about this. The IOC’s rules for Russian and Belarusian athlete participation in Paris cut the Russian Olympic Committee and the Russian national sports federations out completely, explaining:

“The registration (accreditation and sport entries) of Individual Neutral Athletes and their support personnel will be coordinated jointly between the Paris 2024 Organising Committee, the relevant [International Federation] and the IOC.”

The IOC also released last weekend part of the text of the Conditions of Participation agreement that all athletes will be required to sign to be entered in Paris, which now includes “the provisions of the Olympic Charter, including the peace mission of the Olympic Movement” and “My compliance with such rules supports the mission of the IOC and of the Olympic Games to promote unity and peace.”

This is not a specific rebuttal of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but the participation regulations state with clarity:

“Only those Individual Neutral Athletes and support personnel who have not acted against the peace mission of the Olympic Movement by actively supporting the war in Ukraine may be invited to participate in the Olympic Games Paris 2024.”

This language will be a barrier to some Russian athletes agreeing to compete in Paris even if eligible, and at least one member of the State Duma – two-time Olympic gold medal hockey star Vyacheslav Fetisov – has said that “a general decision could be made on the issue of Russian participation in the Olympics” by the Russian government.

The Chair of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Gennady Zyuganov, joined the chorus against the IOC on Wednesday:

“I am of the opinion that if you go to international competitions, you must represent your country, your club, hold your flag high. When everything else is imposed on you, this is absolutely not normal. The IOC decision does not correspond one iota with the Olympic Charter.

“When a person comes and performs with some kind of badge and it is not clear what country he represents, it’s sad and insulting for the Olympic Committee and these competitions.

“What the Americans, British and Europeans are doing in the International Olympic Committee is they are simply getting rid of it. But we have Asia, Africa, Latin America, we have the opportunity to hold our own games. If we do this energetically, I am sure that they will retreat.”

Russia will host two large, multi-sport competitions in 2024, before and after the Paris Olympic Games, the BRICS Games (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) in Kazan from 12-23 June and then the World Friendship Games in Moscow and Yekaterinburg from 15-29 September, with some event possibly also held in Minsk (BLR).

2.
LA28 discussing adding Paralympic sports, too

The Los Angeles 2028 organizing committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games added five sports for its Olympic program – baseball and softball, cricket, flag football, lacrosse and squash – to create the largest Olympic Games in history, of 35 or 36 sports depending on how boxing ends up being treated.

Now it appears that it will also ask for added sports for the Paralympic Games, which will be staged in Los Angeles for the first time in 2028. In an interview with the FrancsJeux.com site, International Paralympic Committee chief Andrew Parsons (BRA) spoke first about the Paris 2024 Paralympics sports program (computer translation from the original French):

“It is the same as at the Tokyo Games in 2021, but while representing a certain evolution. The new sports introduced in Tokyo, badminton and taekwondo, are now more mature in the Paralympic movement. The sports program is, for me, the best we can present.

“In Los Angeles 2028, it will be a different matter, because we want to add sports. In the agreement that we concluded with the IOC until 2032, it is specified that an organizing committee can add additional sports of its choice, without exceeding the maximum of 23 sports and 4,350 athletes. Paris 2024 did not wish to do so. For Los Angeles 2028, the question is debated. The Americans are discussing the possible addition of surfing and rock climbing. They must make us a formal proposal.

“After Brisbane 2032, we could have more sports and athletes, depending on the agreement we have renegotiated with the IOC.”

The Tokyo Paralympic Games had 22 sports and 539 events; the Paris plan is also for 22 sports, but with 549 events. If LA28 adds sports, it will be hosting the largest-ever Paralympics in terms of the number of sports contested.

The largest athlete total at a Paralympics was 4,520 at Tokyo in 2021; some 4,440 are expected for Paris.

Parsons was also enthusiastic about the way Paris is promoting ticket sales:

“I really like the Paris 2024 ticketing strategy, with affordable places and a day pass system. Now the job must be to ensure that Parisians, the French, but also the rest of the world, buy tickets for the Paralympic Games.

“From the start of next year, we will need to boost promotion. It should not be done through the prism of the Olympic Games. People should not come to the Paralympic Games because they could not go see the Olympic events. The Paralympic Games must benefit from specific promotion.”

3.
Brisbane’s Gabba redevelopment plans to be reviewed

The most controversial element of the 2032 Olympic Games building plan by the Queensland government is the redevelopment of the Brisbane Cricket Ground, known locally as the Gabba.

The project budget has ballooned to A$2.7 billion (about $1.77 billion U.S.) and was championed by Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, who will step down on Friday. On Wednesday, Premier-to-be Steven Miles said that the project will now be reviewed by an independent, to-be-formed committee:

“Every other time I’ve asked those questions the advice back has been the Gabba redevelopment is absolutely necessary to host Brisbane 2032.

“But I think it’s reasonable for us to be absolutely assured of that before we finalize those tenders.”

The plan has been to demolish the Gabba and construct a new facility and surrounding area by 2030, with the Australian Football League’s Brisbane Lions and Queensland Cricket to be relocated … somewhere.

But the cost of the new plan and the disruption (and cost) to the two existing teams has drawn heavy local criticism. In its review of Brisbane’s bid for 2032, the International Olympic Committee also objected, noting that the existing Carrara Stadium in Gold Coast was very successfully used for track & field at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Queensland Treasurer Cameron Dick told reporters on Wednesday that a 60-day review would be completed before moving forward:

“We’ll be conducting a review of investment into Olympics infrastructure. … I think we need to pause. We’re going to pause on the projects.

“We’re just going to have a review. We’re going to take our time to consider that and we’re going to set up an independent authority.”

4.
Lyles, Kipyegon puzzled by World Athletics’ awards expansion

When World Athletics announced its 2023 award winners on Monday (11th), it departed from its usual presentation of a single World Athlete of the Year for men and women. Instead, there were six winners, one each for track, field and out-of-stadium for both men and women.

It was explained in the announcement thus:

“The adaptation of the World Athlete of the Year honours awarded this year follows feedback received during the voting process. Many sensational performances – including an extraordinary 23 world records – were achieved in 2023. When it came to compiling the votes, athletes, fans and World Athletics Family members commented that it was incredibly hard to limit the vote to just one athlete, because of the various disciplines and the vast differences in skill sets required. As a result, for 2023 the World Athlete of the Year awards have been divided into three event categories: track, field and out of stadia.”

Not everyone was happy about this, especially since even the nominees were told of the change.

American Noah Lyles, the winner for men’s track, was asked after the ceremony, “What does it feel like, ‘Athlete of the Year: Track’” and made his feelings known:

“Not what I expected it to be like. Let’s put it like that. Not what I expected. I’ll just leave it there.

“It’s definitely that word ‘track’ that threw me and I’m pretty sure a lot of other people off. Nobody being prepared for what really happened tonight. I think everybody was caught off-guard especially when we heard all of our names being called, one after the other. It was a little confusing in the moment what was actually happening. Yeah.

“I don’t think I’ve digested what really happened. I’ll put it like that.

“Give me a few weeks and then I’ll be able to actually break down what I think of what happened today. Because on one hand, I agree with the idea. I just wish we knew that this was what was going to happen instead of having it happen after the five finalists were already chosen, that groups were going to be made.

“Then I’m confused why we had the 10 athletes in the beginning, we’re all in different categories, and we were all led to believe we were fighting for the same trophy. So again, very shocking. Very big plot twist, big plot twist for sure.”

Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon, widely expected to be the women’s (single) athlete of the year, won for track also and told the Kenyan newspaper, The Nation:

“I was surprised as well but it’s all what it is, it’s still an award and looking forward to next year. I am grateful for the fans who voted for me.”

Lyles said he would have more comments in an upcoming podcast with fellow U.S. 200 m star Kenny Bednarek.

5.
USOPE honors Neuburger, Retton and Baumgartner

/Updated/Mary Lou Retton, the iconic gymnastics star of the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, faced a serious medical challenge in October, uninsured and hospitalized with a rare form of pneumonia, with her family raising $459,264 from 8,317 donors to cover her medical expenses.

Now, she was honored by the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Endowment in New York on Wednesday with the William E. Simon Award, which recognizes “an individual or group who has made extraordinary contributions to the advancement of the Olympic and Paralympic movements.” Retton did not attend as she is still recovering.

The USOPE is the organization which received the then-U.S. Olympic Committee’s $93 million share of the surplus from the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles and has invested the funds for the benefit of U.S. athletes and programs. Grants since 1986 to the USOPC and affiliated organizations have totaled $374 million over the past 37 years and the USOPE’s net assets now stand at approximately $235 million.

Wrestling star Bruce Baumgartner, the Freestyle gold medalist at 130 kg in Los Angeles and in Barcelona (1992), silver medalist in Seoul (1988) and bronze medal winner in Atlanta (1996) received the General Douglas MacArthur Exemplary Service Award for exemplary service to the USOPC and athletes. Baumgartner was wrestling coach and athletic director at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, is the current President of USA Wrestling and played an important role in helping return wrestling to the Olympic sports program after it was voted off in 2013.

The World Aquatics Treasurer, Dale Neuburger, who has served Olympic sport over his entire career, received the George M. Steinbrenner III Sport Leadership Award. Neuburger was a staff member of USA Track & Field, but became a key member of the swimming community in the United States, as President of USA Swimming, President of the United States Aquatic Sports umbrella group, as a member of the FINA Bureau and now two-term Treasurer of World Aquatics, and as Chair of the International Swimming Hall of Fame. He served as a director of the then-U.S. Olympic Committee for eight years.

The awards were presented at the New York Athletic Club.

≡ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ≡

● Handball ● Sweden and Denmark joined the semifinals for the 26th IHF Women’s World Championship, being held in Denmark, Norway and Sweden on Wednesday, meaning all three hosts, the defending champion and the 2021 silver-medal winners are still in the tournament.

Playing in Herning (DEN), Sweden won its quarterfinal vs. Germany by 27-20, taking a 16-6 halftime lead. Olivia Mellegard, Linn Blohm, Jamina Roberts and Nathalie Hagman all scored five goals for the winners, while Amelie Berger, Alina Grijseels and Viola Stockschlaeder all scored four for the Germans.

The Danes thrilled the home crowd of 11,031 – biggest of the tournament – in Herning with a tight, 26-24 win over Montenegro. Emma Friis and Anne Hansen scored five goals each and Denmark had a 13-10 halftime lead and held on, as Dijana Mugosa scored six for Montenegro.

Thus, Friday’s semifinals in Herning will feature:

● Denmark (5-1) vs. Norway (5-1)
● Sweden (6-0) vs. France (6-0)

The Danes won the bronze medal in 2013 and 2021 and will face the defending champions in Norway, which also won in 2011 and 2015 and was runner-up in 2017. The Swedes made the semis for the first time since 2017 (fourth), but have never won a Women’s Worlds medal. Undefeated France won the 2003 and 2017 titles and was second in 2009, 2011 and 2021.

The finals will also be played in Herning, on Sunday (17th).

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Football ● A terrible incident in Ankara (TUR) in a Turkish league match on Monday (11th), where Caykur Rizespor scored for a 1-1 tie at 90+7 with home team MKE Ankaragucu, and Ankaragucu club president Faruk Koca ran onto the field and punched referee Halil Umut Meler in the face, requiring hospitalization.

Meler was also kicked by “fans” and removed for treatment; the Turkish Football Federation shut the league down, with games to resume on 19 December. Meler was released from the hospital with minor injuries on Wednesday.

TFF Chair Mehmet Buyukeksi told reporters after the game, “The matches in all leagues have been postponed indefinitely. This attack is a night of shame for Turkish football.

“Football matches are not a war, there is no death at the end. Not all teams can become champions at the same time. We all need to understand this. We invite everyone to take responsibility.”

Koca was due to be arrested for the incident, as were two others for kicking Meler; three others were released, but must keep police informed of their whereabouts. Koca, a former member of the Turkish parliament – also resigned as Ankaragucu president.

Pierluigi Collina, the legendary Italian referee who is now the Chair of the FIFA Referees Committee said in part, in a statement:

“[V]iolence, verbal and physical abuse against referees is a ‘cancer’ that may cost football its life.

“A referee cannot be beaten because of a decision they took, even if it’s wrong. His or her car cannot be bombed or set on fire because of a penalty kick.

“Unfortunately this is not an exaggeration, as car bombs and cars being set on fire is something that has happened in some countries, and not so rarely. …

“The image of Halil Umut lying on the ground, with his hands protecting his head while he was kicked by his assaulters, as well the image of the bruise under his eye, are horrific. But even more horrific is to know that there are thousands of referees around the world who are verbally and physically abused at lower levels of the game across the world, without being reported by media.”

You can receive our exclusive TSX Report by e-mail by clicking here. You can also refer a friend by clicking here, and can donate here to keep this site going.

For our updated, 850-event International Sports Calendar (no. 4) for 2023 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

TSX REPORT: Could Lyles win four Paris golds? Tokyo 2020 bid-rigging controller sentenced; 7,085 abusive social comments at Women’s World Cup

Rich Perelman

December 13, 2023

World Athletics Championships Oregon22 - Day Seven — Noah Lyles winning the men's 200 m at the 2022 World Championships (Photo: Hannah Peters/Getty Images for World Athletics)

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

★ To get The Sports Examiner by e-mail: sign up here! ★

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. Lyles looking for fourth gold in 4×400 in Paris?
2. Pozdnyakov calls IOC’s Paris conditions “illegitimate”
3. Tokyo 2020 “inside man” for bid-rigging gets suspended sentence
4. Analysis: 4.5% of Women’s World Cup social comments flagged
5. Rio 2016 weightlifting gold winner banned for 8 years

● U.S. sprint star Noah Lyles was asked about a possible try at a fourth gold at the Paris 2024 Games in the 4×400 m relay and replied he’s ”not going to say no to that.” But it’s a longshot.

● The head of the Russian Olympic Committee called the International Olympic Committee’s restrictions on Russian participation in Paris in 2024 “unacceptable” and “illegitimate.”

● The internal coordination of the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee’s bid-rigging scandal for test events and then venue management during the Games received, like everyone else in the case, a suspended sentence.

● The report of the FIFA Social Media Protection Service for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup noted that about 230,000 comments out of 5.1 million monitored were flagged for review, with 7,085 comments identified as abusive. The biggest target? The U.S. women’s team.

● Just as the International Testing Agency is beginning its re-analysis of the Rio 2016 doping samples, a 2022 doping suspension that resulted in the disqualification of the Rio 2016 weightlifting gold medalist from Kazakhstan at 77 kg for a prohibited method – urine substitution – was upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

● World Championship: Handball (France and Norway advance to semis) ●

● Panorama: Paris 2024 (surfing confirmed for Tahiti) = On Screen (reasonable audiences for swimming and figure skating on U.S. TV) = Archery (new streaming service announced for 2024, right behind a new betting deal) = Athletics (World Athletics offering online meet-up with Indian heartthrob Chopra) = Basketball (U.S. to play two pre-Olympic exhibitions) = Freestyle Skiing (Canada’s Schmidts make Ski Cross history in Arosa) = Swimming (Whiffen and Ponti wins three individual golds each at Euro Short Course) = Tennis (Simon to move to Chair as new CEO coming to WTA) = Wrestling (World champ Elor among five UWW women of the year nominees) ●

1.
Lyles looking for fourth gold in 4×400 in Paris?

World Athletics men’s track Athlete of the Year Noah Lyles (USA) – winning of three World Championships golds in the 100, 200 and 4×100 m in 2023 – thinks there could be one more in Paris next summer!

In an interview with the French all-sports newspaper L’Equipe, he said:

“I’ve never had somebody tell me something that has thrown my out-of-the-box thinking to inside-the-box, but that was like: okay, I’m not going to say no to that.

“Because after what I did at Budapest and seeing what my body can handle, if I train for it, okay, let’s take a shot. It’s the last race, there’s nothing to lose. If I’m in shape for it and I’ve trained for it all year, sure let’s take a crack at it.

“If they allow me, if they need me and they are willing – let’s go, let’s take it.”

Lyles has very little recent experience with a full lap of the track. His lifetime best is 47.04 from his high school days in 2016, and he ran an anchor leg this season on a 4×400 m at the Florida Relays for his AdiPure team that finished in 3:02.99; his split was 47.60.

There is also the question of how Lyles would be asked to be on the Olympic 4×400 m, since those entrants usually come from the final of the men’s 400 m. But U.S. coaches are not shy about borrowing stars from the 400 m hurdles, as Rai Benjamin anchored this year’s World Championships gold medalists in 44.01!

2.
Pozdnyakov calls IOC’s Paris conditions “illegitimate”

The head of the Russian Olympic Committee, four-time Olympic fencing gold medalist Stanislav Pozdnyakov, maintained his continuing criticism of the International Olympic Committee’s sanctions against Russian athletes, including last Friday’s announcement of the conditions under which certain “neutral” Russian athletes can participate. He said Tuesday:

“I stated back in late March, when the IOC voiced its initial recommendations for international sports federations, that they were unacceptable. They are absolutely illegitimate and lack any legal foundation.

“As of today, many heads of sports federations have tried to adjust the requirements, finding limited success here. However, as we can see the IOC stands firm regarding its conditions, which the overwhelming majority of Russian athletes view as unacceptable in order to participate in the [2024 Olympic] Games, while only a few ‘neutralized’ athletes will be able to compete.

“The Russian Olympic Committee is temporarily suspended and that is why we will not be taking part in this event. However, we intend to discuss this issue at the [15 December ROC] meeting.”

Asked about the decision of any Russian athlete who would agree to compete in Paris under the IOC’s regulations, he added:

“Each person chooses his own path in this life. In some cases, this path does not coincide with the expectations of the majority of the public. Each person will be responsible for his choice for the rest of his life.”

3.
Tokyo 2020 “inside man” for bid-rigging gets suspended sentence

Yasuo Mori, the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee’s Deputy Executive Director of the Games Operations Bureau, received a suspended sentence for being a central figure in the bid-rigging scandal.

Mori, 56, admitted to the scheme in July and received a sentence of two years in prison, suspended for four years. The ruling, by Tokyo District Court Presiding Judge Kenji Yasunaga, was clear that Mori “took the lead in arranging bid-rigging among operators, leveraging his influence as an executive,” working with six leading advertising and event production firms that included marketing giant Dentsu and ad firms Hakuhodo and Tokyu Agency. Six other individuals were prosecuted; everyone involved in the case confessed their roles and have received suspended sentences.

Yasunaga also noted that “It cannot be denied that his sense of responsibility to lead the Olympics to success” was a driver of his conduct, to arrange the selection of firms that were considered to be reliable for the delivery of test events for the Games and then for contracts for venue management during the Games, which were delayed from 2020 to 2021.

The contracts combined were worth some ¥43.7 billion, or about $300.04 million U.S. today; the bid-rigging effort was arranged mostly between February and July 2018.

The bid-rigging case is separate from the sponsorship sales scandals, in which Tokyo 2020 Executive Committee member Haruyuki Takahashi – a former senior director at Dentsu – arranged for companies to receive Tokyo 2020 designations and licenses in return for bribes. Takahashi has admitted receiving funds, but maintains that these were legitimate consulting fees. His trial is expected to begin later this week.

The dual scandals seriously impacted the post-Games public view of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and played a significant role in the implosion of the Sapporo bid for the 2030 Winter Games, now expected to go to France.

4.
Analysis: 4.5% of Women’s World Cup social comments flagged

The FIFA Social Media Protection Service report on the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand showed issues with about 4.5% of more than 5.1 million social-media posts monitored during the tournament.

The project covered posts on X (ex-Twitter), Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube for the month of the tournament, monitoring references to 697 players and coaches with 1,805 active accounts and others for a total of 2,111 accounts in all, with 37% on Instagram, 24% on Facebook and 22% on X. The study noted:

“FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 saw discriminatory, abusive or threatening content targeted at over 150 players, but two teams stood out as key targets – the USA and Argentina.

“The profile of the USA squad (coming into the tournament as winners of the previous two tournaments), made them a target for online abuse. This was heightened by the perception of players not singing the National Anthem being called out as unpatriotic and anti-American.”

In fact, abusive comments about the U.S. team – concentrated on 2-3 players especially – totaled nearly 4,000 in all, more than twice as many as Argentina (about 1,600). Some 67% of the identified threatening accounts came from North and Central America, and 21% from Europe.

There were 102,511 posts that were reviewed and another 116,820 comments were hidden on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Messages flagged as abusive were classified as generally abusive (23.3%), homophobic (20.4%), sexual (15.0%), sexist (13.7%), racist (9.9%) and 14 other, smaller categories. More than 150 players were targeted.

There were 7,085 posts which were verified as abusive and reported to the platforms, dominated by X (87.3%), with Instagram (6.1%) and TikTok (4.5%) following. From these, the identity of 628 account owners was verified and another 2,007 had a high probability of identification, and evidence was sent to FIFA-member associations and to law enforcement.

The highest level of abuse came on 6 August, when the U.S. was eliminated in its playoff match with Sweden.

In comparison with the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar:

“Whilst FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 was a bigger event in terms of viewership and overall volume of messages mentioning player handles, a relative comparison demonstrates that players at FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 were subject to a higher percentage of discriminatory, abusive or threatening content.

“Although a lower raw number, the smaller total engagement around FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 means that comparatively, players were 28.5% more likely to receive verified abuse or threat:

“● 0.14% of posts / comments captured for analysis during FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 by the SMPS monitoring system were confirmed to be abusive (7k out of 5.1m).

“● 0.10% of posts / comments captured for analysis during FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 by the SMPS monitoring system were confirmed to be abusive (19k out of 20m).”

On Tuesday, the German football federation (DFB) said it is coordinating with government prosecutors to identify online abusers and refer them for investigation and possible criminal charges.

This is a reaction to racist comments aimed as Germany’s black players on the winning FIFA men’s U-17 World team in early December. The DFB stated that 14 comments involved “incitement to hatred” and four individuals are being considered for prosecution.

5.
Rio 2016 weightlifting gold winner banned for 8 years

The International Testing Agency has begun its re-analysis of samples from the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, but noted Tuesday the disqualification of the men’s 77 kg gold medalist in weightlifting.

Kazakhstan’s Nijat Rahimov’s urine substitution violations prior to the Rio Games in 2016 was discovered during the investigation of International Weightlifting Federation doping cover-up activities. He won the Rio gold with a combined total of 379 kg, but was disqualified in March 2022 and the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s Anti-Doping Division imposed an eight-year penalty against him.

Now the Appeals Division of the Court of Arbitration has confirmed the holding and the eight-year sanction, as this was Rahimov’s second doping offense. His results from 2016-21 were nullified and China’s Xiaojun Lu should be recognized as the gold-medal winner.

The Russian news agency TASS reported that the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned a decision of the Russian Disciplinary Anti-Doping Committee and imposed a four-year ban on lifter Rodion Bochkov, the 2019 European Championships bronze medalist at 109 kg.

Now 30, Bochkov is banned for four years from 28 November 2023, less the year he was provisionally suspended from May 2020 to May 2021.

Interestingly, the CAS decision reversed a holding of the Russian Disciplinary Anti-Doping Committee, which said Bochkov had not committed a violation. This is the same Russian appeals board which imposed only a one-day sanction on Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva after her doping positive on 25 December 2021. That case is now being decided by a CAS panel after an appeal by the World Anti-Doping Agency, International Skating Union and the Russian Anti-Doping Agency itself.

≡ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ≡

● Handball ● France and Norway advanced to the semifinals of the 26th IHF Women’s World Championship in Denmark and Norway with decisive victories on Tuesday.

The French (6-0), the 2017 World Champions and runners-up in 2021, took an 18-16 halftime lead over the Czech Republic (3-3), but expanded their edge in the second half and won by 33-22. Estelle Nze Minko led the French with five goals, while Czech star Marketa Jerabkova took the tournament lead with six in a losing cause (now 52 total).

France will play the winner of Wednesday’s semi between Sweden (5-0) and Germany (4-1).

In the lower bracket, defending champion Norway (5-1) finally pulled away from previously unbeaten Netherlands (5-1) to win, 30-23, before the home crowd in Trondheim. Stine Skogrand was the hero for the home team, scoring nine goals, while Dione Housheer and Antje Malestein had four each to lead the Dutch.

The final quarterfinal will feature host Denmark (4-1) taking on Montenegro (3-2) in Herning. The semis and finals will be played in Herning on the 15th and 17th.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● French Polynesia President Moetai Brotherson confirmed that Olympic surfing next summer will be held in Tahiti. He explained that after a meeting held Sunday with environmental groups, “The solution we managed to get adopted tonight will allow the Games to be held here.”

A new judging and scoring tower will be installed, but only to essentially replace the existing – and worn – wooden tower, using carefully-engineered barges that will minimize any damage to beach coral.

● On Screen ● Competing against the NFL on television is always daunting, but both swimming and figure skating shows on NBC did reasonably well with American viewers last weekend.

On Saturday (9th), a highlights package from the USA Swimming U.S. Open drew an average audience of 690,000 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern time on NBC.

On Sunday, the figure skating audience returned as always for highlights of the ISU Grand Prix Final from Beijing (CHN) at 4:00 p.m., with 648,000 viewers on NBC, just about the same as for all of the other skating broadcasts this season.

The second football friendly between the U.S. women and China did not draw as much interest on Tuesday (5th), with 172,000 viewers on TruTV at 8 p.m. Eastern.

● Archery ● First came the 4 December announcement of an agreement with FeedConstruct for the collection and marketing of betting data on archery.

Then on Thursday, World Archery released details of an expanded online streaming program on “archery+” that will centralize coverage of all of World Archery’s major tournaments in one place. This is a subscription service, priced at €49.99 annually, with a discounted rate of €29.99 for the 2024 outdoor season.

Yes, the two concepts are eventually designed to work together, with archery moving swiftly towards a new level of fan engagement that will involve real-time betting. The development of these programs will be watched carefully by other federations.

● Athletics ● World Athletics has promised to do more to promote its stars. On Tuesday, it unveiled a one-week promotion of India’s Neeraj Chopra, the Olympic and World Champion in the men’s javelin.

A free sign-up form will enter respondents into a random drawing, from which 15 will be selected for “an exclusive online video meet and greet and virtual autograph session with Neeraj Chopra taking place on 20 December 2023.” Entries will be received until 6 p.m. (Central European Time) on 18 December 2023.

Why Chopra? Because he’s the most “connected” track & field athlete in the world, with 7,935,289 Instagram followers as of Tuesday.

Of course, signing up also brings you into the World Athletics database, as noted on the sign-up page: “By submitting your details, you are agreeing that World Athletics will send you information and special offers relating to athletics and athletics events.”

● Basketball ● The U.S. men’s Olympic Team will warm up with games against South Sudan on 20 July and FIBA World Cup Champion Germany on 22 July next year, with both games to be held at the O2 Arena in London.

● Freestyle Skiing ● History at the FIS World Cup Ski Cross races in Arosa (SUI), as brother-and-sister Jared and Hannah Schmidt of Canada both won on Tuesday!

Hannah won the women’s final with ease as the other three competitors got tangled up in an early crash. France’s Marielle Berger Sabbatel got back into form best to grab second, ahead of Canada’s 2014 Olympic gold winner Marielle Thompson.

It’s Hannah’s first career World Cup gold and only her second career World Cup medal at age 29. Berger Sabbatel is the only racer with medals in each of the first three races of the season (0-2-1).

Jared, 26, won his second World Cup race in a row – also last week at Val Thorens (FRA) – and his fourth career World Cup medal by beating countryman Reece Howden – the 2022-23 seasonal champ – to the line. Sweden’s Erik Mobaerg, the 2023 Worlds bronze medalist, got the bronze.

● Swimming ● The European Short Course Championships (25 m) finished Sunday in Otopeni (ROU), with the highlight the men’s 800 m Freestyle world record by Ireland’s Daniel Whiffen.

Whiffen won three events – the men’s 400-800-1,500m Frees – but he wasn’t the only big winner.

Swiss Noe Ponti, the Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist in the 100 m Butterfly, won the 50-100-200 m Fly triple, the only other swimmer to take three individual golds. France’s Mewen Tomac won the 50-100 m Backstroke double and ex-Russian Anastasiia Kirpichnikova – now competing for France – won the women’s 800-1,500 m Frees, as she did for Russia in 2021.

Dutch star Kira Toussaint won the 50 and 100 m Backstroke titles and Britain’s Abbie Wood won both the 200 and 400 m Medleys.

Seven athletes won three total golds, including relays. In addition to Whiffen and Ponti, Ben Proud (GBR: 50 m Free + 2 relays), Niccolo Martinenghi (ITA: 50 m Breaststroke + 2 relays), Lorenzo Mora (ITA: 200 m Backstroke + 2 relays), Michelle Coleman (SWE: 50 m Free + 2 relays) and Louise Hansson (SWE: 100 m fly + 2 relays) all won three events.

Four athletes won five total medals: Hansson (3-1-1), Mora (3-0-2), Freya Anderson (GBR: 2-0-3) and France’s Beryl Gastaldello (1-3-1)

Britain (9-8-6) and France (7-10-6) each won 23 medals to top the table, with Italy (22: 7-12-3) next. The Netherlands (11: 6-0-5) was the only other country to win 10 or more.

● Tennis ● Steve Simon, the face of the Women’s Tennis Association during the “where is Peng Shuai” incident with China, will become Executive Chairman and a new chief executive will be hired to lead the organization’s day-to-day operations.

President Micky Lawler, who has served since 2015, will leave at the end of the year.

The announcement underscored the importance of the new WTA Ventures arm, created in conjunction with equity investor CVC Capital Partners as the commercial division of the women’s tour.

Simon, who became Chair and CEO in 2015, told The Associated Press:

“My focus will go to, obviously, governance. Managing the respective boards and councils. Working directly with the CEOs of the daily business of the tour. I’ll be able to spend more time on the geopolitical issues that remain very prevalent to the sport and do affect the business.

“I will spend more time working on the strategic direction of the organization and the challenges that face the organization.”

He noted the continuing growth of the WTA business profile:

“I believe we were a $64 million business in ’16, and we’ll be a $128 million business this year. And we’re due to double that by 2027 with our current business plan projections.”

● Wrestling ● United World Wrestling announced the five nominees for women’s Wrestler of the Year:

● Aisuluu Tynybekova (KGZ) ~ World 62 kg Champion
● Yui Susaki (JPN) ~ World 50 kg Champion
● Akari Fujinami (JPN) ~ World 53 kg World Champion, Asian Games champ
● Amit Elor (USA) ~ World 72 kg Champion in senior, U20 and U23
● Buse Tosun (TUR) ~ World 68 kg Champion

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For our updated, 850-event International Sports Calendar (no. 4) for 2023 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

TSX REPORT: Paris 2024 budget steady, Gomis may be fired for anti-Semitism; Queensland Premier Palaszczuk retires, six T&F Athletes of the Year!

Rich Perelman

December 12, 2023

tsx pix 2021-721 brisbane 2032 palasczuk wins 750 — Winner: Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk holding the placard announcing Brisbane as the host for the 2032 Olympic Games (Photo: IOC live-stream screenshot)

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

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. Paris 2024 confirms budget, to consider Gomis’ anti-Semitic post
2. Surprise: Queensland’s Palaszczuk retires as Premier
3. Coe sees 2024 as year of “acceleration” for track & field
4. Lyles, Kipyegon, Duplantis among World Athletics awardees
5. WADA holds Nigeria, Venezuela, Tunisia, OCA non-compliant

● The Paris 2024 board approved a balanced budget at €4.397 billion, but also will consider expelling Board member (and Olympic basketball medalist) Emilie Gomis for an anti-Semitic post after the Hamas attack on Israel.

● The face of the Brisbane bid for the 2032 Olympic Games, Annastacia Palaszczuk, announced her retirement after nine years as Queensland Premier, on Sunday, as of the end of this week. What will this mean for the controversial, multi-billion-dollar redevelopment of the Gabba stadium?

● The World Athletics Council approved new working groups to review policies on transgenders, Russian and Belarusian participation, implementation of its World Plan and announced dates for the 2025 World Road Running Championships in San Diego and 2026 World Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee.

● Instead of two World Athletics athletes of the year, six were named on Monday in Monaco, including American Noah Lyles as the men’s track athlete of the year.

● The World Anti-Doping Agency confirmed non-compliant status on Nigeria, Tunisia and Venezuela and a $500,000 fine against Olympic Council of Asia. But will WADA’s sanctions be honored?

● World Championship: Handball (Women’s Worlds quarterfinals set) ●

● Panorama: Paris 2024 (4: Belarus welcomes IOC decision; Baltic countries don’t; Heraskevych asks about eligibility of three Russian wrestlers; Klitschko decries IOC policy) = African Games (ANOCA lines up Egypt and D.R. Congo for 2027-31) = Canada (“Future of Sport” commission to look into abuse) = Alpine Skiing (U.S.’s Johnson in whereabouts inquiry) = Archery (Schloesser scores 121 10s in a row, but loses Indoor World Series final) = Boxing (IBA charts independent course, with first pro title fight) = Football (2: U.S. Soccer’s player of the year nominees; 2024 Copa America pools drawn) = Luge (Mazdzer retires at Lake Placid) = Rowing (Zeidler, Grant and Craig win Crew of the Year honors) = Swimming (Whiffen takes men’s 800 m Free short-course record) = Water Polo (U.S. women sweep Spain in friendlies) = Weightlifting (USA Weightlifting skips Venezuela, will compete in Europe) ●

● Errata: Some readers of yesterday’s post saw a reference to Brazil’s iconic Estadio Maracana as “Estadio Macarena”! Thanks to reader Scott LeTellier for volunteering the correction. ●

1.
Paris 2024 confirms budget, to consider Gomis’ anti-Semitic post

The Paris 2024 organizing committee board met Monday and confirmed the fourth review of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Board budget, with an increase to €4.397 billion (about $4.73 billion U.S.), an increase of €17 million (~$18.29 million U.S.), about a 0.4% increase:

“The joint review carried out since September 2023 has made it possible to consolidate all the assumptions in the revenue plan and to make marginal adjustments to income, which has risen very slightly thanks mainly to increased income from financial investments made possible by the rise in interest rates and a cash surplus. …

“While part of the residual reserve was mobilised in 2023, during the budget review (EUR 154 million, including EUR 60 million linked to inflation), to cover costs that are now known, it was decided to maintain the residual reserve at a protective level (EUR 121 million) to deal with the uncertainties of implementation over the next nine months. As a reminder, the Court of Auditors recommended in its last report that this reserve be maintained at a minimum level of EUR 100 million.”

Legacy planning of the community involvement programs – Club Paris 2024 (4.6 million members), Terre de Jeux 2024 (4,500 communities), and Generation 2024 (8,700 schools) – was confirmed, with the French National Olympic Committee (CNOSF), the French Paralympic Committee and the national federations to take charge of the programs.

Planning to support the Paris 2024 staff as they move on to new work after the organizing committee closes down was also approved to begin.

A serious matter concerning anti-Semitic behavior of a board member was also discussed. Emilie Gomis, 40, a London 2012 silver medalist in women’s basketball, has been a member of the Paris 2024 board since October 2022, and is a paid ambassador for the Terre de Jeux program.

The Paris 2024 Ethics Committee delivered a report on an Instagram post by Gomis on 9 October, which described it as (computer translation of the original French):

“[A]n illustration in which there are maps of France in 1947, in 1967 and in 2023, on which the tricolor flag which initially covers almost the entire French territory is gradually replaced by the Israeli flag, until that it only survives on a very small part of this territory. These cards are illustrated with the following text written in large letters: ‘What would you do in this…situation?’ …

“The questioning that accompanies these images tends to legitimize actions aimed at defending oneself against an invader and repelling him. More precisely, while the publication in question took place two days after October 7, 2023, before the intervention of the Israeli army in Gaza, this question has the object and effect of justifying the acts committed against the Israeli population by the Hamas, which ‘are among the most serious violations of international humanitarian law,’ as expressed by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.

“The publication in question can also be legitimately interpreted as suggesting that the France of 2023, whose map is dominated by the Star of David, is also ‘invaded by Jews.’”

She apologized weeks later, but the Ethics Committee agreed that she be excluded from the board and her contract as a Terre de Jeux ambassador be terminated. A special meeting of the board has been called to consider this action “in the next few days.” The French National Olympic Committee has also referred her action to its Ethics Committee, as she is a member of the Elite Athletes Commission.

Paris 2024 chief Tony Estanguet told reporters that work on the reduced-size judges tower in Tahiti for the surfing competitions has resumed, with a smaller barge being used to ensure no harm to the coral in the area.

The new tower is timed for completion in May in time for a test event ahead of the Games.

2.
Surprise: Queensland’s Palaszczuk retires as Premier

Annastacia Palaszczuk, the Queensland Premier and the face of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic bid and of the state’s controversial redevelopment program for the Brisbane Cricket Ground (the Gabba) and surrounding area, unexpectedly announced her retirement on Sunday (10th).

Palaszczuk, 54, said she would retire as Premier at the end of this week, and from her Parliamentary seat at the end of 2023. She has been a Member of Parliament since 2006, became the leader of the Labor Party in 2012, and became Premier in 2015, winning three terms.

Her successor as Premier will be determined by the Labor caucus; Palaszczuk endorsed Deputy Premier Steven Miles, but Treasurer Cameron Dick and Health Minister Shannon Fentiman are also to be considered. Miles said on Saturday cited the 2032 Olympic Games as one of his priorities if selected as Premier:

“We need to work better with our partners to deliver the legacy benefits of the Olympics and Paralympics.”

Palaszczuk told reporters:

“If you were wondering, I turned my mind to this when I was trying to have a holiday with my partner. Everyone deserves a break.

“Finally, my mind was made up at national cabinet last week when I saw so many new faces. Renewal is a good thing. …

“I have no job come January. But look, I think I will be out there promoting Queensland in some form or capacity. Look around you, this state has so much to offer.”

Palaszczuk’s personal poll numbers have been falling, while the Labor Party support in the state have held steady, with elections coming in October 2024.

Observed: Palaszczuk could certainly think about a future with the Brisbane Olympic organizers at some time in the future, but not now. The immediate question for whoever becomes Premier is what to do about the widely debated and increasingly unpopular A$2.7 billion (~$1.77 billion U.S.) Gabba redevelopment project for 2032, which must get going fairly soon.

3.
Coe sees 2024 as year of “acceleration” for track & field

“The year 2024 is going to be one of change. In a decade from now, I want people to look back at 2024 and say the decisions the sport made that year not only future proofed athletics, but significantly accelerated its popularity and value.”

That’s World Athletics President Sebastian Coe (GBR) after the World Athletics Council meeting in Monaco that finished last Friday. The Council set up review groups on multiple hot-topic areas:

● A Working Group on Gender Diverse Athletes was established to continue the federation’s review of its regulations for transgender athletes and those with “differences in sex development.”

The Chair will be Doriane Lambelet Coleman (SUI), a two-time AIAW scorer for Cornell at 800 m and now a Duke University law professor, who has written extensively on the legal aspects of doping and of transgender and gay and lesbian athlete rights. The group’s report is due by the end of 2024.

● A Working Group on the status of Russians/Belarusian in International Competitions and Events, to recommend to the Council on future actions concerning athletes from the countries:

(1) “Whether the sanctions are sufficient or if they should be replaced, added, or varied with other sanctions to be imposed pursuant to Article 13 of the World Athletics Constitution.”

(2) “Consider the conditions and criteria that would need to be in place to permit at some point in the future participation of Russian and Belarusian Athletes, Athlete Support Personnel, Member Federation Officials and other Officials to participate and/or attend World Athletics Series Events or the Olympic Games.”

This group is chaired by four-time Olympic triple jumper Dr. Francis Dodoo (GHA), a long-time Professor of Sociology and Demography at Penn State, who attended Washington State, and previously taught at Maryland, Vanderbilt and Tulane.

● A World Plan Implementation Taskforce will be chaired by U.S. member Willie Banks, who drove the development of the World Plan for Athletics 2022-2030. The members of the group were not announced.

● An anti-doping protocol for athletes from countries considered the most likely to have doping issues was agreed, with minimum standards for testing to include the first of three required out-of-competition tests to take place 12 weeks prior to a major event such as an Olympic Games or World Championships.

The final test should be concluded at the time that entries are finalized, to ensure time for substitutions in case of a positive test.

The Council also approved the use of the results of the World Athletics Relays in Nassau (BAH) in May to used for first-round seeding at the Paris Olympic Games as an inducement for federations to send world-class teams.

Dates were announced for the 2025 World Road Running Championships in San Diego, California (USA) for 26-28 September 2025, and for the World Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee, Florida (USA) for 10 January 2026.

4.
Lyles, Kipyegon, Duplantis among World Athletics awardees

World Athletics announced its annual award winners on Monday, naming six superstars as its World Athletes of the Year:

● Men/track: Noah Lyles (USA) ~ World 100/200/4×100 m Champion
● Men/field: Mondo Duplantis (SWE) ~ World Vault Champion
● Men/road: Kelvin Kiptum (KEN) ~ World record 2:00:35 marathon

● Women/track: Faith Kipyegon (KEN) ~ World 1,500/5,000 m Champion
● Women/field: Yulimar Rojas (VEN) ~ World Triple Jump Champion
● Women/road: Tigist Assefa (ETH) ~ World record 2:11:53 marathon

In addition to the astounding marathon records by Kiptum and Assefa, Duplantis extended his own world marks indoors and outdoors and Kipyegon set women’s world records at 1,500 m, the mile and 5,000 m!

The naming of six World Athletes of the Year was a new concept, brought on by voters; per the announcement:

“When it came to compiling the votes, athletes, fans and World Athletics Family members commented that it was incredibly hard to limit the vote to just one athlete, because of the various disciplines and the vast differences in skill sets required. As a result, for 2023 the World Athlete of the Year awards have been divided into three event categories: track, field and out of stadia.”

The “Rising Stars” awards went to Kenyans Emmanuel Wanyonyi (World 800 m silver) and Faith Cherotich (Women 3,000 m Steeple bronze medalist). The Fair Play award went to Ethiopian distance star Letsenbet Gidey, who comforted Sifan Hassan (NED) after she fell in the final strides of the women’s 10,000 m at the World Championships.

5.
WADA holds Nigeria, Venezuela, Tunisia, OCA non-compliant

The detention slips are piling up as the World Anti-Doping Agency announced last week that the national anti-doping agencies in Nigeria and Venezuela are now non-compliant, the anti-doping agency of Tunisia has been “watchlisted” for non-compliance and a fine of $500,000 has been confirmed against the Olympic Council of Asia.

Both Nigeria and Venezuela have been identified with failures to meet “critical requirements” and the Tunisian agency has a disconnect between its national legal system vis-a-vis doping and the World Anti-Doping Code.

In all three cases, the penalties include exclusion as a host of any WADA events, or to sit on the WADA Board or committees and three sanctions which would touch the athletes from those countries:

● “[N]ot be awarded the right to host regional, continental and World Championships, and Events organized by Major Event Organizations;

● “[Its] flag will not be flown at regional, continental and World Championships, and Events, organized by Major Event Organizations (other than the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games);

● “[Its] flag will not be flown at the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, until the reinstatement conditions set out below are met.”

Both Nigeria and Venezuela have contested the non-compliance holding and the case will move to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, where a decision may or may not come prior to the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Beyond these three, non-compliant countries include the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Gabon, and Russia as well as the International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation.

The Olympic Council of Asia was fined $500,000 for its breach of regulations in allowing the North Korean flag to be flown at the Asian Games in Hangzhou (CHN):

“It became clear during the Asian Games that the OCA did not take steps to comply with the terms of the DPRK’s non-compliance and that the DPRK flag was repeatedly flown at the event. Despite repeated reminders from WADA before and during the Games, the OCA refused to comply.”

Observed: This may seem like a purely technical game, but WADA’s credibility is at stake here. Nigeria has had significant doping issues and $500,000 for the Olympic Council of Asia – which includes China, Qatar and Saudi Arabia as members – means nothing.

But will WADA’s sanctions be honored, or are they seen by these organizations – and others who watch these issues closely – as optional, meaning that the authority of the World Anti-Doping Agency is waning. WADA can count on support from the IOC and IPC for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, but what about the International Federations and regional Games?

The first test may come in March at the 2024 African Games in Ghana.

≡ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ≡

● Handball ● The quarterfinals are set for the 26th IHF Women’s World Championship, being held in Denmark, Norway and Sweden, with the three medal winners from 2021 – Norway, France and Denmark – all still in the hunt:

● 12 Dec.: France (5-0) vs. Czech Republic (3-2) in Herning (DEN)
● 13 Dec.: Sweden (5-0) vs. Germany (4-1) in Trondheim (NOR)

● 12 Dec.: Netherlands (5-0) vs. Norway (4-1) in Herning (DEN)
● 13 Dec.: Denmark (4-1) vs. Montenegro (3-2) in Trondheim (NOR)

The semifinals will be held on 15 December and the medal matches on the 17th, all in Herning.

Now through two full rounds of play, Romania’s Eliza Buceschi is the top scorer with 47 goals in 63 shots, followed by Marketa Jerabkova (CZE: 46) and Senegal’s Soukeina Sagna (40).

Attendance through 96 matches, which includes playoffs down to 32nd place, has averaged 2,756 (264,609 total).

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● Belarus was finally heard from on the participation requirements distributed by the International Olympic Committee on Friday:

“We welcome the admission of Belarusian athletes to the Games in Paris 2024, however, the decision taken does not fully satisfy the interests of the Belarusian sports community.

“Existing strict restrictions, including participation in competitions without national symbols, a limited number of qualifying competitions, and the exclusion of athletes competing in team events, all these conditions continue to be extremely discriminatory towards the athletes of our country.”

The presidents of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, meeting on Monday, expressed their regret at the IOC’s decision to allow certain Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in Paris.

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda told reporters, “It’s a very disappointing decision, and I still hope that it could be revised, it could be corrected.

“We already see reactions from various federations, and I think that Olympic principles have nothing to do with terror, murder, or destruction. So, it’s highly discouraging to see such decisions right now, in the critical stage of the war in Ukraine.”

Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics said:

“To my mind, if nothing changes, it would be very difficult to see Ukrainian or Latvian athletes competing there. But this is, of course, a decision that needs to be taken by the governments and sports communities in every country and, of course, it has to be well coordinated and well thought through with like-minded nations, including Ukraine, the Baltic nations, and other European nations that are not happy with these decisions.”

Ukrainian Skeleton Olympian Vladyslav Heraskevych posted Monday the names of three Paris-qualified Russian wrestlers whose support of the war against Ukraine has been called into question:

“The IOC has already noted that 8 athletes with a Russian passport have already qualified for Paris 2024.

“Among them are representatives of freestyle wrestling. [97 kg Abdulrashid] Sadulaev, [57 kg: Zaur] Uguev and [74 kg Zaurbek] Sidakov.

“All three were participants in a rally at the Luzhniki Stadium on March 2022.”

Ukrainian boxing great Wladimir Klitschko, twice heavyweight champion and younger brother of Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, posted on X (ex-Twitter):

“The IOC has decided that russian and belarusian athletes will take part in the Paris Olympic Games under a “neutral” flag. This false neutrality serves to conceal war crimes. The russian flag is not white, it’s covered in blood. This decision taints the Olympic spirit.”

● African Games ● The African Games has met with controversy as Ghana has had considerable difficulty organizing the 2023 edition, attributed in 2018 but plagued by delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic and economic distress in the country. It is now scheduled for 8-23 March 2024, in Accra, Kumasi and Cape Coast.

However, the future of the African Games appears brighter, with a Monday announcement of a meeting between Mustapha Berraf (ALG), the head of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) and the sports ministers of Egypt – Prof. Ashraf Sobhy – and Francois-Claude Kabulo, of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Result:

“[T]he three parties jointly decided to support Egypt’s bid to host the 2027 African Games. This decision is in line with the shared desire to promote sporting excellence in Africa and meet the international standards of Games in accordance with the Olympic Charter.

“The Democratic Republic of Congo reasserts its commitment to the African Sports Movement by opting to host the African Games in 2031.”

Cairo hosted previously in 1991; the Democratic Republic of the Congo has never hosted the event.

ANOCA head Berraf, 69, bears watching as he was the International Olympic Committee member who asked President Thomas Bach (GER) to consider serving a third term during the recent IOC Session in India. Brokering hosts for the next two editions of the African Games amid the current difficulties with Ghana’s 2023/24 hosting is a significant triumph.

● Canada ● Canadian Sports Minister Carla Qualtrough announced a three-member “Future of Sport” commission, to be followed by a national conference on the findings:

“Over 18 months, the Commission will engage and seek input from the sport community, including survivors and victims of maltreatment in sport. The process will be trauma-informed, human rights-based and forward-looking. The Commission will be independent, transparent and flexible. It will develop recommendations for the Government of Canada to improve safety in sport and the sport system in Canada.”

Abuse complaints, both emotional and physical, have been leveled at multiple national federations over the past year. Qualtrough said that C$10-15 million may be required (C$1 = $0.74 U.S.), more than four times what the U.S. Commission on the State of the U.S. Olympics and Paralympics was granted by the U.S. Congress.

● Alpine Skiing ● U.S. women’s Downhiller Breezy Johnson, a seven-time World Cup medal winner, is being investigated by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency for “whereabouts” violations that could lead to a suspension.

Athletes competing at the world-class level are required to register their “whereabouts” so that they can be located for unannounced, out-of-competition testing. Three “whereabouts” failures within a 12-month period constitute a violation, which could result in a two-year suspension. She is not competing while the inquiry is on, ensuring that if she is suspended, it would be at an earlier date.

● Archery ● Close, but no cigar. In the (non-Olympic) men’s Compound tournament at the World Athletics Indoor (18 m) World Series stop in Taoyuan City (TPE) for the Taipei Open, Dutch star and three-time Worlds medal winner Mike Schloesser completed the qualifying round with a perfect score of 600.

It’s the fourth time he has scored 600 in a round (60 arrows x 10 points), but then he extended his streak by shooting 60 more 10s in his elimination matches in the round-of-32, round-of-16, quarterfinals and semifinals: 120 in a row!

But in the final against Prathamesh Jawkar (IND), he lost by 149-148. Schloesser hit a 10 on his first shot, but then a nine, ending his streak at 121. He scored six more 10s in a row, then a nine that lost the third end, and even with six more 10s to close – 13 out of 15 – Jawkar scored the upset. But it was a memorable achievement.

● Boxing ● The International Boxing Association held a Congress, a Global Boxing Forum and a Champions Night fight card in Dubai (UAE) over the weekend, depicting an organization charting a future not focused on the Olympic Movement.

The IBA appeal against its expulsion by the International Olympic Committee at the Court of Arbitration for Sport will not be decided until 2024. In the meantime, the IBA staged another Champions Night program included seven bouts, four of which were pro-format contests of eight to 12 rounds. Russian Albert Batyrgaziev, the Russian Olympic Featherweight (57 kg) defeated Cuba’s three-time World Champion Lazaro Alvarez in a 60 kg bout to win the first IBA professional title.

The Forum announced a new scoring concept, which would have three judges viewing on a screen and a fourth as a video reviewer using slow motion; this is to be introduced in parallel with the current scoring system as a test.

The Congress voted to return Switzerland as a member federation, agreed to accept new members Norfolk Island Boxing Association and Tuvalu Amateur Boxing Association, and accepted a new “U.S. Boxing Federation,” described as founded by four-class professional champ Roy Jones Jr. to replace USA Boxing, which left the IBA.

● Football ● U.S. Soccer announced the nominees for its Player of the Year awards, which includes fan voting that will count for 15% of the total weight in scoring.

The men’s nominees include goalkeeper Matt Turner, midfielder Yunus Musah and forwards Folarin Balogun, Ricardo Pepi and Christian Pulisic.

The women’s nominees are defenders Crystal Dunn, Emily Fox and Naomi Girma, midfielder Lindsey Horan and forward Sophia Smith.

Voting began Monday and will conclude on Monday, 18 December at noon, Eastern time.

The draw for the 2024 Copa America, to be played in the U.S. for the second time, was held in Miami (USA) last Thursday (7th) with four groups of four to begin play next 20 June:

● A: Argentina (defending champ), Peru, Chile, CONCACAF team
● B: Ecuador, Jamaica, Mexico, Venezuela
● C: Bolivia, Panama, United States, Uruguay
● D: Brazil, Colombia, Paraguay, CONCACAF team

Two CONCACAF entries will come from playoffs to be held early in 2024. The top two teams from each group will advance to the 4-6 July quarterfinals, then semifinals on 9-10 and the medal matches on 13 July (third) and 14 July (championship).

● Luge ● Four-time U.S. Olympian and surprise 2018 PyeongChang silver medalist Chris Mazdzer retired following last weekend’s FIL World Cup in Lake Placid, New York. But he gave the fans a thrill by not just sliding down the course one more time, but finishing 12th overall in the men’s Singles in 1:43.358, just 0.773 away from the bronze medal.

Now 35, with a wife and a two-year-old son, he knew the time was right:

“I can’t dedicate the time it would require to be an exceptional luge athlete and have a job and have a family. Something had to give, and honestly, looking back, I’ve had a fantastic career, and I’ve had a bunch of amazing life experiences. I think this is the way to do it. Let’s go out at home.”

● Rowing ● The World Rowing Awards were announced Monday, honoring men’s Single Sculls star Oliver Zeidler of Germany and British Lightweight Pairs rowers Imogen Grant and Emily Craig.

Zeidler won the 2023 Worlds gold in his specialty, for his third men’s Single Sculls gold. He also swept the three World Cups in the event in 2023, making him a clear choice.

For the Women’s Crew of the Year, Grant and Craig also collected a Worlds gold in their event, defending their 2022 Worlds win and set a world-best time for their race during the second World Cup.

Former Italian Olympian Francesco Fossi was named as Coach of the Year for guiding Dutch men’s crews in the Double Sculls and Quadruple Sculls to world titles, and American Caryn Davies – a three-time Olympic medalist and four-time World Champion in the women’s Eights – was awarded the Thomas Keller Medal for achievement, sportsmanship and impact.

● Swimming ● A world short-course record was the highlight of the European Short Course Championships in Bucharest (ROU), with Ireland’s Daniel Whiffen storming to a 7:20.46 in the 800 m Freestyle.

That shattered the mark of 7:23.42 by Australia’s seven-time Olympic medal winner Grant Hackett from way back in 2008. Whiffen, 22, won a Commonwealth Games silver in 2022 in the men’s 1,500 m Freestyle and was a Tokyo Olympian in the 800 and 1,500 m Frees. He had already won the 400 m and 1,500 m Frees at the meet. Said Whiffen of the record performance:

“That world record, I think it’s one of the oldest in the books. To beat [Hackett’s] record is just amazing. I look up to him every day.”

● Water Polo ● The U.S. women’s team, which finished a depressing seventh at this year’s World Championships, swept bronze medalist Spain in a two-game exhibition series in Miami and Ft. Lauderdale.

The first game, held last Thursday (7th) saw Jewel Roemer score twice and Ashleigh Johnson make 11 saves in a 9-7 win. Spain had a 3-2 halftime lead, but the Americans scored four times in the third quarter for a 6-4 lead heading into the fourth. The U.S. lead expanded to 9-5 with two late scores for Spain to make it close.

On Saturday, Jenna Flynn scored three times, Jovana Sekulic and Jordan Raney each got two and with 11 more saves from Johnson, won the fourth quarter by 2-0 for an 11-9 win. The game was tied 6-6 at half and 9-9 after three, but Flynn and Raney scored the only goals of the fourth.

● Weightlifting ● In view of the “Do Not Travel” advisory for Venezuela from the U.S. Department of State from July 2023, USA Weightlifting asked the International Weightlifting Federation for special permission to avoid the 2024 Pan American Championships in Caracas.

The State Department’s warning begins with “Do not travel to Venezuela due to crime, civil unrest, kidnapping, and the arbitrary enforcement of local laws. Reconsider travel due to wrongful detentions, terrorism, and poor health infrastructure,” and went on from there. The country is ruled by a Socialist government with difficult relations with the U.S.

On Monday, USA Weightlifting announced that its request to compete in the European Championships instead was approved:

“USA Weightlifting is extremely thankful that IWF President Mohammed Jalood and European Weightlifting Federation President Antonio Conflitti are allowing Olympic-eligible Team USA athletes to compete in the 2024 European Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria, instead of the Pan American Championships in Caracas, Venezuela.

“We’re appreciative that all parties involved have prioritized our delegation’s safety and understand the significant logistical challenges our team faced in traveling to Caracas for the competition. We’re additionally thankful for the assurance that results earned at the European Championships will count for Olympic qualifying.”

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TSX REPORT: Both Russia and Ukraine upset with IOC’s Paris 2024 policy; U.S.-Mexico Women’s World Cup bid sees $3B revenue!

Rich Perelman

December 11, 2023

tsx pix 2023-1210 malinin, ilia isu gp final (isu) — American teen star Ilia Malinin won his second U.S. title on Sunday. (Photo: ISU)

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

★ To get The Sports Examiner by e-mail: sign up here! ★

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. Russians hardly excited about IOC’s opening for Paris 2024
2. Ukraine to weigh value of Paris participation
3. U.S.-Mexico bid sees $3 billion FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027 blockbuster
4. Milanin, Chock & Bates take first Grand Prix Final golds
5. International Testing Agency begins Rio 2016 re-testing

● Although the International Olympic Committee is allowing some Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Russian response to the announcement was anything but enthusiastic.

● The reaction from Ukrainian officials, starting with President Volodymyr Zelensky, was furious and bitter. A discussion on whether Ukraine will participate in Paris will come later.

● The joint U.S.-Mexico bid for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup projects a staggering $3 billion in revenue, more than five times the amount from this summer’s Australia-New Zealand spectacular.

● U.S. stars Ilia Milanin and Madison Chock and Evan Bates got significant wins at the ISU Grand Prix Final in China, with Milanin moving to no. 3 all-time with his lifetime best score of 314.66.

● The International Testing Agency announced that it is beginning the re-test of samples from Rio 2016. Its re-analysis effort of London 2012 resulted in 73 new doping violations!

● World Championship: Handball (five quarterfinalists confirmed so far) ●

● Panorama: Pan American Games (Olvera and Mac Neil honored as top athletes) = Alpine Skiing (2: Shiffrin gets World Cup win no. 91 in St. Moritz; Odermatt wins in Val d’Isere) = Archery (Chinese Taipei sweeps Taipei Indoor Open) = Athletics (2: Nuguse and Hiltz win Honolulu miles; Russia’s Sidorova retires) = Beach Volleyball (U.S.’s Nuss & Kloth take Pro Tour Final) = Biathlon (Boe brothers win two golds each in Austria) = Bobsled & Skeleton (Love wins Monobob World Cup in La Plagne) = Boxing (Crocklem, Lugo, Felix, Simon defend U.S. national titles) = Cross Country Skiing (Diggins does it again with 10 km win) = Fencing (Massialas scores seventh World Cup Foil gold) = Freestyle Skiing (3: Naeslund, newcomers win in Ski Cross; Ferreira and Gu win Halfpipe season openers; Kingsbury extends own Moguls wins record) = Luge (U.S.’s Di Gregorio & Hollander with historic Doubles win) = Rugby Sevens (Argentina and Australia win in Cape Town) = Short Track (two wins each for Santos-Griswold and Pierre-Gilles in Beijing) = Ski Jumping (Geiger counts two wins in Klingenthal) = Snowboard (2: James and Cai win Halfpipe openers in China; Hasegawa and Sadowski-Synnott win in Big Air) = Speed Skating (Takagi takes two, Jackson and Stolz one each in World Cup) = Table Tennis (China sweeps to first Mixed Team title) = Weightlifting (North Korea dominating IWF Grand Prix II) ●

1.
Russians hardly excited about IOC’s opening for Paris 2024

On Friday, the International Olympic Committee published its regulations for allowing individual Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Among those who were the least impressed were the Russians.

“Should [our] athletes go to the Olympic Games in Paris? It will be up to the athletes and the professional community to decide. Late publication of criteria? Nothing has surprised me for a long time, since I know the goal of those who do this is to cause us as much damage as possible in everything.”

That’s Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, writing in Sport-Express on Friday.

State Duma deputy – and 2006 Olympic speed skating gold medalist – Svetlana Zhurova told the Russian news agency TASS tied the IOC’s announcement on Friday to Russian President Vladimir Putin saying he would run for re-election:

“I see this as a savage attitude towards us, one might even say provocative, because the decision was made on the day when the president announces his candidacy for the elections. And this despite the fact that people just recently said that they were going to take decision in March. And now they have suddenly changed their decision.”

Dmitry Svishchev, the Chair of the State Duma Committee on Physical Culture and Sports, distrusts the IOC’s announcement:

“On the one hand, someone may perceive this decision as positive. But, in my opinion, this is another IOC game. Now they are waiting for a response, monitoring this, analyzing everything. And it is not clear why the decision announced now, although they promised to do it in March next year. This is another round of the game that the IOC has been playing with our athletes for a long time.

“Although this is a movement towards the athletes who have qualified, we remember that the IOC promised to check everyone before the Games themselves, and even during them. Therefore, there are no guarantees for our athletes yet.”

And two-time Olympic ice hockey winner and Hockey Hall of Fame member Vyacheslav Fetisov, also a State Duma member, ominously warned that a blanket decision could be made for Russian athletes later:

“Firstly, it’s not a fact that even they will be allowed in, secondly, they may come up with additional criteria, and thirdly, many guys even in this status cannot go, because they will not have time to qualify, and teams are not allowed to compete at all.”

The TASS story added that “a general decision could be made on the issue of Russian participation in the Olympics.”

Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin was more optimistic:

“Of course, those athletes who have achieved success in competitions and won the right to participate, they will probably participate. We always root for ours, these are our athletes, members of our sports family, a product of our sports system, no matter how they tried to shred it, to create a split within Russian society, to pit some athletes against others. …

“It is quite difficult to limit us, these attempts have been made more than once in our century-old history. … Despite this, one of the most powerful sports systems has been created in the country. And today, these sanctions allow us to evaluate our capabilities once again. We do not deny that participation in the Olympics is an athlete’s dream, but the conditions that are offered to us are absolutely discriminatory and run counter to the basic Olympic principles of the international sports family. The heads of international sports federations and the IOC are damaging the image of the Olympic Games themselves.”

Several national federation heads made statements. Russian Diving Federation head Stanislav Druzhinin told TASS:

“This decision does not change anything, with these criteria the sporting principle is not respected. We cannot send the strongest athletes, we will have to send those who take fifth to eighth places. The Diving Federation will still not send athletes to international competitions.

“We have different selection criteria, if we had the opportunity and the sports principle was respected, we would do the same. We cannot send a person who is listed in CSKA or Dynamo, and if they ask you to sign all sorts of papers, then that’s for sure not about us, we will not violate the current [national] sports legislation.”

The head coach of the Russian artistic gymnastics team, Valentina Rodionenko continued her negative view:

“There is no need to talk about any breakthrough. The IOC, having admitted our athletes to the Olympics, retained the same severely humiliating conditions that were previously sounded in recommendations to international federations. I believe that we do not need to go to Paris under such conditions.

“As for the gymnasts, we still need to try to qualify through the [FIG Artistic] World Cup stages. I think that it will be very difficult to show a high result. The athletes will be forced to perform under great psychological pressure with ambiguous judging, I think.”

All-Russian Federation of Rhythmic Gymnastics Irina Viner was also negative:

“Such humiliating conditions without a flag and anthem are unacceptable to us. Moreover, in many sports our athletes have already lost the opportunity to qualify for the Olympics. In rhythmic gymnastics, after the ban of the European Gymnastics Union, we were deprived of the opportunity to fight for the only ticket next spring.”

Even more strident was Maxim Agapitov, President of the Russian Weightlifting Federation:

“The conditions for the admission of Russian weightlifters to international competitions are impossible, unacceptable, discriminatory, violate human rights and the Olympic Charter, call for violating the legislation of the Russian Federation. This kind of provocation is not considered by [the Russian Weightlifting Federation] as an opportunity to participate in the festival, which by some absurd accident is called the ‘Olympic Games.’

“Neutral status is also not considered by our athletes in exchange for admission. We are ready to compete on equal terms for all athletes in competitions organized in accordance with the organization’s charter and other regulatory documents. Corruption, fraud, manipulations with doping and nepotism, combined with dependence on the money of the International Olympic Committee, determined the solidarity of their views and compliance. This, in turn, ensured that the international federation carried out all the political ‘recommendations’ of the IOC, despite their mutual destructiveness.”

2.
Ukraine to weigh value of Paris participation

As expected, the Ukrainian reaction to the IOC’s participation guidelines for Russian and Belarusian athletes was bitterly negative.

On Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted on X (ex-Twitter):

“Ukraine has launched a marathon of honesty, and I urge you to join.

“The International Olympic Committee needs honesty. Honesty it has unfortunately lost. While Russia kills and terrorizes, representatives of the terrorist state have no place at sports and Olympic competitions.”

Dmytro Kuleba, the Foreign Minister of Ukraine, posted:

“The IOC essentially gave Russia the green light to weaponize the Olympics. Because the Kremlin will use every Russian and Belarusian athlete as a weapon in its propaganda warfare. I urge all partners to strongly condemn this shameful decision, which undermines Olympic principles.”

The interim Sports Minister, Matviy Bidnyi, told Reuters:

“The decision to participate should be made based on what it will bring to the country, what the reaction will be and how much it will bring us closer to victory.

“We should not make rash decisions. It will be a balanced decision and we have to communicate it to the public. We will weigh the pros and cons very carefully. …

“If we continue to see the absolutely non-constructive position of the IOC, to continue to tolerate the participation of the henchmen of the bloody [Russian] regime, this will make our participation impossible.”

Ukrainian officials have spoken about organizing a potential boycott of the Paris Games by other countries, but have not pushed this in comments following the IOC’s Friday announcement.

3.
U.S.-Mexico bid sees $3 billion FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027 blockbuster

FIFA confirmed that bid proposals for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup were received Friday from the three expected bidders, from Brazil, a joint proposal from the U.S. and Mexico and a three-country offer from Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. The stunner? A projected $3 billion in revenue, some 526% of the record revenue from the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

The highlights:

● The Belgium-Germany-Netherlands bid offers 13 stadiums, including Brussels, Charleroi, Genk, Ghent (BEL), Cologne, Dortmund, Dusseldorf, Gelsenkirchen (GER) and Dutch sites in Amsterdam, Eindhoven, Enschede, Heerenveen and Rotterdam.

As for finance, the proposal states, “BNG2027 aims to Break New Ground for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027 by hosting the most commercially attractive women’s tournament to date, increasing revenues by at least 50 per cent compared to the 2023 edition.”

That would be a minimum of $285 million above the $570 million generated by Australia-New Zealand 2023, or $885 million total.

● Brazil’s proposal includes 10 stadiums in Belo Horizonte, the national capital of Brasilia, Cuiaba, Fortaleza, Manaus, Porto Alegre, Recife, the iconic Estadio Maracana in Rio de Janeiro, Salvador and Sao Paulo.

No specific financial projections was included.

● The U.S.-Mexico bid aims to be a blockbuster for the women’s game as the 1994 U.S. World Cup was for the men’s side:

“We know that a FIFA Women’s World Cup of the scale offered by the United States and Mexico will unlock the full potential of this tournament at a unique moment in time, capitalizing on economic opportunity by bringing over 4.5 million fans into stadiums, capturing the highest TV viewership ever for a women’s sporting event and generating over $3 billion in total revenue.”

The stadium offer puts up most of the 11 U.S. stadia offered for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, in Atlanta (Mercedes-Benz Stadium), Boston (Gillette Stadium), Dallas (AT&T Stadium), Houston (NRG Stadium), Kansas City (Arrowhead Stadium), Los Angeles area (Rose Bowl), Miami (Hard Rock Stadium), New York/New Jersey (Metlife Stadium), Philadelphia (Lincoln Financial Field), San Francisco area (Levi’s Stadium) and Seattle (Lumen Field).

The expanded selection from Mexico includes Guadalajara (Akron Stadium), Mexico City (Estadio Azteca) and Monterrey (BBVA Stadium) from 2026, plus new options in Leon (Leon Stadium), and Queretaro (Estadio La Corregidora).

And the commercial opportunity was underlined again:

“$3 billion is on the table in this U.S. and Mexico-hosted Competition, with the opportunity to make this the largest, most commercially successful women’s sporting event the world has ever known. We have the ability to dramatically raise the stakes for women’s football and benefit Member Associations and the sport not just in North America but around the globe for years to come.”

The U.S. Soccer Federation announcement emphasized:

“What is laid out in the NEW HEIGHTS bid represents the art of the possible. The bid proposes an integrated partnership model that brings host cities, stadiums, partners and FIFA together, allowing the ecosystem to collectively tap into greater economic benefits and drive the women’s game forward. The cities and infrastructure included in the bid represent just a fraction of those across both countries that have the experience and capabilities necessary to host. The facilities detailed in the bid materials act as examples, or an initial proposal, knowing that there are tens of other cities across the two nations equipped and ready to host if called upon.”

FIFA will undertake a review of all three proposals; the host selection will be made by the FIFA Congress in Bangkok (THA) on 17 May 2024.

4.
Milanin, Chock & Bates take first Grand Prix Final golds

American teen star Ilia Malinin put on a show to remember at the ISU Grand Prix Final in Beijing (CHN), winning his biggest international prize yet with a spectacular performance and a win by more than 17 points over Japan’s two-time World Champion Shoma Uno!

After leading by 88/100ths following the Short Program, Malinin packed his Free Skate program with quadruple jumps and immediately fell on his patented opening quad Axel. But he followed up with a quad Lutz-triple toe, quad Salchow and toe, a quad Lutz-Euler-triple Salchow and the triple Lutz-triple Axel sequence and scored a lifetime best of 207.76 points for a personal-best total of 314.66! He said afterwards:

“I’ll be honest, after the fall I was quite really disappointed in myself. I really wanted to come out here and show that quad Axel to everyone. Even though it didn’t happen, I still had to focus on the rest of the program and get through it.

“I was not really sure [of the win] because I thought that the fall would really take away a lot of the points. I’m pretty surprised with how high the technical score was. It was something that I’ve never thought I would see. And in that case, with that fall, I think that there’s still room for a lot more for the technical score.”

Uno finished second in the Free Skate and totaled 297.34 for second, with teammate Yuma Kagiyama a clear third at 288.65.

Malinin, still 19, moved up to the no. 3 performer all-time, with the sixth-highest score in history. Observed former Chicago Tribune Olympic reporter and figure-skating authority Phil Hersh:

“This scoresheet is just WOW. Yes, Ilia Malinin fell on 4A. But he followed with five other clean quads, two opening combos in bonus area, to win the Grand Prix Final by 17 points over 2 time world champion Shoma Uno of Japan, who skated well. Now 2026 Oly favorite? I say yes.”

Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates, the 2023 World Champions, finally won the Grand Prix Final on their seventh try (!), scoring 221.61 points and winning both the Rhythm Dance and the Free Dance, both with season-best scores. They had won four silvers in this event, but claimed their first gold.

“I guess seven is our lucky number,” said Chock. “This has been a goal of ours for a long time. We’ve been to seven finals, and all of them have been wonderful. But I think this one is the best one so far. Bates added: “This week, we really skated our best. So we’re really pleased with the way everything went.

Worlds silver winners Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri of Italy took the silver at 215.51, and Canadian stars Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier – the reigning Worlds bronze medalists – won bronze with 213.58 points.

Two-time World Champion Kaori Sakamoto (JPN) was an easy winner in the women’s competition, taking both the Short Program and Free Skate to win with 225.70 points, giving her wins in all three of her Grand Prix events this season. Belgium’s Leona Hendrickx, the Worlds silver and bronze medalist, was second after Short Program and held on, scoring 203.36. Japan’s Hana Yoshida moved up from fourth to the bronze with a second in the Free Skate, scoring a total of 203.16. American Isabeau Levito finished fifth at 191.86.

The Pairs was won by Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin (GER), who led after the Short Program, then finished second in the Free Skate, but totaled 206.43 points, just enough to edge Free Skate winners Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii (ITA: 205.88) and Canada’s Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxine Deschamps (204.30).

5.
International Testing Agency begins Rio 2016 re-testing

Look for some of the results from the Rio 2016 Olympic Games to be revised, as the International Testing Agency announced Friday that it is beginning its “re-analysis” program.

This effort severely changed the results of the London 2023 Games – the first for the re-analysis effort – as noted in the statement:

“As a result of this program, 73 Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs) were sanctioned leading to the withdrawal of 31 and the reallocation of 46 Olympic medals in four sports.

“The majority of these positive re-analysis results stemmed from a detection method for anabolic steroids that was introduced after the Games in 2012. This detection method was available to the anti-doping laboratory in Rio for the initial analysis of the samples collected during the Olympic Games in 2016.”

The effort now will again use the most updated techniques available, seven years after the close of the Rio Games in a two-step effort:

“The ITA’s re-analysis program for Rio 2016 is organised in two phases. The first phase focuses on samples from athletes who are still actively competing. It is to be completed before the Olympic Games Paris 2024, in parallel with the ITA’s Paris 2024 Pre-Games initiative, to ensure that samples from athletes potentially participating in the upcoming Games are re-analysed before the event.

“The second phase will take place in 2025 so that all re-analysis including potential results management procedures stemming from positive results, will be performed before the statute of limitations in July 2026.”

≡ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS ≡

● Handball ● The 26th IHF Women’s World Championship in Denmark, Norway and Sweden is almost through the second round of pool play now, with several of the quarterfinalists now set.

The four second-round groups will complete play on Monday (11th), with five quarterfinalists qualified:

● Group I: Sweden (4-0)
● Group II: Norway (4-0), France (4-0)
● Group III: Germany (4-0), Denmark (4-0)

In Group I, Montenegro (3-1) and Croatia (2-1-1) are vying for one spot with one game left; in Group IV, the Netherlands (4-0) leads, but with Spain (3-1), the Czech Republic (3-1) and Brazil (2-2) all still with playoff possibilities.

Norway is the defending champion from 2021, with France (2nd), Denmark (3rd) and Spain (4th) all still in the mix.

The quarterfinals will be held on 12-13 December in Trondheim (NOR) and Herning (DEN); the semis on 15 December in Herning and the final on 17 December in Herning.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Pan American Games ● The Panam Sports Awards were held on Saturday evening in Miami (USA), with top performers from the Santiago Games honored for outstanding performances.

The best athlete winners were Osmar Olvera, the triple diving gold medalist from Mexico for the men and Maggie Mac Neil, Canada’s seven-medal-winning female swimmer, including five golds.

The top team honorees include the Colombian men’s baseball squad and the women’s football gold medalists from Mexico. Colombia’s Erika Lasso received the Fair Play Award for her help in bringing an injured competitor in the women’s 48 kg class off the tatami on her back.

The award for the top National Olympic Committee went to the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, with led the medal table once again, with host Chile honored as the Most Improved NOC, with 79 medals. Additional awards were made to legacy stars and for the Parapan American Games.

● Alpine Skiing ● The irrepressible Mikaela Shiffrin (USA) made more magic, this time at St. Moritz (SUI) with her record 91st career World Cup win, this time in a Downhill, ahead of four-time World Cup discipline champ Sofia Goggia of Italy.

Shiffrin’s Saturday win came from the third position in the order, finishing in 1:28.84 on the Corviglia course and taking the lead from two-time World Cup winner Federica Brignone (ITA: 1:29.01). But it was only after Goggia – skiing 10th – finished in 1:28.99 that the American star felt able to celebrate.

It’s Shiffrin’s third win of the season – the most on tour – and fourth Downhill gold in World Cup competitions. Fellow American Isabella Wright finished 12th (1:29.67).

Goggia opened the St. Moritz program with a Friday victory in the Super-G in 1:16.43, her 23rd career World Cup gold, ahead of Cornelia Huetter (AUT: 1:17.58) and Swiss star Lara Gut-Behrami (1:17.65), with Shiffrin fourth (1:17.71).

Sunday’s Super-G was wiped out by heavy snow.

The men’s World Cup racing was at Val d’Isere (FRA), for a Giant Slalom and Slalom, with reigning World Cup champ Marco Odermatt (SUI) taking the first race in 2:13.93, leading after the first run and logging the 10th-fastest second run.

Austria’s Marco Schwarz was fourth after the first run, but moved up to second at 2:14.91, followed by Andorra’s Joan Verdu (2:15.25), winning his (and his country’s) first World Cup medal. American River Radamus was 10th (2:16.76).

The Slalom scheduled for Sunday was canceled due to heavy weather.

● Archery ● The third stop of the World Archery Indoor World Series was the Taipei Open in Taoyuan City (TPE), with a medal sweep for the home team!

The men’s final (all arrows at 18 m) saw Yu-Hsuan Tai defeat Chih-Chun Tang, 6-4, in the final, and Yu-Yang Su take the bronze, 6-4, over Cheng-Hao Hung.

Same for the women’s final, as Chien-Ying Lei skipped past Hsin-Yu Su, 6-4, and Chih-Yu Lin won the bronze-medal match by 7-1 against Yi-Ching Chiu.

● Athletics ● A heavyweight road mile in Honolulu scared the world road record, but ended with a compelling win for American star Yared Nuguse.

Saturday’s out-and-back Kalakaua Merrie Mile saw World Running Championships mile winner Hobbs Kessler of the U.S. lead, but challenged by Nuguse and Vince Ciattei, who passed him on the final surge to the tape. Nuguse won in 3:56.58, just short of Kessler’s now-ratified world mark of 3:56.13 from the World Roads, with Ciattei second in 3:56.81 and Kessler third in 3:57.12.

The women started out 30 seconds ahead of the men and were caught in a “battle of the sexes” challenge. U.S. track champ Nikki Hiltz pushed away from the women’s field with about a quarter-mile to go and won decisively in 4:28.07, with Japan’s Nozomi Tanama second in 4:29.79 and American Weini Kelati third (4:30 official time).

Russian women’s vaulter Anzhelika Sidorova, the 2019 World Champion and Tokyo Olympic runner-up, announced her retirement on Saturday, writing on her Telegram page:

“Unfortunately, over the past few years I have completely stopped enjoying athletics. So yes, I am officially ending my sports career.”

Sidorova’s last competition was a domestic event in August of 2022; she was the 2022 outdoor world leader at 4.91 m (16-1 1/4). She ranks no. 3 all-time at 5.01 m (16-5 1/2) from 2020; she announced she was pregnant in May of this year.

● Beach Volleyball ● The 2023 Beach Pro Tour Final was in Doha (QAT) and showcased the emerging American stars Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth.

Seeded second, they won their third tournament of the year, sweeping aside eighth-seeded Svenja Mueller and Cinja Tillmann (GER) by 21-17, 21-14. Nuss and Kloth won a Challenge tournament in March, then took the title at the Uberlandia (BRA) Elite 16 in April, then lost two Elite 16 finals in a row in Hamburg and Paris before a Worlds bronze in October.

The Americans were on fire throughout, not losing a set in either pool play (10-0) or the playoffs (2-0). Wow!

Brazil’s 2022 World Champions Ana Patricia and Duda Lisboa won the bronze over Mariafe Artacho and Taliqua Clancy (AUS) in three sets, 21-13, 18-21 and 15-12.

The men’s final saw third-seeded David Ahman and Jonatan Hellvig (SWE) won the men’s title over Tokyo Olympic and 2022 World Champions Anders Mol and Christian Sorum (NOR) in straight sets, 21-16, 21-17. For Ahman and Hellvig, it was their fourth Elite 16 or higher win of the season in six finals in 11 major tournaments, including the World Championships. Mol and Sorum reached their seventh major final in 2023, of which they won three. These two teams are the early co-favorites for Paris.

Pan American Games winners George Wanderley and Andre Stein (BRA) took the bronze by 21-17, 21-17 against Tokyo Olympic bronze winners Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan (QAT).

● Biathlon ● The Norwegian Boe brothers scored their first wins of the season in the IBU World Cup in Hochfilzen (AUT), each taking one race.

Older brother Tarjei, the 2010-11 World Cup winner, won the men’s 10 km Sprint in 24:37.5, with no penalties, ahead of countryman Sturla Holm Lagreid (24.42.4/0) and Swede Sebastian Samuelsson (24:47.5/1).

Saturday’s 12.5 km Pursuit belonged to five-time Olympic gold medalist Johannes Thingnes Boe, who won his 75th individual World Cup race in 33:05.1 (1), at the head of a Norwegian sweep. He was followed by Johannes Dale-Skjevdal (33:27.7/3) and Tarjei Boe (33:33.5/2). Tarjei took the seasonal lead after five of 21 races.

The women’s racing had two new winners for this season, but familiar faces on the podium. Ingrid Tandrevold, a four-time Worlds relay gold medalist, took the 7.5 km Sprint in 20:59.9 (0) for her second career World Cup win. Sweden’s Beijing silver medalist Elvira Oeberg was close behind at 21:04.8 (1) and Justine Braisaz-Bouchet (FRA: 21:19.6/1) grabbed third.

Oeberg, who also won a Beijing Olympic silver in the 10 km Pursuit, scored her eighth career World Cup win in Saturday’s Pursuit race, finishing in 29.44.6 (1), more than 11 seconds up on Swiss Lena Haecki-Gross (29:55.8/1) and Tandrevold (29:58.5/1). It was the third career World Cup medal for Haecki-Gross, now 28.

Sunday’s relays were a Norwegian sweep; the men (4×7.5 km) won over France by 1:15:38.5 (5) to 1:16:07.2 (6) and the women finished the 4×6 km course in 1:07:39.0 (6) to 1:08:10.6 (10) for Sweden.

● Bobsled & Skeleton ● The IBSF World Cup was in La Plagne (FRA) with a surprise in the men’s two-man and an impressive start for a new American star.

A non-German sled won the two-man race for the first time since December of 2021, as Swiss Michael Vogt and Sandro Michel won in 1:58.51, with the fastest final run to move up from second to first. That was good enough to dislodge German World Champions Johannes Lochner and Georg Fleischhauer (1:58.58), who led after the first run.

Double Olympic champions Francesco Friedrich and Thorsten Margis finished third in 1:58.94, pressed hard by Americans Frank Del Duca and Hakeem Saboor (1:59.08).

Friedrich logged his first win of the season in the four-man, timing 1:56.14 to beat Lochner (1:56.58) and fellow German Adam Ammour (1:56.69). Lochner had won the first two races this season.

The women’s racing opened for the 2023-24 season, with the U.S. going 1-4, with new driver Kaysha Love – a former UNLV sprinter and a Worlds bronze medalist brakewoman with Kailee Humphries in 2023 – winning her first Monobob World Cup medal with a victory in 2:07.92, coming from fifth to first on her second run!

Swiss Melanie Hasler grabbed second (2:08.13), moving from seventh after the first run, and Andreea Greco (ROU) moved up to third from sixth (2:08.21). American star Elana Meyers Taylor, now 39, a two-time World Champion in the two-woman sled and back from maternity, led after the first run, but finished fourth overall (2:08.23).

Beijing Olympic champ Laura Nolte (GER) took the two-woman win with Neele Schuten in 2:02.24, winning both runs, ahead of teammates (and World Champions) Kim Kalicki and Leonie Fiebig (2:02.36). U.S. sleds went 3-4, with Meyers Taylor and Emily Renna third in 2:02.46 and Love and Azaria Hill impressively fourth in 2:02.55.

The men’s Skeleton winner was Korea’s Worlds bronze medalist Seung-gi Jung, who had the fastest first run and third-best on the second to finish in 2:00.61, ahead of World Champion Matt Weston (GBR: 2:00.69) and Marcus Wyatt (GBR) and Christopher Grotheer (GER: 2:00.94), who tied for third.

The women’s Skeleton was full of surprises, with Tabitha Stoecker combining the second and fifth-fastest runs to win in 2:05.13, ahead of American Mystique Ro (2:05.20), who won her first World Cup medal, at age 29! Dutch star Kimberley Bos, the Olympic bronze winner, was third here in 2:05.22; the top four were separated by just 0.10 seconds!

● Boxing ● Nine national champions were crowned at the USA Boxing national championships held at the Cajundome in Lafayette, Louisiana that concluded on Saturday.

The U.S. has five boxers already qualified for Paris from their medal finishes at the Pan American Games in Santiago (CHI):

Men:
● Jahmal Harvey (57.0 kg)
● Joshua Edwards (92+ kg)

Women:
● Jennifer Lozano (50.0 kg)
● Jajaira Gonzalez (60.0 kg)
● Morelle McCane (63.5 kg)

In these classes, the winners in Lafayette are Olympic alternates for Paris. The winners of the other eight classes advanced to a January evaluation camp, where they will be confirmed (or replaced) for the Paris 2024 World Qualification Tournaments in March (in Italy) and May (in Thailand). The finals in Lafayette:

Men:
● 57.0 kg (125): Jordan Fuentes d. Isaias Navarro, 3:2
● 63.5 kg (139): Dedrick Crocklem d. Vershaun Lee, 5:0
● 71.0 kg (156): Keon Davis d. Carlos Flowers, 4:1
● 80.0 kg (176): Nathan Lugo d. Obed Bartee-El, 5:0
● 92.0 kg (203): Malachi Georges d. Daniel Brown, 5:0
● 92+ kg (203+): Ali Felix d. Steven Williams, 5:0

Of the seven winners, Crocklem, Lugo and Felix defended their 2022 national titles, and Davis moved up from the 2021 silver at 71 kg.

Women:
● 60.0 kg (132): Lisa Greer d. Neida Ibarra, 3:1
● 66.0 kg (146): Stephanie Simon d. Stacia Suttles, 4:1
● 75.0 kg (165): Christine Forkins d. Talia Halvorsen, 5:0

Simon won her third straight championship in a rematch with Suttles. Greer moved up from second in 2022.

Only nine of the 13 classes had finals due to a timing issue in the Friday semifinals in four classes. Thus, Alex Espinosa (men’s 51 kg), Sheelyn Patricio (women’s 50 kg), Sierra Martinez (women’s 57 kg) and Kayla Gomez (women’s 65 kg) – winners of their semifinals in re-contested bouts on Saturday – will have their title fights in Colorado Springs, Colorado prior to the USA Boxing selection camp in January.

● Cross Country Skiing ● Norway continued its domination of the FIS men’s World Cup with two more wins at Oestersund (SWE), but with a third-place surprise for the U.S.! Sunday brought another win for U.S. star Jessie Diggins.

Norwegian stars had won the first four races of the year with four different athletes, and a fifth – fourth-time World Cup champ Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo – taking his 69th career World Cup gold with a 3:12.06 win in Saturday’s Classical Sprint, ahead of teammate 2021 Worlds Sprint silver winner Erik Valnes (3:15.41) and Americans James Clinton Schoonmaker (3:16.86) and Ben Ogden (3:19.12).

This is a milestone for the 23-year-old JC Schoonmaker, whose prior best finish in a World Cup race was seventh, twice. Moreover, it’s the first World Cup by an American man since 2 December 2018, when Erik Bjornsen scored a bronze in a 15 km Classical Pursuit in Lillehammer (NOR).

A sixth different Norwegian winner took Sunday’s 10 km Freestyle Interval Start, with Harald Amundsen finishing in 23:36.1, comfortably ahead of Simen Hegstad Krueger (23:44.2) and Didrik Toenseth (23:50.4) for a medals sweep. In fact, Norway went 1-5 and seventh!

The women’s Classical Sprint saw Sweden’s Emma Ribom, who won the season-opening Sprint in Finland, score again in 3:38.88, followed by Norway’s Kristine Skistaad (3:39.48) and fellow Swede Linn Svahn (3:39.69). Americans Rosie Brennan (3:40.92) and Jessie Diggins (3:42.32) finished 4-5.

Sunday’s 10 km Freestyle Interval Start was a runaway for Diggins, her second win in three races this season and still the overall leader. She won in 27:05.6, ahead of Norway’s Heidi Weng (27:28.6) and Victoria Carl (GER: 27:34.7). Americans Rosie Brennan (27:53.1) and Sophia Laukli (28:05.3) finished fifth and eighth. It’s Diggins’ 15th individual World Cup gold.

● Fencing ● American Olympic medalists Alexander Massialas and Lee Kiefer both collected medals as the FIE World Cup season resumed.

At the FIE men’s Foil World Cup in Tokoname (JPN), Rio silver medalist and world no. 1 Massialas defeated Egypt’s Mohamed Hamza, 15-4, to win his second straight World Cup to open the season. He now has seven career World Cup golds.

France defeated Italy by 45-35 in the men’s Foil final in Tokoname on Sunday.

Kiefer, the Tokyo Olympic gold medalist, reached the final of women’s Foil World Cup in Novi Sad (SRB), and lost a taut final to two-time World Champion Alice Volpi of Italy, 15-13. This was Volpi’s eighth World Cup win and the 22nd career World Cup medal for Kiefer (5-6-11).

In Sunday’s team event, Kiefer, Jacqueline Dubrovich, Zander Rhodes and Lauren Scruggs took the women’s Foil gold in Novi Sad, defeating Italy, 45-37, in the final.

At the Epee World Cup in Vancouver (CAN), France’s Luidgi Midelton – ranked 80th – won his first World Cup gold in the men’s final with a 15-12 victory over no. 27 Zijie Wang (CHN), who won his first-ever international medal! Coraline Vitalis completed the French sweep, taking the women’s final by 13-12 over Argentina’s Isabel Di Tella, 13-12. It’s the second career World Cup win for Vitalis, with the first way back in 2018; Di Tella scored her first World Cup medal.

In the team finals, Estonia beat the U.S. (Anne Cebula, Margherita Guzzi Vicenti, Kat Holmes, Catherine Nixon) in the women’s gold-medal match, 36-32, and Japan defeated Italy in the men’s final by 32-27.

The FIE Grand Prix for Sabre in Orleans (FRA) produced another surprise men’s final as Germany’s Matyaz Szabo, 32, and who had one career Grand Prix medal – a silver from 2015 – coming in, won the title by defeating first-time finalist Maxime Pianfetti, 15-10. The women’s gold was a classic match-up of stars, with Tokyo Olympic bronze winner Manon Apithy-Brunet of France out-pointing Ukraine’s four-time World Champion, Olha Kharlan, 15-12.

● Freestyle Skiing ● A very busy week, starting with Ski Cross at Val Thorens (FRA), with the schedule re-arranged for the weather, and Tristan Takats (AUT), 28, winning his first World Cup medal on Thursday, ahead of American Tyler Wallisch (29), who won his second career World Cup medal with a silver.

On Friday, Jared Schmidt (CAN) got his first career World Cup win, beating Sweden’s David Mobaerg, the 2019 World Junior Champion, with Austria’s Johannes Rohrweck third.

The women’s winner in the first race was Beijing Olympic champ Sandra Naeslund, ahead of Marielle Berger Sabbatel (FRA) and two-time Olympic bronze medalist Fanny Smith (SUI). On Friday, German Daniela Maier won her 10th career World Cup medal, but her first gold! Canada’s Brittany Phelan was second and Berger Sabbatel medaled in third.

In the Halfpipe season opener at Secret Garden (CHN), the U.S. shined with two-time Olympic medalist Alex Ferreira scoring 91.00 on his opening effort, with no one else coming close. New Zealand’s Luke Harrold took second at 89.25 on his second try and American Hunter Hess winning the bronze at 88.75, also on his second attempt.

Olympic champ Eileen Gu (CHN) dominated the women’s competition, scoring 90.25 on her first run and then the winning 94.25 on her second. Well behind was 2023 World Champion Hanna Faulhaber of the U.S. (82.25) and then Canada’s Amy Fraser (79.25). American Riley Jacobs was fourth (70.50).

The second Moguls World Cup stop was in Idre Fjall (SWE), with Canadian all-time great Mikael Kingsbury sweeping both events to extend his own World Cup wins record to 81.

He won the Moguls final at 85.02, well ahead of Nick Page of the U.S. (79.55) and Filip Gravenfors (SWE: 79.53). Cole McDonald of the U.S. was eighth (75.86).

Kingsbury won Saturday’s Dual Moguls, defeating Rasmus Stegfeldt (SWE) in the final, with Japan’s Ikuma Horishima getting his second medal of the season, over Sweden’s Olympic Moguls champ Walter Wallberg.

Friday’s women’s Moguls winner was, for the second time this season, Australia’s Olympic winner Jakara Anthony (AUS: 79.74), out-scoring Rino Yanagimoto (72.42) and Americans Olivia Giaccio (72.16), Tess Johnson (71.19) and Jaelin Kauf (40.36).

● Luge ● The season-opening FIL World Cup was in Lake Placid (USA), with the U.S. doubles team of Zachary DiGregorio and Sean Hollander making some history.

With the no. 2 runs on both the first and second races, the pair won the Doubles World Cup in 1:27.630, over Beijing Olympic bronze medalists Thomas Steu and Wolfgang Kindl (AUT: 1:27.682) and teammates Juri Gatt and Riccardo Schoepf (AUT: 1:27.702).

It’s the first World Cup medal for a men’s U.S. Doubles team since December 2018 by Chris Mazdzer and Jayson Terdiman, and the first win since 2005 by Mark Grimmette and Brian Martin!

Latvia’s Martins Bots and Roberts Plume (37.872) won the Doubles Sprint over Steu and Kindl (37.877), with three-time Olympic champs Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt (GER: 38.109) third. DiGregorio and Hollander placed sixth at 38.094.

Austria had a strong opening, with two-time Olympic relay medalist Madeleine Egle taking the Singles title at 1:28.710, followed by 2021 World Champion Julia Taubitz (GER: 1:28.898) and Americans Summer Britcher (USA: 1:29.117) and Ashley Farquharson (USA: 1:29.147).

Taubitz (37.451) took the Sprint, with Farquharson (37.550) second and 2019 Worlds bronze medalist Emily Sweeney of the U.S. (37.565).

The Austrian pair of Selina Egle and Lara Kipp (1:29.924), Worlds runners-up in 2023, won the women’s Doubles over Dajana Eitberger and Saskia Schimer (GER: 1:29.037) and Andrea Voetter and Marion Oberhofer (ITA: 1:29.470). The new American duo of Chevonne Forgan and Sophia Kirkby (USA: 1:29.574) was a promising fourth, and Maya Chen and Reannyn Weller (USA: 1:30.014) finished sixth.

In the women’s Doubles Sprint, Egle and Kipp won in 38.340, followed by the U.S.’s Forgan and Kirkby (38.443) and then Eitberger and Schirmer (GER: 38.477).

The men’s Singles was a won for Worlds runner-up Max Langenhan (GER) in 1:41.952, besting World Champion Jonas Mueller (AUT: 1:42.398) and Nico Gleirscher (AUT: 1:42.585); Americans Tucker West (1:42.588) and Jonny Gustafson (1:42.703) finished 4-5.

Langenhan also took the Sprint (33.257) in front of countryman and 14-time World Champion Felix Loch (GER: 33.560) and Austria’s Gleirscher (33.595).

● Rugby Sevens ● Round two of the HSBC Sevens was in Cape Town (RSA), with Argentina convincingly winning the men’s final over Australia by 45-12! The victors crushed Canada, 33-0, in their quarterfinal and then squeezed by Ireland, 26-19 in their semi. Fiji won the bronze with a 14-12 win over Ireland.

Ireland was the only undefeated women’s team in pool play at 3-0, but promptly lost in the quarterfinals to Australia, 24-14. The Australians then crushed the U.S., 33-5, to move on to the women’s final and edged France, 29-26, for the title. New Zealand took the bronze with a 19-7 win over the U.S.

With two of eight tournaments complete, Argentina has the men’s lead with 38 points to 30 for South Africa and Fiji. Australia has won both of the women’s tournaments so far (40 points), with France and New Zealand at 34 each.

● Short Track ● Beijing was the site for the third ISU World Cup this season, with two more wins for the amazing Kristen Santos-Griswold of the U.S., and a pair for Canadian sprinter Jordan Pierre-Gilles.

Santos-Griswold had won four individual medals (1-1-2) coming into the third of six ISU World Cup meets, but immediately put her mark on Beijing’s Capital Indoor Stadium with a 42.892 win in the first women’s 500 m final, beating China’s five-time World Champion Kexin Fan (43.117) for reportedly the first-ever U.S. women’s win in an ISU World Cup 500 m!

The American star then came back on Sunday to win her third World Cup gold of the season, in the 1,000 m in 1:30.249, leading a U.S. 1-2 with Corinne Stoddard second in 1:30.789.

Stoddard had earlier won a bronze in the 1,500 m final in 2:26.322, behind Gil-Li Kim (KOR: 2:25.830) and China’s Li Gong (2:26.142).

Two-time World 500 m champ Xandra Velzeboer (NED) won the second 500 m race in 42.128, over teammate Selma Poutsma (42.240) and the Dutch women won the 3,000 m relay in 4:06.722.

Pierre-Gilles, a Beijing Olympic relay gold medalist, won both 500 m races, in 40.711 over Quentin Fercoq (FRA: 40.875) and then over teammate, three-time Olympic medalist Steven Dubois (40.695).

Canada, with Pierre-Gilles and Dubois aboard, won the 5000 m relay in 6:55.964.

China’s Shaoang Liu, the Beijing Olympic 500 m winner, took the 1,000 m in 1:23.696, ahead of seasonal leader (and reigning World Champion) Ji Won Park (KOR: 1:23.708), and Korea’s Gun-woo Kim won the 1,500 m in 2:18.934, beating Beijing 1,000 m runner-up Wenlong Li (CHN: 2:19.009).

In the Mixed Team Relay, the Dutch squad of Teun Boer, Poutsma, Jens van’T Wout and Velzeboer won in 2:37.471, with China just behind at 2:37.494 and the U.S. – Andrew Heo, Marcus Howard, Santos-Griswold and Stoddard – third at 2:38.694.

● Ski Jumping ● The World Cup circuit for men was on the 140 m hill in Klingenthal (GER) for two competitions, with Austria’s three-time World Champion Stefan Kraft missing a fifth straight win by just 1.2 points in the opener.

Instead, it was German Karl Geiger, a nine-time World Championships medal winner, who won on Saturday, scoring 274.7 points to 273.5 for Kraft and 270.7 for Japan’s Beijing Olympic Normal Hill gold medalist Ryoyu Kobayashi.

On Sunday, Geiger doubled his pleasure with his 15th career individual World Cup victory, scoring 297.9 to win over Gregor Deschwanden (SUI) and German teammate Andreas Wellinger (291.3). It’s Deschwanden’s first career World Cup medal, at age 32!

● Snowboard ● The FIS World Cup Halfpipe season opened at Secret Garden (CHN), with Olympic silver winner Scotty James (AUS) winning his eighth career World Cup gold, scoring 91.25, ahead of the 2022-23 World Cup seasonal winner Ruka Hirano of Japan (88.25). Korea’s Chae-un Lee was third (87.50) and American Chase Josey (8.225) was fourth.

The women’s final was a 1-2 for the home team, with three-time World Champion Xuetong Cai winning at 93.25, with Jiayu Liu second (85.75) and American two-time Worlds medal winner Maddie Mastro (85.050) grabbing third and countrywoman Bea Kim fourth (75.00).

The third of four stages of the World Cup Big Air circuit was in Edmonton (CAN), with Japan’s Taiga Hasegawa, 18, winning at 181.00, for his third career World Cup victory. China’s Beijing Olympic champ, Yuming Su, took silver (177.25) and American Red Gerard (176.00) won the bronze. Gerard, the 2018 Olympic Slopestyle winner, collected his first World Cup medal since January of 2022.

New Zealand’s Beijing Olympic silver winner Zoi Sadowski-Synnott won the women’s competition at 183.25, ahead of World Slopestyle champ Mia Brookes (GBR: 167.00) and two-time Olympic Big Air gold medalist Anna Gasser (AUT: 159.25).

With the final Big Air stage coming next week at Copper Mountain’s Japan’s Kira Kimura and Brookes are the seasonal leaders.

● Speed Skating ● The fourth of six stages of the ISU World Cup, in Tomaszow Mazowiecki (POL) saw two wins for Japan’s Beijing Olympic 1,000 m champ Miho Takagi and two U.S. wins for stars Jordan Stolz and Erin Jackson.

Takagi took the 1,500 m on Saturday in 1:56.62, ahead of Olympic relay medalist Marijke Groenewoud (NED: 1:57.70), with Americans Brittany Bowe fifth (1:58.82) and Kimi Goetz ninth (1:59.87). Takagi came back on Sunday to win her specialty in the 1,000 m in 1:15.28, with three-time World Champion Bowe taking the silver and Goetz third in 1:16.20 for her third medal of the season in this event.

Jackson, the Olympic 500 m champ, was fourth in the first 500 m race (38.17), won by Min-sun Kim (KOR; 37.82), with Goetz fifth (38.45). But she roared back to win the second race in 37.80, with 2023 World Champion Femke Kok (NED: 38.13) second and Goetz fifth again, in 38.32.

In the women’s distance races, Norway’s Ragne Wiklund, the 2023 World Champion at 3,000 m, won that race in 4:06.69, with Groenewoud second (4:07.03) and Olympic gold medalist Irene Schouten third (4:07.74). Schouten, also the Olympic winner of the Mass start, took that race in 8:42.90, barely edging Canada’s Olympic silver winner Ivanie Blondin (8:42.94) and American Mia Kilburg-Manganello (8:42.95).

Stolz, the 2023 World Champion at 500-1,000-1,500 m, won the first-day men’s 1,000 m in 1:08.64, beating Ryota Kojima (JPN: 1:09.73, then took a silver in the 1,500 m behind Peder Kongshaug (NOR), 1:46.41 to 1:46.48.

In the 500 m races, Olympic champ Tingyao Gao (CHN) won the first race in 34.70 over Canada’s Laurent Dubreuil (34.77), the Beijing Olympic 1,000 m silver medalist, with Stolz fourth (34.82). But Dubreuil won the second race, 34.73 to 34.79, with Stolz sixth in 34.95.

Dutch star Patrick Roest, the 2023 World Champion, took the 5,000 m in 6:18.01, well ahead of Norway’s Olympic bronze winner, Hallgeir Engebraten (6:23.84). Italian Andrea Giovannini won his second Mass Start World Cup this season in 7:32.24, beating Jae-won Chung (KOR: 7:32.35, with Olympic winner Bart Swings (BEL: 7:32.46) in fourth.

The U.S. squad of Casey Dawson, Emery Lehman and Ethan Cepuran won the Team Pursuit in 3:44.85, ahead of Italy (3:45.39).

● Table Tennis ● As expected, China was the winner of the inaugural ITTF Mixed Team World Cup, held in Chengdu (CHN). The team of Zhendong Fan, Manyu Wang, and Yingsha Sun and Chuqin Wang scored a clear win over South Korea, 8-1, in the final on Sunday.

Japan clinched the bronze medal, with Sweden finishing fourth.

In the Stage 2 championship group, China defeated Slovakia (8-1), Chinese Taipei (8-1), France (8-1), Germany (8-1), Japan by 8-5 and then Korea by 8-1 in the final.

● Weightlifting ● North Korea is dominating the IWF Grand Prix II in Doha (QAT), winning three of the six men’s weight classes completed so far and four of the five women’s classes.

U.S. lifters Olivia Reeves (19) and Kate Vibert (24) finished 3-4 in the women’s 71 kg class, with Reeves setting world junior records in the Snatch (115 kg), Clean & Jerk (147 kg) and the 262 kg to warn the bronze medal. Vibert finished at 112 kg-142 kg and a 254 kg total.

Competition continues through the 14th.

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LANE ONE: “Ten Commandments of Thomas Bach” complete with admission of “neutral” Russians and Belarusians to Paris 2024

Rich Perelman

December 8, 2023

tsx pix 2019-522 bach, thomas news conf 750 — IOC President Thomas Bach (GER)

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Thomas Bach, the 69-year-old German two-term President of the International Olympic Committee, has completely reshaped the Olympic Movement, the Olympic Games and international sport in his 10 years in office.

He placed perhaps his finishing touch on Friday with the announcement of the specific conditions under which Russian and Belarusian athletes will be able to compete as “neutrals” at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris:

● Individual Russian and Belarusian athletes who qualify through the existing procedures of the International Federations will be eligible to compete in Paris IF they meet the IOC’s now-published requirements. No teams will be allowed.

● This includes a neutral uniform without any national markings, no flags to represent the athletes and no anthem to be played for them at any ceremony.

● “Athletes who actively support the war will not be eligible to be entered or to compete,” and the IOC will “seek an independent evaluation of the eligibility of each qualified AIN proposed by the IF, and their support personnel.” And all anti-doping precautions will have to be taken.

The IOC’s statement and the six pages of regulations that were produced will restrict the Russian and Belarusian presence in Paris severely. However, their mere presence will create continuing turmoil, especially in Europe and in other countries that are outraged by any accommodation of Russian nations in view of the continuing war against Ukraine, aided by its ally, Belarus.

Bach understands the tensions he has created – and have no doubt that he is at the forefront of these decisions – and while brushing them aside as inconsistent with the “IOC’s values” – his words, heard over and over again – he and his organization are unapologetic.

Sort of.

In the fourth paragraph of Friday’s announcement, made just three days after the Olympic Summit, where the concept of Russian and Belarusian participation was confirmed, but without the details that have now been provided, this:

“Only a very limited number of athletes will qualify through the existing qualification systems of the IFs. Among the 4,600 athletes from around the world who have qualified for Paris 2024 so far, there are only 11 Individual Neutral Athletes (eight with a Russian passport plus three with a Belarusian passport). In comparison, to date more than 60 Ukrainian athletes have qualified for Paris 2024.”

And the IOC’s very capable communications team reiterated with enthusiastic but calm language what it sells as validations of their stance, from international groups such as the United Nations, the G-20, the Non-Aligned Movement and that “At least 3,000 Ukrainian athletes and other members of the Olympic community of Ukraine have benefitted from the IOC Solidarity Fund.”

That’s as close to an apology as the IOC will make for its position. But the position is not about to change. Bach insists on it as a “demonstration” of the unity which the Olympic Movement brings to the world once every four years.

But questions large and small remain to be answered, with each situation a possible flashpoint between now and Paris 2024, or during them Games period:

● How will these athletes be accommodated in the Olympic Village in Paris, where Ukrainian athletes will also be living, eating and training?

● Will these athletes participate in the Opening Ceremony on the Seine River, further increasing the already extreme security issues? The IOC’s regulations specify a white flag with a newly-created “AIN” symbol on it. Imagine the crowd reactions every time that shows up in Paris.

● The conduct of the International Federations must also be examined. Questions have been raised about the “eligibility” of so-called “neutrals” in judo, taekwondo and wrestling. World Rowing somehow thinks that Pairs – two athletes in a boat – is an individual event; will that be allowed?

And the ability of Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete will vary by sport. There will be none in track & field; World Athletics President Sebastian Coe (GBR) said on Friday:

“This is a decision that was supported at the Olympic Summit, which I attended. International federations have the priority right to make their own assessment of the selection of athletes. We have a clear position that has not changed.

“You can see Russian athletes at the Olympic Games in Paris. It’s just not going to happen in athletics. This position that our sport has adopted has not changed in any way. There is nothing to add here, this is our position, it was accepted almost unanimously by members of the athletics family.”

At his term as President of the IOC has passed its 10-year anniversary, we can now recognize “Thomas Bach’s Ten Commandments” for the Olympic Movement:

● Bidding for Olympic Games should not create losers, who waste millions for absolutely no return. The IOC now selects its hosts through a mostly-private discussion process.

● An Olympic Games must conform to the city, region or country where it is held, and not require unnecessary expenditures.

● If is considered best if no new venues or permanent constructions are undertaken for a Games, unless as part of an otherwise useful local development plan.

● Sport must go to where the people are, not require people to come to it. This was successfully demonstrated at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires at the free, open-air opening ceremony at the iconic Obelisco, and transferred to Paris 2024 with its opening on the Seine.

● Sport must appeal to youth, or in Olympic-speak, “be more urban” and “youth-oriented.” Thus the inclusion to the permanent program of skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing from 2028 and the IOC moving toward its own “e-sport Olympics.”

● Sport governance through the “solidarity model,” in which money is distributed through National Olympic Committees for development projects and athlete support, rather than simply paying athletes directly through prize money.

● Strict requirements for gender equality in terms of the number of men’s and women’s athletes competing, which will be reached at Paris 2024.

● Strenuous anti-doping measures, preferably handled by an independent agency; the IOC created the International testing Agency in 2018, which has quickly absorbed most of the anti-doping programming for Olympic-sport federations.

● Athletes are not responsible for the actions of their government, so long as they are not affiliated with their government. (Overlooked is the fact that governments fund every National Olympic Committee in the world except in the U.S.)

● The IOC should respect, follow and implement the directives and regulations of the United Nations.

These directives are pure Bach and have reversed decades of IOC preferences and policy, for example, the total participation bans on South Africa from 1970-91 and Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) from the Olympic Movement from 1975-80 for their governmental apartheid policies. That approach apparently does not apply any more.

Bach’s second term will end in 2025, and there are members who are trying to convince him to stay on for another term to 2029. He has not said whether he will or won’t accept the invitation, and support the required changes to the Olympic Charter.

His decision will once again revise his legacy, already secure as one of the most consequential leaders of the International Olympic Committee, for better in some areas, but not in others.

Rich Perelman
Editor

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TSX REPORT: French sports minister says surfing will be in Tahiti; U.S.’s DeFrantz worried over Paris transit rules; 2026 sliding events in Lake Placid?

Rich Perelman

December 8, 2023

tsx pix 2023-1207 mt van hoevenberg (facebook) — Could Lake Placid's Mt. van Hoevenberg track really host 2026 Winter Games events? (Photo from Mt. van Hoevenberg on Facebook)

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. Oudea-Castera firm on surfing and the Seine for 2024
2. DeFrantz concerned over extent of French security procedures
3. Ukraine sports minister says Russians in Paris “very difficult”
4. Lake Placid asks for Milan-Cortina 2026 sliding sports! What?
5. International Federations increasing spending on anti-doping

● French sports minister Amelie Oudea-Castera said that the Paris 2024 surfing events will be held in Tahiti and that there is no “plan B” for the opening ceremony on the Seine River.

● Anita DeFrantz, the long-serving U.S. member of the International Olympic Committee, posted a note of concern over the security and transportation regulations now envision for Paris 2024. In a prior interview, Oudea-Castera called the Games-time rules “a necessary system.”

● While Russian response to the Olympic Summit’s formulation on Russian and Belarusian participation of “neutral” athletes has been muted, the interim Sports Minister of Ukraine continued to press for no Russian or Belarusian athletes in Paris, so as to “not allow Russia to use sport for military propaganda purposes.”

● The fight over the venue for bobsled, luge and skeleton at the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games continues, significantly tied to national politics, with a decision due in January. Beyond the expected alternatives offered in Austria, Germany and Switzerland, a bid to host the sliding sports also came from Lake Placid in the U.S. Yes, for real!

● A new study of anti-doping expenditures by the summer International Federations showed that spending between 2015 and 2022 increased from $27.7 million to $51.4 million, and that 27 of the 33 IFs surveyed were working with the International Testing Agency for some or all of their anti-doping programs.

● Panorama: LA28 (Haudenosaunee Nationals lacrosse fields men’s and women’s teams) = Athletics (2: separate area for “content creators” will debut at Glasgow 2024 indoor champs; provisional suspension for doping against Uganda’s Chesang) = Figure Skating (Malinin lands first quad Axel in a Short Program at Grand Prix Final) = Football (2: USSF announces National Training Center site; venues for 2024 Copa America, to be held in the U.S., announced) ●

1.
Oudea-Castera firm on surfing and the Seine for 2024

Surfing is not moving from Tahiti and the opening ceremony in Paris is not moving from the Seine River.

That’s from France’s Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera, who said Thursday about surfing:

“[T]here’s no Plan B. We’re on this path which is really the right one. We’re on the right path to have a new, resized judges’ tower.”

She emphasized that the new tower plan, essentially replacing the existing wooden tower – which is considered unsafe – with an aluminum version that she said had responded to the requests made by the local community. She was critical of the Saturday test with a barge that caused some damage to the corals:

“There was a test that was obviously not well prepared and could not be conducted properly. And unfortunately it damaged bits of coral, which is obviously completely regrettable.

“The next test must be meticulously prepared.”

Reuters reported a Paris 2024 organizing committee statement that also expressed optimism on the site:

“The French Polynesian Government and Paris 2024 are working on solutions that will enable the new tower to be set up which has been reduced in size and weight.

“This was the result of collective effort between Paris 2024 and French Polynesian government to reduce the impact of the tower on the natural environment. Technical meetings organised with all those involved in the project, and guided by the project manager on site, should enable solutions to be found rapidly.

“With less than a year to go before the surfing events are due to be held in Teahupo’o, those involved in the project are reaffirming more than ever their desire to work with the associations in a transparent manner to ensure that the Paris 2024 Games are a success for French Polynesia.”

Oudea-Castera told France Inter radio on Monday that the Paris 2024 opening will be on the Seine River, “There is no plan B, we have a plan A within which we have several alternatives.” This includes the finalized number of spectators, especially for the upper viewing area, which will be announced next year; the initial expectation of 600,000 could be scaled back to 400,000 due to transport consideration as well as for security. She further explained:

“We have a certain number of adjustment variables [for the ceremony itself]. This is the case for the artistic, which will only be finalized in the spring with the capacity to modulate, to reduce certain parts of this programming.

“The gauge will be stopped in the spring, we can modulate it; we also have a variable adjustment around the number of festivities points around the area and in Paris. … And we also have, in terms of the management of security perimeters, the possibility of modulating things.

“There are security measures that will be greatly enhanced during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. … We undoubtedly, during the opening ceremony, a very particular security challenge, we have known that since day one.”

Asked directly if there was discussion of a different site, she replied that “this is not the hypothesis on which we are working.”

The minister noted that “The terrorist threat, particularly the radical Islamist threat, it exists, it is there, it is not new. It is neither specific to France nor specific to the Games. And it is followed very closely, both by all the forces of the Ministry of the Interior and by the entourage of the President of the Republic. We are lucid about this threat and we are putting everything in order to reduce it as much as possible.”

2.
DeFrantz concerned over extent of French security procedures

The highly-respected Anita DeFrantz, a U.S. member of the International Olympic Committee since 1986, twice an IOC Vice President and the Vice Chair of the Coordination Commission for the 2032 Olympic Games, wrote Thursday about her concerns over the newly-announced transit restrictions planned for Paris in 2024:

“As an advocate for the Olympic movement and a believer in the power of sport to unite and inspire, I find the recent security measures outlined for the Paris 2024 Olympics concerning. While understanding the necessity of ensuring safety, the proposed restrictions raise important questions about balancing security with civic freedoms.

“The requirement for residents near Olympic venues to obtain a QR code to pass police barriers and the registration of visitors to watch from private spaces seem to overly restrict the daily lives of Parisians. The Olympics are a time of joy and global unity, but such stringent measures risk overshadowing the celebratory spirit of the Games.

“Furthermore, the closure of metro stations and limitations on motorised traffic, while necessary for security, must be implemented thoughtfully to ensure they do not unduly burden the residents and visitors who are there to experience the magic of the Olympics.

“As we approach the Paris 2024 Olympics, it is crucial that security measures are balanced with the need to maintain the open and inclusive atmosphere that defines the Olympic spirit. The Games should be a time for celebration, not constraint, and should bring people together, not keep them apart.

“Let’s hope for a resolution that upholds both the safety and the freedoms of everyone involved in this grand event.”

Oudea-Castera, in her Monday radio interview, also spoke to this issue and had a different view:

“Paris will not be in a state of emergency. The system on security and traffic perimeters is a necessary system, which is based on a legal basis and which is proportionate. It has nothing to do with the state of emergency where we stay at home, with constraints criminal, and throughout the country: it is zoned, it only involves a QR code for motorized travel in red zones. We must be careful!”

She also expressed confidence in the transport system, contrary to the gloomy predictions of Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo:

“I have always said that we are stronger with a committed and hard-working city of Paris. We must not play against our side; if some do it we must be stronger than that. Today, the subject is to work as a team, so that everyone can bring all their experience to the equation.

“We will be ready. We have very important work to do to finalize the infrastructure, complete the last elements of the transport plans. But for the rest, there is no alert.”

3.
Ukraine sports minister says Russians in Paris “very difficult”

Tuesday’s Olympic Summit decision, with the International Federation representatives “asking” the International Olympic Committee to “declare eligible for participation in the Olympic Games Paris 2024 those [Russian and Belarusian neutral athletes] who have qualified or will qualify on the field of play” was hard to accept for Ukraine. Interim Sports Minister Marviy Bidnyi explained to Agence France Presse:

“As President Volodymyr Zelensky rightly said: ‘Obviously, any neutral flag of Russian athletes is stained with blood.’ We are counting on a responsible decision and leadership from the IOC which will not allow Russia to use sport for military propaganda purposes.

“We respect the principle of neutrality, but neutrality is only possible in times of peace. When there is a war and one nation … destroys another, then ‘neutrality’ becomes irresponsibility.”

In Bidnyi’s view, “The refusal of the Russian passport is today the only possible way for an athlete to prove that Olympic excellence is his first priority, and that the athlete bears no part of the responsibility for the murders of Ukrainians.

“Morally, it is very difficult to enter the arena with those who want to kill you. And not figuratively, but actually kill you.

“Our athletes are constantly faced with provocations from the Russians and therefore cannot be in a normal emotional state. I can’t imagine how I would feel if I had to compete with Russians. It’s very difficult.”

He also noted that some 397 Ukrainian athletes and coaches have been killed in the Russian invasion so far, as well as the destruction of more than 500 sports facilities.

The response from Russia on the Olympic Summit declaration has been muted, without any headlines from the Ministry of Sports or the Russian Olympic Committee.

At a sports medicine conference on Thursday, the director of the Department of High Achievement Sports of the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation, Alexey Drozdov, said:

“We continue systematic preparations for the Olympic Games, because we do not yet have a clear understanding and response from the International Olympic Committee. We are not curtailing our programs, everything is being implemented in full.”

4.
Lake Placid asks for Milan-Cortina 2026 sliding sports! What?

How about this shocker from a long story from the Rome-based Il Fatto Quotidiario about the Italian political infighting over the bobsled, luge and skeleton site for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan and Cortina (computer translation from the original Italian):

“The Milan-Cortina Organizing Committee confirmed ‘that it has long since started, following the direction expressed by its board of directors, a phase of analysis and in-depth analysis of the characteristics of the sliding centers present on the international scene. To date, the National Olympic Committees (NOC) of the United States, Germany, Austria and Switzerland have sent the necessary documentation for the analysis.’ There are therefore four foreign alternatives, but at least all three European ones (Koenigssee, Saint Moritz and Igls-Innsbruck) require IOC exemptions. Saint Moritz is in fact built every year with natural ice, the other two are in need of renovation.”

What?

The request comes from Lake Placid for the Mt. Van Hoevenberg track, which will welcome the opening of the FIL (luge) World Cup this weekend. The site has hosted the bobsled and/or skeleton Worlds in 1949-61-69-78-83-97-2003-09-12 and will again in 2025; it held the luge Worlds in 1983 and 2009 and hosted the Winter World University Games this past January (which did not have any of the sliding sports).

U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee chief executive Sarah Hirshland explained the bid in a Thursday session with reporters:

“Just this week, the New York State [Olympic] Regional Development Authority submitted a proposal to host the sliding events for the Milan-Cortina Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2026.

“The organizers of Milan-Cortina are actively seeking solutions to support the sliding sports competitions at the 2026 Games, and I’m proud to say that the New York Olympic Authority has stepped up and that we’re fully supportive of their efforts to welcome the world in 2026 for this important element of the competition. …

“The USOPC stands firmly behind this bid effort and believes that their proposal presents a compelling solution to host an extraordinary Olympic and Paralympic experience. We look forward to the opportunity to collaborate and support the effort to bring these prestigious events to the United States and are eager to understand the outcome of the decision by Milan-Cortina.”

Hirshland explained that the request for proposal from the Milan-Cortina organizing committee – sent to multiple National Olympic Committees which have such facilities in their countries – was received at the beginning of November and the deadline for submissions was 1 December.

The Milan-Cortina organizers expect to make a decision in January, with the local, regional and national political tug-of-war continuing, but the logical solution is in Europe. There is enormous doubt that a track could actually be built in the remaining time available in Cortina – and no company bid on the project when offered earlier this year – and the Cesana Pariol track for Turin 2006 was abandoned in 2012 due to operating losses of more than €1 million per year. Both will have major price tags attached to them, far more than using the facilities in Austria or Switzerland; the story notes, “Unofficially it seems that the foreign solution is now the most accredited.”

But in Lake Placid? Truth is always stranger than fiction.

5.
International Federations increasing spending on anti-doping

A significant survey report from the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) showed that total spending against doping increased from $27.7 million in 2015 to $51.4 million in 2022.

Most of these budgets were spent on testing and analysis:

● 54.1% ($27.8 million) on testing
● 18.0% ($9.3 million) on analysis
● 6.9% ($3.5 million) on results management and legal follow-up
● 4.7% ($2.4 million) on intelligence and investigations
● 3.3% ($1.7 million) on education
● 2.0% ($1.0 million) on Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUEs)

A total of $5.7 million (11.1%) was spent on administration.

In the future, most of the federations said that spending would increase on education and investigations.

A major change in federation anti-doping efforts has come with out-sourcing of some or all of their anti-doping programs to the International Testing Agency (ITA), founded in 2018. While 48% of the summer federations now use the ITA (as of 2022), the percentage of expected to rise to 64% within the next four years.

As of 2022, just two of 33 IFs did their own doping sample collections themselves, while 27 used the ITA, one used its own “integrity unit” and three used other anti-doping agencies. However, 14 did their own educational programs, while 16 used the ITA.

For the future, federations plan to implement more educational programs – 97% mentioned this in the survey – as a key to fighting doping in their sport. Testing remained a priority for 85% of federations.

In terms of impact, federations cited more intelligence-based testing (88%) and reducing costs through the use of new technologies (82%) as the key advances against doping.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Olympic Games 2028: Los Angeles ● Further to Thursday’s post concerning the concept of the cross-national Haudenosaunee Nationals lacrosse team as an entrant at the 2028 Los Angeles Games, Christy Cahill, the Chief Brand & Communications Officer for World Lacrosse notes that the Haudenosaunee field both men’s and women’s teams.

The men have been extraordinarily successful at the World Lacrosse Championships, with bronze medals in 2014-18-23, with the women’s team competing at the 2009-13-17-22 Worlds, finishing 11th-7th-12th-8th.

● Athletics ● Interesting development in media operations from World Athletics, which announced that a separate accreditation will be created for “content creators” and a separate interview area at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow (GBR) next March. Said new World Athletics communications chief, Jamie Fox (GBR):

“Social media content creators are generating original and exciting content that attracts millions of views across the world, bringing a new generation of fans to athletics. So, we wanted to provide these innovators and entertainers with a space where they can embrace their creativity and develop content outside the confines of traditional media mixed zones. As we go forward, we will continue to develop and evolve this concept, delivering a best-in-class media operation for all involved.”

There have been clashes with traditional media and content creators in mixed zones at several events and a demand to separate the two, whose relationships with athletes, coaches and officials are often quite different. A separate area for content creators – adjacent to the media mixed zone – was arranged at this year’s USA Track & Field nationals in Eugene, arranged by the Tracktown USA organizers and which appeared to work reasonably well.

Prisca Chesang, 20, of Uganda, the 2021 and 2022 World Junior 5,000 m bronze medalist, with bests of 4:08.15 (1,500 m) and 15:05.39 (5.000 m) was provisionally suspended for the use of Furosemide, a strong diuretic.

● Figure Skating ● American teen star Ilia Malinin took the lead in the men’s skating at the ISU Grand Prix Final in Beijing (CHN), landing his patented quadruple Axel jump to lead the Short Program.

Malinin, 19, is the only one to land this jump in competition and hit it right away in his Short Program skate, adding a quad Lutz and scoring a lifetime best 106.90 to lead Japan’s two-time World Champion Shoma Uno (106.02) and teammate Yuma Kagiyama (103.72).

It’s the first time that the quad Axel has been done in a Short Program; Malinin said afterwards, “Overall I feel really great and I’m glad that I was able to do the quad Axel for the first time in the short program. … “I think that after Grand Prix of France it was an idea of mine for a long time [to include it]. I’m just very glad that I was able to do it under pressure.”

The Free Skate will be held on Saturday.

In Pairs, Germany’s Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin took the lead in the Short Program at 72.56, ahead of Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps (CAN: 71.22) and Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii (ITA: 70.30).

The competitions continue tomorrow with the women’s Short Program and the Ice Dance Rhythm Dance.

● Football ● U.S. Soccer announced that its new National Training Center will be located on about 200 acres in Trilith in Fayette County, Georgia, 25 miles south of Atlanta, with the federation explaining that the site was selected by

“meeting key criteria that included accessibility and proximity to Atlanta’s major international airport as well as downtown, optimal climate for year-round programming, the ability to drive economic impact locally, and the opportunity to be part of a diverse, growing community.”

The statement specifically credited the assistance of sponsor Coca-Cola, which “played an important role in U.S. Soccer’s decision to bring the National Training Center to the company’s corporate hometown.”

The facility will support all of USSF’s 27 national teams and nine “extended” national teams. The plan calls for 12 fields, more than 100,000 sq. ft. for indoor courts and 200,000 sq. ft. for support facilities, including offices for federation staff.

The National Training Center project was developed thanks to a $50 million gift from The Home Depot co-founder Arthur Blank, also the owner of the MLS Atlanta United FC and the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons.

No projected opening date was given for the facility.

In the strange world of football, where the South American championship – Copa America – will be held again in the United States in 2024, the venues were announced this week, with 14 sites to host matches:

● Arlington, Texas (AT&T Stadium)
● Atlanta, Georgia (Mercedes-Benz Stadium)
● Austin, Texas (Q2 Stadium)
● Charlotte, North Carolina (Bank of America Stadium)
● East Rutherford, New Jersey (MetLife Stadium)
● Glendale, Arizona (State Farm Stadium)
● Houston, Texas (NRG Stadium)
● Inglewood, California (SoFi Stadium)
● Kansas City, Missouri (Arrowhead Stadium)
● Kansas City, Kansas (Children’s Mercy Park)
● Miami Gardens, Florida (Hard Rock Stadium)
● Orlando, Florida (Exploria Stadium)
● Paradise, Nevada (Allegiant Stadium)
● Santa Clara, California (Levi’s Stadium)

The tournament will include the 10 CONMEBOL teams and six from CONCACAF, including the U.S. and Mexico. The opening match will feature defending champion Argentina, playing in Atlanta on 20 June, and the final at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on 14 July.

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TSX REPORT: Biden backs Haudenosaunee team for LA28; more Milan-Cortina worries over sliding and hockey; Germany bidding for 2036-40?

Rich Perelman

December 7, 2023

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

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. Biden backs Haudenosaunee Confederacy team for LA28
2. Italian ministers still insisting on Cortina for sliding track
3. NHL concerns about 2026 focused on new arena
4. IOC’s Dubi explains France 2030 Winter venue shuffling
5. Germany to advance bid plans for 2036 or 2040 Games

● U.S. President Joe Biden announced support for the Haudenosaunee Nationals to be able to compete as a team in the LA28 Olympic lacrosse tournament, despite the players being from both the U.S. and Canada. Inspirational, but not likely.

● Despite direct instructions from the International Olympic Committee, Italian ministers continue to toy with the idea of having a bobsled, luge and skeleton run in Cortina for the 2026 Winter Games, despite no company having bid on the project earlier this year.

● Construction concerns in Milan Cortina are also worrying the National Hockey League, which has not yet determined whether its players will participate in the 2026 Winter Games, notably in view of the main ice hockey arena not expected to be finished until the end of 2025! And there are other issues.

● IOC Executive Director for the Olympic Games, Christophe Dubi, explained why the French Alps bidders for the 2030 Winter Games are being pushed to re-arrange their venue plan as the “dialogue” part of the “targeted dialogue” process gets going in earnest.

● The German sports confederation (DOSB) unanimously agreed to work towards a plan to bid for a future Olympic Games, possibly as soon as 2036, or for 2040, or for Winter Games in 2038 (if the Swiss fail) or 2042. Is a 2036 bid realistic, a century after the 1936 Nazi Games?

● Panorama: Paris 2024 (French authorities promise scrutiny over pricing violations) = Athletics (2: Indian sprinter who ran alone caught for doping; Nike rescues UK Athletics) = Diving (Schnell, Gibson, Hedberg collect two wins each at Winter Nationals) = Figure Skating (Hersh notes Grand Prix scoring down in women’s Singles and Pairs without Russians) = Weightlifting (Morris sets U.S. 61 kg records at IWF Grand Prix II) = Wrestling (men’s Freestyle athlete of the year nominees include Taylor) ●

1.
Biden backs Haudenosaunee Confederacy team for LA28

The Los Angeles 2028 organizers proposed lacrosse as one of five added sports and won approval from the International Olympic Committee in October, noting that the sport has its origins as a tribal game in North America as early as the 12th Century.

At Wednesday’s session of the III White House Tribal Nations Summit in Washington, D.C., U.S. President Joe Biden backed the idea of allowing a tribal confederation team to compete in 2028:

“Joining us today are members of the Six Nations Confederacy … which invented lacrosse nearly a thousand years ago. The game brought Tribes together, a force for peace, friendship, and healing. The Six Nations players are still among the very best in the world. …

“This fall, it was announced that lacrosse will once again be an official Olympic sport. And the Six Nations team asked to compete under its own Tribal flag. And today, I’m announcing my support for that request.

“Their ancestors invented the game. They perfected it for a millennia. Their circumstances are unique, and they should be granted an exception to field their own team at the Olympics.”

The Six Nations Confederacy is known in sporting terms as the Haudenosaunee Nationals – until 2022 as the Iroquois Nationals, formed in 1983 – with players from New York in the U.S. and Ontario and Quebec in Canada, which has competed as an independent, cross-national team in eight men’s World Lacrosse Championships in 1990-94-98-2002-06-14-18-23, winning bronze medals in the last three editions.

World Lacrosse and the Haudenosaunee Nationals issued a joint statement welcoming the possibilities:

“World Lacrosse and Haudenosaunee Nationals Lacrosse express our sincere gratitude to President Biden and the United States government for their expressed support of Haudenosaunee inclusion in the lacrosse competition at the LA28 Olympic Games. Recognition of the cultural significance of lacrosse to the Haudenosaunee people – and the Haudenosaunee people to lacrosse – is an important step in our Olympic journey.

“The Olympic Games are the most powerful platform for promoting understanding and peace among nations. We look forward to continuing to collaborate with the International Olympic Committee, LA28, and the U.S. and Canadian Olympic Committees to explore potential pathways for the Haudenosaunee to participate in the Olympics while respecting the Olympic Games framework.”

Canadian sports minister Carla Qualtrough also supported the concept, in a statement to The Canadian Press that included:

“When lacrosse returns to the Olympics in the 2028 Games, I hope to see the Haudenosaunee Nationals qualify and compete under their own flag.”

There are issues, of course. Attendance at the Olympic Games is through National Olympic Committees, such as the U.S. and Canada and does not recognize autonomous groups such as the Haudenosaunee.

White House Senior Advisor and Assistant to the President, Tom Perez, told The Associated Press:

“We’re hopeful the IOC will see it our way, as well. If we’re successful, it won’t simply be the flag of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy that marches in the Olympics, it will be the flag of Indigenous people across the world.”

An IOC spokesperson told AP that it would be the Canadian Olympic Committee and U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee “to decide if they include athletes from Haudenosaunee in their respective teams, depending on the passport they hold.” Both the U.S. and Canada also field lacrosse squads and the two national teams have won all of the 14 Worlds held, with 11 titles for the Americans and three for Canada.

2.
Italian ministers still insisting on Cortina for sliding track

It seemed clear enough at the 141st Session of the International Olympic Committee in India in October: the head of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Games organizing committee said that the bobsled, luge and skeleton events would take place at an existing track outside of Italy.

At the Olympic Summit in Lausanne in Tuesday, paragraph 26 of the post-event Communique stated, flatly:

“The IOC expects the final decision to involve organising the sliding events in an already existing fully functioning sliding centre outside Italy in the near future.”

But Italian politicians will not give up. Reports from a Tuesday meeting of the organizing committee included Sports Minister Andrea Abodi telling The Associated Press:

“We’ll look at it in the next few days with [Finance Minister Giancarlo] Giorgetti and we’ll unravel the knots, I’m more than confident.

“There will be economic and technical evaluations and we will give the organizing committee clear directions – in accordance with the IOC.

“We have full collaboration with the IOC, we’ll find a solution. They are the owners of the Games, we’re the temporary managers so we have to respect the IOC’s rules, which we know. The IOC has always shown that they also understand our worries and problems.”

The Rome daily Il Fatto Quotidiano identified the political pressure coming from Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, also the minister for infrastructure, who believes a track could be constructed in Cortina as originally planned for perhaps €75 million (about $80.7 million U.S.), even though no one bid on the project at €85 million when it was offered earlier this year.

Then there is the abandoned track used for the Turin 2006 Winter Games, which would also need million in renovations. Existing tracks used for IBSF and FIL World Cup races are not too far away in either Austria (Igls) or Switzerland (St. Moritz). In any case, test events would be expected to be held in the early months of 2025.

But the Veneto regional government does not want to lose the sliding events from Cortina and the politics are messy and getting worse. The issue was supposed to wrapped up by the end of the year, but continued arguing into at least January now looks likely.

3.
NHL concerns about 2026 focused on new arena

More headaches for Milan Cortina 2026, this time from National Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman (USA), after a Tuesday Board of Governors meeting in Seattle. Asked about the possible participation of NHL players, he explained:

“It’s not about making a decision, it’s trying to finalize the plans, some of which are beyond our control. It’s up to the International Olympic Committee and the IIHF to put things in place that need to be there. And, not insignificantly, they have a lot of work to do on the arena. I don’t think they’ve actually begun construction on it, which is a matter of some concern.’

“They’re projecting that it won’t be done until the fourth quarter of ’25 which is like six or eight weeks before the Olympics, if they’re on time; and I think they’re already late.

“But that’s nothing we can control, it’s an IOC and a Milano-Cortina organizer issue.”

The Athletic relayed additional details from Bob Nicholson (CAN), the former head of Hockey Canada, now with the Edmonton Oilers, and also a Vice President of the International Ice Hockey Federation:

“There’s still a lot of work to be done. There’s the three major issues: insurance [on player contracts], looks like there’s some avenues to get insurance done but it’s still not completed. The second one is the family program (traveling/housing players’ families) and where those funds will come from, they’re exploring options.

“And the third one is facilities. A lot of work to do. They need two facilities. They need one major facility. They haven’t broken ground on it yet. They’ve been looking at a second facility that has a lot of work to be done on it. And how many fans can get into it remains an unknown.”

In fact, the PalaItalia Santa Guilia arena is under construction, with the building itself to be turned over in December 2025. Privately financed, it is designed for 16,000 spectators, but worries about the finish date continue.

NHL players debuted at the Olympic Winter Games in 1998 and played in 2002-06-10-14, but not in PyeongChang (KOR) in 2018 or Beijing (CHN) in 2022. It is not yet clear whether the NHL will consent to use of its players for the 2026 Winter Games, but at least the discussions are continuing.

4.
IOC’s Dubi explains France 2030 Winter venue shuffling

Last month’s announcement that the French Alps bid for the 2030 Olympic Winter Games was advanced to “targeted dialogue” with the expectation that it would, in fact, host the Games. But there were also requirements to work on the streamlining of the bid package, which has led to significant changes in the master plan for venues.

Last Friday, it was announced that the famed Val d’Isere site for alpine skiing would not be used, concentrating all of the alpine events into Courchevel for the men and Meribel for women. Moreover, the Isola 2000 site for freestyle and snowboard was eliminated, placing Ski Cross and SnowboardCross with the other freestyle and snowboard sites at Serre-Chevalier and Montgenevre.

Christophe Dubi, the IOC’s Executive Director for the Olympic Games, told Agence France Presse that this is all part of the new phase of getting the French bid ready for selection (computer translation of the original French):

“The additional complexity in winter is that there is no concentration [of venues]. We have to bring the whole world into a small box called, for example, the biathlon site in Grand-Bornand: thousands of media representatives, as many spectators as possible, gigantic television coverage and therefore production vans, temporary power, a security perimeter. …

“An Olympic site means providing capacities equivalent to those of an airport – with on one side the management of planes and baggage and on the other the spectators – on mountain and high mountain resorts. It’s a logistical challenge.

“Each time we manage to group activities into centers, we can pool resources, with three objectives: operational simplicity, lower costs, the experience of athletes, who want to be able to participate in the opening ceremony and meet their peers around the world.

“We had made the same request to Switzerland and Sweden to tighten up the plan: it is certainly not up to us to make the choice of sites and if the future organizers tell us ‘it’s this system and not any other,’, we are not going to oppose it. The proposals must reflect the local context, the political, social, ecological, economic dynamics, and it is the organizers who know this context. But we give the main logic.”

Val d’Isere is lobbying for a reversal of its elimination, and skiing icon Jean-Claude Killy has spoken out on its behalf. But the IOC will continue to exert pressure – as it is doing in Milan and Brisbane – for lowered cost and complexity everywhere.

And Dubi noted that there are multiple open questions for the French bid before it can be approved by the IOC Session in 2024. For one, there is no venue proposed for speed skating; in Milan, it will be located in a convention center. Said Dubi:

“We would like there to be an intention in the proposal that will be made at the end of February by the organizers. There are several solutions: a temporary site, as we are going to do at the 2026 Olympic Games in Milan, or going abroad.”

And more:

“Details will be needed on the construction schedules for the sites in Nice [athlete village and ice hockey]. It will also be necessary to detail transport and, on the budget side, secure the main cost lines and – if possible – obtain firm indications that the main French and regional companies will be involved. We were told that several of the sponsors of the Paris Games would happily start a campaign for 2030: this is what we will have to seek to obtain an operational budget largely financed by private funds.”

Observed: Veterans of Olympic organizing efforts know well what the French Alps bidders have found out: getting the Games is not the end, but a new beginning.

5.
Germany to advance bid plans for 2036 or 2040 Games

At the general meeting of the German National Olympic Committee (DOSB) in Frankfurt last Saturday, the attendees unanimously approved a motion to proceed with the exploration of a bid for a future Olympic Games, possibly for 2036 or 2040.

In an interview with the German ZDF channel, DOSB President Thomas Weikert explained (translated from the original German):

● “We started the process very differently than we have in recent years. The focus is not on where and how, but rather why we want to have the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Germany.”

● “We will submit a sensible and modest application and recognize that it is possible that the first attempt will not be successful.”

Recent German bids have foundered on a lack of public support, but Weikert said that polling has shown good support for a future Olympics, from 55-70% support, as well as the significant success of the multi-sport European Championships in Munich during the summer.

Moreover, following the recent trend toward limiting or eliminating construction, a bid would likely involved two or more regions of the country, with Berlin and Munich – with existing, world-class stadia built for the 1936 and 1972 Olympic Games – obvious choices for leading roles.

Weikert also noted that Winter Games bids for 2038 (if Switzerland falls through) or 2042 could also be possible. The ZDF story stated that “India and Qatar are clear favorites” for the 2036 Games, although perhaps a dozen possible sites are in discussion with the IOC.

A decision on where the sites for a potential Olympic bid is expected by next summer. There is considerable reluctance on bid for 2036 in view of the centennial of the infamous Nazi Games of 1936, but there is also the concept of using the anniversary to show how far Germany has come since that dark period.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● French tourism minister Olivia Gregoire said Wednesday that business will be heavily checked for violations before and during the Olympic period, especially for price gouging above listed amounts:

“There is an arsenal of extremely heavy fines and sanctions. It’s essential that tourists, whether French or coming from abroad, get their money’s worth.”

The French Directorate General for Competition Policy, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control, part of the Economy, Industry and Digital Affairs ministry, will increase its reviews of businesses and that from its 1,700 inspections so far in 2023, “As a result of these targeted inspections, 70% of the establishments inspected presented at least one anomaly.”

● Athletics ● Doping in India is a major issue and it was reported in the Indian Express that the lone finalist who actually ran in the men’s 100 m final at the Delhi State meet last September, Lalit Kumar, also tested positive for drugs.

Kumar was the only one of the eight finalists who competed in the final, as the other seven claimed injuries, but are widely suspected of not wanting to be drug tested after the race. An investigation is underway.

He tested positive for anabolic steroid drostanolone, but said that he did not dope, but that the culprit might be a protein supplement. He also said he did not have the money to pay for a test of his B-sample that would confirm or invalidate the doping charge.

Athletics Federation of India head Adille Sumariwalla – also a member of the World Athletics Council – told reporters:

“India’s reputation is at stake. Today we are number two [in doping]. If we don’t stop this, we will have an even bigger problem. We don’t want that to happen if we have to bid for the Olympic Games. We have to resolve this problem.”

Nike has come to the rescue of UK Athletics, the British national federation, with a cash infusion attached to a renegotiation of its sponsorship and uniform agreement for the British team.

The federation announced a loss of £3.7 million for the 2022-23 fiscal year, after a £1.8 million loss for 2021-22 and a precarious cash position. However, with new money from Nike, cash-in-hand was £6.5 million. UKA projects losses closing to £1.6 million for 2023-24, £400,000 for 2024-25 and break-event by 2025-26. (£1 = $1.26 U.S.)

● Diving ● The USA Diving Winter Nationals concluded on Wednesday in Knoxville, Tennessee, with women’s 10 m star Delaney Schnell grabbing individual and synchronized golds and a 16-year-old first-time national champ on the men’s side.

Schnell, who won a Tokyo silver in the women’s 10 m Synchro with Jessica Parratto, won the women’s 10 m Platform final, scoring 654.60 to 599.70 for Elise Praasterink and teamed with Parratto to win the 10 m Synchro title by more than 125 points at 597.18.

Joshua Hedberg, 16, a member of the 2022 Worlds team on Platform, was the men’s star and won his first individual national title in the men’s 10 m final at 897.85, ahead of Tokyo Olympian Brandon Loschiavo (844.75) and 2022 Worlds Mixed Synchro bronze medalist Carson Tyler (808.35). He and Tyler combined for the 10 m Synchro title at 825.21, out-scoring Jordan Rzepka and Loschiavo (771.45).

Sarah Bacon, the two-time Worlds silver medalist in the 1 m Springboard, defended her title in the women’s 3 m Springboard title over Hernandez, 648.00 to 580.60, and also earned a silver with Kassidy Cook in the 3 m Synchro final, behind Alison Gibson and 2022 Worlds 3 m bronze winner Krysta Palmer, 582.24 to 567.84.

Gibson got her second win of the meet in the women 1 m Springboard final at 510.45 with Hernandez second at 509.30.

Lyle Yost won the men’s 1 m Springboard at 743.65, with Jack Ryan second (723.65), and Pan Am Games Synchro bronze medalist Tyler Downs won a tight battle in the men’s 3 m Springboard final with 805.65 points to 804.25 for Grayson Campbell. Quentin Henninger and Andrew Capobianco (828.63) won the men’s 3 m Synchro final over Gregory Duncan and Tyler Downs (794.25).

In the Mixed Synchro 3 m final, Bridget O’Neil and Noah Duperre won a close duel with Jack Ryan and Palmer, 291.78 to 282.87. Tyler Wills and Bayleigh Crawford (288.96) took the Mixed Synchro 10 m, with Daryn Wright and Wills second – placing first and second in the same event! – at 281.94.

● Figure Skating ● American skating observer Phil Hersh, long the Olympic beat writer for the Chicago Tribune, now writes about (mostly) figure skating on his Globetrotting site and documented a trend in women’s skating:

“There is no doubt that the absence of the Russian women, who had utterly dominated the sport since 2014, has had a dramatic effect on jumping.”

He observed that during the 2021-22 season – the last in which Russian skaters were allowed to compete – 13 quadruple jump tries were made during the six ISU Grand Prix events. In the last two seasons, there have been just four quad attempts in the 12 events held.

He also points out that since the 2018-19 season, when new scoring was employed, four of the 10 lowest winning women’s Grand Prix scores have come this season, three last season and three in 2018-19. Scoring in Pairs is in similar shape. Hersh notes that while the exclusion of Russian over the invasion of Ukraine is worthwhile:

“The lower numbers clearly indicate a drop in the overall quality of singles and pairs. Only a Pollyanna would argue otherwise.”

● Weightlifting ● A couple of American Records for 19-year-old Hampton Morris, competing in the International Weightlifting Federation’s Grand Prix II in Doha (QAT), an Olympic qualifying event.

Morris placed fifth overall in the men’s 61 kg class, snatching 122 kg on his first try and lifting 170 kg on his first effort in the Clean & Jerk for a total of 292 kg. He missed his second and third tries in both lifts.

His 170 kg in the C&J and the 292 kg total were junior and senior U.S. records at 61 kg, and moved him into the top 10 in the IWF Olympic rankings, expanding the possibility of an Olympic berth in 2024.

The meet has been dominated so far by North Korea and China, with the Koreans winning both the men’s 55 kg and 61 kg classes and the women’s 45 kg and 55 kg divisions. China won the women’s 49 kg class and competition continues through the 14th.

● Wrestling ● United World Wrestling released its nominations for the men’s Freestyle Wrestler of the Year on Wednesday:

● Ismail Muszukajev (HUN) ~ World 65 kg champion
● Zaurbek Sidakov (AIN/RUS) ~ World 74 kg champion
● David Taylor (USA) ~ World 86 kg champion
● Akhmed Tazhudinov (BRN) ~ World 97 kg champion
● Amir Zare (IRI) ~ World 125 kg champion

Voting is open (apparently here) through 17 December with the winner to be announced on 18 December.

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TSX REPORT: Olympic Summit “asks” IOC to allow Russia, Belarus in 2024; archery savior Easton passes at 88; NCAA proposes athlete trust funds

Rich Perelman

December 6, 2023

tsx pix 2023-1205 oly summit (ioc-greg martin) — International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach (GER, at left) leading the 2023 Olympic Summit (Photo: IOC/Greg Martin)

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

★ To get The Sports Examiner by e-mail: sign up here! ★

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. Russia, Belarus confirmed for Paris by Olympic Summit
2. Russian pols offer muted response to Summit declaration
3. Archery savior, LA84 star Jim Easton passes at 88
4. NCAA chief proposes schools to pay athletes directly
5. LetsRun: No $20 million deal for Richardson!

● The International Olympic Committee’s report on Tuesday’s “Olympic Summit” in Lausanne produced a “request” by the International Federations to allow qualified Russian and Belarusian individuals to compete in Paris in 2024. But there are still details to be worked out and the final decision will not come until 2024.

● Russian reaction to the Summit was muted, although cautiously optimistic. Given the restrictions, the Russian team will be far smaller than in recent Games.

● Jim Easton, a brilliant engineer who built a sporting goods empire on new technologies and was the crucial change agent for archery that kept the sport in the Olympic Games, passed away at age 88. He was also a key player in the success of the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

● NCAA President Charlie Baker sent a historic letter to schools that recommends a new subdivision of the richest football schools, with new regulations to allow direct-to-athlete payments of $30,000 or more per year.

● LetsRun.com co-founder Weldon Johnson wrote Tuesday that U.S. sprint star Sha’Carri Richardson did not get a $20 million sponsorship deal from Nike, dismissing the credibility of the site reporting it.

● World Championship: Handball (eight undefeateds left at IHF women’s Worlds after prelim round) ●

● Panorama: Paris 2024 (ISA supports continued discussions on Tahiti tower) = Archery (World Archery engages firm to enable betting) = Athletics (3: AIU will appeal Jeruto loss; Blanks and Valby get collegiate records at 5,000 m!; global relays returning to Penn) = Boxing (IBA confirms Gazprom as “General Partner”) = Football (2: U.S. squeezes by China, 2-1, to finish 14-1-3 in 2023; modest TV audience for first USA-China friendly) ●

1.
Russia, Belarus confirmed for Paris by Olympic Summit

To the surprise of almost no one, the International Olympic Committee’s “Olympic Summit” in Lausanne confirmed, in the usual sober language, that select Russian and Belarusian athletes will be permitted to participate in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, subject to an expected rubber-stamped approval by the IOC Executive Board next March.

The Summit “Communique” ran to 40 paragraphs and was mostly a recital of the major talking points about the Olympic Games and the Olympic Movement that IOC President Thomas Bach (GER) has highlighted in his speeches over the past two years.

The action came in paragraphs eight, 11 and 14:

“8. The Summit was informed by representatives of the International Summer Sports Federations that, following the very strict recommendations of the IOC, Individual Neutral Athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport have participated in a large number of events respecting these strict conditions, and these events have largely been without incident, with only one notable exception [at the World Fencing Championships]. …

“11. The representatives of the International Summer Sports Federations asked the IOC to declare eligible for participation in the Olympic Games Paris 2024 those AINs who have qualified or will qualify on the field of play. They further asked for a decision as soon as possible to bring clarity to their entire Olympic qualification procedures and for all athletes concerned. …

“14. Following the above-mentioned requests, the IOC confirmed that the participation of such AINs in the Olympic Games could happen only under the existing strict conditions. Neither the qualification system developed by the respective International Federations nor the number of allocated quota places to a sport will be changed for AINs with a Russian or Belarusian passport. They will have to be in compliance with all the eligibility criteria applicable to any Olympic athlete.”

This carries forward the IOC’s recommendations from March, following what has essentially been a trial of those regulations by many federations during the summer: no identification of Russian or Belarusian teams by flags, anthems or uniform markings, no teams, added anti-doping requirements, and a verification of athlete “neutrality” carried on by the International Federations themselves, some of which have been vigilant and some not as much.

Further, the wording – on face value – allows the federations to admit Russians and Belarusians for Paris based on their own qualifying regulations and systems. As paragraph 11 notes, this has to be confirmed by the IOC itself, expected to formally come at the next Executive Board meeting, scheduled for March 2024, but which could come sooner.

There was also harsh language following up the IOC’s concerns about the organization of Russia’s “BRICS Games” next June in Kazan and the “World Friendship Games” in Moscow, Ekaterinburg and possibly Minsk in Belarus, scheduled for 15-29 December. Paragraphs 23 and 24 rejected these events:

“[T]he Summit was informed that athletes would be very concerned about being forced into participation in such politically motivated sports events, thereby becoming part of a political propaganda campaign.

Observed: There is a lot of fine detail that remains to be added to the Russian and Belarusian participation process, but the outcome – and this is almost certainly the outcome, barring some horrific new developments in the continuing Russian invasion of Ukraine – appears set. At least some Russian and Belarusian athletes will be allowed to compete in Paris in 2024 … if they want to.

That, too, is an open question. The Summit Communique, in discussing the development of ”clearly politically motivated sports events in Russia,” recognized the issue of athletes “being forced into participation in such politically motivated sports events, thereby becoming part of a political propaganda campaign.”

So the entire Olympic Movement – represented in the room on Tuesday – acknowledged the political propaganda aspects of athlete participation in events, and still welcomed Russians and Belarusians for Paris in 2024.

Bach has insisted on this formulation since the 2022 Olympic Summit, when out of nowhere came an offer from the Olympic Council of Asia to host Russian and Belarusian athletes in their events. That did not happen – the IOC decided not to allow Russians and Belarusians into this year’s Asian Games – but set the stage for March’s invitation to compete as neutrals.

And this is another win for Bach. One only need check the IOC’s photograph of the Olympic Summit meeting above to see who is running the show: attendees packed in together on two sides of the room and Bach all alone at the front of the room. This is his show, have no doubt, fulfilling his repeated view that in order to be valid, representatives of every country must attend the Olympic Games, even those that ignore the Olympic Truce with an attempted takeover of another country.

It appears he will get his wish. Maybe.

There are many questions to be answered:

● Will the IOC simply accept whomever the federations say are qualified, or will there be a further review by the IOC itself?

● Will the IOC force federations which have said they will not admit Russians or Belarusians, such as World Athletics and the International Surfing Association, to allow at least a token presence in Paris?

● Bach personally intervened on behalf of four-time women’s World Sabre Champion Olha Kharlan of Ukraine following her 27 July disqualification at the 2023 FIE Worlds for not shaking hands with Russian Anna Smirnova after their round-of-64 match, and guaranteed her a place in Paris if she did not otherwise qualify. Any more of those coming? Perhaps on behalf of a Russian athlete this time?

● Will these athletes be allowed to participate in the Opening or Closing Ceremonies, which present the teams competing in the Games? If so, under what flag?

If the federations are given a free hand, then Bach will have essentially replayed the IOC’s policy for Rio 2016, when he gave the IFs a free hand to decide on Russian participation themselves after the Russian state-sponsored program from 2011-15 had been exposed and was under active investigation. Russian participation has been impacted by their scandals:

● 2012: 436 athletes in London as “Russia”
● 2016: 282 athletes in Rio as “Russia”
● 2021: 333 athletes in Tokyo as “Russian Olympic Committee”

Lurking in the background of this now fully-politicized issue is the question of whether Russian or Belarusian athletes will even come to Paris, now that some will be allowed. That decision is possibly not in their hands, but could be made by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

2.
Russian pols offer muted response to Summit declaration

Early responses to the Olympic Summit from Russia have been calm, waiting for the added specifics to come next year.

The Chair of the State Duma Committee on Physical Culture and Sports, Dmitry Svishchev, offered cautious approval of the decision, recognizing more details are coming:

“This is the right decision, to allow Russian athletes to participate in international competitions, but this decision is somewhat belated.

“If the IOC supports this decision, it will allow our athletes to participate in competitions. The IOC wants to minimize the participation of Russian athletes in the Olympic Games and is delaying the process in every possible way; they are afraid that suddenly there will be provocations and all sorts of problems with shaking hands. They need to make a decision and voice the conditions under which they will be allowed.”

State Duma deputy Svetlana Zhurova and Turin 2006 Olympic speed skating gold medalist told the Russian news agency TASS:

“There are federations that do not pay attention at all and have long allowed Russians and Belarusians. But the final decision will be made in March. From March to July, there will still be some opportunity to qualify if the international federations allow some of our athletes. Everyone thinks that maybe something will change in March, world politicians are changing their harsh rhetoric and softening it.”

3.
Archery savior, LA84 star Jim Easton passes at 88

A brilliant engineer, marketer and sports administrator who secured the future of archery in the Olympic Games, Jim Easton, passed away on Sunday (3rd) at age 88.

Easton became a force in the Olympic Movement in the 1980s, as the Commissioner of Archery for the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee, staging the 1983 FITA World Championships in Long Beach before the successful archery competition in 1984. He was so highly regarded at the LAOOC that he was – simultaneously – in charge of archery, was a Vice President of Technology and the Mayor of the Olympic Village at UCLA during the Games.

Already a long-time member of the FITA (now World Archery) Council, Easton was elected as President of the Federation de la Tir a l’Arc as it was then known, in 1989, as the sport was under pressure to modernize … or face removal from the Olympic program. Under his leadership, the championship format was changed from a competition with dozens of archers shooting 144 arrows to having medals decided in direct-elimination contests, perfect for television. The new presentation, inaugurated in the Olympic Games in 1992 in Barcelona (ESP), raised interest in the sport significantly and assured its future on the program.

In 1994, he became the first-ever FITA officer to be elected to the International Olympic Committee and served with distinction, including as an IOC Vice President from 2002-06. He was the FITA President until 2005.

All of this was in addition to his enormously-successful career as an engineer, first at Douglas Aircraft, then at his father’s arrow shaft company, Jas. D. Easton, Inc., which Jim turned into a multi-faceted sports manufacturer of the highest quality, producing world-class equipment for baseball, softball, cycling, golf, ice hockey, tennis, and, of course, archery.

Easton Sports was eventually broken up and sold in pieces, but Easton retained control of the Hoyt Archery company and the high-tech materials designer and fabricator Easton Technical Products, with facilities in Indiana and Utah.

Easton and his wife Phyllis used some of the proceeds from the business sales to fund numerous charitable programs, including archery development centers in the U.S. and Switzerland and gifts to his beloved UCLA and to other medical and research facilities, continued today by the Easton Foundations.

He was slowed by a stoke in 2010, but remained as active as possible in his businesses and philanthropic efforts. Easton is survived by his wife Phyllis, son Greg, daughter Lynn, and three grandchildren. Memorial services will be private. An elegant and understated video tribute from Easton Bowhunting is here.

Observed: To those who knew him and worked with him, Easton was a role model. He was sharp, inquisitive, demanding, understanding, tight-fisted, generous, terribly serious and sometimes incredibly funny. And always disciplined and in balance.

He seemed to have an almost unending capacity for work, always highlighted by a breakthrough idea or a new process to make things better, very much a continuation of his lifelong ability to see the future through the prism of better engineering.

His vision for archery literally saved its position on the Olympic program and has created some of the truly gripping moments in Olympic history. But he shunned publicity, downplaying his own role even when he was literally the reason for success, and giving credit to his team whenever possible.

Easton’s approach will ensure he is under-appreciated in the future, but his impact on many successes, in his businesses, on the 1984 Olympic Games and on archery, is unmistakable and incomparable. Rest in peace.

4.
NCAA chief proposes schools to pay athletes directly

“We need to make several fundamental changes. First, we should make it possible for all Division I colleges and universities to offer student-athlete any level of enhanced educational benefits they deem appropriate. Second, rules should change for any Division I school, at their choice, to enter into name, image and likeness licensing opportunities with their student-athletes.

‘These two changes will enhance financial opportunities available to all Division I student-athletes. They will also help level what is fast becoming a very unlevel playing field between men and women student-athletes because schools will be required to abide by existing gender equity regulations as they make investments in their athletics programs.

“Third, a subdivision comprised of institutions with the highest revenues to invest in their student-athletes should be required to do two things.

“● Within the framework of Title IX, invest at least $30,000 per year into an enhanced educational trust fund for at least half of the institution’s eligible student-athletes.

“● Commit to work with the NCAA staff and their peer institutions in this subdivision to create rules that may differ from the rules in place for the rest of Division I. Those rules could include a wide range of policies, such as scholarship commitment and roster size, recruitment, transfers or NIL.”

That’s from a stunning letter sent to the more than 350 Division I colleges and universities on Monday by NCAA President Charlie Baker, the former governor of Massachusetts. His three-page letter noted the enormous gap among Division I schools that budget as little as $5 million for athletics, and as much as $250 million. He stated that 59 schools spend more than $100 million each, with another 32 at $50 million or more and 259 at less than that.

This is a major departure for the NCAA, recognizing the enormous wealth generated most by football for the so-called “Power 5″ conferences: Atlantic Coast (14 schools, not including Notre Dame), Big 10 (14), Big XII (14), Southeastern (14) and whatever becomes of the Pacific-12 (12) in the future.

Those five groups include 69 schools (including Notre Dame) may not all be able to participate in the proposed new subdivision. But the concept – still a long way from reality – would continue the split that big-time football has created within Division I.

Baker’s recommendations accompany a significant lobbying effort by college officials to have the U.S. Congress pass national NIL legislation.

Observed: This is a very carefully conceived, very clever proposal which could help thread the Title IX needle, in view of enormous NIL payments being made to football players and very little to any women athletes outside of basketball.

Baker’s letter does not specify a male/female split of the half of a school’s athletes who would get the $30,000 or more annually in trust fund payments. So, with many football players getting significant NIL money directly (from donor collectives), the split of the $30,000+ payees could skew female and protect schools from Title IX “discrimination” claims.

This has a long way to go and there will be some Power-5 schools which will question their place in the new subdivision after another $7 million or so in athletics costs to support $30,000 a year for 250 athletes.

As has been the case for some time now, college athletics is all about football. If enacted in some fashion, Baker’s framework could keep schools out of court.

5.
LetsRun: No $20 million deal for Richardson!

So not everything you read on the Internet is true?

LetsRun.com co-founder Weldon Johnson posted a Monday story headlined, “Sha’Carri Richardson DID NOT Sign a $20 Million Endorsement Deal with Nike”.

He noted that “there’s no evidence to support the claim that she signed a five-year, $20 million deal with Nike, despite its circulation on the internet and social media” citing the original report from a site called EquityAtlas.org, which he identified as “a content farm, or a website designed to get search engine traffic.”

Johnson is quite right that no announcement came from Nike, nothing was posted by the often-loquacious Richardson and no trumpet sounds from HSI Sports, Richardson’s new management firm.

Nike has supported Richardson through her difficult seasons following her marijuana suspension at the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2021, and her triumphs in 2023.

Richardson won the USA Track & Field Jackie Joyner-Kersee Award as the top female athlete of 2023 at last week’s USATF Annual Meeting.

≡ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ≡

● Handball ● The 26th IHF Women’s World Championship, in Denmark, Norway and Sweden, concluded preliminary pool play with 24 teams moving on to the main round, and eight undefeateds left:

● A: Sweden (3-0), Croatia (1-1-1)
● B: Montenegro (3-0), Hungary (2-1)
● C: Norway (3-0; defending champion), Austria (2-1)
● D: France (3-0; 2017 champion), Slovenia (2-1)
● E: Denmark (3-0; 2021 bronze medalist), Romania (2-1)
● F: Germany (3-0), Poland (2-1)
● G: Spain (3-0; 2019 runner-up), Brazil (2-1)
● H: Netherlands (3-0; 2019 champion), Czechia (2-1)

The main round action begins on the 6th and continues to the 11th; the quarterfinals, semis and finals are on 12-13 December, 15 December and 17 December.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● The International Surfing Association commented on the newest developments in Tahiti over the construction of a new judging tower for the 2024 Olympic Games, including:

“The ISA was saddened and surprised to see that a test undertaken by the French Polynesian government resulted in the coral reef at Teahupo’o being damaged by a barge.

“As an International Olympic Federation, the ISA is responsible for the Olympic surfing competitions. Venue facilities and infrastructure are the responsibility of Paris 2024 Organizing Committee in coordination with the French Polynesian government.

“The determination that the old judging tower was not legally compliant was taken by the government of French Polynesia. As a result, the French Polynesian government and Paris 2024 decided to build a new tower.

“From the beginning of the proposal to host Olympic surfing in French Polynesia, the ISA has always insisted that the protection of the natural environment in Teahupo’o is a priority. This vision was agreed and is shared by all parties.

“The French Polynesian government has taken the decision to pause all further testing and preparations to draw lessons following the incident on the reef. The ISA welcomes this decision, and has urged intensified consultations to consider all available options.

“As life-long surfers, we are passionate about the need to protect the oceans, for us and for future generations. We are therefore committed to working with all parties in order to find a common agreement on running the competition while protecting the local, natural environment.”

● Archery ● World Archery announced a partnership with the FeedConstruct multi-national sports data company that will allow for betting to be integrated with World Archery events.

Said FeedConstruct head of content acquisition Narek Harutyunyan (ARM):

“Through this collaboration, we aim to elevate the popularity of archery as a betting market, providing accurate data insights for an enhanced fan experience. This partnership marks a significant milestone for both FeedConstruct and World Archery.”

● Athletics ● The Athletics Integrity Unit announced that it has filed an appeal to the finding of no violation by Kazakhstan star Norah Jeruto, the 2022 World Champion in the women’s Steeplechase.

Jeruto was charged with a provisional suspension in April for irregularities vs. her Athlete Biological Passport profile, but the case was thrown out and she was reinstated in November.

Harvard junior Graham Blanks followed up his win at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships with a collegiate record in the men’s 5,000 m, winning at the Colyear-Danville Opener in Boston last Saturday (2nd), unleashing a finishing kick to win in 13:03.78. He covered the last 400 m in 57.04, pulling away from Stanford’s Ky Robinson (AUS: 13:06.42) and Sam Atkin (GBR: 13:06.66).

The women’s NCAA X-C winner, Florida’s Parker Valby, got the women’s collegiate record at 5,000 m as well, winning in 14:56.11 – the first collegian under 15 minutes – with fellow American Annie Rodenfels (15:03.97) a distant second.

Valby’s time is the fastest collegiate women’s 5,000 ever, breaking Colorado star Jenny Simpson’s 15:01.70 indoors from 2009.

The Penn Relays announced that, in conjunction with World Athletics, international relays will be held during the 25-27 April program in the men’s and women’s 4×100 and 4×400 m.

The events are a week ahead of the World Athletics Relays in Nassau (BAH) – a crucial Olympic qualifier – and offer a tune-up opportunity.

● Boxing ● After months of saying nothing, the International Boxing Association finally displayed the logo of Russian energy giant Gazprom once again on its web site as the “General Partner” of the federation.

IBA head Umar Kremlev (RUS) obtained a two-year agreement for $50 million to get the IBA out of debt and fund its prize money and development programs that it hopes will keep national federations affiliated to it. In the run-up to the withdrawal of recognition by the IOC in June, the IBA refused to confirm the source of its funding after that deal expired, but with the IOC’s dismissal now concluded, the IBA is showcasing Gazprom once again.

Now everyone knows.

● Football ● The U.S. women faced China again in their final match of 2023, this time in Frisco, Texas, with a much different line-up – seven changes – and overcame a slow start to manufacture a 2-1 win.

The first half started slowly, with the U.S. looking confused on offense with so many line-up changes, but maintaining about 70% of possession and taking five shots at goal to one over the first 20 minutes.

Defender Jenna Nighswonger blasted a good-looking shot from just beyond the box in the 30th minute that was saved. The U.S. attack continued, but didn’t really pose a threat.

In stoppage time, China got a shock goal off a free kick, with midfielder Jinjin Yan sending a pass across the front of the U.S. goal that found defender Siqian Wang on the far side, who headed it across for a right-footed finish by defender Mengyu Shen past U.S. keeper Aubrey Kingsbury and a 1-0 lead at the half.

It was only the third goal scored against the U.S. in the run of play this year, ending a half in which the Americans had 65% of possession and an 8-3 edge on shots.

The offensive intensity increased for the U.S. in the second half, but without impact until the 62nd. Off a corner, the ball bounced around inside the box, finally coming out to midfielder Emily Sonnett, who then passed to her left to midfielder Sam Coffey, who left-footed a rainbow over China keeper Huan Xu for the 1-1 tie. It was Coffey’s first international goal.

Attacking midfielder Lindsey Horan scored on a header off a Jaedyn Shaw pass in the 67th, but was correctly called offsides. But the continuing pressure paid off in the 79th, when off a free kick that popped up off the defensive wall, forward Sophia Smith headed a pass to the top of the box for Shaw, who sent a hard liner through a lot of traffic and into the net for the 2-1 winner.

There were more U.S. chances, by Trinity Rodman and Sophia Smith, but without success. The U.S. finished with 64% possession and a 23-4 shots edge.

The match closed the book on 2023 for the U.S. women, who did not achieve their goals at the FIFA Women’s World Cup, but finished with 14 wins, one loss (on penalties) and three draws. The team will welcome new coach Emma Hayes (GBR) in 2024 in advance of their appearance at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

The first friendly against the Chinese on Saturday, a 3-0 U.S. win, drew a modest audience of 276,000 on TNT at 3 p.m., going up against the college football championship weekend games. The ABC telecast of the Big XII game between Oklahoma State and Texas drew 7.89 million and the monster SEC Championship between Georgia and Alabama had a staggering 17.52 million viewers on CBS.

The TNT pre-game show at 2:30 p.m. Eastern drew 149,000.

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For our updated, 850-event International Sports Calendar (no. 4) for 2023 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

TSX REPORT: Russian participation for Paris to be final in March; no Tahiti for Paris 2024? Commonwealth Games 2026 still homeless

Rich Perelman

December 5, 2023

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

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. Bach says Russian participation decision in March
2. Coral damage places Tahiti surfing venue at risk
3. Coates says Brisbane 2032 to hold to 10,500 ath quota
4. Gold Coast ends drive for Commonwealth Games 2026
5. Weightlifting deepens anti-doping requirements for 2024

BULLETIN: Olympic Summit “asks” IOC to “declare eligible for participation in the Olympic Games Paris 2024 those AINs who have qualified or will qualify on the field of play.” Russia and Belarus are in.

● International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach of Germany said last week that the final decision on Russian and Belarusian participation would come at the March Executive Board meeting. Tuesday’s Olympic Summit discussions will have an impact on the decision and criteria.

● A Saturday test of a barge to install a new judging tower in Tahiti for the Paris 2024 Olympic surfing competition damages some coral and has put the entire location into some question, according to local leaders. There may be alternatives, however.

● IOC Executive Board member John Coates of Australia said in an interview that Brisbane 2032 needs to hold to the 10,500 athlete quota, unlike Los Angeles 2028. However, he is in favor of cricket to be added, already popular in Australia.

● The possible rescue of the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Australia by 2018 host Gold Coast is over, as Mayor Tom Tate said he is giving up in view of any support from the state or national governments. So far, no one has come forward to bid for 2026, or 2030 for that matter.

● Weightlifting was nearly thrown out of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games for its past doping issues, but was readmitted … as long as it stays clean. A new set of doping requirements will come into force in January to try and ensure that.

● Panorama: France 2030 (Killy decries removal of Val d’Isere from venue list) = Russia (141 doping positives so far in 2023 vs. 135 for all of 2022 and 37 in U.S.) = Athletics (2: India interested in 2029 Worlds; Cheptegei runs 2:08:59 in marathon debut in Valencia) = Bobsled (Humphries will skip this season with maternity) = Football (EURO 2024 to offer €331 million in prize money) = Gymnastics (European Gymnastics bans Russia and Belarus, defying FIG) = Ice Hockey (neck guards to become mandatory in 2024) = Luge (2: U.S. silver winner Mazdzer to retire; West among start-time winners in World Cup kick-off) = Snowboard (U.S. 2014 Olympian Jacob sentenced to six months for plane crash) = Table Tennis (Jha ban extended for violation) ●

● Errata: Some readers of Monday’s post saw Dominican sprint star Leguelin Santos credited with a London 2012 silver at 200 m; it was at 400 m. Thanks to ATFS Treasurer Tom Casacky (USA) for the sharp eyes. ●

1.
Bach says Russian participation decision in March

“We will take into account the recent U.N. decision in this case, which calls for an Olympic Truce and supports the IOC’s approach.

“The International Olympic Committee advocates the participation of Russian athletes who clearly did not support the military action in Ukraine, who do not serve in the army and who are willing to compete under neutral flag. Depending on what is heard at this Olympic Summit, the IOC Executive Board will make a decision in the coming months, that is, at its meeting in March.”

That’s International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach (GER), in a report of comments to reporters on Friday in Paris during the IOC Executive Board meeting there. The Olympic Summit is scheduled for Tuesday at the IOC’s headquarters in Lausanne.

As is the usual custom, Russian Olympic Committee President Stanislav Pozdnyakov ridiculed the IOC’s entire process:

“We have not been waiting for anything for a long time. It is already clear that the scheme that was discussed in December exactly one year ago at the Olympic Summit is unworkable, and the IOC itself made adjustments to the March recommendations that are absolutely unacceptable. That scheme has been demolished. Everything else is ritual dancing.”

And Dmitry Svishchev, the Chair of the State Duma Committee on Physical Culture and Sports, told TASS:

“The test itself is humiliating and lawless. This creates a precedent that you can be removed at any moment. The athlete has proven himself, and then anything can happen, and our athlete can be suspended on a formal basis. This should not be allowed.

“Even after 10 years, they can come up with some kind of check and deprive athletes of awards retroactively.”

As for the fiction that describing Russian or Belarusian athletes as neutrals is impactful, the Russian news agency TASS headlined a Monday story about the Tokyo Grand Slam victory by “neutral” Tamerlan Bashaev, the 2021 Worlds silver medalist at +100 kg, this way:

“Russian judoka Bashaev commented on the victory at the Grand Slam tournament in Tokyo”

Further, the story opened with:

“The winner of the Grand Slam in Tokyo, Russian judoka Tamerlan Bashaev, did not expect that South Korean Kim Min Jong would allow a counterattack in the final of the tournament. Bashaev told TASS about this over the phone.”

So much for “neutral” athletes being identified that way in their home countries.

2.
Coral damage places Tahiti surfing venue at risk

A Saturday test of a construction barge which would be used to construct the new judging tower at Teahupo’o in Tahiti went awry with damage to coral in the area, and new doubts about the ability to hold the Paris 2024 Olympic competitions there.

French Polynesia President Moetai Brotherson told local station TNTV on Saturday:

“What was planned as a test went badly, I regret it like everyone else. We have two possible attitudes, either we give up, or we no longer do the Games. That’s not my mentality, I don’t think that’s what the people of Teahupo’o and the Tahitians want.

“Today, we broke coral, tomorrow, if we use these old devices [the existing wooden tower], these are lives that we are potentially putting in danger, I will not take this responsibility.

“If in the end there is no solution, since we will no longer be able to reuse the old foundations and the old tower, we will have to ask ourselves the question of the sustainability of the surfing events at Teahupo’o.”

The Paris 2024 coordinator, Barbara Martins-Nio (FRA), told Agence France Presse:

“The associations are right, accessibility to the site is complex, we would like to reach out to them by suggesting close technical collaboration in order to find peace of mind.

“I am confident that a technical solution exists, the challenge today is to find a communication channel that suits everyone and that takes into account the basic postulate, namely that a new tower and new foundations are the only solution. If we do not succeed, then we will have to collectively ask ourselves the question of what happens next.”

In response to complaints about the size and complexity of the originally proposed tower, a scaled-down version was accepted that would essentially replace the wooden stand, which stands about 800 m off the shore and is considered to be unsafe. Now, the question is whether surfing can be held in Tahiti at all.

It is worth noting that the 2017 World Surfing Games – the sport’s world championships – were held in Biarritz in southwestern France, a site originally thought to be the favorite for the Paris 2024 competition venue. The World Surfing League held a competition in southwestern France (Capbreton and Seignosse) in October 2019 as well.

3.
Coates says Brisbane 2032 to hold to 10,500 ath quota

“We’ve now got a situation that we’re going from 10,500 athletes in Paris (in 2024) to 11,242 in Los Angeles.

“That’s the problem for the future of the Olympic Games because we have to continue to look at cost minimisation and efficiencies in running the games.

“But it’s pretty clear to me with Brisbane, it’s clear to our organising committee and certainly me, that we need to reduce the numbers and get back to a manageable number of 10,500.”

That was International Olympic Committee Executive Board member John Coates (AUS) in an interview last week with The Australian, commenting on the expansion of the 2028 Los Angeles Games to 35 or 36 sports and at least 11,242 athletes and perhaps more. Coates is a member of the IOC’s Games Optimisation Group, dedicated to lowering the costs of the Games.

LA28 agreed with the IOC on 28 sports in its initial sports program, with weightlifting and modern pentathlon added back this year and boxing probably to be returned for 2028. That’s 31, and the IOC Session in India approved the LA28 request for five more sports: baseball-softball, cricket, flag football, lacrosse and squash. That’s 36 in all, the most ever in an Olympic Games.

Coates was, however, highly enthusiastic about continuing to have cricket on the program for 2032, noting, “To get cricket on means another 1 billion people watching on top of the 4.5 billion that we attract already.”

Cricket is popular in Australia and would enhance its tourism lift from the Games from the Indian subcontinent.

4.
Gold Coast ends drive for Commonwealth Games 2026

“We did our best and that’s all people can expect. But it seems our vision for the Games does not align with that of the state or federal government.

“We also received fantastic support from great Australians like Gina Rinehart, Gerry Harvey and Katie Page, yet we couldn’t generate support from the state or federal governments.

“Our dual proposal with Perth would have saved Australia’s tarnished reputation, delivered billions into the national economy and given athletes, and para-athletes, a clear pathway towards other international competitions including the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and Paralympics and then on to the 2032 Games in Queensland.”

That’s from Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate on Sunday, in a statement, ending his quest to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games after the state of Victoria stunningly withdrew as the 2026 host in July. Tate added:

“Sadly, at the same time, our country’s reputation as a place that reneges on a global sports contract remains in tatters.”

Gold Coast successfully hosted the 2018 Commonwealth Games and pitched a “streamlined” event that he claimed would cost about A$700 million (A$1 = $0.66 U.S.). But the Queensland government is focused on the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games, which is generating considerable controversy on its own, including a split between municipal and state officials over a billion-dollar redevelopment project of the Gabba stadium in Brisbane.

Commonwealth Games Australia chief Craig Phillips told the Australian Associated Press:

“The people we spoke to in the Commonwealth Games family, I believe that the sentiment is very much still that the first priority is there is a solution here in Australia.

“But if that doesn’t materialise, then other options are certainly very much on the table.

“We have made it clear to the CGF that we feel an obligation to host, we would like to host. But if they come up with a better solution for themselves then ultimately so be it.”

That means going elsewhere, possibly in 2027 if a 2026 option is not found; the Commonwealth Games Federation currently has no site for the Games for 2026, 2030 or beyond, leading to questions about its possible demise.

5.
Weightlifting deepens anti-doping requirements for 2024

The International Weightlifting Federation had to sweat out whether it would be included in the program for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, in view of its rampant doping problems in the past and finance and governance issues over the past 10 years.

Now included, the federation is adopting procedures to try and break away from the culture of doping which dominated the sport for decades. A new anti-doping requirements program now specifies testing and education requirements for national federations, based on their “doping risk to the sport.”

Three levels of federations have been identified: “A” for the 29 federations for which the highest requirements are set, including Colombia, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Mexico, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Thailand and Venezuela. The “B” has 31 listed federations, including China, Palestine, Russia and South Africa.

The largest group – “C” has 132 federations, including Canada and the U.S., which are considered to be at the lowest risk.

In order to compete at the 2024 Olympic Games, the 2024 IWF World Juniors or IWF World Championships:

● “A”: All entrants must be tested out-of-competition at least twice in the six months prior to the event, and complete a mandatory education program.

● “B”: Entrants must be test out-of-competition at least once, and are “strongly encouraged” to complete the education courses.

● “C”: No testing requirement, but also “strongly encouraged” to complete the education component.

The regulations are applicable as of 1 January 2024; the IWF’s anti-doping program has been contracted out to the International Testing Agency to ensure no manipulation of the process from within the IWF can once again occur. The IOC noted in its return of the sport for the LA28 Games that any slippage back into widespread doping could imperil its status.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Olympic Winter Games 2030: France ● The selection of the French Alps bid to as the target for the 2030 Winter Games is already causing internal controversy. Following the instructions of the IOC to reduce the cost and complexity of the project, the skiing sites were narrowed, with the famed Val d’Isere alpine site eliminated to make the event more compact.

FrancsJeux.com reported on a letter from French skiing legend Jean-Claude Killy, the co-head of the 1992 Albertville Winter Olympic organizing committee, railing against the Val d’Isere removal, including:

“I am saddened and scandalized by the peremptory decision to remove Val d’Isère from the 2030 Olympic Games. We have thus thrown away without analysis, without consultation and without rational basis an entire section of the history of ski racing. …

“Val d’Isère meets all these criteria. I think it is important to reconsider this decision.”

● Russia ● The Russian Anti-Doping Agency reported 14 suspected violations of anti-doping rules in November, bringing the 2023 total to 141. This is ahead of the 2022 total of 135.

This compares to 37 sanctions (and three public warnings) handed out by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency so far in 2023.

● Athletics ● The Athletics Federation of India is preparing to bid for the 2029 World Athletics Championships, based on discussions at its annual meeting last weekend. The 2025 Worlds has been awarded to Tokyo (JPN), with no decision on 2027 as yet.

India is also promoting a bid for the 2030 Youth Olympic Games and the 2036 Olympic Games.

There was great interest in the marathon debut of Ugandan star Joshua Cheptegei, the world-record holder in the 5,000 and 10,000 m, at Sunday’s Valencia Marathon. He was with the leaders through the halfway mark, but faded in the second half and finished 37th in 2:08:59.

● Bobsled ● Canadian and American Olympic gold medalist Kaillie Humphries announced on X (ex-Twitter) that she is pregnant and will miss the 2023-24 IBSF season.

Humphries, now 38, and husband Travis Armbruster, are expecting their first child in June.

However, Humphries also expects to compete again, targeting the 2026 Winter Games in Milan Cortina (ITA). She was the two-woman gold medalist for Canada in 2010 and 2014, and won bronze in 2018. She won the Olympic gold for the U.S. in the Monobob in Beijing in 2022.

● Football ● UEFA declared its prize money formula for the 2024 men’s European Championship, to be held in Germany, with a total of €331 million available (€1 = $1.08 U.S. today):

● “Participating fee: €9.25m
● “Match bonus: €1.0m for a win and €500,000 for a draw
● “Qualification to the round of 16: €1.5m
● “Qualification to the quarter-finals: €2.5m
● “Qualification to the semi-finals: €4m
● “The runners-up will receive an additional payment of €5m
● “The 2024 European champions will receive an extra payment of €8m”

This is the same amount as for EURO 2020; the maximum payout for an undefeated champion is €28.25 million.

● Gymnastics ● The 30th Congress of European Gymnastics, meeting in Sofia (BUL) surprised with a vote in conflict with the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG):

“Athletes and officials from Russia and Belarus are not allowed to return to European Gymnastics competitions. European Gymnastics does not follow the FIG decision published on 19 July 2023.”

FIG decided to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as individual, “neutral” athletes if they meet the federation’s rules for neutrality concerning the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This is the IOC’s position, which has slowly been accepted by most – but not all – of the International Federations.

● Ice Hockey ● “The IIHF Council, on recommendation from its Medical Committee, has decided to mandate the use of a neck laceration protector, specifically designed for this purpose, at all levels of IIHF competitions. The neck laceration protectors are now mandatory for the senior categories in addition to the U20 and U18 categories, for which neck laceration protectors had already been enforced as per IIHF Official Rule Book.”

Monday’s statement from the International Ice Hockey Federation comes in the aftermath of the death of American player Adam Johnson, who died on 29 October after his neck was cut in an accident in a 28 October game while he was playing for the Nottingham Panthers at the Sheffield Steelers.

The implementation date for the neck protector “will go into effect for the senior categories will be determined by the supply situation.”

● Luge ● Chris Mazdzer, who won a sensational 2018 Olympic silver in the men’s Singles event, announced his retirement to follow this weekend’s FIL World Cup races in Lake Placid, New York.

A four-time Olympian, Mazdzer, 35, also won a World Championships bronze in the Mixed Team event in 2020 and collected 24 World Cup medals across 22 years in international competition. He was a seven-time USA Luge national champion. He said in a statement:

“Reflecting on my career, I hope I achieved my two goals: leaving the sport better than I found it and increasing awareness of luge in the United States. While I can’t objectively answer those questions, I feel a sense of accomplishment in these endeavors.

“Looking ahead, I am genuinely excited for the future of USA Luge. There are phenomenal athletes on the horizon, and I can’t wait to watch them this season and in the seasons to come. The momentum behind the scenes is exciting, and while it’s going to be challenging not to be directly involved, I am eager to witness the continued success and growth of the sport.”

The FIL World Cup “Kick-Off Start Competition” was held in Lake Placid, New York, ahead of the first races coming this weekend, with three-time U.S. Olympian Tucker West taking the men’s Singles title.

The event had two rounds, with a traditional luge start and a relay start, with West winning in a combined time of 7.42, ahead of Gints Berzins (LAT: 7.49). Latvian Sigita Berzina won the women’s Singles in 8.01, beating teammate Elina Ieva Vitola (8.04) and defending World Cup champ Julia Taubitz (GER: 8.05).

Triple Olympic men’s Doubles champs Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt (GER) won in 7.64, just 0.03 clear of Emanuel Rieder and Simon Kainzwaldner (ITA: 7.67) and 0.05 up on Martins Bots and Roberts Plume (LAT: 7.69). The women’s Doubles title went to World Champions Jessica Dengenhardt and Cheyenne Rosenthal (GER: 8.22), comfortably ahead of American pairs Chevonne Forgan and Sophie Kirkby (8.31) and Maya Chan and Reannyn Weiler (8.36).

● Snowboard ● Sochi 2014 U.S. Olympian Trevor Jacob was sentenced to six months in prison for a 2021 stunt in which he purposely crashed an airplane.

In late 2021, he arranged to jump from a single-engine airplane which had multiple cameras installed and which crashed in the giant Los Padres National Forest in southern California. After hiding the wreckage and telling the National Transportation Safety Board he didn’t know where it was, produced a video titled “I Crashed My Airplane” on YouTube as part of a sponsorship arrangement with Ridge Wallet.

Jacob pled guilty to one count of destruction and concealment with the intent to obstruct a federal investigation, and was sentenced in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. He finished ninth at the 2014 Winter Games in the men’s Snowboard Cross event.

● Table Tennis ● Tokyo Olympian Kanak Jha, 23, the four-time U.S. champion, was banned for a year due to a violation of his suspension for “whereabouts” failures. According to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency:

“On December 1, 2022, USADA provisionally suspended Jha, 22, for committing an anti-doping rule violation by accruing three Whereabouts Failures within a 12-month period. Despite being provisionally suspended, Jha participated in an activity organized by a member organization of USA Table Tennis on December 14, 2022, which is against the rules for athletes who are provisionally suspended.”

Jha appealed the USADA finding of a violation of his provisional suspension to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but was turned down, meaning his one-year suspension began on 23 March 2023.

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TSX REPORT: IOC’s Russia-and-Paris ideas could come Tuesday; report says Richardson in $20 million Nike deal; Brisbane 2032 political explosion

Rich Perelman

December 4, 2023

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

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. Tuesday’s Olympic Summit could preview Russian decision
2. Report: Richardson signs five-year, $20 million Nike deal
3. IOC says Paris 2024 “well prepared” after visit
4. Brisbane mayor explodes, leaves 2032 Games Forum
5. Oregon beach volley and rowing athletes file Title IX suit

● The International Olympic Committee is holding its annual Olympic Summit on Tuesday, with a signal of how Russian and Belarusian athletes will be admitted – if at all – to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

● A report stated U.S. sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson has signed a five-year, $20 million sponsorship deal with Nike. Great for her, but can she and others raise the interest in the sport, or will this be another missed opportunity.

● The IOC Executive Board completed its meetings in Paris on Friday and said it was satisfied with the preparations for the 2024 Olympic Games. There is the usual carping from Parisians about the impact of the Games, but the Paris 2024 finances appear good and that’s important.

● A political explosion has hit Brisbane 2032 over the billion-dollar renovation of the Gabba stadium, with the city’s mayor resigning from the political leadership forum coordinating the government’s efforts on the Games.

● A lawsuit filed Friday accuses the University of Oregon athletic department of Title IX non-compliance over facilities and support given to the women’s beach volleyball and rowing teams. It could be a major case in name-image-likeness issues within collegiate departments, or not much at all.

● World Championships: Football (Germany wins FIFA U-17 World Cup on penalties) = Handball (IHF Women’s Worlds continuing) ●

● Panorama: Alpine Skiing (2: Brignone wins two in Tremblant; men’s races canceled by weather) = Athletics (2: Lemma wins Valencia in 2:01:48!; Santos banned three years for lying about his age in 2012) = Badminton (Japan wins two at Modi Invitational) = Basketball (U.S. women take FIBA 3×3 AmeriCup title) = Biathlon (France’s Jeanmonnot wins twice in Oestersund) = Cross Country Skiing (U.S.’s Diggins wins 14th World Cup individual gold) = Football (Rodman stars as U.S. shuts down China, 3-0) = Freestyle Skiing (2: Hall and Gremaud take Big Air titles; Anthony and Horishima take Moguls season opener) = Judo (Japan wins seven at Tokyo Grand Slam) = Nordic Combined (Riiber and Hansen sweep World Cup races) = Rugby Sevens (South Africa and Australia win season openers) = Ski Jumping (Kraft sweeps in Lillehammer) = Snowboard (2: Su and Gasser take Big Air titles in Beijing; Grondin and Trespeuch take SnowCross openers) = Speed Skating (Dutch win four at third World Cup stage) = Swimming (3: Douglass, Smith, Haughey win three at U.S. Open; Weinstein takes final open-water World Cup in Portugal; Klete Keller sentenced) = Taekwondo (two Olympic champs win at Grand Prix Final) ●

1.
Tuesday’s Olympic Summit could preview Russian decision

“The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has convened the 12th Olympic Summit for Tuesday, 5 December 2023. This meeting will be held at Olympic House, Lausanne, Switzerland.”

For those who watch the Olympic Movement closely, this is pretty big stuff. The IOC’s announcement included:

“Discussions will focus on several topics of interest to the Olympic Movement, including the unifying mission of the Olympic Games in the international community, the upcoming Olympic Games Paris 2024, updates on other forthcoming editions of the Olympic Games, esports within the Olympic Movement, and digital engagement as well as the protection of athletes.”

Let’s translate the first part of that sentence, about “unifying mission of the Olympic Games.” That’s code for a formulation of the policy on whether to allow, and how to allow, participation at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games by Russian and Belarusian athletes.

Make no mistake about this. Most of the major players in the Olympic Movement are expected to attend, led by IOC chief Thomas Bach (GER), the heads of nine International Federations – including World Athletics’ Sebastian Coe (GBR) who has been deadset against Russian participation while its invasion of Ukraine continues – and the National Olympic Committee President from China (Zhidan Gao) and Gene Sykes from the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee.

It was from this meeting in 2022 that the IOC announced the group’s agreement for

“The IOC to lead the further exploration of the [Olympic Council of Asia] initiative concerning the participation of athletes who are in full respect of the Olympic Charter and the sanctions [on Russia and Belarus]. This initiative to be discussed in the next round of IOC consultation calls with the IOC Members, the athletes’ representatives, the International Federations and the National Olympic Committees.”

This was planned and executed. Expect more of the same on Tuesday. This is a private meeting, which will not be streamed or to which media can attend. There will be no news conference; only a statement will be issued.

It is expected to signal the IOC’s long-awaited view on what to do about Russian and Belarusian attendance in Paris, to be formalized later in the year. Bach has continuously claimed that only by having Russian and Belarusian athletes in Paris can the IOC’s “mission” be fulfilled, so his view is clear. But the devil is in the details, some of which are to be expected Tuesday.

2.
Report: Richardson signs five-year, $20 million Nike deal

What is certain is that U.S. sprint star Sha’Carri Richardson, the women’s World 100 m Champion, has new representation in the commercial marketplace. An Instagram post on Friday explained:

“HSInternational Sports Management inc. (HSI) is pleased to announce World Champion, Sha’Carri Richardson @itsshacarri has retained HSI for management and agent representation.

“Managing Director of HSI, Emanuel Hudson @ekhsi said of the signing, ‘We look forward to assisting Ms. Richardson on her path to obtaining all her ultimate goals. This young woman is a bright light, as can be seen in the young girls and boys who look up to her. Sha’Carri’s next decade will be fruitful, and we are pleased she chose us to be a part of that journey.’”

She may also be the newest Nike star, as reports are circulating that she has signed a five-year, $20 million sponsorship extension with Nike, which has been supporting her for several years already.

Nike has said nothing, but the reports explain that the apparel and footwear giant plan a Richardson-endorsed line of clothing, and a focus by Nike – long identified with distance running – on new research and development of sprinting gear.

Observed: If true, this is a great deal for Richardson, who is not only a star sprinter, but has a charismatic personality that draws attention and makes her of interest even to non-track fans, as shown by her 2.97 million Instagram followers. To her credit, she has refined her style after a couple of tough years, and become much more endearing to the public.

She and Noah Lyles, the 100-200 m World Champion on the men’s side, give track and field a significant base of star power – along with shot putter Ryan Crouser and sprint/hurdler Sydney McLaughlin – to expand interest in the sport with an Olympic year coming in 2024 and the Los Angeles Games coming in 2028. But then the questions begin:

Is there a plan to make the sport bigger? There was no lasting legacy from the Carl Lewis era, or long-term plan following the close of Usain Bolt’s career.

Who’s in charge? USA Track & Field? Lyles? Richardson? An athlete “union,” possibly based on the meeting Richardson helped to organize at the 2023 USATF Nationals in July?

Anybody?

3.
IOC says Paris 2024 “well prepared” after visit

Friday’s final day of the IOC Executive Board meeting in Paris was devoted to a review of the current status of the preparations for the 2024 Olympic Games and IOC President Bach pronounced their satisfaction:

“This meeting and the reports from the IOC Coordination Commission reassure us that Paris 2024 is well prepared for the coming year. At the IOC we are committed to doing everything we can to contribute actively to these Olympic Games, which will be a turning point in history: more sustainable, more urban, more inclusive, with gender parity – Games wide open.”

The IOC’s statement on the meetings noted the new traffic control regulations, which will require special access arrangements for specific areas where the Games will be held:

“The announcement of the plans will allow local residents and businesses to consult with the authorities well in advance to ensure regular activities can co-exist with the Games.”

Ticket sales continue to be excellent, with 380,000 of the 400,000 new tickets available sold in 24 hours – 7.5 million sold in total so far – and another 50,000 placed on sale. Sales have been made to buyers from 197 countries, with Great Britain, the U.S., Germany and the Netherlands the biggest buyers outside of France.

The torch relay is also popular, with 90,000 applications for the 10,000 Olympic torchbearer spots and the 1,000 Paralympic torchbearers.

The Executive Board visited the almost-complete Olympic Village, which was noted to be on schedule for delivery to the organizing committee and will be used for housing after the Games.

Bach was happy, telling reporters, “I can safely state that, not only me, but the entire IOC Executive Board is also very satisfied with the state of the preparations.”

Also on Friday, the BBC posted a story titled, “Paris Olympics 2024: Locals ask if they’re worth the trouble,” which detailed complaints from Parisians about the Games: raises in public transport prices during the Games, the new access regulations for four Games zones, the continuing tug-of-war over the movement of the famous bookseller stalls along the Seine and so on.

One resident – “Evelyne” – was quite happy to tell reporter Hugh Schofield:

“Paris will be unbearable. Impossible to park; impossible to move around; impossible to do anything. [Mayor Anne] Madame Hidalgo has wrecked Paris, and I want no part of the Games.”

But Schofield also added the back story:

“There was always a solid corpus of French people who opposed the Games on the left-wing grounds that they are a colossal waste of money and serve mainly the interests of the multinationals.

“To them are now added all those who believe they will also be a monumental inconvenience.

“So should the organisers be worried? Probably not. Most of the concerns are either exaggerated or easily resolved. And what Games ever took place without mega-jitters in the months ahead?

“Take transport. Mayor Hidalgo certainly set Olympic hearts racing with her dire warnings about lack of preparation.

“But context is all. The mayor is in political difficulty. She is also the sworn enemy of both the sports minister and the (conservative) head of the Ile-de-France region, who has responsibility for suburban rail.”

Observed: And so on and so on. As Schofield rightly notes, it’s easy to find naysayers about an Olympic Games or any other major event. This is normal and many Parisians won’t be in the city anyway as late July and August are vacation time.

One of the things that can cripple an organizing committee is finances. So far, Paris 2024 remains on target, has signed 55 domestic sponsorships (all three levels) and is selling lots and lots of tickets, in fact, almost all of the tickets not designated for hospitality and sponsor use, and will sell more.

There will be problems in Paris, as with every Games. But the things that can sabotage the event – as Rio found out in 2016 – seem to be in reasonable, even good shape with eight months left. But there are still eight months left.

4.
Brisbane mayor explodes, leaves 2032 Games Forum

The Brisbane 2032 organizing committee has been quietly active, working on its domestic sponsorships plans and community involvement programs. The same cannot be said for the area’s politicians.

On Friday, Brisbane Mayor Adrian Schrinner issued a lengthy statement withdrawing from the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games Intergovernmental Leaders’ Forum, explaining:

“I will no longer fall into line and support the State Government’s current Gabba plan.

“This week it became very apparent that the Intergovernmental Leaders’ Forum is a dysfunctional farce, a pointless talkfest established to placate key stakeholders while all the real decisions are made by the State Government behind closed doors.

“It has also become clear that there must be better options than demolishing and rebuilding the Gabba.

“The Games are a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Brisbane and Queensland.

“But unless the State Government’s approach changes, this opportunity will be squandered through mismanagement.

“I believe that the Government has completely lost its way on the road to the Games.

“This has put the promised legacy for our city, our region and our state in serious jeopardy.”

And there is this:

“It’s clear that the Games have become more about over-priced stadiums rather than the promise of vital transport solutions.

“The State Government’s ham-fisted and foolish attempt to extort Brisbane ratepayers for tens of millions of dollars for a new RNA stadium was the final straw.

“This truly bizarre approach was undertaken because I had the temerity to back local fans and say Brisbane teams should play in Brisbane while the Gabba is torn down and rebuilt.”

The specific issue in the spotlight is the plan by the Queensland (state) government to rebuild the famed Brisbane Cricket Ground, known as the Gabba, at a cost currently estimated at A$2.7 billion (A$1 = $0.67 U.S.). While the Gabba is torn down and rebuilt for the 2032 Games and beyond, the Brisbane teams in Australian Football and cricket will need a home field starting in 2025.

The identified site is the Brisbane Showgrounds, which is operated by the Royal National Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland (“RNA”), where a legacy facility can be expanded to seat 20,000, later to be scaled back to 12,000.

The Queensland government, which is doing the redevelopment project in coordination with the national government, said Thursday that it would put up A$47.5 million of the projected A$137 million cost.

The City of Brisbane and the RNA, and the local teams, are expected to fund the rest, but refuse to do so, since the redevelopment of the Gabba is the state’s idea and not theirs. Further, the IOC itself pointed out during the bid phase that track & field could be held elsewhere in Queensland in an existing facility, without the costly renovation of the Gabba.

And Schrinner picked up on the Paris 2024 idea to use the Seine River for the Games opening, adding:

“I have no doubt there are good alternatives to the full demolition and rebuilding of the Gabba, but the State Government has never genuinely looked for them with an open mind.

“If they won’t do it, let’s appoint an independent body that will.

“We could even look at alternatives for the opening and closing ceremonies, such as events along the Brisbane River that are open to all.”

The Gabba redevelopment, with a new arena and expanded transportation hub, is a centerpiece of the Queensland plan for Brisbane 2032’s legacy. The Queensland sports minister, Stirling Hinchcliffe, said he was “bewildered” by Schrinner’s departure from the prior plan.

This isn’t good.

5.
Oregon beach volley and rowing athletes file Title IX suit

“This is a sex discrimination class action against the University of Oregon (‘Oregon’) for depriving its female student-athletes of equal treatment, equal athletic financial aid, and equal opportunities to participate in varsity athletics in violation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (‘Title IX’).”

This is the opening of a 115-page complaint filed on Friday (1st) in the U.S. Federal District Court in Eugene, Oregon by 32 plaintiffs – 26 members of the Oregon women’s beach volleyball team and six members of the women’s rowing team – against the Oregon athletic department on the basis of unequal treatment. Among the many allegations:

● “To cite the most egregious example, Oregon gives more than a third of its male student-athletes – the men on its football team – unbelievably better treatment than it gives to any of its female student-athletes: palatial locker rooms, “fitting” rooms, and player lounges; state-of-the-art, personalized gear and equipment in seemingly endless quantities; preferential scheduling for training, practices, and games; chartered flights to away games; hotel stays before home games; huge quantities of food and travel per diems for more food, whether the money is needed or used for food or not; professional-quality practice and competitive facilities; their own theatre with seats upholstered in Ferrari leather, where they can watch movies and sporting events together; round-the-clock access to trainers and medical professionals; nearly-unlimited publicity, including to advance their name, image, and likeness (NIL) opportunities and income; highly-paid coaches and assistant coaches with plush offices and special amenities, including their own hot tub; and myriad other forms of support that one can hardly imagine.”

● “ In contrast, to cite the counterexample, the female student-athletes on Oregon’s women’s beach volleyball team are treated far worse than any of its male student-athletes. They are treated so badly that, on July 23, 2023, The Oregonian published a front-page investigative report, ‘Oregon Ducks beach volleyball players detail disparate treatment that experts say could violate Title IX,’ exposing the school’s discrimination against them, including Oregon’s failure to give them any athletic scholarships; adequate locker rooms, practice and competitive facilities; sufficient travel accommodations and daily allowances; appropriate equipment and supplies; even minimal publicity and recognition; and honest or fair recruiting support.”

● “According to its most recent publicly available [Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act] data for 2021-22, women were just over 49% of the varsity athletes at Oregon, but the school spent only 25% of its total athletic expenditures on them and only 15% of its recruiting dollars on them.”

The suit focuses on unequal treatment specific the women’s beach volleyball and rowing teams, but also notes an important issue regarding name-image-likeness (NIL) opportunities:

“Oregon provides its male and female student-athletes with a wide array of publicity and other treatments and benefits to increase their NIL-related training, opportunities, and income, both directly and by working with and through its NIL collective, Division Street … and Opendorse, the Oregon Ducks NIL Marketplace.

“Through these actions, Oregon provides its male student-athletes with much greater NIL-related training, opportunities, and income than its female student-athletes.”

The request for relief starts with the certification of the class and then asks the Court, in addition to damages and attorney’s fees, to:

● “Enter an order declaring that Oregon is discriminating against its current female varsity student-athletes on the basis of their sex by depriving them of equal treatment and benefits, equal athletic financial aid, and equal opportunities to participate in intercollegiate athletics in violation of Title IX and the Regulations promulgated thereunder.”

● “Issue a permanent injunction barring Oregon from discriminating against its female student-athletes on the basis of their sex by (a) denying female varsity student-athletes of equal treatment and benefits in Oregon’s intercollegiate athletics program, (b) depriving female varsity student-athletes of equal athletic financial aid, and (c) depriving female students of equal opportunities to participate in varsity intercollegiate athletics.”

The case is Schroeder, et al vs. University of Oregon, case no. 6:23-cv-1806.

Observed: This could end up being a critical, ground-breaking case concerning women’s athletes at NCAA institutions, or could be limited to the two teams at Oregon which have complained about their facilities and treatment.

It could also be a further incentive for the U.S. Congress to create a national NIL law, which is being sought – with great vigor – by the NCAA.

≡ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS ≡

● Football ● The two undefeated teams playing in the final of the FIFA men’s U-17 World Cup in Indonesia – France and Germany – could not be separated at the end of regulation play and had to go to penalties, with the Germans winning their first trophy in this tournament, 4-3.

Playing in Surakarta before 13,037 at the Manahan Stadium, the Germans scored first on a penalty by star forward Paris Brunner in the 29th and led, 1-0, at the half. They doubled their advantage to 2-0 on a 51st-minute goal by midfielder Noah Darvich, but could not make it stand up.

Midfielder Saimon Bouabre scored for France in the 53rd to close to 2-1 and after midfielder Winners Osawe was red-carded in the 69th – reducing Germany to 10 – midfielder Mathis Amougou tied it in the 85th. The game was tight, with France taking 14 shots to 12 for the Germans, although the French had 64% possession.

The French went up by 2-0 again in the shoot-out, the missed two in a row and the Germans got three straight goals to go up, 3-2. Joan Tinces tied it for France and Brunner’s try was saved, but with a chance to go ahead, Tidiam Gomis missed France’s fifth penalty and Almugera Kabar scored for the Germans to take the win, 4-3.

In the third-place game, Mali took a decisive 3-0 win over Argentina.

● Handball ● Pool play continues at the 26th IHF Women’s World Championship in Denmark, Sweden and Norway, with six of the eight groups having played two rounds, and Hungary and Montenegro (Group B), Norway (C), Slovenia and France (D), Germany and Poland (F), Brazil and Spain (G) and Netherlands and the Czech Republic (H) all at 2-0.

The preliminary pools continue through 5 December.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Alpine Skiing ● The women’s FIS World Cup was in Tremblant (CAN) for two Giant Slaloms, with Italy’s two-time Worlds medalist Federica Brignone taking Saturday’s race.

She led after the first run over Swede Sara Hector by 0.11, then had the third-best second run to finish in a combined 2:14.95, 0.21 better than Olympic Slalom champ Petra Vlhova (SVK), who had the fastest second run.

American superstar Mikaela Shiffrin collected a medal in her fourth straight race, moving from fifth to third on the second run and taking the bronze in 2:15.24, with Hector fourth (2:15.51).

On Sunday, the results were almost the same – Brignone won, with Shiffrin third – but this time the Italian came from sixth after the first run to win with the fastest second run in the race, finishing in 2:11.95. Swiss Lara Gut-Behrami, the 2021 World Champion in this event, had the third-fastest first run and moved up with a final time of 2:12.28, while Shiffrin, second after the first race, had only the 18th-fastest second run and slipped to third (2:12.34).

A.J. Hurt of the U.S. finished ninth overall (2:13.35) and Paula Moltzan was 15th (2:13.89).

Both Friday’s and Saturday’s men’s Downhill, as well as Sunday’s Super G at Beaver Creek, Colorado (USA) had to be canceled due to heavy snow. No word on make-up dates yet.

● Athletics ● One of the greatest years in marathon history was called off by a 2:01:48 victory for Ethiopia’s Sisay Lemma at the Valencia Marathon in Spain on Sunday, making him the fourth-fastest man in history with the sixth-fastest race in history.

Lemma, the 2021 London Marathon champ, won his sixth marathon in 25 tries, was part of a group of seven that passed halfway in 1:00:35. By 25 km, Lemma had the lead over Kibiwott Kandie (KEN) and Dawit Wolde (ETH), but with all three still in contention. But Lemma moved away after 35 km and had a minute lead by 40 km and was all alone at the finish.

Kenyan Alexander Mutiso moved up past the tiring Wolde for second, finishing with a lifetime best of 2:03:11 (no. 12 all-time) with Wolde in a lifetime best of 2:03:48 (25th all-time) in third. Ethiopian great Kenenisa Bekele, now 41, was fourth in 2:04.19 – his third-fastest ever – while Kandie fell back to sixth in 2:04:48, also a personal record.

Four of the 10 fastest marathons ever were run in 2023, with Kelvin Kiptum (KEN) grabbing the world record at 2:00:35 in Chicago after winning London in 2:01:25 in April. Two-time Olympic champ Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) won Berlin in 2:02:42 and now Lemma in Valencia.

The women’s race was a runaway for Ethiopia’s Worknesh Degefa, breaking away after 33 km and winning easily in 2:15:51 in her first marathon since January 2020! She’s now no. 7 on the all-time list, with the ninth-fastest women’s marathon ever.

Degefa led an Ethiopian sweep, with Almaz Ayana – the Olympic 10,000 m winner in Rio – also getting a lifetime best in 2:16:22, now no. 8 all-time, to finish second. Hiwot Gebrekidan was third (2:17:59 lifetime best, no. 24 all-time) and Kenyan Celestine Chepchirchir was fourth (2:20:46).

On Friday, Dominican sprint star Luguelín Santos was banned for three years from March 2023 to March 2026 for age manipulation. The Athletics Integrity Unit noted:

“The Dominican Republic athlete – the 400-metre gold medallist at the event (now known as the World Athletics U20 Championships) – admitted to competing in the 2012 age-group championships with a passport showing a falsified date of birth – 12 November 1993 – when in fact he born on that date in 1992.”

That made him ineligible for the World Juniors in 2012, and it got worse: “Santos also told the AIU that he had been directed to use the ‘special passport’ with the false birth year (1993) for competitions, but the genuine passport (birth year 1992) for all other official purposes.”

His London 2012 Olympic silver in the 400 m is not affected, since his age was not at issue. He also won an Olympic silver in Tokyo in the Mixed 4×400 m.

● Badminton ● Japanese players and teams made it to all five finals at the Syed Modi India International in Lucknow (IND), but came away with only two wins on Sunday.

Nozomi Okuhara (JPN), the 2017 World Champion, took the women’s Singles final over fifth-seed Line Kjaersfeldt (DEN), by 21-19, 21-16, and Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi (JPN) disappointed the home fans by defeating Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa (IND), 21-14, 17-21, 21-15.

In the men’s Singles final, Yu Jen Chi (TPE) came from behind to beat Kenta Nishimoto (JPN), 20-22, 21-12, 21-17 and Malaysia’s Hon Jian Choong and Muhammad Haikal (MAS) upset the top seeds, Japan’s Akira Koga and Taichi Saito (JPN) in the men’s Doubles final, 18-21, 21-18, 21-16.

In the Mixed Doubles gold-medal match, second-seeds Dejan Ferdinansyah and Gloria Widjaja (INA) also had to come from one set down to win over fifth-seeded Yuki Kaneko and Misaki Matsumoto (JPN), 20-22, 21-19, 25-23.

● Basketball ● The U.S. women’s team of Kelsey Mitchell, Katie Samuelson, Dearica Hamby and Camille Zimmerman won the FIBA 3×3 AmeriCup on Sunday with a 21-20, last-second win over Brazil in San Juan (PUR).

The American women beat Uruguay (17-12), Jamaica (22-13) and the Dominican Republic (21-10) in pool play, then slid past Ecuador (18-7) in the quarters, and defending champion Canada (21-15) in the semis. In the final, Brazil took the lead with 5:58 to play at 11-9 and extended to 19-13 before Samuelson hit two two-pointers to close to 18-19 and then Hamby tied the game with 0:49 to play. Brazil’s Vitoria Marcelino took the lead back with 44 seconds left and then Samuelson made one of two foul shots to even the score with 22 seconds to.

Finally, a pass from Mitchell to Hamby on the baseline resulted in a fade-away jumper for the win. Canada defeated Chile, 21-8, for the bronze.

The men’s tournament went to homestanding Puerto Rico with an 18-14 win over Brazil, as Angel Matias scored nine and Adrian Ocasio had five and a team-high seven rebounds. The Dominican Republic won the bronze with a 21-15 win over Mexico.

The Dominicans eliminated the U.S. team of Bryce Wills, Trey Bardsley, Devin Cannaday and Mitch Hann in the quarterfinals, 18-16.

● Biathlon ● The second weekend of IBU World Cup action in Oestersund (SWE) finished with a surprise sweep for unheralded Lou Jeanmonnot of France.

At age 25, she had won four World Cup golds on relays before this season and a couple of other medals, but scored her first-ever individual World Cup win in Saturday’s 7.5 km Sprint in 21:04.1 (0 penalties), over Karoline Knotten (NOR: 21:12.6/1) and Juni Arnekleiv (NOR: 21:21.7/1).

On Sunday, she won a tight battle with German stars Franziska Preuss and Vanessa Voigt, who also went 2-3 in the season-opening 15 km Individual race on 26 November. Jeanmonnot shot clean and finished in 31:41.3, just ahead of Preuss (31:41.6, one penalty) and 31:59.8 for Voigt (one penalty).

Fellow German Philip Nawrath won his first World Cup title – at age 30 – in the men’s 10 km Sprint in 24:02.0 (0), well ahead of Norwegian veteran Tarjei Boe (24:20.7/0) and Vebjoern Soerum (NOR: 24:21.8/0).

On Sunday, Nawrath almost scored another win, but had to settle for second behind Sweden’s 2018 Olympic Pursuit runner-up Sebastian Samuelsson, 31:38.4 (3) to 31:43.5 (2). Vetle Christiansen (NOR) took third at 31:45.6 (1).

Norway, with Boe and Christiansen aboard, won the men’s 4×7.5 km relay over France, 1:14:28.4 to 1:14:49.0, and the Norwegian women won the 4×6 km relay in 1:18:48.3, almost 42 seconds up on Sweden (1:19:29.9).

● Cross Country Skiing ● The U.S.’s amazing Jessie Diggins continued to shine in the FIS World Cup with a win on Saturday in Gallivare (SWE).

After Swedish stars had won the first three women’s races of the season, Diggins broke through with a dominant victory in the 10 km Interval Start Freestyle, finishing in 24:48.3, some 23.1 seconds up on Ebba Andersson (SWE: 25:11.4), followed by teammate Moa Ilar (25:13.9). American Rosie Brennan, who won two medals last week, finished sixth in 25:40.3.

Diggins won her 14th career individual World Cup gold, all of which have come in Freestyle races. She also took over the overall World Cup lead, with 347 points to 330 for Brennan after four of 34 events.

In the men’s race, Norway continued its win streak, now at four, of this season’s races, with a victory for four-time World Championships gold medalist Pal Golberg. He took the men’s 10 km Interval Start Freestyle in 21:56.7, ahead of teammates Harald Amundsen (22:00.9) and Iver Andersen (22:01.8).

It’s the first sweep of the season for Norway, which has now won nine of the 12 men’s-event medals won so far in World Cup action.

Norway won the men’s 4×7.5 km Free relay on Sunday in 1:11.50.5, well ahead of Sweden (1:12:07.9). The U.S. was fifth (1:12:36.0) with Ben Ogden, Gus Schumacher, Scott Patterson and Zanden McMullen.

Sweden won the women’s 4×7.5 km Free relay, with Ilar on anchor at 1:20:19.3, ahead of Germany (1:20:32.8) and the U.S. in third, with Diggins, Brennan, Sophia Laukli and Julia Kern finishing in 1:20:46.8.

● Football ● The U.S. women shut down China, 3-0, in a Saturday friendly at Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, with attacking midfielder Trinity Rodman scoring a goal and assisting on another.

The Americans got ahead quickly, 1-0, in the eighth minute as Rodman took a long lead pass down the left side and sent a left-footed pass toward the Chinese goal that was met by a charging striker Sophia Smith for the score.

The U.S. controlled the action, but could not get another score in the half. But in the 57th, midfield star Lindsey Horan sent a long pass from the left side into the penalty area, where it bounded over the head of substitute Jaedyn Shaw and then past Chinese keeper Huan Xu for a 2-0 edge.

Rodman herself scored in the 77th, after sub midfielder Midge Purce dribbled into the penalty area, pushed the ball forward to Shaw in front of goal, which deflected off a defender and came to Rodman for the finish on the left side.

The U.S. had a 20-2 edge on shots and controlled the ball for 64% of the match. The two teams will meet again on Tuesday (5th) in Frisco, Texas.

● Freestyle Skiing ● The second stage of the FIS World Cup Big Air circuit was in Beijing (CHN) on Saturday, with American Alex Hall getting his sixth career World Cup gold and third in Big Air.

Hall took the lead in round one at 91.75 and followed up with a steady 90.25 to total 182.00. That was just enough to hold off Edouard Therriault (CAN: 181.75) and Swiss Andri Ragettli (179.75), the 2021 Worlds Slopestyle gold winner.

Swiss Mathilde Gremaud, the Beijing bronze medalist in Big Air, took the women’s title at 175.50, comfortably ahead of Kirsty Muir (GBR: 167.25) and Flora Tabanelli (ITA: 160.75). It’s the 10th career World Cup gold for Gremaud.

The season openers for both Moguls and Aerials were held at Ruka (FIN), with familiar faces on the podium. On Saturday, Australia’s Olympic champ Jakara Anthony won the women’s Moguls, ahead of four Americans, scoring 83.12 on her first run and bettering that at 84.18 on her second. The U.S. parade included Elizabeth Lemley (79.68), Olivia Giaccio (76.35), Hannah Soar (73.16) and 2023 Worlds runner-up Jaelin Kauf (72.04).

Japan’s Ikuma Horishima, the Beijing 2022 bronze winner, won at 82.68, ahead of Olympic champ Walter Wallberg (SWE: 79.88) and eight-time World Champion Mikael Kingsbury (CAN: 79.08).

The Aerials finals on Sunday had China’s Quangpu Qi, 33, with his 14th career individual World Cup win, but first in four years, scoring 119.91 to edge Pirmin Werner (SUI: 119.00) and Dmytro Kotovsky (UKR: 117.00). American Chris Lillis, the 2021 Worlds silver winner, as fourth at 116.74.

Canada’s Marion Thenault took the women’s Aerials, scoring 99.05 for her third career World Cup gold, ahead of Danielle Scott (AUS: 88.47) and Zhanbota Aldabergenova (KAZ: 77.43). Americans Dani Loeb (63.80) and Kaila Kuhn (62.04) were 5-6.

● Judo ● A big field of 504 judoka from 84 countries came to the Tokyo Grand Slam, with the hosts finishing with seven golds in the 14 men’s and women’s weight categories, underlining their continuing dominance.

Japan took a 1-2 finish in the men’s 60 kg with two-time Worlds bronze winner Rjuyu Nagayama beating Tokyo Olympic champ Naohisa Takato; Olympic winner Hifumi Abe took the 66 kg win and Sanshiro Murao won the men’s 90 kg title.

World Champion Natsumi Tsunoda won the women’s 48 kg class, and Uta Abe – Hifumi’s sister and Olympic and World Champion – won at 52 kg.

Miku Takaichi defeated Kirari Yamaguchi for a Japanese 1-2 at 63 kg and Mao Arai won the +78 kg title.

Two Russian “neutrals” won men’s classes: Matvey Kanikovskiy at 100 kg and Tamerlan Bashaev at +100 kg.

Canada’s women’s 57 kg World Champion Christa Deguchi won her division, as did Tokyo bronze winner Sanne van Dijke (NED). Three-time World Champion Maya Aguiar of Brazil took another title at 78 kg.

● Nordic Combined ● Norway came into the second men’s stop on the FIS World Cup tour in Lillehammer (NOR) with three wins in three tries, and had no intention of letting up.

Four-time World Champion Jarl Magnus Riiber won the last two races in the first stop at Ruka (FIN), and continued on Saturday, taking the 98 m jumping and Gundersen 10 km in 25:38.0, followed by teammates Jens Oftebro (26:13.5) and two-time Olympic champ Joergen Graabak (26:14.8). It’s the second sweep for Norway in four races this season.

More of the same on Sunday, as Riiber won again, off the 140 m hill, finishing the 10 km cross-country segment in 25:55.3, over last year’s overall champ Johannes Lamparter (AUT: 26:29.1) with Graabak third (26:31.8). American Ben Loomis was 14th (27:56.2).

The women’s competitions in Lillehammer were also about Norway, as Gyda Westvold Hansen came in with an 11-race World Cup win streak, including all 10 events held last season. She was in form on Friday, winning the 98 m jumping and 5 km Gundersen race in 15:03.4, ahead of teammates Ida Marie Hagen (15:19.9) and Mari Leinan Lund (15:35.7).

Saturday was the same: Hansen won in 15:02.9, with Hagen second (15:49.6) and Lund third (15:56.7). Now 13 straight for the amazing Hansen.

● Rugby Sevens ● The HSBC Sevens schedule opened in Dubai (UAE), with South Africa defeating Argentina in the men’s final, 12-7, and Australia taking the women’s tournament by 26-19 against New Zealand.

New Zealand won the men’s third-place game from Fiji, 17-12, while France skipped past Canada in the third-place game, 26-5.

The U.S. won the men’s Pool at 2-1, but lost in the quarterfinals, 40-0, to New Zealand. The American women were third in Pool C (1-2) and were defeated by Australia, 32-5, in their quarterfinal.

● Ski Jumping ● Austria’s three-time World Champion Stefan Kraft won both events at the season-opener in Ruka (FIN) and kept it going in Lillehammer (NOR) on Saturday on the smaller, 98 m hill.

Kraft scored 296.7, winning round one and fifth in the second round, out-scoring German Andreas Wellinger (291.7) and Austria’s Daniel Tschofenig (287.3) in third.

Sunday’s jumping was off the 140 m hill, with Kraft taking his fourth win in a row at 318.2 points, just ahead of Wellinger (312.3) and Austrian teammate Jan Hoerl (311.3).

The women’s season opener was in Lillehammer on the 98 m hill, with Japan’s two-time Worlds runner-up Yuki Ito taking the victory with 244.6 points, moving up from fourth in round one. France’s Josephine Pagnier won her second career World Cup medal at 242.7 and Alexandria Loutitt of Canada got third (241.6).

Pagnier and Loutitt moved up on Sunday – also jumping off the 140 m hill – to gold and silver at 272.4 and 267.5 points, respectively, with Eirin Kvandal (NOR: 252.8) third. Loutitt won her fourth career medal, so she doubled her lifetime medal count this past weekend!

● Snowboard ● Second stop of the World Cup season for Big Air was in Beijing (CHN), with the home favorite – and 2022 Olympic champ – Yuming Su (19) winning his second career World Cup gold, scoring 184.50, beating Japan’s Ryoma Kimata (180.75) and Kira Kimura (175.75).

Two-time Olympic winner Anna Gasser of Austria won her 12th career World Cup gold with a 174.00 to 171.00 score over Tess Coady (AUS), the 2023 Worlds bronze medalist, with 2023 Worlds silver medalist Miyabi Onitsuka (JPN: 170.50) just behind in third.

The SnowCross World Cup season opened in Les Deux Alpes (FRA), with Great Britain, France and the U.S. taking the medals in the team event on Saturday; the U.S. squad included Jake Vedder and the legendary, five-time World Champion Lindsey Jacobellis.

The individual event qualifying was canceled due to weather on Friday and moved to Sunday, with Canada’s Beijing Olympic runner-up Eliot Grondin taking the men’s victory over Olympic champ Alessandro Hammerle (AUT) and 2021 World Champion Lucas Eguibar (ESP).

France’s Beijing Olympic silver winner Chloe Trespeuch won the women’s final against 2018 Olympic gold winner Michela Moioli (ITA) and Belle Brockhoff (AUS), who won her 15th career World Cup medal.

● Speed Skating ● The third of six stages of the 2023-24 ISU World Cup was in Stavanger (NOR), with Dutch skaters taking four individual golds to lead all nations, but with five more medals for the U.S.

On Friday, Triple Olympic gold medalist Kjeld Nuis won the men’s 1,000 m in 1:08.76, just ahead of 2020 World Sprint Champion Tatsuya Shinhama (JPN: 1:08.88), and Marcel Bosker took the Mass Start win in 7:57.11, beating Livio Wenger (SUI: 7:58.11) and Olympic winner Bart Swings (BEL: also 7:58.51).

Japan’s Olympic 500 m bronze medalist, Wataru Morishige, won the 500 m in 34.65, just 1/100th ahead of Tingyu Gao (CHN: 34.66), with Shinhama third (34.71). Italy’s Olympic bronze winner, Davide Ghiotto, won the rarely-contested 10,000 m in 13:02.71, beating 2018 PyeongChang Olympic winner Ted-Jan Bloemen (CAN: 13:12.33).

Teen star Jordan Stolz of the U.S. – the 2023 Worlds 500-1,000-1,500 m champ – won the 1,000 m in 1:44.67, a track record, well ahead of Nuis (1:45.34).

The Dutch women also swept Friday’s races, with Jutta Leerdam, the Beijing Olympic runner-up, winning the 1,000 m in 1:15.26, ahead of Olympic champ Miho Takagi (JPN: 1:15.52), with American Kimi Goetz fourth (1:15.88) and three-time World Champion Brittany Bowe sixth (1:16.08).

Triple Olympic gold winner Irene Schouten (NED) took the Mass Start in 8:36.25, ahead of Valarie Maltais (CAN: 8:37.19) and American Mia Kilburg-Manganello (8:40.01).

On Friday, Takagi won the 1,500 in 1:55.87, beating Dutch skaters Antoinette Rijpima-De Jong, the 2023 World Champion (1:56.95), and Marieke Groenewoud (1:56.99). Bowe finished fifth (1:58.07) and Goetz was ninth (1:59.12).

Korean Min-sun Kim took the 500 m in 37.73, just ahead of Olympic champ Erin Jackson of the U.S. (37.75, with Goetz fourth in 38.29. The 5,000 m went to the ageless (actually 36) Martina Sabilkova, the 21-time World Champion in the 3,000-5,000 m.

The U.S. placed second in the men’s Team Sprint behind Norway, 1:19.30 to 1:19.49, with Austin Kleba, Cooper Mcleod and Zach Stoppelmoor, while the women won in 1:27.92, with Sarah Warren, Jackson and Goetz.

● Swimming ● The Toyota U.S. Open concluded in Greensboro, North Carolina, with Kate Douglass and Regan Smith of the U.S. and Hong Kong star Siobhan Haughey each taking three wins.

Douglass won the 50 m Free and 200 m Medley on Thursday, then stormed to the 200 m Breaststroke title on Saturday in 2:21.87, beating 2022 World Champion Lilly King (2:23.98).

Haughey, the Olympic silver winner in the 100-200 m Frees in Tokyo, won the 200 m Free on Friday in 1:54.20, the no. 23 performance in the world for 2023, beating Katie Ledecky (1:56.29). On just 15 minutes rest., she returned to win the 100 m Breast in 1:06.05, beating Tokyo Olympic champ Lydia Jacoby of the U.S. (1:06.20). On Saturday, she took the 100 m Free in 52.94, ahead of Torri Huske and Abbey Weitzeil of the U.S. (53.17 and 53.53).

Huske was brilliant in the 100 m Butterfly on Friday, winning in a meet record of 56.21, the no. 7 performance in the world for 2023 and well ahead of Claire Curzan (56.76).

Ledecky came back on Saturday to win the 1,500 m Free in 15:46.38, the no. 7 performance of the year; she now has five of the seven. She ended up with two wins (800-1,500 m) and two seconds (200-400 m) in the meet.

Regan Smith of the U.S., who won all three Backstroke silvers at the 2023 Worlds (50-100-200 m), won the 100 m Back in 58.16, ahead of Curzan (58.35), and the 200 m Back on Saturday in 2:04.27, the no. 6 performance in 2023. Curzan was second again in 2:06.49, ahead of Canadian star Summer McIntosh (2:06.81). Smith then got her third victory about 90 minutes later in the 200 m Fly – in which she is the world leader for 2023 – in 2:06.72, well ahead of Lindsay Looney (USA: 2:09.31).

McIntosh got a win in the 400 m Medley – in which she is the world-record holder – in 4:29.96, the no. 3 performance of 2023 (she has all three).

The men’s racing included an encouraging win for sprint superstar Caeleb Dressel of the U.S. in the 100 m Fly, winning in 51.31, moving him to no. 21 on the 2023 world list. She just edged rising Canadian star Ilya Kharun, 18, who finished in 51.32, with teammate Josh Liendo third in 51.42. Kharun returned to win the 200 m Fly in 1:54.66.

Hungary’s 200 m Back World Champion Hubert Kos – who swims at Arizona State – won the 100 m Back in 53.19 over American stars Hunter Armstrong (53.72) and Ryan Murphy (53.74), then doubled back in the 200 , Back in 1:55.95, beating Kieran Smith of the U.S. (1:57.51).

Chase Kalisz, who won both the 200 m and 400 m Medley at the 2017 Worlds, won both here, taking the 400 m Medley in 4:10.42, well ahead of Worlds silver medalist Carson Foster (4:13.43).

The 100 m Free went to Matt King of the U.S. (48,30), beating Ryan Held (48.36); Germany’s Rafael Miroslaw won the 200 m Free in a meet record 1:45.92, and Olympic champ Bobby Finke of the U.S. took the 1,500 m free in 15:03.91.

Denis Petrashov (KGZ) won a tight finish in the 100 m Breast final in 59.46, over U.S. stars Michael Andrew (59.52) and Nic Fink (59.79). Matt Fallon (USA) set a meet record of 2:09.49 to take the men’s 200 m Breast final.

The final leg of the World Aquatics Open Water World Cup was in Funchal (POR) on Saturday, moved from Eilat (ISR) in view of the continuing conflict, with 16-year-old American Claire Weinstein breaking away to win over Bettina Fabian (ITA) and Oceane Cassignol (FRA) by 1:56.54.3 to 1:58:07.5 to 1:58:09.5. Americans Mariah Denigan (1:58:09.7) and U.S. open-water champ Katie Grimes (1:58:09.9) went 4-5.

Weinstein took the lead on the fifth of six laps and was never headed. The seasonal title was decided in the race for seventh, as Germany’s double World Champion Leonie Beck edged Rio Olympic champ Sharon van Rouwendaal, 1:58:11.0 to 1:58.11.1. That gave Beck the seasonal title by 2,140 points to 2,100.

The men’s race was an upset win for Worlds 5 km bronze medalist Domenico Acerenza (ITA), who moved past the pack on the final lap to swim away in 1:45:06.2, ahead of Nicholas Sloman (AUS: 1:45:11.7) and Tokyo Olympic runner-up Kristof Rasovszky (HUN: 1:45:15.5), as places 3-12 were separated by just 2.2 seconds.

Rasovszky won the seasonal title, however, with 2,500 points, with Marcello Guidi (ITA) second at 2,000.

Australia won Sunday’s 4×1,500 m mixed relay in 1:06:05.4, ahead of Italy (1:06:06.4) and France (1:06:06.5).

Two-time Olympic relay gold medalist Klete Keller, who was a member of the U.S. 4×200 m Free teams in Athens and Beijing, was sentenced to six months home detention on Friday, following a guilty felony plea in 2021 from his participation in the riot at the U.S. Capitol on 6 January 2021.

He was sentenced by the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. to three years probation, with six months of home detention and a requirement of 360 hours of community service. He wrote to the judge, “I hope my case serves as a warning to anyone who rationalizes illegal conduct, especially in a moment of political fervor.”

● Taekwondo ● Lots of familiar faces on the podium at the World Taekwondo Grand Prix Final in Manchester (GBR).

Italy’s Olympic champ Vito dell’Acquila took the men’s 58 kg class, beating Spain’s Adrian Vicente in the final, 2-0. Cheick Salle Cisse (CIV), the 2023 World Champion, took the +87 kg gold, 2-0, against Maicon Siqueira of Brazil.

The men’s 68 kg final saw Levente Jozsa (BRA) win over Javier Perez Polo (ESP), 2-1, and Korea’s Geon-woo Seo won the 80 kg class, defeating Egypt’s Seif Eissa (2-1). American C.J. Nickolas took the bronze.

Olympic women’s 49 kg champ Panipak Wongpattanakit won her class over 2023 Worlds bronze medalist Adriana Cerezo Iglesias (ESP), 2-1. China’s Zongshi Luo beat Faith Dillon of the U.S. in the 57 kg final, 2-0, and Sarah Chaari (BEL), the 2022 World 62 kg champ won over Mengyu Zhang (CHN) at 67 kg, by 2-0.

In the +67 kg division, Tokyo Olympic silver medalist Da-bin Lee (KOR) took the gold by walkover over Worlds 73 kg silver medalist Rebecca McGowan (GBR).

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TSX REPORT: Milan Cortina 2026 sliding-sport soap opera continues; no Winter Games rotation; LA28 events list coming in 2025

Rich Perelman

December 1, 2023

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

★ To get The Sports Examiner by e-mail: sign up here! ★

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. Italian government still thinking about Turin track for 2026
2. IOC’s Winter Games rotation idea dead for now
3. LA28 events and sport quotas coming February 2025
4. Russia furious at IOC’s transfer of allegiance actions
5. Ethiopian marathon star Gemechu suspended for doping

● The endless search for a bobsled, luge and skeleton venue for the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Games went sideways again as the Italian government is again considering refurbishing the abandoned Turin 2006 track, with the decision coming next week.

● The concept of a permanent rotation of host cities or regions for the Olympic Winter Games is on hold, with the International Olympic Committee happy with the hosts it has lined up for 2030 (France), 2034 (Salt Lake City) and possibly 2038 (Switzerland).

● With the list of sports now complete, the International Federations are being asked to specify the events and number of athletes for the 2028 Los Angeles Games, with the final program and quotas to be fixed by February 2025. With the five added sports, the total number of athletes will run past the preferred 10,500 total, but will be kept as low as possible to reduce costs.

● The head of the Russian Olympic Committee blasted the IOC for its approval of three transfers of allegiance by Russian athletes to France, Serbia and Israel, saying that Russia – whose Olympic Committee is suspended – was not consulted.

● More doping suspensions announced by the Athletics Integrity Unit, including Ethiopian women’s marathoner Tsehay Gemechu, ninth-fastest ever at 2:16:56 from March’s Tokyo Marathon.

● World Championships: Football (France and Germany face off for FIFA men’s U-17 World Cup) ●

● Panorama: Beijing 2022 (Valieva decision could be in February) = International Olympic Committee (2: Japan’s gift albums during Tokyo bid were acceptable; Kissinger saluted by IOC chief Bach) = Olympic Council of Asia (IOC ethics decision accepted and Singh continues as acting chief) = Paralympic Games (Russia wants to move from European to Asian confederation) = Figure Skating (ISU looking to help figure skater clear music for competitions) = Football (2: 2030 and 2034 World Cup bid agreements received; FIFPRO survey says 30% of Women’s World Cup players received $30,000 annually or less) = Swimming (Douglass wins two, McIntosh bests Ledecky at U.S. Open) ●

1.
Italian government still thinking about Turin track for 2026

What has supposedly a closed chapter in the organization of the Milan-Cortina Olympic Winter Games in 2026 has been reopened … for a week.

At Thursday’s news conference following the International Olympic Committee Executive Board meeting in Paris, Olympic Games Executive Director Christophe Dubi (SUI) offered a surprise announcement about the venue search for bobsleigh, luge and skeleton:

“I don’t want to dwell too much into the detail here, but a decision will be made by the government on the 5th of December with respect to one project they are looking into: Cesana.

“I want to be crystal clear and re-affirm the following regarding Cesana. This is a project that the government has re-opened. As far as the IOC is concerned, and we insisted, including during the last Executive Board and the Session in Mumbai, that only existing and functioning venues should be considered at this point in time.

“We respect the decision of various levels of government to look into Cesana, nevertheless, we have also worked with the organizing committee so that they are in a position should this project not be adopted – and we feel that it will certainly be the case – to look outside of Italy. So they have contacted a number of NOCs and, here as well, we have been clear that it has to be an existing and functioning track. Obviously, these NOCs have great facilities to offer.”

The Cesana Pariol track was built for the Turin 2006 Winter Games at a cost of about €110 million (€1 = $1.09 U.S. today), but was abandoned in 2012.

The Milan-Cortina bid projected a new sliding track in Cortina to replace the famed Eugenio Monti track used for the 1956 Winter Games, but the project was abandoned in view of ever-increasing costs. The IOC has urged, even at the bid stage, to use an existing track in a neighboring country such as Austria or Switzerland, but was rebuffed.

When building a new Cortina track was finally dismissed, there was a call from politicians to keep any spending inside Italy and the Cesana Pariol idea was surfaced. However, this facility will also need renovation of €30 million or more and time is short, as test events are desired to be held in early 2025.

It was announced at the IOC Session in India in October that a site outside of Italy would be used, and when the Cesana idea was brought up again on 2 November, it was squashed by the IOC the next day, saying in a statement, “The IOC has been very clear over the last years that no permanent venue should be built if there is not a clear and viable legacy plan” and that “only existing and already operating tracks must be considered.”

Now it is here again, for at least a week. Available tracks are fairly close by, in Austria (Igls) and Switzerland (St. Moritz), both of which are regulars on the IBSF (bob and skeleton) and FIL (luge) World Cup calendars.

2.
IOC’s Winter Games rotation idea dead for now

With the selection of the French Alps bid for the 2030 Olympic Winter Games and Salt Lake City for 2034, and the preference for selection of Switzerland for 2038, the IOC has shelved its concept of a permanent rotation of Olympic Winter host cities.

Olympic Games Executive Director Dubi explained Thursday that the concept was discussed by the Winter Future Host Commission and during the Executive Board meeting:

“The discussion on rotation took place indeed in the [Future Host Commission], since it was a request from the Executive Board to look into two things. One, the future of the Winter Games and second, the possibility of rotation.

“However, it remained as a study, since we had very, very good proposals and one of the key features of the current process is that strategically, when the Executive Board sees an opportunity [that] it can decide to award more than one edition and this was supported as you remember in Mumbai with a further step, although different, but which was made for 2038.

“So, the notion of rotation once more was discussed; there are different ways and means to look into it, but currently, if we look into what has been decided yesterday, 2030, 2034, with an option or a hand that was crossing the table towards Switzerland in what is called a ‘privileged dialogue.’ So at this point in time, no need to go back to what will remain at this in time, very strong studies.”

Dubi expanded on this in his answer to another question, which showed that the IOC’s choices for 2030-34-38 could all end up – someday – as part of a permanent rotation:

“The objective here was to look into a distant future – 2050 – to understand which regions out of all those that have hosted the Games or could potentially host the Games would be reliable in the future.

“And don’t quote me on this, but I think we are somewhere at 11-12 reliable climatic regions; I’m not speaking about the city, but regions.

“So as a result, yes, we have to look into this and see where it is feasible in the future. Now, when it comes to this study’s impact on rotation, since the three that we’re looking into are climate reliable; if you connect the dots, you understand why I said we didn’t push on the notion of rotation.

“However, for sure, any future decision will have to be based on climate studies.”

The discussion from Wednesday’s news conference urged Sapporo or other hosts in Japan to look into a possible 2042 bid if the Swiss project for 2038 can be re-shaped as the IOC desires. With a three-continent rotation over the 2030-34-38-42 span, it is possible that the same host regions could begin a rotation beginning in 2046!?!

3.
LA28 events and sport quotas coming February 2025

In the aftermath of the inclusion of all five sports proposed by the LA28 organizing committee – baseball-softball, cricket, flag football, lacrosse and squash – the number of athletes for the third Los Angeles Games is now confirmed to sail past the IOC’s preferred limit of 10,500.

The IOC Sports Director, Kit McConnell (NZL) explained the process ahead:

“Firstly, we take a step back and as we discussed in Mumbai, the first time we had OCOG-proposed sports approved into the program was in Tokyo, where there also was included on team sport – baseball-softball – and there, we were above the 10,500, exactly 11,092 from memory.

“In Paris we included the OCOG-proposed sports – the four of them – within that quota of 10,500 while reaching gender equality as you know, but that was also because all of those sports were individual sports, which then allowed relatively low athlete quotas by sport.

“With Los Angeles, the package of sports they put forward, as you well know, included four out of five team sports and really represented a fantastic package that reached out to different groups around the USA and internationally, and we know the importance of team sports in the USA, and approving those as a package it was clear that we would have to go beyond the 10,500.

“We will obviously limit how far and also limit as far as possible any impacts on the existing sports currently within the program, and the actual and final numbers will be finalized now in that process I outlined at the start that will take us through to the first quarter of 2025. So, no working with each of those federations, we’ll work with them to look at the event program and the athlete quotas and all of that will be finalized at the start of 2025.”

At the IOC Session in October, it was projected that the number of added athletes from these five sports would total 734, bringing the total to 11,234; varying sources have shown as many as 11,656 athletes in Tokyo in 2021. In response, several International Federations are worried about reductions in the number of athletes to be allowed in their sports. McConnell tried to be reassuring on Thursday:

“We now need to work with each of the International Federations to finalize their respective event programs and athlete quotas. To do that, there was a framework established today as we do for each edition of the Games, and the federations are asked to consider any proposals in regard to the evolution of their program and athlete quotas within that framework. …

“It’s very much focused on the athletes, again, in terms of the competitions, the athlete input into the proposals and allowing us to not only showcase, but engage with the emerging generation of athletes in each sport. …

“We’re very conscious around costs and complexities, so any evolution of the event program will have to take into account the cost and complexity, and there we’re not looking – clearly – for any events which require new venues. All of the events from the respective sports will have to fit in to the existing competition structure and plan, and equally will have to work within the existing IF quotas.”

The framework stresses athlete and fan excitement, but also cost concerns, including:

● “Avoid any increase to the respective sport-specific quota allocation compared to the Paris 2024 programme

● “Demonstrate a positive and sustainable impact on the Games and host, focusing on ensuring compelling and high-value sessions, while reducing the cost and complexity of operations, e.g. number of competition and training days

● “Use only existing venues and fields of play with no major adaptations”

The discussions over the next 14 months will be interesting so say the least.

4.
Russia furious at IOC’s transfer of allegiance actions

At Wednesday’s IOC Executive Board meeting, transfers of allegiance were approved for nine individuals, including three Russians, with cyclist Valeriia Liubimova moving from Russia to France; wrestler Georgi Tiblov from Russia to Serbia and cyclist Mikhail Yakolev from Russia to Israel.

On Thursday, Russian Olympic Committee President Stanislav Pozdnyakov went ballistic, writing on his Telegram page (translation by the Russian news agency TASS):

“The Executive Committee of the Russian Olympic Committee did not consent to the transfer of the Russian nationals mentioned in the IOC statement to the jurisdiction of other national committees. We consider it inadmissible to indulge in arbitrarily and selectively interpreting the Olympic Charter.

“The aggressive anti-Russian stance of destructive elements in the Olympic Movement keeps sterilizing international sports from political neutrality, but in return ‘allows’ functionaries to ignore and violate international law, their own regulations and common sense.

“Just think about it, a single sports organization has come to the point where it assumes the right, beyond its own jurisdiction, of imposing sanctions against sovereign countries, while possessing neither formal status nor even some signs of being a subject of the system of international relations.

“Just like in the case of the ROC’s suspension under a far-fetched pretext, another mockery of the Olympic Charter, we will demand legally justified explanations and will keep protecting our rights in line with established norms.”

The changes of nationality must be requested by the National Olympic Committee of the athlete’s new country, approved by the International Federation concerned and the NOC from which the athlete is transferring. However, the IOC noted that the Russian Olympic Committee is suspended, implying that it was not consulted.

More bad news for Russia, this time in badminton, as the Badminton World Federation (BWF) announced the 11 November suspension of the National Badminton Federation of Russia.

The suspension was on the same grounds as the IOC’s suspension, for the takeover of Ukrainian sports organizations in the occupied areas of Ukrainian territories of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia.

The suspension will be confirmed or lifted by the BWF Annual General Meeting in April 2024 in China. Individual “neutral” athletes from Russia are still to be allowed into competitions.

The Russian federation stated, “We will, of course, prove the injustice of this decision by all legal means.”

5.
Ethiopian marathon star Gemechu suspended for doping

The 2023 Tokyo Marathon women’s runner-up, Ethiopia’s Tsehay Gemechu, was provisionally suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit for “Use of a Prohibited Substance/Method (ABP).”

The AIU site does not include specifics, other than the charge is based on comparisons with her Athlete Biological Passport (ABP), which records an athlete’s “normal” testing values. Now 24, Gemechu moved to no. 9 all-time on the women’s all-time marathon list with her 2:16:56 finish at Tokyo in March.

She finished sixth at the 2019 women’s World Cross Country Championships and was a Team gold medalist; Gemechu was disqualified in the Tokyo Olympic 10,000 m in 2021 and did not finish at the World Championships marathon in Budapest (HUN) this summer.

The AIU also suspended Kenyan distance runner Beatrice Toroitich, 41, for steroids: “Norandrosterone, 19-Noretiocholanolone, Clomifene, Canrenone.” She is a 2:27:41 marathoner from 2012.

A two-year ban was placed on Rwandan marathoner John Hakizimana, 27, the ninth-placer at this summer’s World Athletics Championships marathon (2:10:50) for the presence of the prohibited substance Triamcinolone acetonide. His suspension began on 27 October and was only two years as the review panel found his use was unintentional.

≡ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS ≡

● Football ● The last two undefeated teams in the FIFA men’s U-17 World Cup – France and Germany – will meet on Saturday for the trophy in Surakarta, Indonesia.

Both are 6-0 after winning their groups and moving through difficult elimination games. All together, the French have been more efficient, scoring 10 goals and giving up just one so far, while the Germans played nail-biter after nail-biter, winning their knock-out matches by 3-2 over the U.S., 1-0 over Spain and 4-2 on penalties in their semi vs. Argentina after a 3-3 tie. The Germans have scored 16 goals so far, but have conceded seven.

Paris Brunner and Max Moerstedt have both scored four goals for the Germans, while Joel Tincres is the only French player to reach three so far, while Ismail Bouneb has two.

Both sides have history in this tournament, with the French winning in their only final in 2001 and the Germans also in one final, but losing – as West Germany – in the first tournament way back in 1985. France won the 2019 bronze and the Germans took third in both 2007 and 2011.

On Friday, Mali is back in its second bronze-medal match in three editions, finishing fourth in 2017, and facing Argentina, which was fourth in 2013.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Olympic Winter Games 2022: Beijing ● The decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport in the Kamila Valieva (RUS) doping case that involves the figure skating Team Event, may not be decided until mid-February.

In the minutes of the 27 November 2023 meeting of the International Skating Union Council, it was stated:

“The Council noted that the Court of Arbitration for Sport expects to publish its decision regarding the arbitration proceedings involving the ISU, WADA, RUSADA and Ms. Kamila Valieva by February 12, 2024.”

The continuing tug-of-war over Valieva’s positive test for trimetazidine on 25 December 2021 has held up the finalization of the results of the Team Event, won on the ice by Russia, with the U.S. second and Japan third. While the Russian Anti-Doping Agency imposed a four-year ban, the independent RUSADA appeals board gave her a one-day suspension which allowed her to continue competing at the Games. She finished fourth in the women’s competition.

The matter was filed on appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, with the World Anti-Doping Agency requesting a four-year ban, the International Skating Union asking for a two-year suspension and RUSADA asking for a sanction which would be as little as a warning.

● International Olympic Committee ● A question was raised at Thursday’s IOC news conference about the gift “albums” which were authorized by Japan’s then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as an inducement/promotion for IOC members to vote for Tokyo as the host city of the 2020 Olympic Games.

Referred to by former Japanese lawmaker and now Ishikawa Governor Hiroshi Hase in a 17 November speech, IOC spokesman Mark Adams (GBR) said there was nothing to investigate from its side, explaining “In any case, an album is a token of appreciation which is in line with IOC policy.”

Hase later retracted his remarks after being corrected on his facts by the Education Ministry.

The IOC issued a statement of condolence following the passing of Honour Member Henry Kissinger, the famed former U.S. Secretary of State from 1973-77 and a key player in ending U.S. involvement in Vietnam, opening relations with China and in improving relations with the USSR.

Kissinger died Wednesday at age 100; IOC President Thomas Bach (GER) said:

“When I was elected IOC President in 2013, I approached him and asked whether he would be ready to advise the IOC and me, as he had done through the IOC 2000 Commission. He immediately said yes. Since then, we spoke regularly and became friends. He gave me invaluable advice in all the many geopolitical issues the world and sport had to face in recent years. I will greatly miss a brilliant man and a warm-hearted friend. My thoughts are with his beloved wife Nancy and all his family.”

● Olympic Council of Asia ● The OCA’s member National Olympic Committees “ratified by two third majority the OCA Executive Board’s decision of 19th October 2023 to approve the report of the IOC Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer regarding the OCA elections held in Bangkok on July 8.”

This unusual confirmation means that the OCA elections in which Kuwaiti Sheikh Talal Fahad Al Ahmad Al-Sabah was selected to be OCA President is nullified and India’s Randhir Singh continues as the acting chief until constitutional reforms are put in place and a new elective Congress can be held.

The move sidelines the powerful Al-Sabah ruling family of Kuwait, which has run the OCA since its founding in 1982.

● Paralympic Games ● The Russian Paralympic Committee is discussing a move from the European confederation to Asia, based on the attitude of the European members. Said Russian Paralympic Federation chief Pavel Rozhkov:

“We continue consultations with the [International Paralympic Committee], with the European Paralympic Committees, there should be good from them. But we are still waiting for the IPC’s political decisions; they should at least express their position. Verbally they are not against it, but they took a pause to legally justify our transition to Asia. We are ready in principle.

“The Europeans are going to appeal to the IPC, to the court, to challenge the decision of the IPC General Assembly in Bahrain. Thanks to this decision, we were allowed in. There are European countries that support us, but the majority are indignant. In this situation, it is difficult to participate in competitions in Europe, we understand that.”

● Figure Skating ● A potentially important development was discussed at the ISU Council meeting this week, with the minutes noting:

“The Council confirmed that the ISU will cooperate with the company ClicknClear in relation to clearing music rights for Skaters. A first cooperation will take place for the Winter Youth Olympic Games 2024. Further information will be published shortly.”

This has been an issue for skaters in recent years, with some performers sued for use without permission of the music owners. An easy-to-implement system would be a considerable improvement.

● Football ● The next step in the formal award of the 2030 and 2034 FIFA World Cups, submission of the completed bidding agreement, has been concluded with all six proposed hosts of the 2030 event and the sole bidder for 2034, complying with the requirements.

Agreements for 2030 were received from Spain, Portugal and Morocco, with agreements for single matches in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. The bid process will continue with meetings and visits of each potential host country, with the actual award to take place in mid-2024.

A survey by the FIFPRO players association of women who participated in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup showed that 30% of the players on 26 teams received $30,000 or less annually from their club and national teams.

This does not count FIFA’s payout for the Women’s World Cup, which guaranteed not less than $30,000 to each player, and the survey included 260 players from 26 of the 32 teams. The compensation spread was wide, with 15% saying they made more than $150,000, 49% earning less than $50,000, six percent less than $10,000 and eight percent less than $5,000 U.S.

Players also asked for more rest, both before the tournament (53% had 0-13 days rest) and after the tournament, with 60% having 0-13 days; a recovery period of 3-5 weeks was suggested.

● Swimming ● Canadian star Summer McIntosh, 17, won the women’s 400 m Freestyle over Katie Ledecky at the Toyota U.S. Open in Greensboro, North Carolina, with the no. 6 performance of 2023, in 3:59.42. The 2023 Worlds bronze medalist was in charge from the start and won comfortably, with Ledecky finishing in 4:02.38, ahead of Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey (4:06.32).

U.S. stars Kate Douglass, Alex Walsh and Torri Huske were 1-2-3 in the women’s 200 m Medley, with Douglass taking over on breaststroke and touching in 2:08.46 to 2:08.96 for Walsh – repeating their 1-2 from the 2023 World Championships – and 2:09.10 for Huske. It’s the no. 15 performance of the year for Douglass, who now has four of those marks.

The versatile Douglass then came back to win the women’s 50 m Free in 24.38, just short of her lifetime best by 0.02, beating Huske and 2023 Worlds fourth-placer Abbey Weitzeil, who tied for second at 24.41, with Rio 2016 co-gold medalist Simone Manuel seventh in 24.82.

The men’s 50 m Free sprint went to Michael Andrew in 21.80, touching ahead of Josh Liendo (21.90). Comebacking sprint superstar Caeleb Dressel won the B final in 21.99 (over Matt King: 22.05), which would have tied for fourth in the A final and is his fastest in the event since April of 2022.

Chase Kalisz, the 2017 World Champion, won the men’s 200 m Medley in 1:57.43, just ahead of Hubert Kos (HUN: 1:57.88), taking the lead on the breaststroke leg. Two 2022 World Championships men’s 4×200 m relay teammates went 1-2 in the 400 m Free, with Drew Kibler beating top-seed Kieran Smith, 3:47.58 to 3:48.72.

The meet continues through Saturday.

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For our updated, 850-event International Sports Calendar (no. 4) for 2023 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

TSX REPORT: IOC designates France, Salt Lake City and Swiss for Winter Games 2030-34-38; Allyson Felix up for election to Athletes’ Commission

Rich Perelman

November 30, 2023

tsx pix 2023-1129 stoss, karl ioc news conf 750 — International Olympic Committee Winter Future Host Commission Chair Karl Stoss (AUT) at Wednesday's news conference. (IOC video screen shot)

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

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. IOC Exec Board picks France, Salt Lake City and Swiss!
2. Analysis: experience and money behind the decisions
3. Salt Lake City team rejoices at designation for 2034
4. Felix one of 32 candidates for IOC Athletes Commission
5. Figure skating viewing up for Ziegler’s shock win in Osaka

● The International Olympic Committee Executive Board approved the recommendations of its Future Host Commission for the Winter Games for “targeted dialogue” for the French Alps bid for 2030 and Salt Lake City for 2034. It also surprised with the naming of the Swiss bid for “privileged dialogue” to work towards an award of the 2038 Winter Games. Sweden was left out, again.

● What happened and why? The IOC went with what it felt were sure hands for 2030 and 2034, giving France another Games just six years after Paris 2024 so at least some of the same staff – and sponsors – could continue, and taking advantage of the expertise in Salt Lake City, which has hosted winter-sport events since the 2002 Winter Games there. And there is an important financial incentive for the IOC to go to Salt Lake City in 2034.

● The overjoyed Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games will plot its next steps at a meeting on Friday and celebrate the IOC’s announcement with a ceremony at the Olympic and Paralympic Cauldron Plaza at the University of Utah.

● The IOC announced 32 candidates for four spots on the IOC Athletes’ Commission to be voted on in Paris next summer, with track & field superstar Allyson Felix of the U.S. on the ballot.

● The U.S. audience for the ISU figure skating Grand Prix hit a seasonal high for the NHK Trophy in Osaka, Japan, to see highlights of Ava Marie Ziegler’s surprise win.

● World Championships: Handball (IHF women’s Worlds open in Norway and Denmark) ●

● Panorama: Paris 2024 (2: road restrictions coming in Olympic areas; three more Russians change nationality) = Olympic Games (Dubi warns of change of summer Games dates due to climate) = Pan American Games (Brazil’s Matera topped Parapan Ams with eight golds!) = World University Games (Para sport – wheelchair basketball – coming to WUG 2025 in Germany) = Canoe-Kayak (Leibfarth sweeps U.S. Slalom Nationals) = Swimming (U.S. Open to showcase stars like Douglass, Dressel, King, Ledecky and more) ●

1.
IOC Exec Board picks France, Salt Lake City and Swiss!

Salt Lake City’s confirmation as the International Olympic Committee’s “target” to host the 2034 Olympic Winter Games was the only expected outcome of Wednesday’s IOC Executive Board meeting in Paris.

Continuing to make up the new selection process on the fly, the Future Host Commission recommended – and the Executive Board approved – the selection of the French Alps proposal for 2030 for “targeted dialogue” and created a new concept of “privileged dialogue” for Switzerland’s bid for 2038. Sweden’s bid was, for a second consecutive time, left behind.

Winter Games Future Host Commission Chair Karl Stoss (AUT) detailed the reasons for the selections in a 56-minute news conference, including:

“The IOC will now start more detailed discussions with the preferred hosts, led by their [National Olympic Committees] with the aim to award the two editions at the 142nd IOC Session in July in Paris.

“In addition, the IOC Executive Board decided to grant the non-edition-specific project Switzerland 203x a special status by inviting it into ‘privileged dialogue’ for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games 2038.

“Why? As you know, there are four current parties with an interest in hosting the Olympic Winter Games: France, USA, Sweden and Switzerland. Commission members were deeply impressed by all four projects: technical excellence, passion for Olympic Winter sport and commitment to the sustainability principles of Olympic Agenda 2020+5.

“What really stood out about the French Alps and Salt Lake City-Utah projects were the vision for the athlete’s experience, alignment with the regional and national socio-economic development plans, and the very strong support from the public and from the levels of government.

“The Commission felt strongly that the other interested parties would benefit from more time to optimize the athlete’s experience of their future Games, and to continue to build on the burgeoning foundations of public and political support.

“Switzerland 203x has great potential with its project aligned with Olympic Agenda 2020+5, and the principles of sustainability, cost reduction, environmental protection and legacy. Today’s decision was made on these positive elements.”

Stoss made specific mentions of the attractiveness of the French and American programs:

● “Positives for the French Alps project: the vision of the rejuvenation of the Alps and [to] bring sustainable tourism in this region; the Games plan: maximum use of venues, five to four clusters, alignment with the development plans and Olympic Agenda 2020+5. Experience and skills in winter sports hosting and best practices of Paris 2024, that means sustainability integrated in every area from transport to finance, aligned to the Paris Agreement on climate change.

“And public, private sector and the highest possible government support.”

He noted that the French will be required to specify a venue for speed skating, not included in the present submittal, either on a temporary basis, or elsewhere in France or even in another country. A new ice hockey hall is proposed in Nice, but has not been confirmed; the bid organized from two regions: Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes (AURA) and Provence Alpes Cote d’Azur (PACA).

● “Positives of the Salt Lake City-Utah: that was the vision of build on the legacies on 2002 and create a future for venues and sports programs. Games plan: very compact master plan, no capital investment required. Experience in U.S. of hosting major international events in most Olympic winter sports. Exceptional public support and the highest level of national, state and city government support.”

As for the Swiss concept, while Stoss commended the available venues and expertise in winter sports competitions, but underlined that further demonstrations of public support – possibly through a referendum – and business and political support are needed. Moreover, the Swiss plan to distribute the event across the country, without an Olympic Village, has to be refined. Said Stoss:

“They have to show us a more comprehensive venue plan. The venue master plan was spread all over the country and they have to bring it more closer to some hubs, that means maybe four clusters and to bring the Olympic spirit to the Olympic Villages. So at the moment, we don’t have Olympic Villages, we have just different accommodations all over the country, and we have to discuss now in the next few years, it means latest ‘til [the end of] 2027 to bring up this new master plan as well as hopefully the guarantees and maybe a referendum. … We will encourage them – go for a referendum – then the situation will be clear for all of us.”

There is a lot of work to be done on this project. If the Swiss program cannot be formulated by the end of 2027, the bidding for 2038 will be re-opened.

Sweden’s program was praised as sustainable and “technically excellent,” but the Commission believes more has to be done to drum up enthusiasm from the public, from government and from the business sector. The financial projections for domestic sponsorship and for ticket sales were felt to be too high.

Stoss also gave a rough timeline of the next steps, saying the selected bids “have now to do their homework”:

● Feb. 2024: Submission of more detailed plans
● Mar. 2024: Submission of the required guarantees
● Apr. 2024: Site visits
● May 2024: Future Host Commission evaluations reports
● Jun. 2024: IOC Executive Board review
● Jul. 2024: IOC Session vote

Multiple questions were asked about Sapporo (JPN), once the front-runner for 2030, but now in chaos. The Japanese Olympic Committee told the IOC it was not a candidate last October, but it would be welcome to bid for 2038 if the Swiss are not able, or for 2042 as there would interest in an Asian candidature on the basis of continental rotation.

The IOC Executive Board will continue to meet on Thursday and visit the 2024 Olympic Village on Friday.

2.
Analysis: experience and money behind the decisions

“This is one of the great opportunities for the French bid, to use all the sponsors from 2024, and they discussed already with some of the big companies in the country, and they would like to support it as well, so they have a really great [foundation] for the sponsorship. …

“With all the experience from Paris 2024 and to use it also for the next step to the Winter Games, that is a big advantage comparing to the other competitors here.”

That was IOC Future Host Commission Chair Stoss, speaking about the decisions which will likely place Olympic and Winter Games in the same countries six years apart for France (2024 and 2030) and the U.S. (2028 and 2034). And experience and money are at the heart of it.

The IOC’s Olympic Games Executive Director, Christophe Dubi (SUI), commended the Salt Lake City-Utah bid, noting:

“They have brought all the guarantees needed already, at this point in time, so it is extremely strong. …

“In Salt Lake City, we’ve had a partner now for three years now, and they’ve been incredibly patient, incredibly thorough and were able to rally everyone behind what is a superb project.”

In discussing both bids, Stoss and Dubi underscored the tie between the organizing expertise of the Paris 2024 team and the ability to turn that around for 2030. And for 2034, the IOC very much wants and needs a U.S. bid:

● The $7.65 billion, six-Games NBC television rights contract will expire in 2032 and the IOC can now offer a home Winter Games to NBC and/or other American broadcasters, and a possible Winter Games in Europe for 2038. The staging of the 2020 Olympic Games and the 2018 and 2022 Winter Games in Asia were ratings-killers for NBC.

● Stoss noted the strong desire of the Salt Lake City-Utah bid – and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee – for a cooling-off period between LA28 and its own hosting to allow for better domestic sponsorship sales options.

● Stoss also emphasized the continuing expertise of winter-sport organization in Utah, dating back to the highly successful 2002 Winter Games. The Utah Sports Commission reported that 2023-24 international competitions are already scheduled for biathlon, bobsled, luge, skeleton, cross country skiing, freestyle skiing, short track and speed skating.

There was no mention of the discussion within the Future Host Commission for the Winter Games on a possible permanent rotation of sites that will have natural snow into the foreseeable future. However, all three of the preferred bids for 2030-34-38 are in such places, allowing the IOC to continue its review of the possibilities while expecting to host its next three Winter Games in possible rotation locations.

And for the critics of the IOC’s choices of sites in places such as Beijing (CHN) in 2008 and 2022 and Sochi (RUS) in 2014, it will be difficult to harder to screech wildly about future Winter Games in France, the U.S. and Switzerland, with all three expecting to finance the events from IOC television rights, sponsorships, ticketing and licensing.

No doubt, there will be other things to complain about.

An interesting answer concerning the IOC’s compliance with its own regulations was given by Dubi. He was asked about Rule 33.4 of the Olympic Charter, which states:

“The election of the host of the Olympic Games takes place in a country having no candidature for the organisation of the Olympic Games concerned.”

Following the rule as written would prohibit the French bid for 2030 from being elected by the IOC Session meeting next July in Paris, right?

No, said, Dubi, replying that this rule only applies to a competitive election – “there are no other bids for the same Games” – and that the confirmation of an already-targeted candidature would not violate the Charter.

Really? Really?

3.
Salt Lake City team rejoices at designation for 2034

No election to watch, but there were – believe it or not – watch parties in Salt Lake City to view Wednesday’s news conference and hear the expected news that the effort to return the Games in 2034 had moved to the penultimate step.

Fraser Bullock, the Chief Operating Officer of the 2002 Salt Lake Organizing Committee (SLOC) and now the President and chief executive of the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games, said:

“The decision of the IOC to invite Salt Lake City-Utah into Targeted Dialogue as the Preferred Host for 2034 is a credit to our communities working together to create a welcoming region for sport across our state. For more than a decade, our state and community leaders have united towards this goal. The IOC has recognized our high level of preparedness, with all venues in place and active, as well as overwhelming support from our political and business leaders as well as the public.”

The IOC’s praise for the community support for the bid was echoed by elected officials as well:

● Utah Governor Spencer Cox:

“Our biggest strength as the State of Utah is our unity and partnership. Over the coming months, we will continue to showcase the remarkable attributes of our state and, most of all, our people. We look forward to a decision by the IOC in 2024 to welcome Salt Lake City-Utah as a future host for 2034.”

● Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall:

“The 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games have the power to unify our communities and inspire future generations, champions, and leaders of tomorrow. We feel an immense sense of pride in our city today and anxiously look forward to a final decision from the IOC next year.”

The Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Olympic Games is chaired by four-time Olympic speed skater Catherine Raney Norman, who led a concerted effort to include athletes in the development of the bid, and noted that “Our continued engagement of athletes in our planning and seeking new, innovative ways to enhance our communities through sport have been recognized by the IOC.”

A joint meeting of the SLC-UT governing board and strategic board will be held Friday (1st) at Rice-Eccles Stadium at the University of Utah, followed by a 6 p.m. celebration at the Olympic and Paralympic Cauldron Plaza at the stadium, with Cox, Mendenhall, SLC-Utah Committee officials and Utah-resident medal winners from 2002 through 2022 and future hopefuls.

4.
Felix one of 32 candidates for IOC Athletes Commission

The IOC also announced the candidates for the election of four members to the IOC Athletes’ Commission, with 32 athletes nominated by their National Olympic Committees.

The iconic Allyson Felix, 38, the 11-time Olympic medalist (7-3-1), was nominated by the U.S. and will be a strong candidate for election for an eight-year term; according to the IOC, “All athletes competing at Paris 2024 are eligible to vote in the Athlete365 House in the Olympic Villages during the Olympic Games.”

Further, elected members of the IOC Athletes’ Commission are also eligible for election as IOC members, so Felix could be on a path that will carry her onto the IOC itself.

The 32 candidates for the four slots include multiple Olympic stars, including Felix, taekwondo gold medalist Cheick Sallah Cisse (CIV), Australian canoe slalom four-time Olympic medalist Jessica Fox, Brazilian two-time gold medalist sailor Kahena Kunze, three-time Olympic medalist in BMX cycling, Mariana Pajon (COL), Argentina judo gold medalist Paula Pareto, golf gold medalist Inbee Park (KOR), two-time gold-medal-winning rower Valent Sinkovic (CRO) and three-time fencing gold medalist Aron Szilagyi (HUN).

The election is important for Felix and for the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, as there are two American IOC members, Anita DeFrantz (71), elected in 1986, and David Haggerty (66), elected in his position as the President of the International Tennis Federation. A third member, cross-country skiing star Kikkan Randall, was elected to the IOC Athletes’ Commission in 2018 and became an IOC member, but had to step away in 2021 in view of her continuing fight against cancer.

Seven members of the Athletes Commission will be concluding their terms as IOC members in 2024, including Russian women’s pole vault star Yelena Isinbayeva, elected in 2016. This will leave Russia with one IOC member, Shamil Tarpischev, 75, who was elected in 1994 and may serve until age 80.

5.
Figure skating viewing up for Ziegler’s shock win in Osaka

Word about the unexpected win by American teen Ava Marie Ziegler at the ISU Grand Prix NHK Trophy in Osaka (JPN) apparently got around, as viewership for the NBC highlights show last Sunday (26th) reached a seasonal high.

An average of 808,000 viewers saw the show, which began at 3 p.m. Eastern time, directly against the NFL late window. That topped the 699,000 who watched the Skate America show in October and the 690,000 for the Grand Prix of Espoo in Finland on 19 November.

The FIS Alpine World Cup from Killington, Vermont – starring superstar Mikaela Shiffrin – which preceded the skating at 12:30 p.m. Eastern time, drew a respectable audience of 508,000 vs. the NFL early window. NBC’s “Chasing Gold: Paris 2024″ show that ran at 2 p.m. Eastern and led into the skating, averaged 449,000 viewers.

≡ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS ≡

● Handball ● The 26th IHF Women’s World Championship got underway on Wednesday as three nations – Denmark, Norway and Sweden – will host matches, continuing to the gold-medal final on 17 December.

The opening matches were in Group C in Stavanger (NOR), with Austria holding on to beat South Korea, 30-29, despite 11 goals from Korea’s Bit-na Woo, and Norway thrashing Greenland, 43-11 behind seven scores from Camilla Herren.

In Group G in Frederikshavn (DEN), Brazil sailed past Ukraine, 35-20, with Mariana Costa and Bruna De Paula scoring seven goals each, and Spain out-classed Kazakhstan, 34-17, expanding a 14-8 halftime lead. The U.S. did not qualify.

The 32 teams in pool play will continue through 5 December, with 24 teams advancing to the Main Round (6-11 December) and then the quarterfinals on 12-13 December and the medal matches on 17 December.

Norway is the defending champion, defeating France in the final in 2021, with Denmark third by beating Spain in the bronze-medal match.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● Paris police chief Laurent Nunez said Wednesday that traffic restrictions during the Games period will require QR codes to access specific areas which are in Games-related areas.

The codes will need to be used by motor vehicles and motorcycles, but not by pedestrians or bicycles.

There was some instant criticism, which Nunez brushed off, saying, “One can always be the little ugly duckling who sulks in the corner. We know we’ll have lots of those.”

The IOC Executive Board approved changes of nationality for nine athletes on Wednesday, including three more Russian athletes.

Cyclist Valeriia Liubimova is transferring from Russia to France; wrestler Georgi Tiblov from Russia to Serbia and cyclist Mikhail Yakolev, from Russia to Israel.

British rower Jamie Copus was approved for transfer from Great Britain to the U.S.

● Olympic Games: Future ● The IOC’s Christophe Dubi explained during Wednesday’s news conference that the Future Host Commissions are also concerned with climate issues for the Olympic Games as well as the Winter Games. As to future hosts, he noted:

“This question is also valid for the summer Games; for certain cities we had in the past, if we go to 2040, it will be very complicated to keep the dates we have today, between mid-July and end of August.”

● Pan American Games ● The biggest medal winners at the Parapan American Games in Santiago (CHI) were noted by the International Paralympic Committee on Wednesday, with swimmer Douglas Matera (BRA) topping the list with eight golds!

Matera won the 100 m Freestyle, 100 m Backstroke and 100 m Butterfly in category S12, the 50 m Freestyle and 400 m Free in S13, the 200 m Medley in class SM13, and was a member of the winning relay teams in the Mixed x100 m Free and Mixed 4×100 m Medley.

The leading women’s winners were five-time gold medalists Maria Carolina Gomes Santiago (BRA: swimming) and Karen Palomeque (COL: athletics). Santiago won the 50-100 m Free in class S12, the 100 m Breast in SB12 and was on the Mixed 4×100 m Free and Mixed 4×100 m Medleys. Palomeque won the 100 m and 200 m in T37, the 400 m in T38 and the T36/37/38 long jump, plus the universal women’s 4×100 m.

● World University Games ● Paralympic sport will debut at the World University Games in 2025 at Rhine-Ruhr (GER), with the addition of 3×3 wheelchair basketball. Eight men’s and eight women’s teams will compete at the Arena-Sportpark in Dusseldorf.

If successful, look for more such events to be added.

● Canoe-Kayak ● Tokyo Olympian Evy Leibfarth swept the women’s honors at the 2023 U.S. Slalom nationals held at Riversport Rapids in Oklahoma City last weekend.

Still 19 and a Worlds bronze medalist in Slalom Cross in 2021, Leibfarth took the women’s C-1 final with a 101.59-second finish on her second run, well ahead of Isabella Altman (125.23). It was closer in the K-1 final, as Leibfarth’s best time cane on the first run at 95.82, with older sister Marcella Altman – also 19 – second at 100.84 on her second run.

And Leibfarth won the Slalom Cross, ahead of Marcella Altman.

The men’s races were won by three different paddlers, with Tokyo Olympian Zachary Lokken taking the C-1 final in 94.64 on his first run from Casey Eichfeld, the two-time Pan Am Games gold medalist from 2015, who completed runs of 94.96 and then 94.80 for second.

Joshua Joseph won the men’s K-1 in 90.82 (two penalties), just ahead of Tyler Westfall (93.07). Kaelin Friedenson took the men’s Cross gold, ahead of Isaac Zimmerman.

● Swimming ● The Toyota U.S. Open is on in Greensboro, North Carolina, with competition through Saturday (2nd) and some superstar entries, including the comebacking Caeleb Dressel, Olympic and World Champion Lilly King, USA Swimming athletes of the year Ryan Murphy, Katie Ledecky and Kate Douglass and Canadian superstar teen Summer McIntosh.

This is essentially a training check for the swimmers, but important with the Olympic year of 2024 on the horizon. Ledecky won the women’s 800 m on Wednesday evening in 8:15.91, the no. 12 performance of 2023, trailed by a lifetime best from Pan Am Games gold medalist Paige Madden (8:29.91).

Charlie Clark of the U.S. (and Ohio State) won the men’s 800 m in 7:50.49, with Tokyo Olympic champ Bobby Finke fourth overall in 7:54.90.

The meet can be seen on NBC’s Peacock streaming service on Thursday and Friday at 6 p.m. Eastern, and delayed coverage on CNBC on Sunday (3rd) at noon Eastern and highlights the following Saturday (9th) on NBC at 5 p.m. Eastern.

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TSX REPORT: IOC Exec Board meets on 2030, Salt Lake Winter bids; Perec thinks four should light Paris torch; transit passes doubled for Paris 2024

Rich Perelman

November 29, 2023

tsx pix 2021-1103 slc OG cauldron plaza (Univ.Utah) — The Olympic Cauldron Plaza at the University of Utah, commemorating the 2002 Olympic Winter Games (Photo: University of Utah)

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

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. IOC Executive Board expected to advance 2030-34 Winter hosts
2. France’s Perec suggests four Paris ‘24 torch lighters
3. Paris transit authority doubles Games-period fares
4. Cloud connectivity reducing Olympic TV infrastructure
5. Russia’s Kolesnikov: the Olympics is not everything

● The International Olympic Committee’s Executive Board begins a three-day meeting on Wednesday and is expected to advance Salt Lake City’s bid for the 2034 Olympic Winter Games and one or more bids for 2030 from France, Sweden and Switzerland.

● Triple Olympic gold medalist Marie-Jose Perec of France said she would be honored to be the final torchbearer for Paris 2024, but would prefer to see a four-person team light the cauldron at the opening next 26 July.

● The regional transit authority in France that includes Paris announced that public transit fees will be more-or-less doubled during the Olympic and Paralympic Games period in 2024 in order to help recoup €200 million in added costs.

● The Olympic Broadcasting Services team is gearing up for Paris 2024, with 8,300-plus staff producing 3,300 feeds from the International Broadcasting Center. However, new cloud technologies introduced at Tokyo 2020 will help to reduce the size of the IBC and the number of people from right-handing broadcasters who have to be in Paris to produce their domestic shows.

● Russian swimming world-record holder Kliment Kolesnikov, a two-time Olympic medal winner in Tokyo said that while the Olympic Games is an important achievement for an athlete, it should not be the most important thing in their lives.

● World Championships: Football (France and Germany advance to men’s U-17 World Cup Final) ●

● Panorama: Athletics (Cain settles suit vs. Salazar, Nike) = Basketball (Boylen named USAB Coach of the Year) = Football (Mexico draws big TV audience, not so much for USMNT) ●

1.
IOC Executive Board expected to advance 2030-34 Winter hosts

A three-day meeting of the International Olympic Committee Executive Board will commence Wednesday in Paris, with the star attraction being the report of the Future Host Commission for the Olympic Winter Games.

A news conference is scheduled for 6 p.m. in Paris (12 noon Eastern time) – to be streamed live on the IOC’s YouTube channel – and IOC President Thomas Bach (GER) is expected to announce that one or more bidders for the 2030 and 2034 Olympic Winter Games will be advanced from the “continuous dialogue” stage to “targeted dialogue.”

In the new host-city selection process, the IOC eliminated the costly public beauty contests that had sometimes led to subtle, obvious or even direct bribery in favor of a private discussion protocol by which the IOC Executive Board would recommend where to stage future Olympic, Winter and Youth Games, with confirmation by vote of the IOC Session.

The entire bid concept for future Games has been completely revamped by the IOC under Bach, now emphasizing as little construction as possible, with venues now allowed to be spread even across multiple countries, with the implicit understanding that if necessary, a central “Olympic Village” would not exist.

The Future Host Commission for the Winter Games has said it is only considering one candidate for 2034: Salt Lake City (USA), which very successfully hosted the 2002 Winter Games. Its bid package is far advanced, even to the point that local, state and national government guarantees required by the IOC have been obtained, along with agreements for the use of the same venues as in 2002, along with Olympic Village housing at the University of Utah. Perhaps no bid in Olympic history has gone so far before any formal selection by the IOC, and Salt Lake City is broadly expected to be endorsed.

The 2030 situation is more complex, as three bids have been quickly assembled over the past few months, from two regions of southern France, and spread-out bids from Sweden and Switzerland. All three foresee mostly, if not totally, private financing of the event, and no all-new venues, with some refurbishments of existing sites.

The Swedish bid would place the bobsled, luge and skeleton events at the existing World Cup track in Sigulda (LAT), across the Baltic Sea, and center many of the other events around Stockholm. The Swiss bid is a national effort, using venues across the entire country that also host World Cup events; the bid has drawn good public and political support in place of the historic disinterest in Olympic events which would require public financing.

For 2030, the IOC might pick more than one bid for “targeted dialogue,” giving themselves a back-up option in case one country is unwilling to provide the myriad of guarantees on access, cargo, security and the like. The Olympic Charter does not allow the election of a future Games host in a Session held in that country, so if the French bid is advanced, the selection of the 2030 host may not be able to be made at the 2024 Session prior to the Olympic Games being held in Paris.

But Salt Lake City could be selected for 2034. The Future Host Commission for Winter has been asked to consider a permanent rotation of the Winter Games in locations which are forecast to be cold enough in the future to offer natural snow, and the Commission liked the idea of allocating 2030 and 2034 now to give it more time to consider this concept. If implemented, Salt Lake City could begin the rotation program in 2034 and host again in 2050.

Beyond the Winter Games selection, the Executive Board will hear reports about the International Federations and National Olympic Committees. On Thursday, progress reports on the 2024 Winter Youth Olympics (Gangwon), 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Games and 2026 Youth Olympic Games (Dakar) will be heard. The Friday session will be devoted to Paris 2024, including a visit to the Olympic Village, which is nearing completion.

No report on Los Angeles 2028 is scheduled.

2.
France’s Perec suggests four Paris ‘24 torch lighters

France’s Marie-Jose Perec was a dominant force in the long sprints in the first half of the 1990s, winning Olympic gold in the 400 m at Barcelona and then the 200 and 400 m in Atlanta, plus 400 m World Championships golds in 1991 and 1995. She was the flagbearer for the French team at the opening of the 1996 Atlanta Games.

Now 55, she one of the obvious possibilities to be light the cauldron at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris next summer, but told Agence France Presse that she has other ideas:

“If I were chosen, it would make me really happy. I would be very touched. But if it was up to me to choose, I wouldn’t just take one person to light the cauldron. I would take a man and a woman disabled sports as well as an able-bodied man and woman.

“I would mix people because that’s what France is today. We’re talking about inclusion. If you say that the [Olympics and Paralympics] are one, if you made this mascot and this logo, you have to follow your logic to the end.

“An inclusive team, I think that would be the most beautiful message that France could send in these dark times.

“Today, with what we’re going through, you can’t just put black or white. And women, we have to see them. It’s a decision that makes such a mark, which is very political. The whole world’s eyes are on you.”

The novel Paris 2024 opening ceremony will take place on 26 July on the Seine River, but the location and logistics of the cauldron and the lighting portion of the ceremony have not yet been revealed. The identity of the final torchbearer is usually a closely-guarded secret until the ceremony itself.

3.
Paris transit authority doubles Games-period fares

The Ile-de-France Mobilities authority, which runs the region’s public transit system, says that it will increase the service level by 15% during the time of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Someone has to pay for that, and the transit authority wants visitors coming to the Games to be the ones who do.

On Monday, Valerie Pecresse, President of the Ile-de-France Regional Council, announced that fares will be increased:

“During the Olympics and the Paralympics, the Ile de France region will dramatically increase its transport offer. It is out of question that the residents support that cost.

“We’re going to create a new pass, the Paris 2024 pass, that will allow visitors to travel through the whole Ile de France region. It will cost 16 euros a day, and up to 70 euros a week. It is the fair price.”

A single-trip ticket will be €4 from 20 July to 8 September, from a week prior to the Olympic opening to the day of the Paralympic closing. (€1 = $1.09 U.S.)

Current pricing is €2.10 for a single-trip ticket, €8.45 for a day, €30 for a week and €84.10 for a month-long pass, so the Games-period tickets will be 90% more for a single ticket, 101% more for a day and 233% more for a week.

The Ile-de-France Mobilities annual budget is €10.5 billion per year and €200 million in additional revenue is hoped for from these increases. Costs for holders of monthly, annual and special transit passes will not be affected by the special pricing.

4.
Cloud connectivity reducing Olympic TV infrastructure

Although not as obvious as the competition sites, the infrastructure required to televise the Olympic Games worldwide is perhaps the most complex task in the staging of the event. But advances in technology have helped to curb the continuous expansion of the space and people needed.

The Paris 2024 Olympic Games will be broadcast across the globe, but primarily by a central team known as OBS, for “Olympic Broadcasting Services.” Formed in 2001, the core team of 160 staff in Madrid (ESP) grows to more than 8,300 during the Games and produces the basic coverage used by all broadcasters.

For decades, that meant that the signals from each of the competition and support sites were routed to a central International Broadcast Center, where rights-holding broadcasters set up their own studios to produce programming for their own country. NBC, as the American broadcaster, generally took up the most space.

But a major innovation for the Tokyo 2020 Games – held in 2021 – is changing this. Chinese technology giant and IOC sponsor Alibaba created, in conjunction with OBS, an “Olympic Cloud” system which allowed all of the signals captured at the Broadcast Center to be distributed via satellite and ground links to the home studios of broadcasters.

This groundbreaking advance allowed rights-holders to send fewer people to the Games – they could keep them at home – and reduce the ever-growing space needed for the IBC:

● 2016 Rio: 85,400 sq. m (about 919,000 sq. ft.)
● 2020 Tokyo: 45,000 sq. m (about 484,000 sq. ft.)
● 2024 Paris: 40,000 sq. m (about 431,000 sq. ft.)

Even so, the broadcast project is still extraordinary, with OBS to produce more than 11,000 hours of coverage, of which only about 4,000 will be the sports and ceremonies. The rest will be clips, highlights and loads of pre- and post-event coverage, including interviews and specially-created social-media content.

The production, in High Definition and Ultra High Definition (4K and 8K), will eventually offer 3,300 different feeds from the IBC, from 47 production units at 36 venue production compounds, more than 1,000 camera systems, more than 20 multi-camera replay systems and more than 3,600 microphones.

Bandwidth of 100 Gbps – gigabits per second – has been reserved for Olympic broadcast traffic.

The effort isn’t cheap. The IOC owns OBS and pays the television production costs for the Games, which ran to $439.6 million in 2021 alone.

All of this will support worldwide viewer on every kind of devise; 3.05 billion people watched some part of the Tokyo Games in 2021. Senior network executives and media analysts will be watching one metric especially closely: the share of viewing on over-the-air and cable television vs. viewing on streaming platforms. For Tokyo, 93% of all viewing was on television, but will the streaming revolution reach the Olympics in Paris?

5.
Russia’s Kolesnikov: the Olympics is not everything

The world-record holder in the men’s 50 m Breaststroke, Russian Kliment Kolesnikov, 23, won a Tokyo Olympic silver in the men’s 100 m Backstroke and a bronze in the 100 m freestyle. But he told the Russian news agency TASS that the Olympic Games is important, but not everything:

“It has not lost its meaning in general, the Olympics remains the best thing that can happen in an athlete’s life, but it is no longer the meaning of life; there is no need to link the two.

“By doing this, people then start to suffer from depression. It’s right to approach it simply as a competition, after which you forget about it all. Besides the Olympics and swimming, there are other things you can do and enjoy.”

He was asked if his attitude was forged after he competed in Tokyo in 2021:

“Absolutely. And not because of the fact that sanctions were imposed. It happened right after the Olympics. I had a change of heart about it all then. You prepare for them as a boy who has a dream to get there and win. But in the end you get into a tough, reality-filled adult life, where you realize that you are interesting only when you show something. So I’ve rethought my goals and objectives. I try to just catch a high from swimming, setting my personal records and world records.

“If you look from the athlete’s side, the Olympics are cool competitions, an unattainable level in terms of organization. It’s cool to be part of the swimming community, to see guys from different countries. But looking at it from the outside after the performance and realizing where it led to, it becomes awkward.”

Kolesnikov competed for the “Russian Olympic Committee” in Tokyo in 2021 and whether and under what circumstances he might be able to compete in Paris in 2024 is unclear.

≡ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS ≡

● Football ● France and Germany entered the FIFA men’s U-17 World Cup semis with perfect records and stayed that way – barely – and will meet in the final on Saturday in Surakarta (INA).

Argentina took a 2-1 halftime lead on Germany in the first semifinal on Tuesday (28th), on goals by striker Agustin Ruberto in the 36th minute and just before halftime at 45+4, overcoming a ninth-minute opener from forward Paris Brunner.

Brunner scored again in the 58th to tie the game on a right-footed shot from the top of the box that found the right side of the net and the Germans went up, 3-2, on forward Max Moerstedt‘s header in the 69th. It took a third Ruberto score, this time at 90+4 on a shot from the center of the box, to even the match and bring on the penalty shoot-out.

The Germans went up, 2-0 and 3-1, then Brunner completed the 4-2 shoot-out win on the fifth penalty shot, keeping them unbeaten at 6-0.

It wasn’t much easier for France (6-0), which was down to Mali by 1-0 at halftime on a stoppage-time rebound score from wing Ibrahim Diarra at 45+4. But the game changed in the 55th, as Mali defender Souleymane Sanogo was sent off with a red card after a video review of a foul. Now playing against 10, France scored a minute later on defender Yvann Titi’s header off a free kick into the middle of the box to tie the match.

And despite resolute defending, the French managed to get the lead in the 69th off a free kick, a swerving laser from attacking midfielder Ismail Bouneb that found the right side of the net for what turned out to be the game winner. Mali had 54% possession and a 20-9 edge on shots, but could not overcome Sanoyo’s red card, as midfielder Hamidou Makalou’s shot from distance hit the crossbar in the 89th.

Mali and Argentina will meet in the third-place game on Friday, also in Surakarta.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Athletics ● A lawsuit filed by former distance star Mary Cain, now 27, against former coach Alberto Salazar and Nike has been settled, according to the Multnomah County Circuit Court in Oregon.

Cain, a Bronxville (N.Y.) High School star who set prep records at distances from 800 m to 5,000 m in 2013-14 and represented the U.S. at the 2013 World Championships in the women’s 1,500 m at age 17, trained with the Nike Oregon Project under the direction of Salazar from 2013-16. She last competed in 2020 and has turned to triathlon in recent years.

Alleging emotional and physical abuse by Salazar and a lack of oversight by Nike, she filed suit in October 2021, asking for $20 million in damages. The Oregonian reported, “A clerk for the judge said a Nike attorney notified the court yesterday that the case had been resolved.”

● Basketball ● USA Basketball named Jim Boylen as its Coach of the Year on Tuesday, honoring his stewardship of a team of G-League players and free agents through the FIBA men’s World Cup qualifying process.

Boylen’s roster continuously changed for the six FIBA qualifying windows, but his teams – and a total of 52 players – compiled a 9-3 record and placed the U.S. in the FIBA World Cup, where it finished fourth overall and qualified for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Boylen, 58, was the head coach at the University of Utah from 2007-11 and of the Chicago Bulls of the NBA from 2018-20. He is currently an assistant coach with the Indiana Pacers.

● Football ● There was strong interest in the CONCACAF Nations League last week … for Mexico, but not much for the U.S.

The second leg of the home-and-home with Trinidad & Tobago on Monday (20th) drew 305,000 viewers on TNT at 7 p.m. Eastern, after 152,000 watched the pre-game show.

But the Mexico-Honduras match on Tuesday did 2.08 million combined between UniMas (1.612 million) and TUDN (469,000). And the Argentina at Brazil World Cup qualifying match that turned into a riot and was delayed by almost a half-hour had 1.499 million on Telemundo and another 230,000 on Universo.

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TSX REPORT: Tax forms show money is tight at USATF; more Tokyo 2020 scandal? 87% of athletes trust the anti-doping system

Rich Perelman

November 28, 2023

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

★ To get The Sports Examiner by e-mail: sign up here! ★

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. USA Track & Field reserves down to $597,993 at start of 2023
2. More Tokyo 2020 questions: bid gift inquiry asked
3. USA Swimming: no contact with Russian federation
4. WADA’s 2022 annual report: 87% of aths trust the system
5. European study shows anti-doping education has impact

● USA Track & Field posted its 2022 tax return, showing that a long-promised $9.9 million contribution was made to the organizing committee of the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, running its reserves down to $597,933 at the start of this year. Both revenues and expenses set all-time records, with the annual loss at $6.72 million.

● The Tokyo 2020 Olympic bid is in the headlines again after a Prefectural Governor said that undisclosed government funds were used to enable “gifts” for International Olympic Committee members prior to the 2013 where Tokyo won the right to stage the Games. Prime Minister Kishida was asked to open an inquiry.

● USA Swimming said it has had no discussions with the Russian Swimming Federation about a dual meet next February, following the 2024 World Aquatics Championships in Qatar, as Russian federation head Vladimir Salnikov had claimed over the weekend.

● The World Anti-Doping Agency published its annual report for 2022, noting that a survey of more than 1,500 athletes had 87% saying that they “trust that the anti-doping system enables clean competition and fair play.” The IOC and European governments continue to be the main WADA funders.

● An Italian-led study of the European Athletics mandatory “I Run Clean” education program showed that attitudes towards doping fell by 11% among athletes surveyed and 38% among coaches, a considerable success.

● Panorama: International Olympic Committee (“targeted dialogue” explained) = Paris 2024 (airports, Seine River to be closed for Olympic opening) = Athletics (Russian doping reported down in 2023) = Alpine Skiing (Shiffrin’s unbelievable career Slalom record) = Bobsled & Skeleton (IBSF celebrates its centennial) = eSports (Saudi prince elected head of IESF) = Fencing (FIE Congress recognizes year’s best) = Sailing (“Olympic Vision” concepts may include new rankings system) ●

1.
USA Track & Field reserves down to $597,993 at start of 2023

At the end of 2021, USA Track & Field reported net reserves of $8,533,319 on its IRS Form 990, the required tax return for non-profit organizations.

On Monday, nearly 11 months after the end of the year, the federation posted its 2022 Form 990, showing its net reserves were down by 93.0% to $597,993, after an overall loss of $6.72 million.

Why? A long-promised cash contribution to the success of the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene of $9,903,723. A note on the cover of the return states this clearly, and it has left USATF with a difficult financial tightrope to walk, moving into an Olympic year with modest resources available to support its athletes, teams and programs. Compared with 2021:

● Assets were down from $46.08 million to $34.27 million, the lowest since 2013, when Nike’s sponsorship to 2040 was agreed.

● Cash available was down from $13.40 million to $1.80 million.

● Revenues were up from $33.77 million to $37.94 million, the most ever in a single year, which makes sense with the Worlds in the U.S. for the first time.

● Expenses were up from $34.14 million to $44.66 million, due to the World Championships payment, easily the highest expense total in USATF history (the prior high was $38.43 million in 2016).

There was a helpful increase in sponsorships in 2022 – helpful in a year when the U.S. hosted the Worlds – and extra donations to help ease some of the pain:

● Donations: $5.92 million in 2021, up to $7.95 million in 2022.
● Sponsorships: $20.21 million in 2021, rising to $23.30 million in 2022.
● Event rights and tickets: $3.94 million in 2021, down to $1.02 million in 2022.
● Membership fees: $1.428 million in 2021, up to $2.19 million in 2022.
● Sanction fees: $586,728 in 2021, nicely up to $1.06 million in 2022.
● Media revenue: $941,520 in 2021, up to $1.46 million in 2022.

The donations total included a “government grant” of $1.06 million and $3.88 million in in-kind goods and services, including apparel and other gear from Nike and a lot of airline credits.

The tax statement also detailed the amounts paid to athletes and volunteers:

● $2.52 million in prize money, to 670 athletes.
● $1.06 million in World Championships athlete payments (to 141).
● $406,580 in athlete travel funding (to 217).
● $312,467 in athlete travel funding (to another 400).
● $1.11 million in non-cash athlete travel support (to the 400).
● $748,000 in coaching stipends (to 90).
● $2.17 million staff/volunteer travel support (to 1,500).

As far as staff, 11 members of the 97 employees were shown with compensation of more than $100,000. Chief executive Max Siegel, who recently received a five-year contract extension, received $1.31 million for 2022, and has $405,347 remaining on a $952,730 loan he received from USATF to cover tax liabilities on his bonus shown in 2021 related to the long-term Nike sponsorship contract. USATF still owes $12.58 million in other commissions related to that sponsorship.

The organization’s cash was low and USATF had used $5.8 million of an $8.0 million line of credit as of the end of 2021. It maintains investments of $9.90 million as of the end of 2022.

More information may be available in the federation’s audited financial statement, expected to also be released this week, as the USATF Annual Meeting will be held from Thursday through Sunday in Florida.

Observed: USATF’s commitment to funding for the 2022 Worlds in Eugene was going to hurt its finances badly, and it did. Money is tight, and track & field is well behind other U.S. National Governing Bodies such as USA Swimming ($67.87 million in assets in 2022 and $41.28 million in reserves), the U.S. Soccer Federation ($171.7 million in assets in 2022 and $108.3 million in reserves) and U.S. Ski & Snowboard, which showed $99.56 million in assets and reserves of $75.44 million as of 30 April 2023.

2.
More Tokyo 2020 questions: bid gift inquiry asked

Scandal continues to dog the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, with prosecutions continuing over bid-rigging of test events and venue management contracts and bribes over sponsorship selections, and now questions in the Diet (parliament) over gifts to members of the International Olympic Committee.

Tokyo was elected in 2013 by 60-36 over Istanbul (TUR) in the second round of voting, and Hiroshi Hase, a former Diet member and now the governor of the Ishikawa prefecture in central Japan said on 17 November that he was asked by then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe “to make sure we win” and assuring Hase that there was money available for campaigning from Cabinet Secretariat discretionary funds, which are not made public. Per Kyodo News:

“Hase said he created albums costing 200,000 yen ($1,342) each for about 100 IOC members, containing photos from their athletic careers and other relevant information, while saying he ‘traveled around the world with the gifts.’”

Such items would be a breach of the IOC’s Ethics Code and could constitute a mis-use of the Cabinet Secretariat budget. Hase issued a statement about his comments, saying “They were statements based on facts that I had misunderstood, and I have fully retracted it,” and explained that he had been contacted by the Education Ministry, which pointed to mistakes in his original comment.

But that did not stop opposition politicians from asking current Prime Minister Fumio Kishida about the gifts and for an investigation on Monday (27th). Kishida responded:

“I would like to think about concrete responses after carefully considering the circumstances surrounding the retraction.”

While the gifts as described are a far cry from the outright bribery of IOC members that was alleged for the election of Rio de Janeiro for 2016, gifts of varying kinds had become part of the winner-takes-all bid fracas that has marked elections of bids for Olympic Games held in the 21st Century. The IOC reformed the process in 2019, ending direct elections and creating the current “dialogue” process through appointed Future Host Commissions for the summer and winter Games.

Japanese media saw Hase’s comments as a blow to the credibility of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. And it does not help discussions about a future Winter Games bid for Sapporo, likely now a possibility in 2038 at the earliest.

3.
USA Swimming: no contact with Russian federation

A Saturday post by the Russian news agency TASS quoted Russian Swimming Federation chief Vladimir Salnikov thus:

“I approached the U.S. Swimming Federation about holding a match meeting immediately after the world championships in Doha [in February 2024]. Now they are considering this proposal, but some people with whom I spoke, including the legendary American coach Mark Schubert, were very positive.

“As soon as we make progress in this direction, we will make an official statement.”

Asked for details on Monday, USA Swimming Chief Commercial Officer Shana Ferguson wrote in an e-mail:

“I can confirm to you that the leadership of USA Swimming has not spoken to the Russian Swimming Federation about this matter.”

The idea didn’t make a lot of sense in any case, as the U.S. is sending only 18 swimmers to Doha next February – including just five women – well short of the maximum team size of 52 and way short of the number required for a dual meet.

4.
WADA’s 2022 annual report: 87% of aths trust the system

One of the reasons that the World Anti-Doping Agency was founded in 1999 was to re-establish trust in Olympic sport that athletes are competing on a “level playing field” vis-a-vis doping.

That goal is being met, according to the 2022 WADA Annual Report, released on Friday (24th), as 87% of the 1,541 athletes surveyed “trust that the anti-doping system enables clean competition and fair play.”

The report also noted that surveys showed 74% of athletes believed that WADA “is concerned about athlete welfare” and 68% felt that WADA was interested in their needs and “is fair when dealing with athletes.”

WADA also won a grant of €1.43 million (about $1.56 million U.S.) to expand its investigational capabilities, an increasingly important aspect of its work.

In terms of the testing numbers, the latest figures were published earlier in the year and are from the pandemic year of 2020:

● 149,649 samples collected in 2022
● 935 adverse findings made (0.62%)
● 672 adverse findings from testing (71.9%)
● 263 adverse findings from investigations (28.1%)

The adverse findings came from 91 countries and 67 different sports and included 25 individuals who were support personnel, such as coaches.

The number of tests was way down in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the doping positives rate were down very slightly compared to the positives rate for the pre-pandemic year of 2019: 0.62% vs 0.68%.

WADA is quite careful with money. All of its efforts, including the testing, investigations and educational programs cost $42.8 million for 2022, against $47.7 million in revenue. The income came from the IOC ($24.196 million total) and governments ($23.143 million total), plus $2.37 million from the Montreal International promotion agency.

Europe continues as WADA’s main funder. In addition to the Swiss-based IOC contributing half the budget, the governmental contribution division is:

● 49%: Europe
● 29%: Americas
● 19%: Asia
● 3.0%: Oceania
● 0.3%: Africa

The European Union gave an additional $1.044 million and Saudi Arabia added $500,000 for research and investigations

Observed: This is a positive report, but many athletes still believe that doping is still rampant, at least in their own sports. WADA and the International Testing Agency have developed reasonably sophisticated means of targeting for out-of-competition testing those athletes most likely to compete for medals, but it also true that even at the Olympic Games – much less at world championships – not every athlete is tested.

With the advances in dried-blood-spot testing (DBS), which is a much easier test to administer and can be stored for a considerable time, testing everyone is a goal which should be set for 2028 at the latest. Every Olympic athlete should be tested, and DBS may make it possible for every athlete at every world championships to be tested as well, quickly and safely.

WADA has begun to look for commercial partners to assist in its work and the giants in the self-test industry – diabetics know all about blood-spot test kits made by Abbott, Bayer, Johnson & Johnson, Roche and others – could be approached to showcase their products as a sponsor of such testing worldwide.

5.
European study shows anti-doping education has impact

Does anti-doping education really work? A study of the European Athletics’ “I Run Clean” project shows that there is an improvement in attitudes against doping from seminar participants polled before and after their sessions.

The review, led by the Sapienza University of Rome (ITA), noted a change in the European Athletics approach:

“Unlike WADA’s voluntary ALPHA, or the Anti-Doping e-Learning (ADeL) platform that superseded it in 2018, European Athletics made the completion of I Run Clean a mandatory entry requirement for top athletes to participate in any of its championship events. The platform has attracted in excess of 49,000 users as of September 2023, more than 41,000 of whom have completed the entire programme.”

The 8 November report of the study, in the European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education, described clearly positive impacts from the values-based education program, although hardly a complete abhorrence to doping. The study was done between November 2022 and February 2023, with 378 athletes and 278 coaches taking part, from Bulgaria (22.6%), Estonia (9.5%), France (21.8%), Germany (6.7%) and Italy (39.3%).

Among athletes (results rounded):

● Moral disengagement from doping dropped from 1.80 on a 5.0 scale prior to the workshops to 1.60/5.0 after the workshops, down 11%.

● Attitudes toward doping dropped from 1.75/5.0 prior to 1.55/5.0 post, also an 11% drop.

Among coaches:

● Moral disengagement from doping dropped from 2.30/5.0 prior to 1.50/5.0 post, down a significant 35%.

● Attitudes towards doping dropped from 2.10/5.00 prior to 1.30/5.0 post, down 38%.

The discussion noted rather concretely:

“The bottom-line measure of the success of any anti-doping education intervention is, of course, the impact on relevant psychosocial variables in the participants. The study clearly demonstrated the short-term effectiveness of the workshops. The results of the surveys administered in the two target groups studied (athletes and coaches) showed reduced risk factors …

“The presented results show the particular efficacy of the interventions focused on coaches, addressing the important need for coaches to provide positive role models and foster a clean sport environment. In fact, past evidence has shown that, besides peers, coaches are an important source of influence for athletes. …

“During a period when the paradigm of the fight against doping in sport expanded from testing and punishment to include values-based education, this novel project targeted practically all groups within athletics with a unique programme comprising expanded ‘top-down’ e-learning and newly designed ‘peer-to-peer’ workshops delivered by young volunteer ambassadors on athletes. The scientific literature has demonstrated the effectiveness of peer education in anti-doping interventions aimed at reducing positive attitudes and moral disengagement towards doping.”

Observed: It must be emphasized that one of the key differences between the “I Run Clean” program and others is that it was mandatory. So, along with the need to test everyone who competes in a major event, there is also the need to teach everyone about the dangers of doping and to stay away from it.

These needed improvements in the anti-doping system – both testing and teaching – across 100% of participant, coaches and entourage, will change the way championship events are run at multiple levels, requiring more time from athletes and support staff. But if doping is to be further reduced, the need for both elements is crucial and unavoidable. The costs are not too unwieldy, but the commitment will be hard to find in many quarters.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● International Olympic Committee ● The best indicator yet that one or more bids will be selected for “targeted dialogue” – meaning an effort to confirm selection as an Olympic Games host for a specific year – at this week’s IOC Executive Board meeting came on Monday with the IOC posting a story on “Electing Olympic and Paralympic hosts: Targeted Dialogue explained.”

The IOC Executive Board is scheduled to discuss Winter Olympic bids for 2030 and 2034 on Wednesday, with Salt Lake City (USA) likely to be tabbed for “targeted dialogue” for 2034 and France, Sweden and Switzerland vying for 2030.

● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● Le Parisien reported that airports within 150 km (93 miles) of Paris – including Roissy (Paris Charles de Gaulle), Orly, Le Bourget and Beauvais – will be closed from 7 p.m. to midnight on 26 July 2024 for the Olympic opening ceremony.

It was also confirmed that boat traffic on the Seine River – site of the opening – will be closed for the ceremony from about the 19th July through the ceremony. It won’t be a total loss, as some of the tour boats will be contracted for the ceremony anyway.

● Athletics ● The number of doping positives in Russian track & field is coming down, according to Russian Anti-Doping Agency head Veronika Loginova:

“Only four violations of anti-doping rules were detected in 2023, and more than 2,000 samples were taken. The statistics are such that we can both boast and rejoice. Last year we had seven cases of violations, this year only four. Now it’s almost the end of the year, and I hope that our statistics will remain like this.”

“If you and I remember, two years ago we had 14 violations. We see how much the situation is improving. It turns out that ARAF is working in the right direction.”

By contrast, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency has posted six sanctions for U.S. track and field athletes in 2023 and two public warnings.

● Alpine Skiing ● Spectacular stat from NBC’s Nick Zaccardi on X (ex-Twitter):

“Starting with her first World Cup win at age 17 in December 2012, Mikaela Shiffrin has raced 101 slaloms among World Cup/World Championships/Olympics.

“Shiffrin in 101 slaloms: 60 wins (83 podiums)

“Rest of the world: 41 wins.”

Wow.

● Bobsled & Skeleton ● Last Thursday (23rd) marked the centennial of the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation (IBSF), originally founded as the Federation Internationale de Bobsleigh et Tobogganing (FIBT).

The founding members in 1923 included Canada, France, Great Britain, Switzerland and the U.S., and over a century, there are now 74 national federations affiliated with the ISBF.

● eSports ● A noteworthy development in the continued rise of Saudi Arabia in international sports, as Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud was elected on Sunday as the president of the International Electronic Sports Federation (IESF).

Faisal won 98.6% of the vote (71 votes out of 72) and his term is through 2025. He has been the interim head of the IESF since 3 October.

● Fencing ● The FIE Congress met in Egypt and made awards to the top-ranked fencers and teams in each category for 2023:

● Men’s Epee: Davide Di Veroli (ITA) and France
● Women’s Epee: Marie-Florence Candassamy (FRA) and Korea
● Men’s Foil: Alexander Massialas (USA) and Japan
● Women’s Foil: Lee Kiefer (USA) and Italy
● Men’s Sabre: Sandro Bazadze (GEO) and Korea
● Women’s Sabre: Sara Balzer (FRA) and France

At the junior level, Americans Hadley Husisian (women’s Epee) and Colin Heathcock (men’s Sabre) were honored, along with U.S. teams in men’s and women’s Foil..

Montenegro was admitted as a member, bringing the federation total to 156.

● Sailing ● World Sailing concluded its Annual Conference, held in Malaga (ESP) last week, with the Council approving its “Olympic Vision,” which was not publicly released.

However, a preview came from the proposals from the World Sailing Classes Committee and the Olympic Classes sub-committee (OCSC), which noted:

● Concerns over “the requirement of supplied equipment” for all events;
● That new formats for LA28 be completed by the middle of 2025;
● Need for better coordination of media impact at the World Championships;
● A strategy for digital officiating is needed.

A fifth recommendation was also aimed at increasing sailing’s visibility:

“The OCSC recommends that the board prioritizes the implementation of the new ranking system, approved in 2018. The new rankings could be well used for media communication and building stars.”

The “Olympic Vision” paper is expected to be released soon.

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TSX REPORT: Swiss in for 2030/2034 Winter bid; van de Vorst elected World Boxing chief; Brazil and U.S. 1-2 as Parapan Ams close in Santiago

Rich Perelman

November 27, 2023

tsx pix 2023-1126 ziegler, ava marie 750 (ISU) — An amazing win for American teen Ava Marie Ziegler at the NHK Trophy in Japan! (Photo courtesy International Skating Union)

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

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. Swiss “sports parliament” approves 203x bid effort
2. World Boxing elects van der Vorst as President
3. South Africa out of 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup chase
4. Brazil tops Parapan American Games medal table
5. USA Fencing DEI preferences met in just 17 states

● The Swiss are in for the 2030 Olympic Winter Games as its “sports parliament” unanimously approved the bid for the 2030 or 2034 Winter Games. The International Olympic Committee is expected to possibly recommend one or two of the three 2030 bidders to advance this week.

● The in-formation World Boxing federation held its inaugural Congress in Germany and elected former Dutch Boxing Federation head Boris van der Vorst as its first President. A total of 25 national federations voted, and the organization’s first three sponsors were named.

● South Africa dropped out of the running for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, citing insufficient time to develop its complete proposal before the 8 December deadline. That leaves bids from Brazil, Mexico and the U.S. and a European bid from Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.

● The Parapan American Games concluded in Santiago, Chile, with Brazil setting a record for the most medals won with 343. The U.S. won 166 medals, its second-highest total ever, led by swimmer Taylor Winnett, who won seven medals.

● USA Fencing adopted a policy of placing its events in states which are highly placed on diversity, equity and inclusion by the Movement Advancement Project. As it turns out, only 17 states are “preferred,” and the federation notes that, owing to availability and budget issues, “we end up in some states on the ‘avoid’ list.”

● World Championship: Football (France and Germany continue perfect and into semis) ●

● Panorama: Alpine Skiing (Gut-Behrami & Shiffrin take Killington titles) = Athletics (2: Pistorius paroled after serving 10 years; Kenya’s Borura gets three-year ban for doping) = Badminton (home team wins three at China Masters) = Beach Volleyball (Ramos and Lisboa win again in Pro Tour Elite 16) = Biathlon (Rees and Vittozzi win IBU World Cup openers) = Cross Country Skiing (Norway and Sweden sweeps golds) = Figure Skating (Ziegler, 17, stuns with women’s win at NHK Trophy) = Football (FIFA inquiry on Argentina-Brazil riot) = Freestyle Skiing (McEachran & Gremaud win windswept Slopestyle opener) = Nordic Combined (Oftebro and Riiber take opening wins) = Shooting (China leads medal count at ISSF World Cup Final) = Ski Jumping (Kraft sweeps Ruka opener) = Ski Mountaineering (Cardona wins, Ulrich surprises at opening World Cup) ●

1.
Swiss “sports parliament” approves 203x bid effort

Switzerland’s bid for a nationalized 2030 Olympic Winter Games was presented to the International Olympic Committee’s Future Host Commission on 21 November, but still had to be ratified by the more than 110 organizations which make up the SwissOlympic umbrella organization.

Nothing to worry about.

Friday’s vote was unanimous in favor of advancing the Swiss bids for both winter and summer mega-events. From the announcement:

● “They unanimously voted in favor of continuing the Switzerland 203x project, which envisages decentralized Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2030 (or 2034) in Switzerland. This means that Swiss Olympic can now enter into the final stage of dialogue with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) regarding the hosting of these Winter Games if the IOC also agrees.”

● “The project to hold the European Championships in Switzerland is also being pursued. Swiss Olympic has made a corresponding commitment to the summer sports associations. The target year for the Olympics depends on the Olympic project – 2030 or 34 are currently also possible, but holding both events in the same year is not an option.”

The Swiss idea for 2030 is grounded in the use of existing venues – now demanded by the IOC – and forecasts a relatively modest $1.6 billion (U.S.) budget.

The IOC Executive Board is expected to hear from its Future Host Commission on Wednesday (29th) and could approve a “targeted dialogue” towards making a 2030 award that day. France and Sweden are also bidding for the 2030 Winter Games and Salt Lake City in the U.S. is the leading candidate for 2034. The Future Host Commission has been authorized to make a recommendation for both 2030 and 2034 if they desire.

The budget for 2024 was also approved and offers an insight into the support available for a country of about 8.7 million people; a modest deficit of CHF 3.7 million is expected on revenues of CHF 126.7 million (about $143.5 million U.S.) and spending of CHF 130.4 million (~$147.7 million).

SwissOlympic will receive CHF 58.4 million (~$66.2 million U.S.) from the Swiss national lottery system.

2.
World Boxing elects van der Vorst as President

The in-formation World Boxing federation held its inaugural Congress in Frankfurt (GER) over the weekend, electing former Dutch Boxing Federation head Boris van der Vorst as its first President.

There were 25 national federations present, with van der Vorst receiving 26 votes (63.4%) to 15 for American Elise Seignolle (36.6%) for a two-year term. Said van der Vorst:

“Making sure boxing remains at the heart of the Olympic Movement is our number one priority and I look forward to working together with the newly elected board and all of our member National Federations to help us deliver this.”

Elections were also held for three Vice Presidents – Ryan O’Shea (CAN), Matt Holt (GBR) and Dinah Glykidis (AUS) were selected – and four additional members of the Executive Board.

The Congress reviewed the federation’s progress to date, with the delegates told that by the end of 2024, a total of 50 national federations are expected to be a part of the organization.

A projected budget for 2024 was also shared, with €861,575 in revenue from sponsorships, national federation dues, licensing, bid fees and start-up loans. An interest-free loan of $250,000 U.S. has already been secured. (€1 = $1.09 U.S.).

Expenses included administration and contractors, event management, anti-doping and €300,000 in contingency.

The revenue projections for sponsorships showed three categories to start and named equipment, apparel and technology support. World Boxing named Australia-based Sting in a four-year agreement for competition equipment. The company is also a supplier for the International Boxing Association.

The budget slide also identified Nike as its apparel sponsor and China’s Xempower (Nanjing Shanpao Sports Technology Co., Ltd.) as its technology provider.

3.
South Africa out of 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup chase

One of the four bidders for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup has withdrawn, leaving three bids to be considered.

South Africa decided that it will compete for hosting rights for the 2031 Women’s World Cup, with South African Football Association chief executive Lydia Monyepao saying “We felt it was better to present a well-prepared bid for 2031… rather than producing a rushed presentation.”

The completed bid file is due by 8 December, with submissions expected from Brazil, a joint Mexico-United States effort and a European conglomeration of Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. Each bid must offer a minimum of 10 stadiums, 40 team base-camp training sites and two sites in each proposed host city for a fan festival site.

FIFA will go through the bids, and will visit all three of the bid groups in February 2024 and an evaluation report will be made in early May, with the final award will be made by the FIFA Congress on 17 May 2024.

Brazil has never hosted the Women’s World Cup; the U.S. has hosted in 1999 and 2003, and Germany has hosted in 2011.

4.
Brazil tops Parapan American Games medal table

The VII Parapan American Games concluded in Santiago (CHI) on Sunday, with 1,943 athletes from 31 countries competing, 380 events held in 17 sports and Brazil once again leading the medal table with 343 total and the U.S. second with 166.

The Brazilians, who have led the medal table in five straight Parapan Americans (2007-11-15-19-23), sent the largest team at 324 total, with the U.S. the second-largest at 240, then Argentina at 206, Mexico at 186 and Colombia at 185.

The total of 380 events was the most ever at a Parapan American Games and the Brazilians won the most medals in the history of the event, with 156 golds, 98 silvers and 89 bronzes for a 343 total. The U.S. had its second-best performance ever in this event, with 166 total medals and 55 golds; the top 12 medal performances, dominated by Brazil:

● 343, Brazil in 2023
● 307, Mexico in 1999
● 307, Brazil in 2019
● 257, Brazil in 2015
● 228, Brazil in 2007
● 220, Mexico in 2003
● 212, Brazil in 1999
● 197, Brazil in 2011
● 185, United States in 2019
● 168, Canada in 2015 /10/
● 166, United States in 2023
● 165, Brazil in 2003
● 165, Mexico in 2011

The U.S. won medals in 15 of the 17 sports, with 159 total medal winners, with 51 winning more than one medal. The team leader was swimmer Taylor Winnett, 24, who won seven medals in all.

In terms of sports and athletes, the most popular was athletics, with 404 entries, followed by swimming (238), wheelchair basketball (185), table tennis (132) and badminton (100).

More than 300 Games records were set, along with five world records in athletics in various categories:

● Men’s 400 m: 46.48, Samuel Oliveira (BRA: T20)
● Men’s Long Jump: 7.74 m (25-4 3/4), Robiel Sol (CUB: T47)
● Men’s Javelin: 61.76 m (202-7), Jose Limos (COL: F37/38)
● Women’s Discus: 17.80 m (58-4 3/4), Elizabeth Rodrigues (BRA: F53)
● Women’s Discus: 41.16 m (135-0), Osiras Machado (MEX: F64)

At the closing ceremony, Chilean President Gabriel Boric spoke to reporters about the impact of both the Pan American and Parapan American Games:

“It has been truly emotional. I am moved to see the effort of the athletes and their families. I always highlight the families because, without them, it would have been difficult to move forward. I believe that this leaves us with a tremendous challenge as a state, to continue promoting sports more, beyond the Games themselves, 365 days a year.

“There is a legacy that is already made, which is the infrastructure. We have to take care of it, prevent it from deteriorating, and make it available to high-performance athletes and people who want to practice sports.”

Sorry to report that the PanAm and Parapan Am Games results site did not carry a listing of multi-medalists, so no information was available on the athletes or athletes who won the most medals overall.

5.
USA Fencing DEI preferences met in just 17 states

Back in June, the USA Fencing Board of Directors made a change in policy for the selection of the sites for its future events, based on an outside metric:

“USA Fencing’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion took another step in the right direction when the Board passed a motion to not negotiate arrangements to hold competitions or other events in any facility located in a jurisdiction rated ‘Negative’ by the Movement Advancement Project. Existing contracts will be honored, but future negotiations will consider the ratings of these jurisdictions.”

Last Tuesday, the federation explained the current situation for site selection, based on the “equality maps” created by the independent Movement Advancement Project think tank, which tracks LGBTQIA-related laws and policies. As of now:

Here’s the picture as it looks now, from the 21 November statement (those states in brackets have been listed already):

● “DO NOT ALLOW” (Negative Tally on Equality Maps: 11)
Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas.

● “AVOID WHERE POSSIBLE” (Low Tally on Equality Maps: 13)
Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Utah, West Virginia, Wyoming.

● “AVOID WHERE POSSIBLE” (Lowest rating on Center for Reproductive Rights Tracker: 14, but adding two to the above lists)
Alabama, Arkansas, [Idaho], [Indiana], [Kentucky], [Louisiana], [Mississippi], [Missouri], [North Dakota], [Oklahoma], [South Dakota], [Tennessee], [Texas], [West Virginia].

● “PREFERRED” (Medium or High on Equality Maps, High availability of Women’s Health: 17)
California, Colorado, D.C., Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington.

Not listed are eight states: Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin.

Does this mean that no future USA Fencing events will be outside of the “Preferred” states? No:

“[We] remind you that some of our tournament locations have already been booked — and were under contract, or in advanced negotiations, before our new site selection priorities were in place, or before a given state moved down the rating.

“Also, our goal is to ‘give priority’ to more inclusive states, and we’re committed to that. But as the season comes together and we get a clear picture of our budget for the year, that might mean we end up in some states on the ‘avoid’ list.”

It’s a difficult balancing act for the federation, as the story noted that there are only 38 convention centers in the U.S. that can accommodate a national tournament, using 60 pistes or more. The U.S. Nationals for 2024 will take place in Columbus, Ohio next June.

≡ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS ≡

● Football ● The two undefeateds remained undefeated and France and Germany advanced to the semifinals of the FIFA men’s U-17 World Cup in Indonesia, with three of the four quarterfinals decided by 1-0 scores.

France (5-0) played a tough match with Uzbekistan (2-2-1), facing packed-in defense, and taking 29 shots to six. But even so, the game was scoreless until the 83rd minute, when Ismail Bouneb finally broke through with a goal after teammate Mathis Lambourde’s header hit the crossbar.

The Germans (5-0) also had a tough time with Spain (3-1-1), scoring only on a Paris Brunner penalty in the 64th minute, after being fouled by defender Hector Fort. In typical style, the Spanish controlled the ball for 76% of the time and had 22 shots to five for the winners, but Germany marches on with its second one-goal victory in a row.

Argentina will play Germany in the second semifinal, comprehensively defeating Brazil, 3-0, with Claudio Echeverri scoring all three, in the 28th, 58th and 71st minutes. Possession was fairly even and shots were 12 each, but Echeverri was too much.

The French will play Mali, a 1-0 winner over Morocco thanks to an 81st-minute goal from Ibrahim Diarra, scoring after striker Ibrahim Kanate’s shot was blocked. The Malians controlled the match, with 61% of possession and 19 shots to five.

All of the semifinalists have been there before. France has won this trophy in 2001, Germany was runner-up in 1985, and Mali took silver in 2015, while Argentina has been third three times.

The semifinals will be held on Tuesday (28th), with both games in Surakarta. The final will be on 2 December.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Alpine Skiing ● The FIS World Cup focus was strictly on the women this week in Killington, Vermont (USA) for a Giant Slalom and Slalom, with Swiss star Lara Gut-Behrami winning her second Giant Slalom of the season.

New Zealand’s Alice Robinson, 21, the 2021 World Junior Champion, led the first run at 55.97, with Swede Sara Hector second and Gut-Behrami in third. But Robinson fell back to ninth-fastest on the second run and Gut-Behrami moved up, skiing the third-fastest second run for a total time of 1:53.05. Robinson held second (1:53.67), but U.S. star Mikaela Shiffrin moved up from fifth to third, despite only the eighth-fastest second run, finishing at 1:53.86. American Paula Moltzan was eighth at 1:54.95. It’s the 39th career World Cup win for Gut-Behrami and the 140th career World Cup medal for Shiffrin.

On Sunday, the greatest Slalom skier in history – Shiffrin – took over, acing the first run in 48.27 and then winning the second run as well in 53.75 for a combined time of 1:42.02, 0.33 better than Olympic champ Petra Vlhova (SVK), who ran third and second on the two runs for a 1:42.35 final. Swiss Wendy Holdener was third (1:43.39) and Moltzan was eighth again, in 1:44.21.

For Shiffrin (who went to school in Vermont), it was her second win of the season, giving her a record 90 total World Cup wins and her 55th in Slalom. She is up to 141 career World Cup medals, no. 2 all-time and closing in on Swede Ingemar Stenmark’s career record of 155 from 1973-89.

● Athletics ● Six-time Paralympic gold medalist Oscar Pistorius (RSA) won parole on Friday (24th), 10 years after killing girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp and being convicted in 2014 for “culpable homicide.”

Pistorius was a sensation as a Paralympic sprinter, winning Paralympic Games golds in 2004 (1), 2008 (3) and 2012 (2) in the 100-200-400 m and the 4×100 m, and qualified for the 2012 Olympic Games in London, reaching the semifinals.

Pistorius will be released on 5 January 2024.

The Athletics Integrity Unit has suspended Kenyan distance runner Esther Borura for three years for Nandrolone or Nandrolone precursors use, from 6 September 2023 and her results were nullified since 30 June 2023.

Borura, 23, moved to no. 19 all-time in the women’s 10 km in January, running 30:15 for third in Valencia (ESP). That result will stand.

● Badminton ● The home team won three titles at the China Masters in Shenzhen, with a total prize purse of $1 million.

China’s wins started with the women’s Singles, where third-seed Yu Fei Chen – the Tokyo Olympic champ – won over countrywoman Yue Han, who won the first set by 21-18, then retired due to injury while trailing 21-4 in the second set. It’s Chen’s fourth tournament win this season.

Second-seeded Wei Keng Liang and Chang Wang (CHN) pulled off a mild upset of top-seeds Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty (IND) in the men’s Doubles final, 21-19, 18-21, 21-19, also their fourth title of the year.

In the Mixed Doubles, top-seeded Si Wei Zhang and Ya Qiong Huang (CHN) swept World Champion Seung-jae Seo and Yu-jung Chae (KOR), 21-10, 21-11.

Japan won the other two finals, with third-seed Kodai Naraoka (JPN) finally winning a BWF World Tour title in his fifth final, 21-13, 21-13, over countryman Kenta Nishimoto.

The all-Japan women’s Doubles final was won by Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida over fourth-seeds Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota, 21-18, 21-11.

● Beach Volleyball ● The final Beach Pro Tour Elite 16 tournament of 2023 was in Joao Pessoa (BRA), with an all-Brazilian gold-medal match in the women’s division.

In the end, it was 2022 World Champions – and top seeds – Ana Patricia Ramos and Duda Lisboa who prevailed over Carol Salgado and Barbara Seixas, 29-31, 21-16, 15-11. Although they had to settle for second at the 2023 Worlds, Ramos and Lisboa were great in 2023, winning five of the nine Elite 16 events, plus a silver and a bronze: seven medals in nine tournaments.

In the third-place match, China’s Chen Xue and Xinyi Xia won their third medal of the season (1-0-2) by defeating Americans Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth, 22-20, 20-22, 15-12.

The men’s final saw Swedes David Ahman and Jonatan Hellvig back their silver-medal finish in the World Championships with their third Elite 16 win of 2023, defeating Samuele Cottafava and Paolo Nicolai (ITA) by 21-11, 21-18.

Ahman and Hellvig won at the Elite 16 tournaments in Tepic (MEX) in March and in Hamburg in August before their Worlds silver; in the nine Elite 16 events in 2023, they won three and took a silver in a fourth.

Stefan Boermans and Yorick de Groot (NED) won the bronze over George Wanderley and Andre Loyola Stein (BRA), 21-15, 21-19.

● Biathlon ● The IBU World Cup season opened with 10 days in Oestersund (SWE), starting with relays and the individual races on Saturday and Sunday.

In the men’s 20 km, German Roman Rees – 21st at the 2023 Worlds in this event – posting his first World Cup win in 51:27.2 (one penalty), beating teammate Justus Strelow (51:39.3/1) and four-time overall World Cup champ Johannes Thingnes Boe (NOR: 51:52.2/2).

The women’s 15 km race went to Italian Lisa Vittozzi, the 2023 Worlds bronze medalist, who barely edged German veteran Franziska Preuss, 44:03.9 (1) to 44:04.0 (0). Fellow German Vanessa Voigt was third in 44:14.0. It’s Vittozzi’s fourth career World Cup win.

In the Single Mixed Relay (6 + 7.5 km), Sebastian Samuelsson and Hanna Oeberg (SWE) won in 37:46.9, with Sturla Holm Lagreid and Juni Arnekleiv (NOR: 38:00.7) second. The Mixed Relay (4 x 6 km) was won by France in 1:09.09.9, ahead of Norway (1:09:25.6) and Italy (1:09:49.6).

● Cross Country Skiing ● The FIS World Cup season opened with a major Nordic Skiing festival in Ruka (FIN), with Cross Country, Nordic Combined and Ski Jumping events. And Norway and Sweden dominated the action.

The Norwegian men took immediate control, with wins in the Classical Sprint and the 10 km Classical, with Erik Valnes, the 2021 Worlds runner-up, winning the Sprint from France’s Richard Jouve and two-time defending World Cup overall champ Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo, 2:37.96-2:38.79-2:39.66.

Teammate Martin Nyenget took the 10 km Classical race at 23:31.7, with Finn Iivo Niskanen close at 23:34.6 and Valnes third (23:41.4). It was Nyenget’s second career World Cup gold.

The 20 km Freestyle Mass Start on Sunday saw Jan Thomas Jenssen (NOR) finish off the weekend sweep, winning in 48:08.9, just ahead of Czech Michal Novak (48:09.6) and fellow Norwegian Harald Amundsen (48:11.0). It’s Jenssen’s first career World Cup medal – at 27 – and the first for Novak as well (also 27)!

The women’s Sprint went to 2023 Worlds silver medal winner Emma Ribom, just ahead of Olympic champ Jonna Sundling, 3:00.78 to 3:01.63. Norway’s Kristine Skistad was third (3:02.59); Americans Jessie Diggins, Juli Kern and Rosie Brennan finished 7-8-9 in the semis and just missed the final.

Triple Worlds gold medalist Ebba Andersson of Sweden got her sixth career World Cup win in the 10 km Classic, finishing in 26:46.7, with Brennan winning the silver (26:52.6) and Frida Karlsson (SWE: 26:56.6) getting third. Diggins was 11th in 27:38.0.

In Sunday’s 20 km Freestyle Mass Start race, the Swedes completed a gold-medal sweep with Moa Ilar winning her first individual World Cup race in 55:40.8, chased home by Americans Diggins (55:41.1) and Brennan (55:42.2). All three made a charge over the final 4 km, with Diggins third and Moa fourth and Brennan flying up from 10th! Diggins had the lead with 1.4 km left, then lost her right ski pole and glove, then suffered a facial injury when handed a replacement pole, but no glove!

Even with all that and sub-freezing temperatures, she moved up with the fastest final kilometer in the field, but finished just 0.3 seconds short of Ilar.

● Figure Skating ● Japan continued its master of the men’s competition, while U.S. teen Ava Marie Ziegler posted a shocking win at the ISU Grand Prix NHK Trophy in Osaka (JPN).

Japan’s men came into the final “regular” Grand Prix event with 1-2 finishes at Skate Canada International and the Grand Prix of Espoo and went 1-2 again with Beijing 2022 Olympic runner-up Yuma Kagiyama and bronze medalist Shoma Uno.

Kagiyama won the Short Program at 105.51, with Uno second (100.20), but Uno won the Free Skate, scoring 186.35, with Kagiyama well back at 182.88. But that was just enough to come away with a 288.39-286.55 margin for Kagiyama’s fourth career Grand Prix win. Five different Japanese men have now won nine medals in the six Grand Prix events this season!

American Cam Pulkinen finished fifth overall at 229.32.

The women’s event had American Lindsay Thorngren in front after the Short Program, scoring 68.93 to 63.44 for Belgian Nina Pinzarrone, with Ziegler fifth at 62.04.

Ziegler, 17, however, turned in a winning Free Skate, with seven triple jumps, scoring 138.46 as the eighth skater out of 12. No one came close to that score, with Pinzarrone second at 131.22 and Thorngren third at 129.80. That left Ziegler coming from fifth to first with her first 200 points-plus performance – 200.50 – in her second season with a Grand Prix appearance! She was ninth in her first appearance at the U.S. Nationals this year.

Thorngren ended up second at 198.73, also a lifetime best and her first career Grand Prix medal. Pinzarrone got third at 194.66, to go with her silver at the Grand Prix de France.

Germany’s Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin won their second straight Grand Prix gold in Pairs, scoring 202.51 and winning both the Short Program and the Free Skate. Italy’s Lucrezia Beccari and Matteo Guarise won their second Grand Prix medal this season in second (190.31) as did teammates Rebecca Ghilardi and Filippo Ambrosini (186.47). Americans Chelsea Liu and Balazs Nagy finished fifth (172.60).

Britain’s European Championships silver medalists Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson moved up from second at Skate Canada International to win the Ice Dance, by taking the Free Dance over Italy’s 2023 Worlds runners-up Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri (214.56). Allison Reed and Saulius Ambrulevicius (LTU) finished third at 196.86; Americans Emily Bratti and Ian Somerville were sixth (183.43) and Lorraine McNamara and Anton Spiridonov (167.84) ended up eighth.

Next up is the Grand Prix Final from 7-10 December in Beijing (CHN).

● Football ● “FIFA can confirm that its Disciplinary Committee has opened proceedings against the Brazilian Football Association (CBF) and the Argentinian Football Association (AFA).”

Friday’s statement referred to the brawl that broke out between rival fans at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro (BRA) in advance of the Argentina-Brazil 2026 World Cup qualifier on 21 November.

Police intervened, using batons and bloodying some spectators, and the Argentine team left the field to calm the situation, delaying the start of the game by 27 minutes. Argentina won, 1-0, but must face possible sanctions for crowd control and delaying the match. Brazil’s federation will be reviewed for lapses in proper crowd control and security.

No timetable for a decision was noted.

● Freestyle Skiing ● The first Slopestyle event of the season was held in Stubai (AUT) was impacted by high winds and heavy weather that wiped out Friday’s finals, leaving the results of the qualification as the official results.

That was good news for World Champion Mathilde Gremaud (SUI), already the winner in the World Cup Big Air season opener in Chur in October. In Stubai, she led the qualifiers at 87.50 points, trailed by 2017 Slopestyle World Champion Tess Ledeux (FRA: 85.50) and the Ruby Star Andrews (NZL: 70.50)

The men’s qualifying leader – and therefore winner – was Canada’s Evan McEachran at 93.00 on his first run, with Beijing 2022 Olympian Mac Forehand and 2022 Olympic Champion Alex Hall of the U.S. coming in 2-3, with 90.50 (first run) and 88.75 (second run) scores.

Three-time Olympic Slopestyle medal winner Nick Goepper of the U.S. will end his retirement and return to competition in the Halfpipe. He won medals in 2014 (bronze), 2018 and 2022 (silvers), and told NBC Sports, “It took me a while to kind of find the love again. … I like new challenges, and I was really bored.”

Goepper, now 29, retired in January, but not for long.

● Nordic Combined ● Norway won 11 of the 22 men’s races in the 2022-23 FIS World Cup and is starting out in style this season with all three wins at the opener in Ruka (FIN).

Jens Luras Oftebro won the first race, in the new “Compact” format, where the skiers started six seconds apart in the 7.5 cross-country race, in rank order of the ski jumping results. Austria’s reigning World Cup champ Johannes Lamparter started first, but was overtaken by five others, starting with Oftebro, the Beijing 2022 Large Hill silver winner (19:24.6), just ahead of four-time World Cup overall winner Jarl Magnus Rieber (19:25.0). Joergen Graabak, the 2014-22 Olympic Large Hill champ, completed the sweep at 19:25.7.

Rieber claimed his 57th career World Cup win in the Gundersen 142 m Hill/10 km race on Saturday, finishing in 26:17.3, well ahead of Lamparter (27:11.1) with Graabak third again (27:43.5).

Rieber than dominated Sunday’s 142 m jumping and 10 km Mass Start, finishing second in the cross-country race and then winning the jumping for 173.8 points, well ahead of Lamparter (152.2) and fellow Austrian Stefan Rettenegger (145.7).

● Shooting ● The ISSF World Cup Final concluded in Doha (QAT), with China leading the final medals standing.

World Championships bronze medalist Florian Peter (GER) took the men’s 25 m Rapid Fire Pistol final. 35-33, over two-time Olympic bronzer Yuehong Li (CHN), while Chinese star – and four-time Worlds gold winner – Sixuan Feng won the women’s 25 m Sport Pistol title, 37-31, against German Doreen Vennekamp, a two-time Worlds gold medalist.

Lucas Kryzs (FRA), the 2021 World Junior runner-up, won the men’s 50 m Rifle/3 Positions – barely – over China’s Yukun Liu, the 2017 World Junior Champion, 465.2 to 465.0! The key shot was the next-to-last, with Kryzs scoring 10.7 to 9.4 for Liu.

Norway won gold and silver in the women’s 50 m Rifle/3 Positions, with 2022 Worlds bronzer Jeanette Duestad scoring 464.8 to 460.6 for Jenny Stene. American Mary Tucker finished seventh (409.2).

China won eight medals total (2-4-2), ahead of Italy (6: 1-3-2); the U.S. won one bronze.

● Ski Jumping ● Two competitions for men opened the season at Ruka (FIN) off the 142 m hill, with Austria’s three-time World Champion Stefan Kraft taking the first gold, scoring 326.2 for his 31st career World Cup victory.

Germany swept the next three places, with Pius Paschke (315.6), Stephen Leyhe (313.2) and 2018 Olympic Normal Hill winner Andreas Wellinger (311.5). It’s Paschke’s first career World Cup medal – at age 33 – and the sixth for Leyhe (31).

On Sunday, Kraft doubled up, winning with 363.5 points, taking the top scores in both rounds, ahead of teammate Jan Hoerl (340.9) and Wellinger (334.1), with Paschke fourth and Leyhe fifth.

● Ski Mountaineering ● The new ISMF World Cup season opened at Val Thorens (FRA), with World Sprint Champion Oriol Cardona of Spain collecting his seventh career World Cup win by more than three seconds over countryman Inigo Martinez (3:10.34) and France’s 2023 Worlds runner-up Anselmet Thibault (3:13.11).

Swiss Caroline Ulrich, 21, won her first World Cup senior gold in Saturday’s Sprint, moving up from just 23rd in qualifying, then winning her quarterfinal, second in her semi and then winning in 3:54.39, decisively ahead of Tove Alexandersson (3:57.96) and Marianna Jagercikova (SVK: 3:58.63).

Sunday’s Mixed Relay was won by France’s Emily Harrop and Thibault in 42:18.44, easily ahead of Ana Alonso and Cardona (ESP: 42:41.21) and Giulia Murada and Ernesto Canclini (ITA: 43:44.11).

● Swimming ● The head of the Russian Swimming Federation, four-time Olympic gold medalist Vladimir Salnikov, said he got some positive reaction to a proposal for a dual meet with the U.S. He told the Russian news agency TASS:

“As soon as we make progress in this direction, we will make an official statement.”

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For our updated, 850-event International Sports Calendar (no. 4) for 2023 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

TSX REPORT: Paris 2024 offers 400,000+ new tickets; Paris mayor Hidalgo says transport and homeless issues unsolved; Russia looking to 2028

Rich Perelman

November 24, 2023

tsx pix 2021-808 paris 2024 flag on eiffel twr 750 — The Paris 2024 flag flying atop the Eiffel Tower in June 2021 (Photo: Paris 2024)

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

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. Paris 2024 offering 400,000+ more Olympic tickets on 30 November
2. Paris Mayor Hidalgo says “not ready” on transit and homeless
3. Russia preparing for LA28, not expecting 2024-26 admission
4. Ukraine’s Abramenko puts 2018-22 medals up for auction
5. IBA’s Kremlev all about money, not Olympics

● The Paris 2024 organizers announced a new sale of 400,000-plus tickets for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, with newly-released tickets available for all sessions. It’s first-come, first-served starting on 30 November at 10 a.m. local time!

● Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said the city will not be ready with complete solutions to transportation or homelessness by the time of the Paris 2024 Games, drawing a quick slap back from the national transportation minister. The French army is gearing to provide 15,000 troops in Paris and elsewhere to assist with security in 2024.

● The director general of the Russian Olympic Committee said their focus was on Los Angeles 2028 rather than Paris 2024 or Milan-Cortina 2026. The head of the Russian Swimming Federation said Russian participation in Paris is “unlikely.”

● Ukrainian Aerials star Oleksandr Abramenko puts his 2018 Olympic Winter gold and 2022 silver medals on auction to help his family and Ukrainian military.

● International Boxing Association President Umar Kremlev focused more on money than on being de-recognized by the International Olympic Committee at a Paris press conference, but still blames the IOC for IBA’s problems.

● World Championships: Football (Germany and France still perfect and into FIFA U-17 World Cup quarters) ●

● Panorama: Paris 2024 (Greek Olympic champ Douskos will carry the torch first) = Olympic Games (will SpoGOMI be a future Olympic sport?) = Athletics (2: Crouser world record from May finally ratified; Uganda’s Chemusto hit for doping) = Boxing (World Boxing announces 2024 event schedule) = Cycling (German Le Tour winner Ullrich admits doping) = Equestrian (FEI lost more than CHF 6 million on investments in 2022, killing operating surplus) = Football (2: fighting breaks out at Argentina-Brazil World Cup qualifier in Rio; FIFA Women’s World Cup teams playing in Australia hit with 32.5% tax vs. none in New Zealand) = Shooting (ISSF World Cup Final has eight winners from eight countries so far) = Swimming (4: Ledecky, Douglass and Murphy named at Golden Goggles; Nowicki salutes Team USA impact; U.S. to send 18 to 2024 Worlds; Coughlin elected Vice Chair of USA Swimming) = Weightlifting (U.S.’s Morris sets American Records at World Juniors) ●

1.
Paris 2024 offering 400,000+ more Olympic tickets on 30 November

“There are new tickets for all sessions, including those that were sold out. This includes tickets that had been secured before the capacity for each competition site became definitive.”

As the planning for any major event, like the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, becomes more detailed, spaces that were held for contingencies like camera placements and security, are cleared and tickets can be offered.

The Paris 2024 organizers announced Wednesday a release of 400,000-plus tickets for all sports and all sessions that will go on sale on 30 November at 10 a.m. Central European Time, on a first-come, first-served basis.

The announcement confirmed that all sports are on sale, including Opening Ceremony tickets for €90-250-500 (€1 = $1.09 U.S.), with one-third at €50 or less and almost two-thirds at €100 or less. Also:

● Athletics will have 30,000 new tickets available.
● Basketball has 7,300 tickets available for Paris-area games.
● Equestrian has 14,000 new tickets available.
● Fencing will offer about 5,000 new tickets
● Judo, already popular, has 2,000 new tickets on offer.
● Swimming, which had been sold out, has 6,000 tickets available.
● Tennis has 24,000 new tickets on offer.

Closing Ceremony tickets will be offered at €45-250-600. A large number of Paralympic Games tickets are also available.

There will be additional ticket releases in 2024, but of varying size as tickets held for use by sponsors, news media and officials are made available. But this new release will be the last time that seats for all sessions will be available … while they last. Paris 2024 reported in May that it had sold about 6.8 million of the 10 million tickets expected to be available for the Olympic Games.

2.
Paris Mayor Hidalgo says “not ready” on transit and homeless

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo is nothing if not visible. She appeared on the “Quotidien” program on the TMC television channel and made a strong statement:

“Two things for which we are not going to be ready,” then naming “transport” and “sheltering people without a fixed address.”

And she added:

“We still have problems in daily transport issues and we are still not reaching the comfort and punctuality needed for Parisians. There are places where the transport will not be ready and there will not be enough trains.”

She got a quick reply from the French Transportation Minister, Clement Beaune, who answered on X (ex-Twitter):

“Mrs Hidalgo is not there, does not participate in work meetings but has an opinion for others. What respect she has for our public officials and for Parisians!”

And he added on Thursday:

“Anne #Hidalgo adds dishonesty to indignity. The commitments we made for #JOP2024 will be kept. Despite herself.”

And Ile-de-France regional President Valerie Pecresse added:

“We will be ready. It is an immense collective work which should not be tarnished by an absent mayor. …

“We would have appreciated the presence of Anne Hidalgo on the mobility committees of the Olympic and Paralympic Games if she has any proposals to make on transport.”

Hidalgo has been under pressure for an undisclosed extension of an official trip to Tahiti in October.

French Army General Christophe Abad, the military governor of Paris, said Thursday that the military was prepared to offer 15,000 troops – 10,000 in the Paris area – in support of the 2024 Paris Games. The Associated Press reported:

“The military force of 15,000 nationwide will incorporate 7,000 troops already deployed on anti-terrorism patrols at transport hubs and other busy or sensitive sites, including places of worship, Abad said. The military could also be called upon to contribute additional troops if Paris Games organizers fall short in their efforts to recruit more private security staff.”

3.
Russia preparing for LA28, not expecting 2024-26 admission

The Director General of the Russian Olympic Committee said Thursday that he does not envision that Russian athletes will participate in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, or 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan-Cortina, but it looking ahead to Los Angeles in 2028.

Vladimir Sengleyev explained:

“We have been expecting that the situation will unfold this way and we started preparations for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The International Olympic Committee has not voiced yet any legal decisions regarding these Games.”

“We also believe that the United States would not let their allies host us in Paris and Milan, but they can afford anything for themselves. The most vivid example was the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit [in San Francisco], which was attended by a delegation from Russia.

“Americans always want to have wins over Russians, we hope for this and we are getting prepared.”

He did say that he believed that Russian athletes will be able to compete at the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar (SEN) in 2026.

Sengleyev also noted how much harsher the sanctions are now than for the Russian teams for prior Games where they competed under special conditions:

“In South Korea [2018 Winter] and China [2022 Winter], the word ‘Russia’ in the name of our teams was there, we were representatives of Russia. And that neutral status was not really a neutral status, we represented Russia, an Olympic delegation was formed, there were no restrictions. The second interesting point is that in order to get neutral status now, the athlete and coach have to pass a verification, the most interesting thing is that it is a paid verification.

“There are a lot of hidden things organizationally and financially that our athletes will not receive. They cannot be representatives of the ROC or any other legal entity, in fact athletes have been banned from being seconded from our organizations. The law on physical culture and sports does not define the status of a neutral athlete, and we have no rights to send an athlete.

“Previously, the ban on the use of flags applied to venues, we all remember what the solemn meetings of the delegation were like. Now they have entered our territory, they want our athletes to have nothing to do with Russia, everywhere they write: ‘an athlete with a Russian passport.’”

As for the appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport by the ROC over the IOC’s suspension, Sengleyev was not expecting a prompt resolution:

“I am confident that the CAS will drag out its decision on this issue. They are reluctant to listen to our cases. These are their machinations and we understand this.”

Russian Swimming Federation President Vladimir Salnikov, himself a four-time Olympic champion, said he does not see his swimmers participating in Paris:

“The current conditions make the participation of Russians in the Olympics unlikely.

“They say to send a leg first, then an arm, and after that they will allow full admission. This is, of course, a joke, we are having a dialogue, but the current criteria do not give us the opportunity to fully perform. There must be conditions for everyone equal, if we say that everyone is equal, but there are those who are more equal, then this is called discrimination.”

4.
Ukraine’s Abramenko puts 2018-22 medals up for auction

“[H]e pledges to donate a portion of the auction proceeds to relief efforts at home and provide much-needed aid and supplies for Ukrainians in need.”

That’s from the auction description of Ukrainian freestyle skier Oleksandr Abramenko, 35, who has offered his PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games gold medal in men’s Aerials and his silver medal from the Beijing 2022 Winter Games in the same event.

Abramenko wrote in a message for the sale:

“I am selling them now to help my country during the war. Auctioning the medals was not an easy decision to make. They are really very valuable for me and for the sporting history of Ukraine. But like any other Ukrainian, I help the military meet their urgent needs. Furthermore, many people have suffered from the war, some have lost everything and are also in need of financial assistance.”

These were the only medals won by Ukraine at both Games. The auction continues through 2 December, with the 2018 gold starting with a minimum bid of $10,000 and at $16,016 on Thursday. The Beijing silver started at $5,000 and was at $7,321 on Thursday.

The auction also includes multiple Olympic medals from 1912 to 2014 and the gaudy 1936 IOC “chain of office” given to International Olympic Committee members.

5.
IBA’s Kremlev all about money, not Olympics

“We must change things so that people are able to practice more sports. Parents who send their children to a sports club must be sure that their children can earn a living from sports and when parents realize this, I think that everyone will then start to practice sport.”

Money. That was the primary talking point for International Boxing Association President Umar Kremlev (RUS) at a news conference organized in Paris last week to promote the IBA. Appearing with French Olympic champ Estelle Mossely, the Rio 2016 women’s Lightweight winner, and Sofian Oumiha, France’s three-time men’s Lightweight World Champion, Kremlev was asked repeatedly about the IBA’s de-recognition by the IOC and its appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

But his replies had less vitriol than in past sessions and he spoke incessantly about the need to pay boxers:

“I hope that [the IOC] will be providing funding and I hope there will be pure gold medals. And so we hope that they will be providing prize money, because for the Olympic Games, it’s a huge draw, and it is the athletes that draw the viewers, not the IOC.”

He continued his delusional line about boxing’s status in the Olympic Games, saying at one point:

“Boxing is one of the cornerstones of the Olympic Movement, it is one of the two main sports at the Olympic Games. In the world, two sports are the most popular and attract millions of people in the world: football – soccer – and boxing. …

“If you remove boxing from the Olympic Games, boxers are not going to be the ones to lose out, but the Olympic Games are going to be less popular because boxing is the most popular sport. Look at professional boxers, they are much more popular than Olympic boxers. Those are just statistics.

“So whatever happens, boxing is not going to lose out. There’s also professional boxing where boxers can become global stars. The Olympic Games is about representing your own country; it is amateur sports.”

As for the appeal of IOC’s withdrawal of recognition of his federation:

“Well, we’re not very worried about that. We’re concerned more so for our boxers. We have legal experts that are responsible for this case. We support our tournaments, our boxers, we support also their participation in the Olympic Games.

“As it relates to the decision of the IOC, we believe that this decision was unfair, but we have legal experts who are dealing with this. We will be defending our rights, and if this doesn’t work with the [Court of Arbitration for Sport], we have a court in Switzerland that we can refer to, to defend our cause.

“But we will not allow for boxing’s destiny to be decided for it, it should be decided by boxers themselves. At the moment, even following the ruling or the decision handed down by the IOC, it’s not the Olympic Family that took this decision, but rather Olympic officials that have pushed this decision, because we can’t make decisions without meeting one another, without holding discussions.

“Again, we harbor no anger as it relates to this decision, but in boxing, often we say you have to take two steps back in order to have a knockout. Sometimes you come out on top, sometimes you come out second. Every boxer knows this, but boxing is our life and we’re going to be defending our rights, and that you can be sure of.”

And he continued to blame the IOC for the troubles suffered by the IBA (and predecessor AIBA) at the hands of AIBA President C.K. Wu (TPE), who was also an IOC member.

≡ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS ≡

● Football ● The quarterfinals have been set for the FIFA men’s U-17 World Cup in Indonesia, taking place on Friday and Saturday:

Friday, 24 November:
● Brazil (3-1) vs. Argentina (3-1)
● Spain (3-0-1) vs. Germany (4-0)

Saturday, 25 November:
● France (4-0) vs. Uzbekistan (2-1-1)
● Mali (3-1) vs. Morocco (3-1)

The semis will be played on 28 November in Surakarta on the island of Java, with the final in the same venue on 2 December. Brazil is the defending champion from 2019, with France winning the bronze.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● The 2024 Olympic Torch Relay will begin in Greece on 16 April, with Stefanos Douskos, the Tokyo 2020 men’s Single Sculls gold medalist, to be the first torchbearer.

The torch will move through Greece for 11 days, with Ioannis Fountoulis, a Tokyo 2020 men’s water polo silver medalist, the final torchbearer in Greece on 8 May. Within Greece, 600 torchbearers are expected to run with the flame across 500 km. The torch will proceed to France on 8 May with a 68-day relay to follow, using 10,000 torchbearers.

● Olympic Games: Future ● Mark it down as a new event destined to try for Olympic inclusion given the IOC’s push for environmental support: SpoGOMI. Per Japan’s Kyodo News:

“Britain on Wednesday won the first World Cup of a Japanese-invented sport scored on the basis of the variety and amount of litter collected.

“Host Japan finished runner-up as 21 participating countries collected litter in Tokyo’s Shibuya and Omotesando districts for 45 minutes each in the morning and afternoon.”

A total of 548 kg (more than 1,200 pounds) was collected.

The sport, launched in 2008, is called ‘SpoGOMI,’ derived from the word ‘sport’ and ‘gomi’ – the Japanese word for trash.”

● Athletics ● At long last, the 23.56 m (77-3 3/4) world record for U.S. shot put star Ryan Crouser from the L.A. Grand Prix back in May was ratified by World Athletics.

The long delay came from questions about the shot ring at UCLA’s Drake Stadium, originally a practice facility when it opened in 1969, but now used for competitions since a 1999 renovation added a regulation soccer field in the infield area. A survey had to be undertaken to ensure it complied with World Athletics rules, and after a long delay, was completed and the facility certified.

World marks were also approved from the Diamond League Final in Eugene by Mondo Duplantis (SWE) in the men’s vault at 6.23 m (20-5 1/4) and the 14:00.21 by Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay in the women’s 5,000 m.

More doping suspensions from the Athletics Integrity Unit, including 4.01.79 women’s 1,500 m runner Janat Chemusto (UGA), banned for four years for the use of norandrosterone, with her results nullified since 13 May 2023. Her best reverts to 4:08.5 from March.

Fouad Idbafdil of Morocco, a member of the Athlete Refugee Team and an 8:34.72 Steepler, was provisionally suspended for use of Erythropoietin (EPO).

● Boxing ● The new World Boxing federation will meet for its founding Congress on Friday and Saturday in Frankfurt (GER) and announced a 2024 competition schedule for 2024 on Thursday.

A four-stage World Boxing Cup will be held in Sheffield, England on 16-21 January, followed by second event in Pueblo, Colorado (USA) from 14-21 April. A third stage is scheduled for September and a finals event in England in November or December.

A “World Boxing Challenge” series is also scheduled, with three stages. The organization’s first world championships will be for U-19 boxers in the fall of 2024.

● Cycling ● The 2000 Olympic road race gold medalist and three-time World Champion, retired German cyclist Jan Ullrich publicly admitted doping in a panel discussion Wednesday in advance of the premiere of an Amazon Prime Video documentary, “Jan Ullrich – The Hunted.”

Now 49, Ullrich said:

“If I had shared my story earlier, I could have enjoyed many happy years. I lacked the courage. It’s liberating to finally admit it.”

He said that doping came into his Telekom team beginning in 1996 and increased in sophistication from there. At the time, cycling was rife with doping, most famously by American Lance Armstrong, who won the Tour de France from 1999-2005, but has been stripped of those wins.

Ullrich won the Tour de France in 1997, was second in 1996 and 1998, and was second to Armstrong in 2000-01-03 and third in 2005. The Court of Arbitration for Sport confirmed his doping offenses in February 2012 and his results from May 2005 were erased, including a third-place finish at the 2005 Tour de France.

At his Wednesday appearance, Ullrich said he took to doping because so many others were at the time:

“Knowing that you don’t stand a chance from the start was the most challenging aspect. I’ve always been fair and never sought to deceive or gain an advantage.”

● Equestrian ● The Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) concluded its General Assembly in Mexico City (MEX) with 96 federations attending in person or online, with FEI President Ingmar de Vos (BEL) noting significant rule changes, added research on horse health and concerns over finances:

“It was no surprise that 2023 was going to be challenging. General uncertainty in the global markets, rising costs and inflation in a post Covid era and the ongoing war in Ukraine inevitably had a toll on the FEI’s financial results for 2022.

“With a loss on our portfolio of almost 6million, we were able to limit the damage and absorb an important part of this loss, so that we are left with a final deficit of [CHF] 2.5 million. This had been anticipated to an extent, but I do want to reassure you that the FEI remains financially healthy.”

The financial statements showed total revenues of CHF 54.60 million for 2022, against expenses of CHF 50.98 million – a surplus of CHF 3.62 million – but a yearly loss of CHF 2.50 million after investment losses of CHF 6.12 million. The FEI ended 2022 with assets of CHF 72.18 million and reserves of CHF 20.58 million. The federation is not overly dependent on IOC television money for its survival, but has limited reserves.

De Vos also pointed to a significant increase in listed equestrian events in 2023, to 4,832, beyond the pre-pandemic levels and expected to rise to 4,923 for 2024.

The FEI Board approved the participation of Russian and Belarusian participation as “neutrals,” but without any specifics. The move was met with a formal statement of protest from 10 European nations, which was noted, but not acted upon.

● Football ● Violence among fans was again showcased with a brawl at the famed Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro (BRA) on Tuesday in advance of a FIFA men’s World Cup qualifying match between Argentina and Brazil.

The clash between supporters of the two teams took place at one end, just after the national anthems concluded, and saw police using their batons. Argentine star and captain Lionel Messi pulled his team from the field and moved to the locker room for 22 minutes in a bid to restore calm.

It worked, more or less, and the match was played, a tense affairs with 42 total fouls and a stunning 1-0 win for Argentina on a 63rd-minute goal by Nicolas Otamendi. It was Brazil’s third loss in its first six games (of 18) in the 2026 CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers, now in sixth position, but with a long way to go. Said Messi after the game:

“Many players had family members and friends there, and when we understood that we couldn’t do anything for them, we left to calm things down. …

“We saw how they were hitting the people, as happened in the final of the Libertadores. Again repressing the people.”

He posted later on Instagram:

“Great victory at Maracaná, even it will be forever tarnished by the repression to the Argentinians, once again, in Brazil. This can no longer be tolerated, it’s madness and has to end now.”

Yahoo! Sports soccer columnist Henry Bushnell observed:

“The trouble seemed to stem from inexplicably poor crowd control. The Argentine fans were placed in a section surrounded by Brazilians on both sides and from behind. There were no barriers between the visitors and locals. Away fans are typically separated from home fans, at least by a sturdy line of security. Here, at an always-heated rivalry, there seemed to be nothing protecting them from one another.”

Britain’s Guardian reported that players who participated in matches in Australia at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup were required to pay a 32.5% tax on their earnings vs. none for those who played in New Zealand.

If teams played in both countries, they were taxed by Australia only for those games played there. The story noted:

“A Fifa spokesperson told the Guardian that participating national associations were duly informed of the tax situation before the tournament. However, there was no explanation as to why a single tax regime, for all players’ fees, was not agreed upon between Fifa and the World Cup co-hosts.”

● Shooting ● The ISSF World Cup Final is ongoing in Doha (QAT), with the eight events concluded thus far won by eight different nations!

In the men’s 10 m Air Pistol, German Robin Walter – the 2022 European Champion – registered a decisive win, 243.3 to 240.0 over Paolo Monna of Italy. Hungary’s Zalan Pekler scored his fifth career World Cup gold by taking the 10 m Air Rifle final, scoring 251.2 to 249.4 over Lazar Kovacevic (SRB).

China’s Xue Li, the 2023 Worlds bronze medalist, took the women’s 10 m Air Pistol final by 244.7 to 243.6 over teammate Nan Zhao, with Tokyo 2020 bronze winner Ranxin Jiang (CHN: 223.4) completing the medal sweep. In the 10 m Air Rifle, Poland’s Aneta Stankiewicz won a tight battle from Worlds runner-up Zhilin Wang (CHN), 253.3 to 252.6. Norway’s Tokyo fourth-placer Jeanette Duestad was third (230.2), and American Mary Tucker finished eighth (124.9).

The men’s Skeet title went to Emil Petersen of Denmark – the 2017 World Junior Champion – who won a shoot-off with 2022 World Champion Azmy Mehelba of Egypt, 26-25, after a 56-all tie after the first 60 shots. But Azmy’s older brother, Abdel, won the men’s Trap title, scoring 46 hits to 45 for Daniele Resca of Italy, the 2017 World Champion.

Assem Orynbay (KAZ) took the women’s Skeet title with a 51-50 win over Chiara de Marziantonio of Italy. Americans Dania Jo Vizzi, the 2017 World Champion, got third (41), ahead of teammate Kim Rhode (34), the six-time Olympic medalist, still going strong at 44.

Italy finally got a win, from Silvana Stanco, the 2018 Worlds bronzer, beating Spain’s 2015 World Champion Fatima Galvez, 38-37, with Italy’s 2012 Olympic champ Jessica Rossi third (29).

Competition continues through Sunday.

● Swimming ● USA Swimming named its stars of 2023 at the annual Golden Goggles Awards, held this year in Los Angeles, with superstar Katie Ledecky picking up her ninth Female Athlete of the Year award, but in a tie with fellow star Kate Douglass.

Ledecky won World Championships golds in the women’s 800 m and 1,500 m Freestyles, plus a 400 m Free silver and a 4×200 m Free silver. Douglass posted a sensational seven wins at the NCAA Championships for Virginia, then won six medals at the Worlds in Fukuoka, led by golds in the 200 m Medley and women’s 4×100 m Medley.

The top men’s star was backstroke giant Ryan Murphy, who won the Worlds 100 m Back, took silver in the 200 m Back, and led off the winning men’s 4×100 m Medley team and bronze-medal Mixed Medley team.

The Breakout Performer of the Year was men’s sprinter Jack Alexy, who took a surprise silver in the Worlds men’s 50 m and 100 m Freestyles and won three more relay medals, including a gold on the men’s 4×100 m Medley, all in his first Worlds.

The Perseverance Award went to breaststroke star Lydia Jacoby, the Tokyo 2020 women’s 100 m gold medalist, who suffered through illness and injuries, but came back to win the Worlds bronze in 2023, and a leg on the winning women’s 4×100 m Medley.

The Open Water swimmer was Katie Grimes, the Worlds 10 km bronze medalist, who also won for the female Race of the Year. The men’s Race of the Year went to Tokyo Olympic champ Bobby Finke, who won silver in the Worlds 1,500 m Free and bronze in the 800 m Free, both in American Record times.

The Coach of the Year was California’s Dave Durden, whose six swimmers in Fukuoka won a combined 20 medals, including Alexy and Murphy. A new award, the Alumni of the Year, went to Lenny Krayzelburg, the four-time Olympic backstroke gold medalist from Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004.

A special guest at the Golden Goggles was World Aquatics Executive Director Brent Nowicki (USA), who told the attendees:

“All of the National Team members out there, the eyes of the world staring at you when you walk out on that pool deck, my message to you this evening: Please do not underestimate the impact you have, in both actions and words, on our global swimming community.

“You are each leaders who will help us guide our sport more than you may ever know.

“And right now, the world needs you more than ever before. As we’re all seeing, the world is truly a fragile place. Perhaps it’s more fragile now than any one of us can ever remember. At World Aquatics, it is our hope – indeed, it is a core part of our mission – to provide a pool deck where countries can come together and embrace peaceful competition.”

USA Swimming announced a small, 18-athlete roster for the 2024 World Championships to be held in Doha (QAT). Five women and 13 men will compete, including Douglass – in five events – and Tokyo Olympian Claire Curzan, who will swim in six: 50 m Free, 50-10-200 m Back and 50-100 m Fly!

The men’s roster includes 50 m Back World Champion Hunter Armstrong, 50-100 m Worlds Breast silver winner Nic Fink and 400 m Medley runner-up Carson Foster.

The U.S. has qualified all of its relays for Paris with medals at the 2023 Worlds, relieving any need for qualifying performances, and the irregular dates of 2-18 February clash with the collegiate season and continuing training for the U.S. Olympic Trials in June. The maximum-allowed team size for Doha was 28 total swimmers.

Natalie Coughlin, the 12-time Olympic medal winner and three-time gold medalist from 2004-08, was elected as Board Vice Chair and Chair-Elect. Now 41, she will be the federation’s Vice Chair through September 2025 and then Chair through 2029.

● Weightlifting ● The IWF World Junior Championships in Guadalajara (MEX) concluded on Wednesday, with Armenia, Mexico and the U.S. each winning three golds.

For the Americans, Gabriel Chhum won the men’s 61 kg class, taking top honors in the Snatch, Clean & Jerk and total at 262 kg, and Elijah Hein took the men’s 89 kg division at 351 kg. Katherine Estep won the women’s 64 kg class at 213 kg combined and also won the Clean & Jerk at 120 kg.

A notable silver-medal performance came from Hampton Morris of the U.S., the 2022 61 kg winner, who moved up to 67 kg and scored a silver medal at 303 kg combined, behind Armenia’s Gor Sakakyan (305 kg). In the process, Morris won the Clean & Jerk at 178 kg, setting a senior and junior American Record!

Isabella Rodriguez won a silver in the women’s 49 kg, lifting a combined 171 kg, just one behind Yi-Chen Huang (TPE). Ella Nicholson also got a silver at 76 kg at 227 kg combined, and Amanda Robles won a bronze at 87 kg (215 kg total).

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For our updated, 850-event International Sports Calendar (no. 4) for 2023 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

TSX REPORT: Olympic Truce passes U.N. by 118-0-2; Stockholm backs Sweden 2030 bid; Salt Lake City presents to IOC Commission

Rich Perelman

November 22, 2023

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

★ To get The Sports Examiner by e-mail: sign up here! ★

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. Olympic Truce adopted 118-0-2 by United Nations
2. Stockholm endorses Swedish 2030 Winter Olympic bid
3. Salt Lake City pushes case for 2034 Winter Games selection
4. WADA files against Russia, South Africa at Court of Arbitration
5. U.S. men lose to Trinidad & Tobago, but advance in Nations Cup

● The Olympic Truce was approved by the United Nations on Tuesday by 118-0, with two abstentions from Russia and Syria. International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach called the 2024 Games “our modest contribution to peace.”

● The City of Stockholm endorsed the Swedish bid for the 2030 Olympic Winter Games, but made no formal guarantees on funding, as all three candidates for 2030 – France, Sweden and Switzerland – made presentations to the IOC Future Host Commission.

● Salt Lake City also presented its case, preferably for 2034, led by Utah Governor Spencer Cox, who told the Future Host Commission they can be confident that an excellent Games will be delivered.

● The World Anti-Doping Agency filed actions with the Court of Arbitration for Sport against Russia and South Africa, both of which are considered non-compliant due to inconsistencies between national legislation and the World Anti-Doping Code. A new campaign has been started in Europe against the use of steroids for cosmetic reasons.

● The U.S. men’s National Team lost to Trinidad & Tobago on the road on Monday, 2-1, having to play the last 51-plus minutes with 10 men due to a red card against defender Sergino Dest. However, the combined score of their two matches was 4-2 for the U.S. and sent the Americans on to the semifinals of the CONCACAF Nations Cup next March.

● World Championships: Football (Germany beats U.S., 3-2, heads to quarters at FIFA men’s U-17 World Cup) ●

● Panorama: Deaflympics (U.S. to skip Winter Deaflympics in Turkey over security concerns) = Russia (2: FEI to allow Russian and Belarus “neutrals”; Bach and Pozdnyakov feud over Friendship Games) = On Screen: (steady audience for ISU Grand Prix figure skating in Finland) = Athletics (2: Mboma set to return after lowering testosterone; Title IX suit against Huntington University dismissed, but open for refiling) = Cricket (ICC bans transgender women) = Ice Hockey (NHLPA head does not see Russian players in 2025 nations tournament) ●

● Schedule: This is Thanksgiving Week in the U.S., so The Sports Examiner will appear again on Friday. Happy holidays! ●

1.
Olympic Truce adopted 118-0-2 by United Nations

The Olympic Truce resolution for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, introduced by France, was approved on Tuesday at the United Nations by a 118-0 vote, with two abstentions.

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach (GER) reiterated his belief in the Olympic Games as a symbol for peace, including:

“In this fragile world, this Olympic Truce Resolution is more relevant than ever. In these difficult times, this resolution is our opportunity to send an unequivocal signal to the world – yes, we can come together, even in times of wars and crises. Yes, we can join hands and work together for a better future. …

“The Olympic Games can contribute to this noble goal. Because the Olympic Games are the only event that brings the entire world together in peaceful competition. The Olympic athletes send the powerful message that: yes, it is possible to compete fiercely against each other and at the same time live peacefully together under one roof.

“This is our modest contribution to peace.”

The resolution itself included the call to action:

“Urges Member States to observe the Olympic Truce individually and collectively, within the framework of the Charter of the United Nations, throughout the period from the seventh day before the start of the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad until the seventh day following the end of the XVII Paralympic Games, to be held in Paris in 2024, in particular, to ensure the safe passage, access and participation of athletes, officials and all other accredited persons taking part in the Games of the Olympiad and the Paralympic Games, and to contribute through other appropriate measures to the safe organization of the Games.”

That creates the Olympic Truce period for 2024 from 19 July – seven days prior to the Olympic opening – to 15 September 2024, seven days after the close of the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris.

The modern “Olympic Truce” is designed to parallel the ancient Olympic Games in Greece, where a truce was called during the Games to ensure safe passage and participation for athletes and officials to and from Olympia. The IOC called for a revival of the Truce in 1992 and it was implemented for the first time for the 1994 Olympic Winter Games in Lillehammer (NOR).

Bach’s address was preceded by Russian representative Maria Zabolotskaya, who told the delegates the IOC’s conditions on Russian participation were “completely unacceptable” and “the height of hypocrisy and cynicism the likes of which we have not seen in recent history has been the illegal barring of Russian athletes from international sporting competitions.”

Russia and Syria abstained on the resolution vote. The Ukrainian delegation asked that Russian and Belarusian athletes be banned from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, and pointed to prior Russian violations of the Olympic Truce in 2008 (against Georgia) and 2014 (against Ukraine by occupying the Crimea).

2.
Stockholm endorses Swedish 2030 Winter Olympic bid

“Events such as the Winter Olympic and Paralympic games are beneficial for Stockholm and its people. They contribute to tourism, promote business, create jobs and community, and inspire young people to discover the diversity of sport. Now that we are submitting our municipal guarantee, our message is that the event will be carried out in a climate-wise, economically and socially sustainable manner.”

That’s Stockholm Mayor Karin Wanngard on Tuesday, in a statement following the agreement of the Stockholm City Council to support the Swedish nation-wide bid for the 2030 Olympic Winter Games.

The statement, however, was not unlimited, and included:

“The municipal guarantee is to be regarded as an expression of will on the part of the City to participate in and support the continued candidacy and to cooperate with the relevant authorities and actors. The decision does not include any financial commitments and is conditional that the [national] government provides financial and other necessary guarantees.”

The IOC’s Future Host Commission was in discussions with all three 2030 Olympic Winter bidders – France, Sweden and Switzerland – on Tuesday, ahead of the IOC Executive Board meetings next week in Paris. A briefing on the 2030 Winter bids is scheduled for 29 November (Wednesday), with a news conference to follow.

The IOC has approved the awarding of the 2030 and 2034 Winter Games at the same time, and an announcement of which of the 2030 bids will move forward could come on Wednesday. Salt Lake City, host of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, is the prohibitive favorite to be selected for “targeted dialogue” towards a formal award next year for the 2034 Winter Games.

3.
Salt Lake City pushes case for 2034 Winter Games selection

Utah Governor Spencer Cox headlined the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games delegation that met with the IOC Future Host Commission by videoconference on Tuesday, promoting their already well-received bid, preferably for the 2034 Olympic Winter Games.

Cox told the Deseret News afterwards:

“Utah is a place where they can have confidence that not only can we pull off a Games, but we can focus on the things that matter. …

“The first time you do an Olympics, it’s all about just surviving, just making sure it all works and the events happen. We don’t have to worry about that. We know we can already do it, which means we get to focus on bigger and better things.”

He told KSL Newsradio:

“I made a promise to them [the IOC] that in 2034, no matter how crazy and chaotic the world is, that Utah will be a place where people can seek refuge where people can come together, where you can unify.”

Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall, up for election on Tuesday for a second term, stressed the bid’s focus on “driving sustainable change” for the future, and felt that the group’s message was well received by the Commission.

Fraser Bullock, the Chief Operating Officer for the 2002 Salt Lake Organizing Committee (SLOC), and head of the current bid, was enthusiastic about the meeting:

“What a fantastic day. This is the culmination of years and years of work. … Our strategy has always been to stay ahead of the process, to be incredibly prepared, so they see they can count on us.”

The Salt Lake City bid group has gone well beyond what the IOC would ordinarily expect at this stage, not simply providing a plan and show community support, but formalizing the necessary government guarantees and signing up the competition and support sites, paving the way to an easy award of the Games by the IOC in 2024.

The IOC’s process, however, progresses in stages, with Salt Lake City stating its preference for 2034, but would accept 2030 if the IOC feels that none of the late-entry candidates for 2030 are worthy. That appears unlikely and there are high hopes that the IOC Executive Board will announce that Salt Lake City will enter a “targeted dialogue” phase to finalize its award of the 2034 Winter Games.

4.
WADA files against Russia, South Africa at Court of Arbitration

The World Anti-Doping Agency agreed in September to hold Russia and South Africa as non-compliant with the World Anti-Doping Code in view of the non-alignment of its national anti-doping legislation with the Code.

Unsurprisingly, the Russian Anti-Doping Agency has disputed the WADA holding of non-compliance, triggering a filing with the Court of Arbitration for Sport to enforce the Code. However, the filing also tolls the compliance requirements and any penalties until the case is completed.

South Africa’s national anti-doping organization is in the same situation and has objected to WADA’s declaration of non-compliance and a filing was made by WADA at the Court of Arbitration for Sport for a determination.

The consequences of the non-compliance holding include, among other things, no hosting of major events and no use of the national flag at the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games or continental or regional Games, or world championships.

On Monday, WADA announced a campaign co-funded by the European Union against the use of steroids for cosmetic purposes.

The “#Natural Is Enough” project has engaged a group of social-media influencers – three in Great Britain and one each in Germany, Italy and Spain – to push back against the use of steroids in everyday life:

“While the UK Anti-Doping Agency (UKAD) stated in its ‘2020 Status Report on Image and Performance Enhancing Drugs’ that males between the ages of 20 and 24 were found to be the main users of steroids, the problem affects most age groups and demographics.

“The Report added that 34% of the gym-goers surveyed in one study said they were aware of image and performance enhancing drug use in their gym or club, demonstrating that the problem is moving beyond the sporting environment.

“Over half of those who admitted to steroid use said they did so for cosmetic reasons, largely to mimic the beach-body images and other unrealistic ideals disseminated in popular culture via social media, TV, and other outlets. Others admitted using steroids to enhance their sport performance or to increase strength for the purposes of non-competitive bodybuilding.”

5.
U.S. men lose to Trinidad & Tobago, but advance in Nations Cup

The U.S. men’s National Team went into Monday’s game with Trinidad & Tobago in Port-of-Spain with a three-goal edge from last week first leg of their home-and-home CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal.

As it turned out, they needed the cushion, although it didn’t start that way. As with the first match, the U.S. offense got started right away and after a couple of excellent saves by T&T keeper Denzil Smith, got a score in the 25th minute.

Defender Sergino Dest, open on the right side of the pitch, sent a perfect cross into the middle of the box, where defender Antonee Robinson had moved for a sharp header that rocketed into the net for the 1-0 lead.

But disaster struck the U.S. in the 39th, as Dest kicked the ball away after the referee signaled a Trinidad & Tobago throw-in for a yellow card and then got a second yellow for arguing about the booking. That disqualified him for the rest of the game, for the Nations League semifinal and left the Americans with 10 men for the remainder of the match: more than 51 minutes.

It did not take long for the home team to take advantage, as midfielder Reon Moore took a long pass from defender Alvin Jones on the right side, then Moore dribbled closer and scored past U.S. keeper Matt Turner on a right-side shot that cleared the near post.

The halftime tie was broken with the winning Trinidad & Tobago goal in the 57th, as Jones slammed a free kick from beyond the box that swerved into the top left corner of the U.S. goal, just off of Turner’s fingertips, for a 2-1 lead.

Trinidad & Tobago got off four more shots, but could not score again; four yellow cards were handed out from the 77th minute on as the game became increasingly physical. The match ended with 50% possession for both teams and 10 shots apiece.

The combined score of the two legs was 4-2 for the U.S. and moves them into the CONCACAF Nations League semis next March, and qualifies the team for the 2024 Copa America.

They will be joined by Panama, which beat Costa Rica, 3-1, in Panama City to win both legs with a 6-1 goals total, and Jamaica, which beat Canada in Toronto, 3-2 on a 78th-minute penalty by Bobby Decordiva-Reid and ended up in a goals-scored tie at 4-4, but won on away goals (3).

Honduras stunned Mexico, 2-0, in the first leg in Tegucigalpa, and had held the Mexico to a 1-0 lead into stoppage time at a rainy Estadio Azteca on Tuesday, then Edson Alvarez scored on a wild exchange in front of the Honduran net at 90+11 to tie the match and the standings between the teams.

The game had 28 fouls and seven yellow cards in regulation, with Mexico taking 32 shots to just four for Honduras. The Hondurans suffered a red card at the end of regulations and another at 115 minutes, but managed to hold Mexico scoreless in extra time (despite 36-5 on shots), so the decision went to penalties. Honduran keeper Edrick Menjivar stopped two Cesar Huerta shots in the fourth round, but was called both times for moving early, then Huerta scored for a 4-2 lead and after Andy Najar’s shot for Honduras went wide, Mexico survived and advances.

≡ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS ≡

● Football ● Undefeated Germany led the qualifiers for the FIFA men’s U-17 World Cup quarterfinals in Indonesia with a 3-2 win over the U.S., thanks to an 87th-minute game-winner from Bilal Yalcinkaya.

The Germans (4-0) will now face Spain, a 2-1 winner over Japan on a 74th-minute goal by Marc Guiu. The winner will play either Brazil – a 3-1 winner over Ecuador – or Argentina, which defeated Venezuela, 5-0.

In the upper bracket, Mali crushed Mexico, 5-0, and Morocco edged Iran, 4-1, on penalty kicks after a 1-1 tie thanks to a goal by Nassim Azaouzi at 90+4! They will play on the 25th.

The last two round-of-16 games will be played Wednesday, with undefeated France (3-0) facing Senegal and England taking on Uzbekistan, with the winners also to meet on Saturday.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Deaflympics ● The forthcoming XX Winter Deaflympics in Erzurum (TUR) is too close to the Hamas-Israeli conflict in Gaza and the Hezbollah-Israeli situation in Lebanon for the United States to send a team for the event, slated for 2-12 February. Tuesday’s announcement included:

“Over the past seven months, USA Deaf Sports Federation (USADSF) has been in frequent communication with the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD) to coordinate our planning efforts for the United States delegation to the 20th Winter Deaflympics. During this span, USADSF has repeatedly stressed the urgency of timely and thorough information. However, despite our best efforts, we were unable to receive satisfactory responses to our questions and concerns in a timely manner, nor were we able to receive timely confirmation of venues and schedules. The decision to move the location of the event earlier this month further exacerbated and reinforced these concerns.

“Although the ICSD released additional details earlier this month on the new location in Erzurum, this information came far too late and without sufficient assurance for USADSF and to ensure our participation. The persistent lack of timely and reliable information in accordance with the Deaflympics Regulations have created significant financial, logistical, and security challenges that could no longer be tolerated. These factors have led USADSF and our National Sport Organizations to make difficult decisions about how much risk we are willing to carry and how much security – financial and otherwise – we are willing to compromise. Thus, based on the information available to us, the USADSF has determined that the United States will not participate in the 20th Winter Deaflympics.”

Canada withdrew from the event on 15 November, citing “The current geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East has left us with limited choices.”

● Russia ● The Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) Board, meeting in Mexico City last Saturday, agreed to lift its prohibition on Russian and Belarusian competitors:

“Whilst the sanctions prohibiting international competitions to be held in Russia and Belarus are to remain in place, the FEI Board decided to lift protective measures to allow future participation of Russian and Belarusian Athletes, Horses and Officials as neutrals. The conditions and timeline for implementation will be put forward for approval by the FEI Board during a teleconference in December 2023.

“The FEI Headquarters was tasked by the Board with establishing the conditions and timeline allowing individual Russian and Belarusian Athletes, Horses and Officials to resume participation in FEI Events as neutrals. In the meantime, Russian and Belarusian Athletes, Horses and Officials remain ineligible to participate in FEI Events.”

Most of the International Federations are allowing some participation by Russians and Belarusian as neutrals, following the recommendations of the International Olympic Committee, which has urged this status. Some federations, such as the International Surfing Association and World Athletics, have said no and maintain a full ban.

IOC President Bach was asked about the planned Friendship Games in Russia next September after his appearance for the Olympic Truce resolution and explained there are no plans to do anything about at this time:

“We are not there yet. We heard about the plans for organizing these Friendship Games by the president of the Russian Federation and by the Russian government. And the IOC, as well as the World Anti-Doping Agency made their position very clear.

“Our sports events have to be organized by sports organizations and they have to respect the rules of sports organizations. And this is the contribution we are making right now in the discussion about such potential games, but again, we are not there yet. Therefore, it would be premature to discuss any consequences. So, there are all the options.”

Russian Olympic Committee President Stanislav Pozdnyakov told the Russian news agency TASS:

“The Friendship Games are organized as a multi-sport event, the purpose and objective of which is the opportunity for athletes who were unfairly excluded from participation in competitions to perform in a well-organized, well-paid event.

“In the current situation, this is not only an obligation of the country’s sports leadership to give our athletes the opportunity to practice on conditions similar to the Olympic ones. The conditions put forward by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) are unfair and illegal.”

● On Screen ● Figure skating fans continued to watch the ISU Grand Prix, with an average of 690,000 viewers on NBC on Sunday for a highlights package at 4 p.m. Eastern, directly again the NFL late window.

This was actually the second-best audience of the season, behind only the 699,000 who tuned in for Skate America highlights on 22 October. The ISU Grand Prix “regular season” ends this weekend in Japan for the NHK Trophy.

Last Thursday’s first match between the U.S. men and Trinidad & Tobago in the CONCACAF Nations League quarters drew 348,000 on TNT at 9:00 p.m. Eastern time, but 869,000 in Spanish on Telemundo!

The first-leg Honduras vs. Mexico match on Friday on Spanish-language TUDN had 598,000 viewers on average.

● Athletics ● Namibian Christine Mboma, the Tokyo 2021 Olympic 200 m silver medalist, is now planning to return to competition. According to The Namibian:

“Head coach Henk Botha on Tuesday confirmed that the world athletic governing body has decided to allow Mboma to compete in the 100m and 200m events, but not in the 400m, 800m and 1 500m.

“‘She will only be able to compete in the other events in a year and a half from now,’ he said.

“Botha said the sprinter’s testosterone level has been lowered to an acceptable level to World Athletics.”

Mboma, who has a high testosterone level, is subject to the World Athletics rules on women with “differences in sex development,” requiring the lowering of levels to 2.5 nmol/L for a minimum of 24 months. She last competed at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, winning the bronze in the women’s 200 m.

The Title IX sexual abuse suit filed by former Huntington University runners Emma Wilson, Hannah Stoffel and Erin Manchess, which also alleged a doping program run by former coach Nicholas Johnson, was dismissed by Judge Holly Brady of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana.

However, the suit was not dismissed with prejudice and Brady allowed the plaintiffs until 6 December to re-file an amended complaint which includes other, necessary elements of a Title IX suit. She also dismissed 22 counts which alleged Indiana state law claims, which can also be re-filed in state court.

The case was originally filed in September 2022, with an amended complaint filed in December.

● Cricket ● Ahead of its debut at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, the International Cricket Council announced Tuesday new regulations which bar men-to-women transgenders from playing in international matches who have gone through male puberty.

The ICC statement noted:

“It is based on the following principles (in order of priority), protection of the integrity of the women’s game, safety, fairness and inclusion. The regulations will be reviewed within two years.”

The move sidelines Canadian batter Danielle McGahey, reported to be the first transgender play in the sport, who competed in a T20 qualifying series against Brazil in September.

The ICC move parallels similar regulations in aquatics, athletics, cycling, rugby and other sports.

● Ice Hockey ● Asked on a podcast if Russian players will be allowed to participate in the National Hockey League’s planned 2025 national-team tournament, NHL Players Association Executive Director Marty Walsh said, “Probably not.”

The tournament is still in the formative stages, but hockey powerhouses Finland and Sweden are dead-set against Russian participation with the Russian invasion against Ukraine continuing. Added Walsh:

“There’s a bigger issue at play here. You have other federations that won’t allow other players to play in the tournament. You have to take all of that into account. …

“I’m going to support my guys. It’s a really complicated situation. It’s complicated but yet very unfortunate. It’s an awful situation, you think about trying to separate sport from what’s happening in the world and it’s really complicated right now.”

Walsh noted that the tournament concept at present is for only NHL players to participate, as there is no agreement with the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) to bring in other players.

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TSX REPORT: Tahiti Olympic surfing tower agreed; WADA worried by Asian Games and Russia; Latvian track for Sweden 2030 moving ahead

Rich Perelman

November 20, 2023

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

★ To get The Sports Examiner by e-mail: sign up here! ★

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. Paris 2024 settles judging tower issues, confirms Teahupo’o for surfing
2. WADA fines OCA on North Korea; Russia still non-compliant
3. Paris booksellers decry removal test of famed Seine River boxes
4. Latvia warms to use of Sigulda track for Sweden 2030 bid
5. Switzerland’s Eder elected as full-term FISU President

● The Paris 2024 organizing committee and the Tahitian government announced an agreement on the judging and scoring tower to be built for the 2024 Olympic Games, ending a long dispute. The original plan will be scaled back to essentially replace the existing wooden tower used for World Surf League event with an aluminum structure.

● The World Anti-Doping Agency announced a $500,000 fine against the Olympic Council of Asia for allowing the North Korean flag to appear at the Asian Games this year, in violation of WADA sanctions. And Russia is no closer to being considered compliant, with new issues being raised. And what about Russia’s “Friendship Games” in 2024? Trouble.

● A test removal of bookseller boxes from along the Seine River in Paris was successful and the city’s police will now consider which and how many of these boxes need to be removed for security purposes for the 2024 Olympic opening ceremony on the river. The booksellers, are, in a word, livid.

● Reports from Latvia indicate that the Sigulda sliding track for bob, luge and skeleton would be available for the Sweden bid for the 2030 Olympic Winter Games, since there is no such track in Sweden now. The IOC’s review process for the 2030 bids will begin this week.

● The International University Sports Federation (FISU) elected Swiss Leonz Eder as its new President, after Eder had served as Acting President in place of Russian Oleg Matytsin. The longtime Secretary General, Eric Saintrond, announced he will retire in 2025.

● World Championships: Football (France and Germany undefeated at FIFA men’s U-17 World Cup, while U.S. advances to knock-out round) ●

● Panorama: IOC (Miller receives de Coubertin medal) = Alpine Skiing (2: Feller leads Austrian men’s Slalom sweep; Zermatt-Cervinia women’s races canceled) = Archery (Wiljer, Horackova win GT Indoor Open) = Athletics (5: North Carolina State wins again, Oklahoma State takes men’s NCAA X-C title; Ngetich runs women-only world 10 km record; Kiplimo ties world 15 km road record; walks star Schwazer loses doping appeal; Jamaica’s Taylor suspended for avoiding testing) = Badminton (China puts five in finals, wins three at Japan Masters) = Bobsled & Skeleton (Germany sweeps bob & skeleton season opener) = Figure Skating (2: Japan’s Miura and Sakamoto take Grand Prix Espoo titles; Russian skaters now giving gifts to media!) = Football (2: U.S. and Panama in good shape in CONCACAF Nations League quarters; Poland Israel U-21s observe moment of silence for 7 October victims) = Speed Skating (U.S.’s Jackson dominates women’s sprints at Beijing World Cup) = Taekwondo (Iran, Korea, Brazil take World Cup Team Championships) = Tennis (Djokovic wins record seventh ATP Finals) ●

● Schedule: This is Thanksgiving Week in the U.S., so The Sports Examiner will appear on Wednesday and Friday. Happy holidays! ●

1.
Paris 2024 settles judging tower issues, confirms Teahupo’o for surfing

The smoldering anger in Tahiti over the plans to build a 46-foot-tall aluminum tower for judging and scoring of the Paris 2024 surfing competitions appears to have been mollified by a downsizing of the project announced on Friday.

A 26-paragraph news release detailed the agreement between the Paris organizers and the Tahiti government to ditch the original project and essentially replace the existing wooden tower. The key areas of agreement:

● “The study of the different options concluded that it was not possible to certify the current wooden tower, even following renovation. The existing foundations could not be used in their current state. The wooden tower was created 20 years ago on the exceptional Teahupo’o site, and it has been of great value during competitions. … It is out of the question to expose anyone (workers, athletes, judges, journalists, etc.) to risks that could compromise their safety. “

● “[F]rom a legacy standpoint, the World Surf League has been using a Judges’ Tower for over 20 years. The construction of a tower compliant so safety standards is therefore necessary to enable competitions to take place at Teahupo’o in the long term.”

● “[T]he project for a new tower that is less imposing and substantially reduced in size and weight was judged to be the best option. This presents the advantage of being able to reduce the depth of drilling for the foundations of the tower and allow the use of a barge with a shallower draught during the construction phase.”

So, instead of the 46-foot tower with an undersea pipe for drinking and wastewater, a “leaner, smaller tower” will be built, more or less a direct replacement of the old wooden tower, but made with aluminum. The floor area will be reduced from 2,153 sq. ft. to 1,615 sq. ft., same as the old tower, reducing the weight from 30,865 lbs. to 19,842, the weight of the old tower and removing the undersea water transfer pipe.

In this way, the drilling and installations on the coral at the site will be minimized and studied showed that a new tower will be less invasive to built than to renovate the existing facility. The new tower will be certified for 10 years use.

The issue was a potential embarrassment for the Paris 2024 organizers and some discussion about moving the competition to a less desirable, but also less ecologically challenging area in Tahiti had taken place. But replacing the wooden tower with an updated, much more stable version appears to be a workable solution for the Games, for the government and for future competitions of the World Surf League and others.

2.
WADA fines OCA on North Korea; Russia still non-compliant

A major breach of protocol via-s-vis World Anti-Doping Agency sanctions took place at the recent Asian Games in Hangzhou (CHN), where North Korea sent a large team for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic, and was able to use its flag and other symbols without incident.

WADA has held the North Korean doping control system as non-compliant and the sanctions specifically dictate that its flag and national symbols were not to be used. So, on Friday, the WADA Foundation Board confirmed a new sanction against the Olympic Council of Asia, the actual owners of the Asian Games:

“The OCA will be required to pay a fine in the amount of USD 500,000.”

If the fine is not paid within 12 months, it will be doubled and OCA representatives will be ineligible to participate on WADA committees or boards.

The WADA Board also still has the Russian Anti-Doping Agency on its mind, as its national anti-doping legislation does not conform to the World Anti-Doping Code:

“WADA is monitoring the progress being made by RUSADA as it seeks to satisfy the conditions of reinstatement as laid out by the CAS decision. In the meantime, RUSADA remains non-compliant with the Code.

“Separately, a fresh critical non-conformity was identified related to inconsistencies between the federal Russian sports legislation and the Code. At its meeting on 22 September 2023, the ExCo accepted the CRC’s recommendation to impose on RUSADA new consequences and reinstatement conditions. On that date, WADA sent RUSADA a formal notice specifying the relevant consequences and reinstatement conditions. RUSADA subsequently disputed WADA’s allegation of non-compliance, as well as the consequences and reinstatement conditions. Accordingly, WADA has recently filed a formal notice of dispute with CAS.”

WADA General Counsel Ross Wenzel (GBR) also explained that there are added complications:

“One of the points [of restoration] says that RUSADA must be independent, but in order to make sure of this, an independent compliance commission must conduct an in-person audit by visiting the country. In the current geopolitical situation, an in-person visit is fraught with difficulties.”

WADA also raised issues with the 2024 World Friendship Games to be organized by Russia and held in Moscow, Yekaterinburg and possibly also in Belarus. As the Russian Anti-Doping Agency remains non-compliant, WADA Director General Olivier Niggli (SUI) noted:

“WADA has significant reservations about this [event] from an anti-doping perspective. We have no information about what kind of anti-doping program, if any, will be in place during that event or which body will be implementing such a program given RUSADA is still non-compliant with the World Anti-Doping Code. Under the Code an international event such as this should not be awarded to a country whose National Anti-Doping Organization is non-compliant so in that context, how can athletes have any confidence that they would be competing in a safe and fair environment?”

There are other national anti-doping agencies with Code problems, specifically in Tunisia, and “critical requirements” that are not being met by the anti-doping agencies in Nigeria and Venezuela. The sanctions are, once again, loss of flag privileges and a ban on hosting major competitions. The flag ban applies to Paris 2024. WADA also created “watchlist” conditions for The Bahamas and Cambodia, giving each four months to correct another disconnect between the Code and the national legal system.

Good news: the WADA budget was increased again at $54.49 million, continuing to rise as it undertakes more and more investigations and activities.

Observed: The North Korea situation is alarming, and the $500,000 fine is a yawner for the Olympic Council of Asia, which includes Gulf nations such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia as members, as well as China, India and Japan. Such a sanction will not scare host countries such as China – in which the 2023 Asian Games was held – from allowing further such demonstrations of WADA’s weakness if it suits their own political needs. As the WADA statement noted, “Despite repeated reminders from WADA before and during the Games, the OCA refused to comply.”

This is worrisome.

3.
Paris booksellers decry removal test of famed Seine River boxes

The long-running battle between the Paris police and the famed Paris booksellers along the sides of the Seine River added a chapter on Friday as a test removal of four book stall “boxes” was made by a crane, which lifted them safely 10 feet in the air.

For Paris Deputy Mayor Pierre Rabadan, this was a key development:

“Today we are sure we can move – that is to say remove and then put back – boxes in good conditions in a reasonable time.”

The Paris police would like to remove 600 of the 900 seller’s boxes during the Olympic Opening Ceremony on the Seine next July for fear of being used for explosives, but have run into stiff opposition from the booksellers and some politicians.

Police chief Laurent Nunez said Friday that the boxes would “only be removed when strictly necessary, notably for security reasons. I am aware of the importance of bouquinistes as an attraction of the capital.”

Michel Bouetard, general secretary of the Cultural Association of Booksellers of Paris, was outraged:

“All this for a four-hour ceremony! The Olympic Games have achieved what the wars [World Wars I and II] have not been able to do: to make us disappear.”

Other booksellers were concerned that the boxes will not be returned for some time, if at all, and the question of the need to remove them has been raised by some politicians. The final decision on how many need to be moved and on what schedule is still to be finally determined.

4.
Latvia warms to use of Sigulda track for Sweden 2030 bid

The expected approval of the world-class Sigulda track in Latvia for use in the Sweden 2030 Olympic Winter Games bid is in process, according to reports in Latvian media.

GamesBids.com noted comments from Sigulda County Council Chair Liga Sausina on Latvian Public Broadcasting:

“Already for 2026, as a candidate to become the venue for the Olympic Games, a plan was developed for the construction of a new residential block, the so-called Olympic Village, which in the future will provide space for both the development of the housing stock and the opening of a new preschool educational institution. Likewise, the adjacent road infrastructure development is already planned.”

The Stockholm bid for the 2026 Winter Games lost to Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo, but the Swedes are in the mix for 2030, with a spread-out bid that would include Sigulda since Sweden does not have a World Cup-class track for bobsled, luge and skeleton in the country. The International Olympic Committee’s desire to keep construction to a minimum for future Games therefore drives the need to look elsewhere, in this case across the Baltic Sea.

The terms under which the Sigulda track would be used were not revealed, but the track will require some upgrades, perhaps as much as €58 million (about $63.4 million U.S.), plus security and other expenses. A final approval will be required from the Latvian national government.

The Latvian approval is important as the 2030 bids from Sweden, Switzerland and France are expected to be discussed on Tuesday (21st) with the IOC’s Future Host Commission for the Winter Games. A recommendation for “targeted dialogue” could be made in advance of the IOC Executive Board meetings beginning on 29 November.

5.
Switzerland’s Eder elected as full-term FISU President

Russian Oleg Matytsin was elected as President of the International University Sports Federation (FISU) in 2015 and re-elected in 2019. But after becoming the Russian Sports Minister in January 2020, his FISU position became untenable in view of the sanctions imposed on Russia by the World Anti-Doping Agency, as shortened by the Court on Arbitration for Sport.

So he stepped back from his FISU role in March 2021, with First Vice President Leonz Eder of Switzerland becoming the Acting President. But when the WADA sanctions were completed at the end of 2022, Russia was now in the midst of its invasion of Ukraine and Matytsin continued on the sidelines.

Now, Eder has come the FISU President in his own right, after the 38th General Assembly of 115 national federations unanimously confirmed him on Saturday for a full term from 2023-27.

Brazil’s Luciano Cabral was elected as First Vice President, confirming him in a role he had been serving on an acting basis. The U.S.’s Delise O’Meally, Secretary General of the U.S. International University Sports Foundation and the Vice President-International Relations for the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee was re-elected as an Executive Board member.

The FISU board includes no one from Russia or Belarus.

FISU chief executive Eric Saintrond (BEL) also announced that he would retire in early 2025, after serving as Secretary General since November of 2007, notably helping to engineer the federation’s headquarters move from Brussels to Lausanne and nearly tripling the staff workforce.

The federation’s showcase event, the World University Games, is in good shape with hosts already selected for Torino 2025 (ITA: winter) and Rhine-Ruhr 2025 (GER: summer), followed by Chungcheong 2027 (KOR: summer) and North Carolina 2029 (USA: summer).

Observed: Despite the Russian issues, Eder maintained excellent continuity within FISU and the delayed Universiade in Chengdu (CHN) came off successfully in 2023. Now on his own, the continuing question of relevance will be raised, even with hosts sets through the end of the decade.

Because of its structure – using national university-sport federations – FISU has never been able to invite actual college teams to compete at the World University Games, although the US-IUSF has been able to field some teams with all-American rosters.

Imagine a University Games in North Carolina in which Duke, North Carolina, North Carolina State and others could take on Britain’s Oxford, Canada’s McGill University, China’s Fudan or The Sorbonne from France? A change in the rules would be needed, to allow teams in a specific country to included non-citizens of that country on the team, but it would increase the brand value of the University Games enormously, and create more synergies with national collegiate organizations, such as the NCAA in the U.S.

It’s a big step, but one which has enormous potential for FISU as it looks to the future.

≡ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS ≡

● Football ● The group stage has concluded at the FIFA men’s U-17 World Cup in Indonesia, with the Round of 16 elimination matches set to begin on Monday (20th). The group winners and runners-up:

● A: Morocco (2-1-0 W-L-T), Ecuador (1-0-2)
● B: Spain (2-0-1), Mali (2-1-0)
● C: England (2-1-0), Brazil (2-1-0)
● D: Argentina (2-1-0), Senegal (2-1-0)
● E: France (3-0-0), United States (2-1-0)
● F: Germany (3-0-0), Mexico (1-1-1)

Only France and Germany finished with perfect records; the French beat the U.S. on Saturday, 30, to clinch Group E. The match was 1-0 for France until late goals in the 82nd and 86th minutes made the final, 3-0.

In the elimination rounds, the upper bracket looks like this:

● France vs. Senegal and England vs. Uzbekistan
● Mali vs. Mexico and Morocco vs. Iran

The lower bracket:

● Ecuador vs. Brazil and Argentina vs. Venezuela
● Spain vs. Japan and Germany vs. United States

The quarters will be played on 24-25 November, the semis on 28 November and the championship match on 2 December.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● International Olympic Committee ● David Miller, the long-time British sports correspondent for the Sunday Telegraph, Daily Express and The Times, was awarded the IOC’s Pierre de Coubertin Medal for his service to the Olympic Movement as a journalist.

Miller, 88, received the award in London from retired IOC member Craig Reedie (GBR); IOC President Thomas Bach (GER) said in a statement, “Your writing ultimately served a higher purpose than to simply inform people of the latest scores and results. With your expert knowledge of the Olympic Movement, you always instinctively grasped the central idea of the Olympic mission: to unite the entire world in peaceful competition.”

Said Miller:

“When becoming a journalist, as would-be Olympian when member of the British 1956 Melbourne football training squad, and retiring from competitive sport at 22, my motivation was inspired by those such as national heroes, kindly present today, David Hemery, record-breaking Olympic 400 hurdles champion at Mexico ’68, and David Bedford, a 10,000 metres world record-breaker. They exemplified competitors who strove to integrate both competitor participation and administrative competence, in all sports, at a time of widespread disunity, for the benefit of competitors helplessly divided in the 19th and 20th centuries by the contrived conflict between amateurs and professionals: a calculated class divide supported by the IOC until its belated abolition in 1987.

“The principles of Hemery, Bedford and others motivated my focus over six decades as successive correspondent with national newspapers on issues rather than events: on a level playing-field for competitors with adequate financial backing only belatedly achieved by the 21st century – rather than my mere event coverage of 25 Summer and Winter Olympics, 14 FIFA World Cup finals and dozens of world championships in more than 20 sports across more than a hundred countries.

“My search for fair play was as much racial as class-conscious, with long-standing assistance together with iconic performers such as Mal Whitfield, Kip Keino, Arthur Ashe and Daley Thompson, they prominent in parallel with those with whom my commentaries collaborated, such as Nelson Mandela, Zhengliang He of China and Andrew Young from Atlanta, a key Luther King collaborator.”

● Alpine Skiing ● After cancellations due to weather at Soelden and Zermatt-Cervinia, the men’s alpine season finally got going with the Slalom at Gurgl (AUT).

And the home team was rewarded with a sweep, possibly thanks to a protest by an environmental group that disturbed the second run with five racers remaining.

Austria’s Manuel Feller, the 2017 Worlds Slalom silver winner, took the lead on the first run by almost a second over Clement Noel (FRA), 53.22 to 54.16, with Austria’s Fabio Gstrein third (54.21).

On the second run, climate activists sprayed orange powder on the snow; they were removed, but the racing was stopped for eight minutes. The delay did not impact Austrian Marco Schwarz, the 2021 World Slalom champ, who raced from fifth to first on his second run, but the top four had trouble, placing 21st, 25th and 18th on the second run with one disqualified.

But even with the 18th-best second run, Feller won at 1:47.23 to 1:47.46 for Schwarz and 1:48.28 for Michael Matt for the Austrian sweep.

After a break next week, the men’s racing will be in the U.S., with Downhills and a Super-G at Beaver Creek in Colorado on 1-3 December.

Rough weather called off the women’s Downhill on the new Zermatt-to-Cervinia “Gran Becca” course, with high winds making the run too dangerous on both Saturday and Sunday. This was the second straight week that the conditions on this new course were too difficult. FIS Race Director Peter Gerdol (SLO) explained:

“We hoped that after 11:00 (CET) the weather or the wind would be less strong and acceptable. At the end we checked the course, particularly in the last one or two hours and the wind (had) decreased a little bit, but still not enough to have a safe race and, as we always say, the safety of the racers is the first priority and that’s why we had to cancel today. …

“There is a commitment to continue this but of course we will need to, in the next weeks or months to sit together, all the stakeholders, the organising committee, the two ski federations and FIS of course, and make all the proper analysis to what happened and then the decision is for the future.”

● Archery ● Dutch star Steve Wijler won his second straight World Archery Indoor World Series (18 m) victory at the GT Open at Strassen (LUX).

Already the winner of the Lausanne Excellence Challenge, Wijler – the 2017 Worlds bronze medalist – shut down Britain’s Tom Hall in the final, 6-0. Countryman Willem Bakker won the bronze medal with a 6-4 win over Jerome Bidault, the Lausanne runner-up.

In the women’s final, Czech Marie Horackova won with a 7-1 finals triumph over Denisa Barankova (SVK), the Lausanne Excellence Challenge winner. American Casey Kaufhold won the bronze in a 6-5 (10-9) shoot-out versus Randi Degn (DEN).

● Athletics ● One dynasty continued and one was stopped at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships in Earlysville, Virginia on Saturday.

Florida junior Parker Valby, runner-up last year and in great form all season, ran away with the individual race, leading by nine seconds after 2 km of the 6 km race and won going away in 18:55.2. That was more than 10 seconds up on Alabama frosh Doris Lemngole (KEN: 19:05.7) and Notre Dame senior Olivia Markezich (19:10.0). Defending champ Katelyn Tuohy of North Carolina State, apparently ill, still finished fifth (19:23.0) and led the Wolfpack charge to a third straight NCAA team title. But it was close.

North Carolina State finished 5-18-21-31-48 in the team scoring for 123, but men’s superpower North Arizona was right in the hunt, led by Canadian senior Gracelyn Larkin in 13th place (11th for team scoring purposes). The Lumberjacks had five in the top 44 – 11-13-15-41-44 – but that’s 124 points and they had to settle for second. Oklahoma State was third (156), with Notre Dame (237) fourth.

It’s the third straight title for N.C. State, but by far the closest.

The men’s team title was expected to be close, but it wasn’t. Northern Arizona came in having won three in a row and six of seven, but beat Oklahoma State on a tiebreaker a year ago. And the Cowboys had plenty of pedigree, having won in 2009-10-12.

As the teams dueled, Stanford’s Ky Robinson (AUS), 10th last year but the NCAA 5,000-10,000 m champ on the track in 2023 – was in the lead by the 8 km mark of the 10 km course. But he was passed by New Mexico frosh Habtom Samuel (ERI), with Harvard junior Graham Banks following closely, and then Banks pushed ahead with about 400 m to go and was a clear winner in 28:38.7 to 28:40.7 for Samuel. Robinson was third in 28:55.7 and then came Oklahoma State frosh Dennis Kiprotich (KEN) in fourth in 28:59.7, ahead of Northern Arizona’s Drew Bosley and Nico Young.

But the Cowboys put five in the top 15 (4-8-10-12-15) for 49 points to 71 for the Lumberjacks (5-6-18-20-22), with BYU third at 196 and Arkansas at 211. Banks moved up from sixth in 2022 and is the first Ivy Leaguer to win the NCAA X-C title.

Kenya’s Alice Ngetich thought she set a women’s-only world 10 km road record of 29:24 at the Brasov Running Festival in Romania on 10 September, but the mark was wiped out as the course was found to be short. Ngetich said she would come back in 2024 and try for the record again.

No need.

She won the Lille 10 km race on Saturday in 29:24, a women’s-only race world record and the third-fastest time in history, behind only Yalemzerf Yehualaw (ETH) and her 29:14 in February 2022 and 29:19 in January 2023.

Ngetich, sixth at the Worlds 10,000 m this summer, won by 10 seconds over countrywoman Emmaculate Anyango (29:34).

Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo, the 2020 World Half Marathon champ, equaled the world road record for 15 km, winning the NN Zevenheuvelenloop in Nijmegen (NED) in 41:05 on Sunday. He won by 1:39 over countryman Rogers Kibet (42:44) and equaled the mark by Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei from 2018.

The long-running doping case against 2008 Olympic 50 km Walk gold medalist Alex Schwazer (ITA) appears to be over.

Schwazer said Friday that his appeal of an eight-year suspension for doping was turned down by the World Anti-Doping Agency, saying during an Italian reality TV show, “I’m really sorry, because I remain convinced that this decision is fundamentally wrong. It was not taken in a neutral way.”

Schwazer served a three-year, nine-month suspension for doping for erythropoietin (EPO) from July 2012 to April 2016, then was hit with an eight-year suspension for a second doping charge – for steroids – less than three months later in 2016. He has always maintained his innocence, but now will have to serve out his sanction, which will prevent him being able to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Jamaican sprinter Christopher Taylor, who won a Worlds men’s 4×400 m silver in 2022 and was sixth in the Olympic 400 m final for Tokyo 2020, has been suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit for 30 months from 16 November 2022 to 15 May 2025 for failing to comply with a doping sample collection procedure.

Taylor, now 24, has a best of 44.63 from 2022 and competed in the men’s 400 m at Tokyo and in Eugene at the 2022 World Championships.

● Badminton ● Pretty good performance for China at the BWF World Tour Japan Masters in Kumamoto (JPN), with finalists in all five events and three wins, all in Doubles!

And all three Doubles had all-China finals:

● Men: Ji Ting He and Xiang Yu Ren beat Yu Chen Liu and Xian Yi Ou, 21-14, 15-21, 21-15.

● Women: Shu Xian Zhang and Yu Zheng overcame Sheng Shu Liu and Ning Tan, 12-21, 21-12, 21-17.

● Mixed: Top-seeded Si Wei Zheng and Ya Qiong Huang beat third-seeds Yan Zhe Feng and Dong Ping Huang (CHN), 25-23, 21-9.

China’s Yu Qi Shi lost the men’s Singles final to top-seeded Viktor Axelsen, 22-20, 21-17, and Indonesia’s Gregoria Tunjung (INA), the no. 6 seed, upset third-seed Yu Fei Chen in the women’s final, 21-12, 21-12.

● Bobsled & Skeleton ● The 2023-24 IBSF World Cup opened in Yanqing (CHN), site of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic events, with Germany’s star back at the top of the podium.

Only the two-man and four-man events were held, with 2023 World Champion Johannes Lochner taking his 12th career two-man title in 1:58.64, with Georg Fleischhauer aboard, ahead of Olympic champ Francesco Friedrich (GER, with Alexander Schueller: 1:59.26), and Swiss Michael Vogt and Sandro Michel third (1:59.54).

Two races were held in the four-man, with Lochner sweeping both. He won on Saturday in 1:57.04, just ahead of Friedrich (1:57.31), with China’s Kaizhi Sun driving (1:57.44). On Sunday, it was Lochner winning in 1:56.61, winning over Italy’s Patrick Baumgartner (1:56.92) and Friedrich (1:56.93).

The women’s sleds did not race; they will join at the next stop, at La Plagne (FRA) on 9-10 December.

The men’s and women’s Skeleton racers were in Yanqing, with another German sweep. Christopher Grotheer, the Beijing Olympic gold medalist, won in 2:01.20, followed by China’s Wenhao Chen (2:01.63) and Wengang Yan (2:01.68). Four-time World Champion Tina Hermann took the women’s racing at 2:01.81, followed by China’s Zhao Dan (2:03.83) and Canada’s Worlds bronze medalist, Mirela Rahneva (2:03.99).

● Figure Skating ● Japan continued its march through the ISU Grand Prix in the men’s and women’s Singles, winning their fourth and fifth golds of the season at the Grand Prix Espoo in Finland.

World Champion Kaori Sakamoto won her second Grand Prix gold of the season with a dominant win in the women’s Singles, scoring 205.21 to 190.21 for teammate Rion Sumiyoshi. Sakamoto won both the Short Program and the Free Skate, with the most surprising performance coming from American Amber Glenn.

Only 11th after the Short Program, Glenn – 12th at the 2023 Worlds – flew up to second in the Free Skate with a lifetime best score of 133.78, and rose to take the bronze medal! Teammate Starr Andrews finished 10th at 155.42.

Kao Miura, 18, won his first Grand Prix gold – after three silvers – at 274.56, winning the Short Program and finishing second in the Free Skate. Teammate Shun Sato won the Free Skate and almost closed the gap from the Short Program, finishing second at 273.34. Americans Liam Kapeikis and Jimmy Ma were ninth (196.94) and 11th (191.26).

Reigning Ice Dance World Champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the U.S. won their second Grand Prix title of the season and sixth of their career, barely holding off Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Soerensen of Canada, 209.46 to 206.32. Chock and Bates won both the Short Program and the Free Skate, but it was close. Two more American pairs finished 4-5: Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko (188.76) and Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik (183.78).

Germany’s Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin won the Pairs, moving up from third after the Rhythm Dance by winning the Free Dance. Their score of 192.72 earned them their first Grand Prix gold, ahead of Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii (ITA: 188.60). Americans Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea were sixth at 152.16.

One more leg in the Grand Prix “regular season” in Osaka (JPN) for the NHK Trophy and then the Grand Prix Final on 7-10 December in Beijing (CHN).

In Russia, a new tradition of sorts has popped up: modest gifts for news media from the skaters!

According to the Russian news agency TASS:

“Recently, figure skaters have increasingly begun to pamper media representatives with small gifts. For example, at the Russian Grand Prix stage in Kazan, the winner of the tournament, Sofya Muravyova, gave all the journalists miniature hearts, hand-sewn by her mother. At the stage in Samara, Andrey Mozalev treated the journalists to chocolates, and the winner of the Samara stage, Ksenia Sinitsyna, gave the journalists ice cream.”

No, this is not a made-up story.

● Football ● The first legs of home-and-home match-ups in the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinals have been completed, with the U.S. and Panama in the best positions to advance to the semis. Results:

● U.S. 3, Trinidad & Tobago 0
● Panama 3, Costa Rica 0
● Honduras 2, Mexico 0
● Canada 2, Jamaica 1

The second legs will be played on Monday and Tuesday, with the U.S. at Trinidad & Tobago, and Panama hosting Costa Rica.

On Tuesday, Canada will host Jamaica and Mexico will be at home to face Honduras again. The quarterfinal winners will also advance to the 2024 Copa America.

The semis and finals will be played in March 2024.

Playing in a UEFA qualifying match, the U-21 teams from Israel and Poland stood in silence for the first minute of their game in Lodz (POL) on Friday, observing a moment of tribute for the victims of the 7 October attacks on Israel by Hamas.

UEFA had been requested to authorize a moment of silence, but did not do so, and the teams did so themselves. Poland won the game, 2-1.

● Speed Skating ● Four double winners highlighted the ISU World Cup II in Beijing (CHN), including U.S. sprint star Erin Jackson.

The Beijing 2022 Olympic gold medalist in the women’s 500 m, Jackson won both sprints, beating teammate Kimi Goetz in the first race by 37.91 to 37.92, then dominating the second event in 37.54, with Min-sun Kim (KOR) second in 37.85; Goetz was fourth in 38.02.

In the men’s 500 m, Japan’s Wataru Morishige, the Beijing 2022 bronze medalist, swept both races, winning in 34.72 in the opening event, ahead of teammate Yuma Murakami (34.82), then stormed to a second win in 34.69, with 2021 World Champion Laurent Debreuil (CAN) second in 34.81 and Murakami third in 34.82.

The middle distance also had double winners, as Beijing 2022 Olympic 1,000 m champ Miho Takagi won the 1,500 m first in 1:55.52, with Goetz taking bronze (1:57.33) and former World Champion Brittany Bowe of the U.S. 10th (1:57.71). Takagi came back to win the 1,000 m over Goetz, 1:14.44 to 1:14.45, with Bowe sixth (1:15.95).

Dutch star Kjeld Nuis, a double winner in PyeongChang in 2018, took the 1,500 m in 1:44.80 over teammate (and six-time Worlds gold winner) Patrick Roest, who timed 1:45.86. Nuis won the 1,000 m on Sunday in 1:08.11, beating Norway’s 2018 Olympic 500 m gold winner Havard Lorentzen (1:08.99), finally back from injuries.

Roest came back to get the 5,000 m win in 6:11.40, finishing well ahead of Worlds 10,000 m champ Davide Ghiotto (ITA: 6:14.25). Italy’s Andrea Giovannini, the Worlds bronze medalist, took the Mass Start final in 7:39.52, ahead of Daniele Di Stefano (ITA: 7:39.91) and Olympic champ Bart Swings (BEL: 7:39.97).

The U.S. trio of Austin Kleba, Cooper Mcleod and Zach Stoppelmmoor scored a surprise win on the Team Sprint in 1:20.27, ahead of China (1:20.72).

The women’s distances saw Norway’s Ragne Wiklund, the reigning World Champion at 3,000 m, take that race in 4:03.41 over the ageless – and 21-time World Champion – Martina Sabilkova (CZE: 4:04.86); American Mia Kilburg-Manganello was 12th in 4:12.95. In the Mass Start, two-time World Champion Marijke Groenewoud (NED) won easily in 8:24.81, with Canada’s two-time World Champion Ivanie Blondin second (8:37.59) and Kilburg-Manganello fourth in 8:38.07.

Everyone is off for a week and the tour resumes on Stavanger (NOR) from 1-3 December.

● Taekwondo ● Iran, Korea and Brazil triumphed in the World Cup Team Championships Series titles in Goyang (KOR).

The defending champion Iranian men defeated Korea in the quarters, 2-1, then managed a 2-0 win over Korea and faced surprising Australia in the final, prevailing by 2-0. The Korean women beat China by 2-1 in their semi and then fought off Morocco, 2-0, in the final.

Brazil won in the Mixed Team final, 2-0, over Morocco.

● Tennis ● Superstar Novak Djokovic (SRB) suffered a shock loss to Italy’s Jannik Skinner in pool play at the ATP Finals in Turin (ITA), but fought back to get to the semis and then defeated Skinner, 6-3, 6-3, in the final for his record seventh ATP Finals title. Djokovic also clinched the year-end no. 1 ranking for the eighth time, another record.

In the Doubles final, defending champs Rajeev Ram (USA) and Joe Salisbury (GBR) came in seeded only sixth, but finished undefeated and beat Marcel Granollers (ESP) and Horacio Zeballos (ARG), 6–3, 6–4 for the championship.

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TSX REPORT: FIG’s neutrality rules put Russian gymnasts in blue; 1.89% of athletes surveyed on IOC sponsorship rules replied; Swiss all in for 2030!

Rich Perelman

November 17, 2023

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

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. FIG rules for “neutral” gymnasts published, but with questions
2. IOC’s Rule 40 athlete survey received just 1.89% response!
3. Swiss confirm 2030 Winter bid, but with added options
4. Lyles and Richardson top USATF awards for 2023
5. U.S, men wait late, score 3-0 win over Trinidad & Tobago

● The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) published its detailed rules for Russian and Belarusian athletes to apply to be approved as “neutral” athletes for competitions in 2024. As written, the rules are quite strict, including the use of only light blue uniforms for any athletes who are approved, without any identifying symbols. This will be a process, with questions still to be answered.

● A post-Tokyo 2020 and post-Beijing 2022 survey compiled for the International Olympic Committee concerning athlete sponsorship visibility during the Games was offered to 14,254 Olympians. Just 269 replied, or 1.89%. But there were interesting indications from even that small sample, especially that athletes need education on the business side of their lives.

● The Swiss Olympic Committee completed its bid file for the 2030 Olympic Winter Games and will present it to the IOC’s Future Host Commission next week, but also to the Swiss Sports Parliament on the 24th for its approval. The Swiss also have the idea to bid for the multi-port European Championships, possible for 2026!

● Sprint stars Noah Lyles and Sha’Carri Richardson were named the winners of the USATF’s 2023 Jesse Owens and Jackie Joyner-Kersee awards for the top male and female athletes in the U.S.

● The U.S. men’s National Team could not get a goal on Trinidad & Tobago in the first leg of their CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal in Austin, Texas, but Ricardo Pepi, Antonee Robinson and Gio Reyna scored within 7:23 of each other in the 82-86-89th minutes for a 3-0 victory.

● Panorama: Paris 2024 (2: air taxi service rebuffed by Paris City Council; draft Olympic Truce resolution coming next week) = Commonwealth Games (Jenkins new CGF President as a 2026 solution is being sought) = World Anti-Doping Agency (new sanctions coming at Foundation Board meeting Friday) = Russia (IOC called “totalitarian” by Russian Olympic Committee) = Athletics (2: Kenyan anti-doping head says huge shock coming; British runner gets year ban for using a car during a race!) = Football (28th anniversary of the debut of FIFA.com) = Gymnastics (Biles vault formally added to Code of Points) ●

1.
FIG rules for “neutral” gymnasts published, but with questions

The rules for Russian and Belarusian gymnasts for participation as “neutral” individual athletes have been published by the Federation Internationale de Gymnastic, taking up eight pages of small type and effective as of 9 November.

The well-known prohibitions against Russian and Belarusian teams, doping requirements, and no national symbols are included. The key provisions are on what constitutes “neutrality,” with a significant prohibited list:

“Neutrality will be evaluated through the following criteria:

“1) No link with the Russian or Belarusian military or with any other national security agency

“Gymnasts/athletes and support personnel who are or become contracted or are or become in any way connected to the Russian or Belarusian military, including any affiliated entities, or with national security agencies since the beginning of the conflict (24 February 2022) cannot participate in FIG sanctioned events.

“2) No communication associated with Russia or Belarus

“Gymnasts/athletes and support personnel must refrain from any activity or communication, either verbal, non-verbal or written, associated with the national flag, anthem, emblem or any other symbol of the Russian Federation, the Republic of Belarus, their NFs or NOCs, or from any support for the war in Ukraine in any official venue or in the media (including interviews, social media, retweets and reposted messages on Twitter, forwarded messages, etc.) at any time since the beginning of the military aggression in Ukraine by the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus.

“Gymnasts/athletes and support personnel must not make any public statements or comments or take any action or behave in any way that may prejudice the interests of the competition, its integrity or the participant’s neutrality required as a condition for participation.

“3) No support for the war in Ukraine

“Only gymnasts/athletes and support personnel who have not supported nor are supporting the war in Ukraine may participate in FIG sanctioned events.

“Gymnasts/athletes and support personnel employed by or contracted to the Russian and Belarusian military or national security agencies are considered as supporting the war.

“Any other form of verbal, non-verbal or written expression, explicit or implicit, at any time since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, in particular public statements, including those made in social media, participation in pro-war demonstrations or events, and the wearing of any symbol in support of the war in Ukraine, for example the ‘Z’ symbol, are considered to be acts of support for the war in Ukraine.”

No two sets of “neutrality” rules are exactly the same between the various international sports federations which have posted them. Although the International Olympic Committee suggested a coordinated response to its 28 March recommendations on allowing individual “neutral” Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete internationally, the different sets of rules actually work in its favor as a real-time test of what works and what does not.

There is an application fee, the amount of which is not specified, but which must be received by the FIG prior to the review. There is no mention about how the fee is to be paid, especially since payment methods out of Russia and Belarus are more difficult now.

As to uniforms and music:

● “Women’s competition leotard, unitard or competition shirt must be of a solid light blue colour. Men’s competition singlet, unitard or competition shirt must be of a solid light blue colour. Men’s competition pants or shorts must be completely white.”

● “In Rhythmic Gymnastics, the hand apparatus must be completely white.”

● “[A]ny routine music used during the FIG Sanctioned event by an Individual Neutral Athlete must be neutral.”

All music must be approved by the FIG. And there are continuing restrictions:

“To adhere to the requirement of neutrality, Individual Neutral Athletes and their support personnel must refrain from any activity or communication associated with the national flag, anthem, emblem or any other symbol of the Russian Federation, the Republic of Belarus, their NFs or NOCs, or support for the war in Ukraine, at any official venue or in the media (including interviews, social media – retweets, reposting, etc.) prior to, during and following the international sports competition. This includes any national events related to their participation in the competition.

“They must not make any statements or comments, take any action, or conduct themselves in any manner that may be prejudicial to the interests of the competition, its integrity or the participant’s neutrality required as a condition of participation.”

The regulations are strict as written; it will be interesting to see what happens in actual practice.

2.
IOC’s Rule 40 athlete survey received just 1.89% response!

Prior to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games, much attention was paid to Rule 40.3 of the Olympic Charter, which was amended in 2019 to allow more flexibility for athletes to showcase their personal sponsors who are not also Olympic sponsors.

No direct mention of the Games was allowed, but congratulatory messages were permitted if disclosed about two months prior to the Games. Not much, but more than the prior total ban on communications by non-Olympic sponsors.

As promised, the International Olympic Committee did a survey after the Tokyo and Beijing Games to ask about the new experience with the amended Rule 40. But very few were interested.

Completed in September, the 30-slide report by Publicis Sport & Entertainment, announced on Thursday, showed that of 14,254 athletes registered on the IOC’s Athlete365 portal, just 270 took the survey, or 1.89%. The report notes:

“For this project, there was a lower-than-optimal response rate, meaning that with [270] Olympians, less than 2% completed the survey. …

“Results are therefore limited to the participants of the survey and we refrain from drawing general conclusion of the entire athlete population. Nevertheless, some results are interesting to report because while limited in number, those who made the efforts to respond have important views that should be considered.”

The respondents were from 88 countries and 38 of 40 sports involved, with the most responses from France (8%), the U.S. (8%) and Italy (6%). By sport, the leading responders were from track & field (19%) and skiing and snowboarding (14%) and then aquatics (8%). No other sport registered more than 4%.

Of the group that responded, the results were uninspiring:

● Just 68% said they were “aware” of Rule 40, with 25% not aware and 7% didn’t remember.

● 55% said they learned about the Rule 40 regulations from their National Olympic Committee, and 17% from their agent or sponsor. Media reports informed another 15%.

● 68% of the respondents read the “Key Principles” document which explained the rules, about 60% read the two companion documents.

● Of the respondents, 50% posted a “thank you” message to their sponsors during the Games (Tokyo or Beijing), but 26% did not … and did not know that they could!

How important is all this? The research showed that among the 199 Tokyo Olympians who responded, 66% had sponsorship deals. Among the 71 Beijing Winter Olympians, 73% had sponsorship deals. Of those folks, 91% said that had one or more personal sponsorships with non-Olympic Partner brands.

As the report deadpans in a footnote, “The IOC should look to improve communication about this allowance, so athletes better understand what they can and cannot do at Games-time.”

Observed: Despite the trivial level of participation in the survey, it points to a glaring area which needs support, not only from the IOC, but the National Olympic Committees and especially national federations.

Athletes have to be educated on what it means to be a “professional.”

There are expensive, rigorous, years-long training programs and licensing requirements in many countries to hold positions which can influence other people’s lives, including architects, attorneys, engineers, physicians and many others. Athletes are being required, more and more, to know about the often highly technical rules against doping, but this is still in its infancy.

With this survey, with just 1.89% responding, and more than a quarter of those not even knowing they could post a message saluting their non-Olympic sponsors, there is an obvious need for education.

This has to happen at the grass-roots level, because sponsorships are being given to younger and younger athletes, especially in the U.S., where the name-image-likeness rules have driven sponsorships to the high school level and even earlier.

Here, the IOC is well positioned to help, with summaries of best practices and documentation of what it allows at the Olympic Games. But the real action is at the national federation level, where free courses could be offered at conventions and regional and national championships.

This is coming, and the National Olympic Committees which take leadership roles will have happier athletes who understand better how to manage their business affairs as well as their athletic efforts.

3.
Swiss confirm 2030 Winter bid, but with added options

“It is now up to the Sports Parliament to give the green light to those responsible for the project to continue, and then to the IOC to decide whether to invite us to the next phase of the dialogue.

“But the interest and the constructive and benevolent critical support of the project by the Swiss media and public delight us.”

That’s Swiss Olympic President Juerg Stahl during a Wednesday meeting with reporters, explaining that the Swiss bid for the 2030 Olympic Winter Games is very much alive. The concept, to use the existing winter-sports facilities, drops the tradition of a host city and would create a national plan for the Games.

The timeline is a little odd, as the International Olympic Committee’s Future Host Commission for the Winter Games is expected to talk with the 2030 bidders from France, Sweden and Switzerland next Tuesday (21st), and the Swiss Sports Parliament to weigh in on the bid on Friday, 24 November.

Of significant note is that the Swiss concept for an Olympic Winter Games is aimed not only at 2030, but could be pursued for 2034 (against Salt Lake City) or 2038 or beyond. Prior Swiss bids have failed in referenda, but the 2030 plan is for a privately-funded Games using existing sites, and had 67% public approval in a recent poll. Noted Stahl:

“Having several regions reduces the risks. What also matters is to have relatively few investments to make and that there is little harm to nature.”

The expectations are that the IOC Executive Board will select candidates for “targeted dialogue” for 2030 and 2034 at its next meeting at the end of November.

The Swiss are looking at other events as well, with the ski federations already bidding for the 2028 FIS Games, with all of the Olympic disciplines and several more. And, there is interest in organizing the multi-sport European Championships that was very successfully held in Munich (GER) in 2022. Said Swiss Olympic Director General Roger Schnegg:

“The budget is obviously much smaller. But, here too, all of Switzerland could benefit from it. It is obvious that we would not organize the European Championships in 2030 if we got the Winter Games, but we see the possible synergies.”

But 2026 could be a possibility. Stahl emphasized, “We are very motivated to show that a small country like ours can do it.”

4.
Lyles and Richardson top USATF awards for 2023

USA Track & Field announced its major award winners for 2023 on Thursday, with Noah Lyles to receive the Jesse Owens Award and Sha’Carri Richardson selected for the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Award.

Lyles had a brilliant 2023, especially when it counted the most, winning three golds at the World Athletics Championships, in the men’s 100 m (9.83 co-world leader), 200 m (19.52) and anchoring the men’s 4×100 m relay (37.38 world leader).

He was undefeated in the 200 m, winning all eight races, including six finals, running a world-leading 19.47 at the Wanda Diamond League meet in London in July. He ran 12 100 m races, winning just seven, but after a third at the USATF Nationals, won all three of his races at the Worlds, including a lifetime best in the final at 9.83.

Richardson was also electrifying at the Worlds, and was busy all year, running 16 races in the 100 m and eight more at 200 m. She won the USATF title at 10.82 to make her first international team, then after barely making it into the Worlds final, won in a sizzling 10.65 to equal the world lead for 2023.

Not known as a 200 m star, Richardson qualified for Budapest with a second-place finish at the nationals, then won her heat at the Worlds, was second in her semi and ran a lifetime best of 21.92 to grab the bronze medal in the final. She followed up with a second gold, anchoring the U.S. women’s 4×100 m to a 41.03 win in the fastest time of 2023.

Shawnti Jackson, 18, the daughter of 2005 World men’s 400 m hurdles gold medalist Bershawn Jackson, was named the USATF Youth Athlete for 2023. She set a U.S. prep record in the women’s 100 m at 10.89, also the World U-20 leader for 2023, and reached the USATF Nationals semifinals. She won the USATF Junior title in the women’s 200 m at 22.48, then claimed the World U-20 leading time of 22.35 at the Pan American Junior Championships in August. Her 100 m mark ranked her second all-time on the World U-20 list and her 22.35 has her seventh all-time in the 200 m.

The USATF Nike Coach of the Year is Dennis Mitchell, who mentored sprint stars including Richardson, TeeTee Terry (10.83) and men’s 200 m star Kenny Bednarek, the Tokyo Olympic silver medalist, who clocked 19.79 in 2023, no. 7 on the world list and fifth at the Worlds and the Diamond League Final runner-up. Mitchell, 57, a great sprinter himself, was the Olympic 100 m bronze winner in 1992 and at the 1991 and 1993 World Championships, with a lifetime best of 9.91. He served a two-year doping ban from 1998-2000 for steroids, but has been a U.S. national teams relay coach since then.

These awards will be formally presented at the USATF Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida, on 2 December.

5.
U.S. men wait late, score 3-0 win over Trinidad & Tobago

The U.S. men’s National Team was back in action at the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinals on Thursday, facing Trinidad & Tobago in Austin, Texas and after a frustrating for 80 minutes, got untracked for a 3-0 win.

The American offense was in full flight from the opening kick, with the first 12 minutes spent continuously harassing the Trinidad & Tobago defense – with nine in front of the ball – and a wicked shot from defender Sergino Dest that was saved in the second minute.

The U.S. had 75% of possession through the first half-hour, but no goals. Then T&T midfielder Noah Powder took the legs out from under U.S. midfielder Weston McKennie in the 37th and received a second yellow card, leaving the Soca Warriors with 10 players for the rest of the match. But T&T keeper Denzil Smith was equal to the challenge, smothering everything sent his way; the U.S. ended the half with 75% possession and a 7-0 lead on shots.

Trinidad & Tobago packed in the defense to start the second half, as Smith made a quick save on a through-ball from McKennie for attacking midfielder Malik Tillman in the 53rd minute and another save against Tillman in the 54th. And Smith rejected a rocket from midfielder Yunus Musah from the top of the box in the 57th.

In the 59th, midfielder Daniel Phillips was called for a foul in the box against McKennie for a penalty, but the call was reversed after a video review. By the 70-minute mark, the U.S. was up to 77% of possession and 14-0 on shots, but still no score. A laser from Dest in the 73rd was punched away by Smith, but was so hard, he needed some minutes to recover. A header from substitute striker Brenden Aaronson – off a Dest service from the right side – went just wide in the 79th.

Finally the break came in the 82nd, off a left-footed liner from defender Antonee Robinson from the left side that was re-directed by sub striker Ricardo Pepi with his right foot past Smith and into the far right side of the goal for the 1-0 lead.

The U.S. continued in possession, kept attacking and then Robinson was clear at the top of the box and ripped a left-footed riser into the top of the net for a 2-0 lead in the 86th. Suddenly, it was a rout, as Gio Reyna took a feed from striker Folarin Balogun in the box and sent a left-footer into the net for a 3-0 edge in the 89th. Three scores in 7:23, after nothing for 81.

The U.S. ended with 76% possession and a 26-1 shots advantage, and is now 22-3-4 all-time vs. Trinidad & Tobago. Matt Turner was barely troubled in goal for the U.S.

The second leg of the home-and-home matches will be on 20 November in Port of Spain; the U.S. is trying for a third straight CONCACAF Nations League title.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● The occasionally-ballyhooed concept of air taxis circulating over Paris during the 2024 Games might be dead. The Paris City Council was highly negative about the creation of a take-off and landing platform in the city during a discussion on Tuesday, however the national transportation ministry to decide in early 2024.

The IOC announced that the draft resolution for the Olympic Truce for Paris 2024 will be introduced at the United Nations next Tuesday (21st). The draft is sponsored by the French government, supported by the IOC, the International Paralympic Committee and the Paris 2024 organizers.

The modern Olympic Truce was first introduced in support of the 1994 Olympic Winter Games in Lillehammer (NOR).

● Commonwealth Games ● The Commonwealth Games Federation, meeting in Singapore, elected Chris Jenkins of Wales as its new President, garnering 74 votes to 10 for New Zealand’s Kereyn Smith, the sole opponent. The announcement noted Jenkins’ three commitments on the future of the Commonwealth Games:

● Guide the Commonwealth Games to a sustainable model to attract host cities.

● Develop and strengthen the Commonwealth Games Associations.

● Ensure all voices are heard.

As regards the sustainability of the Commonwealth Games, the concept is to “re-model the Games, reducing the costs of hosting and exploring innovative solutions which allow more countries to host.”

CGF chief executive Katie Sadleir (GBR) told reporters that the question of the 2026 Commonwealth Games is expected to be resolved in some form by February 2024:

“We have been working intensely with Commonwealth Games Australia. They are very, very keen to keep the Games in Australia and so we’re working to support them with their inquiries.

“And then there are three other regions that we are having conversations with but they are very much of a preliminary sort of stage. But our aim is to be in a situation early in the new year to make a call on where a Games might go in 2026, 2027 or whether or not we might do something a bit different.

“We have started looking at alternative models and we’ll be continuing on with that work as well as we seek a host for ‘26.”

The CGF also expanded from 72 to 74 members with the addition of Gabon and Togo.

● World Anti-Doping Agency ● The WADA Executive Committee met Thursday in Montreal, and although no details will be released until after Friday’s Foundation Board meeting, President Witold Banka (POL) posted a short report on X (ex-Twitter) that included:

“A number of decisions were made by the ExCo in relation to compliance cases against certain Code Signatories, with new consequences being introduced.”

Stay tuned!

● Russia ● The river of vitriol from Russia toward the IOC continued on Thursday, with Russian Olympic Committee President Stanislav Pozdnyakov taking the microphone:

“Behind the screen of athletes’ interests, there is a policy of restrictions and bans on participation in competitions in the worst traditions of totalitarian regimes, which is what we observe. We hope that the IOC leadership will come to its senses and will comply with the ideals and principles that stood at the origins of the Olympic movement.”

Pozdnyakov added to the unhappy responses to IOC President Thomas Bach (GER) and his call for the International Federations to stay clear of Russia’s World Friendship Games in 2024, as a “politicized competition”:

“Any sporting event is free for anyone on the planet to attend.

“When illegitimate sanctions against Russian sports arose, the main need became to organize competitive practice for our athletes. The ban, which was introduced a year and a half ago, forced us to adjust the preparation plan, but did not limit the possibility of foreign athletes participating [in competitions] in Russia. Athletes who began to come to us say that competitions can and should be held here.

“We are eliminating the injustice that was committed by the IOC against our athletes. The Friendship Games, which will be held with great success next year, will serve two purposes: the peaceful mission of sport and the free participation of all athletes in competitions. And it is very important.

“They will eliminate the injustice of our athletes being excluded from international competitions. All three missions correspond to the Olympic ideals. Therefore, the speech of the head of the IOC is puzzling.”

Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin echoed the explanation that the Friendship Games and other 2024 events are not designed to compete with the IOC:

“The first global project will be the ‘Games of the Future’ in Kazan. The Games of the BRICS countries in an open format will be held in Kazan in June, and the final big project in Russia will be the Friendship Games.

“We are not considering and have never positioned one, nor the second, nor the third event as a kind of alternative to anything else. These are independent new projects. They are aimed at creating a competitive environment here, ensuring Russian athletes participate in competitions on an international scale, which is still being hampered by some international federations and the International Olympic Committee.

“But we don’t have to prove anything to anyone. We have defined the standards for major projects. Russia was the host of the World Championships in football, athletics and aquatics, held two Universiades, and the Olympic Games in Sochi. I think everyone understands that Russia is a powerful and very reliable partner in the world of sports, and if we initiate something, we always act not against someone, but for. For development.”

● Athletics ● The Canadian site Athletics Illustrated cited comments from Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya head Sarah Shubutse that a major doping shock is coming:

“At the end of this month, we will sanction numerous athletes across part of our strategy in fighting the vice as we prepare for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France. We want to send clean athletes to the Olympics to avoid the shame the nation has received in recent major championships.”

She said that ADAK is getting better at finding the athletes they need to find:

“We are now getting to know their (athletes in hiding) information. We are gathering information about their training camps, their coaches and their managers.”

But be warned, a shock is coming.

Scottish ultra-marathoner Joasia Zakrzewski, 47, was banned by UK Athletics for 12 months for using a car for part of a race in which she “finished” in third place. The BBC reported:

“Zakrzewski accepted a medal and trophy for finishing third in the 2023 GB Ultras Manchester to Liverpool 50-mile race on 7 April.

“Tracking information later showed she travelled by car for about 2.5 miles before continuing the race.”

She was disqualified on 18 April, and the matter was referred to the UK Athletics disciplinary board.

● Football ● An anniversary reminder from Juan “Cheche” Vidal of the World Cup USA 1994 organizing committee on Thursday of the 28th anniversary of debut of the FIFA.com Web site. Per Vidal’s post on LinkedIn:

“[T]he actual birth of this pioneer sports information service on the internet was November 1994, when I presented the prototype of the portal to the then President Joao Havelange [BRA] and the then General Secretary Sepp Blatter [SUI] at the old FIFA headquarters in Zurich.

“My associate Alex Holt, also a colleague from the technology team of USA 94, helped me present the FIFA.com prototype. [Alex’s] historic role is still relevant, as he continues delivering information today as a senior editor of the official FIFA portal.

“Furthermore, FIFA.com was inspired on an even earlier technology milestone: the 1st ever official portal in the World Wide Web for an international sporting event, one of the groundbreaking solutions we developed for USA 1994 as part of a vision I had written in 1990.

“Interestingly, all the mission critical solutions created to run the 1994 World Cup were granted to FIFA as part of USA 1994’s legacy, a legacy that had a profound impact on the operations of FIFA World Cups for decades.”

Vidal founded a company which ran the FIFA.com service from 1995 to 2003, when FIFA took up the rights for themselves into the future. It’s another legacy of the under-appreciated 1994 World Cup organizers in the U.S., which changed the future of football not only in the United States, but as Vidal notes, created FIFA’s digital future as well.

● Gymnastics ● The Federation Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) announced that the Women’s Technical Committee has approved the Yurchenko double pike vault as the “Biles 2″ elements in the FIG Code of Points after Simone Biles performed it at the World Artistic Championships in Antwerp (BEL). From the announcement:

“From now on the ‘YDP’ will be called the Biles 2, the FIG Women’s Technical Committee (WTC) announced this week. The ‘2′ is because Biles pioneered a different vault named for her in 2018.

“The Biles 2 vault is the fifth skill named for the U.S. superstar, approaching a record in the Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Code of Points. Only five-time Olympic champion Nellie Kim (URS), with seven, has more. Kenzo Shirai (JPN) and Saeedreza Keikha (IRI) each have six elements named for them in the men’s Code of Points.”

Biles’ new vault is one of four elements to be named for their creators following the Antwerp World Championships; Georgia Godwin (AUS) and Kaylia Nemour (ALG) had elements named for them on the Uneven Bars, and Alissa Moerz (AUT) had an element named on Floor Exercise.

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TSX REPORT: Queensland sets hefty Brisbane ‘32 legacy targets; U.S. swimmers in world top-10 in 33 of 34 events in 2023! Russia screams at IOC again

Rich Perelman

November 16, 2023

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

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. Brisbane 2032 legacy vision underlines Games limitations
2. U.S. swimmers finish in top-10 in 33 of 34 events in 2023
3. Compromise: U.S. marathon trials to start at 10 a.m.
4. Russia hits back at Bach’s slap at Friendship Games
5. Saudi funding to re-arrange pro cycling?

● Queensland released a 68-page Legacy Strategy plan for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, looking ahead to how the event could impact the area not only for the 10-year lead-up, but for the 10 years after, to 2042. A lot of the goals are in areas that should be attended to whether the Games are there or not, but an in-depth analysis shows there might be a legacy breakthrough opportunity in an undiscovered area that could be significant.

● A breakdown of the top performers in swimming in 2023 showed that U.S. athletes had at least one place in the top 10 in 33 of 34 individual events! Australia was next with 26 and while there were 85 American performers on the top-10 lists, no other nation had more than 44. Wow.

● A compromise start time of 10 a.m. was announced for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Orlando, Florida on 3 February 2024, two hours earlier than the first-announced noon start. The weather will be cooler, but could still be in the 70s!

● Russian politicians – not sports officials – hit back hard at International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach and his Monday caution to the International Federations against participation in the Russia-hosted BRICS Games next June or its World Friendship Games in September.

● Reports in British media revealed that the Saudi Public Investment Fund is working on a plan to support and re-arrange the men’s professional cycling tour, adding to their investments in auto racing, football, golf and others. Whether the sport’s biggest players will agree is unknown.

● World Championships: Football (U.S. among the undefeateds so far at FIFA men’s U-17 World Cup) ●

● Panorama: Deaflympics (2: Canada withdraws over Middle East conflict; ICSD signs agreement with United World Wrestling) = Aquatics (Qatar offering travel packages for 2024 Worlds) = Cycling (riders who made racist video in China disciplined by UCI) = Football (UEFA and adidas announce “connected ball” for EURO 2024) ●

1.
Brisbane 2032 legacy vision underlines Games limitations

“This is a vision of what is possible and it is the first step on our legacy journey. As we move collectively towards the Games, we will also need the energy, participation and commitment of our diverse communities and vibrant businesses to bring Elevate 2042 to life. This way we can ensure we make the most of the very special opportunity to shape our future the Games provides to all of us.”

A 68-page research and strategy document produced by the Queensland government titled “Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games Legacy Strategy” was released on 10 November and outlined a shared vision of what Brisbane and Queensland could be in 2042, 10 years after the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

It’s ambitious and forthright, reflecting a disciplined process of input from the public, divided into four sectors of effort and a total of 15 themes. This is a potentially important roadmap, which is aspirational, but also at odds with what the current view of the Olympic Games should be. The sectors and themes:

● Sport, health and inclusion
1. An active and healthy lifestyle
2. A high performance sports system
3. Equity in sports participation

● Connecting people and places
4. A more connected and accessible South East Queensland
5. Creating more great places and precincts
6. Celebrating First Nations cultures, languages and stories

● A better future for our environment
7. Caring for country together
8. Maximizing sustainability benefits
9. Protecting and regenerating habitat and biodiversity
10. Accelerating the transition to renewable energy

● Economy of the future
11. Advancing our global image and identity
12. Made in Queensland, growing local and small business
13. Advancing equitable economic participation
14. Encouraging innovation, future jobs and sectors
15. Fostering arts, culture and creativity

Surrounding these concepts are two mandates, “Respecting, advancing and celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples” and “Advancing accessibility and empowering people with disability.”

The overarching vision is expressed as “By 2042, we will live in an inclusive, sustainable and connected society, with more opportunities in life for everyone.” But the report says – on page four – that there are limits:

“The delivery of two significant global events acknowledged for their athletes-first focus and exceptional spectator and fan experiences, is at the heart of our endeavour. More than this, we have committed to deliver a positive meaningful legacy before, during and after the Games – one that advances the sustainable development of our region and deepens the relationships between our communities.

“Whilst the legacy from the Games can do many things, it cannot do everything. Creating a clear and compelling view of future success specific to our context and community will be the starting point for legacy planning, setting out what we want to achieve and where to focus our endeavours to provide the greatest opportunities for transforming lives.”

For the most part, the sectors and themes are macro-economic and cultural targets that are desirable regardless of whether the Olympic Games will come to Brisbane or not. The projected Brisbane 2032 organizing committee’s budget is A$5 billion, or about $3.25 billion U.S. across the ten years from 2023-32, against a Queensland gross domestic product of A$447.49 billion for 2022 alone (~ $291.32 billion U.S.).

It’s a high-profile drop in the bucket.

But there will be economic impact created by the 2032 Games. Those targets are already established, as the report notes (A$1 = $0.65 U.S.):

“Research forecast the Games will deliver circa $8.1 billion AUD in direct social and economic benefits to the Queensland economy ($17.6 billion AUD nationally) including increased trade and tourism of $4.6 billion AUD to Queensland ($8.5 billion AUD nationally).”

And there is no doubt that the Games, as one of the most recognizable events in the world, will attract a lot of attention, locally, nationally and internationally. The Legacy Strategy study notes that these need to be taken advantage of in the right way.

Observed: The hoped-for outcomes in the study are good goals for any society, but will not be driven by the Olympic and Paralympic Games, especially now.

The desire to host an Olympic Games in the past was often related to construction and rebuilding. Japan wanted the 1964 Games to show it had emerged from the nationalist disaster of World War II. Munich won the right to stage the Games of the XX Olympiad in 1966, just more than 20 years after the end of the war, with the idea to rebuild an area which had been a collector site for rubble from Allied bombing. London ran after the 2012 Games in order to rejuvenate its East End, which needed redevelopment.

That’s over. The International Olympic Committee’s Olympic Agenda 2020 and Olympic Agenda 2020+5 now urge host cities to build nothing, use existing or temporary sites and be as economical with energy, infrastructure and waste as technically possible.

And all the chatter in Queensland these days is over the cost of the government’s plans to refurbish the famed Brisbane Cricket Ground (The Gabba) and build a new arena nearby for A$2.7 billion (~$1.76 billion U.S.).

It will be fascinating to see how the Brisbane 2032 organizers try to take on some of these themes, from the government’s legacy strategy. Certainly themes 6 (celebrating First Nations), 10 (renewable energy) and the economic areas (11-15) can be demonstrated. If the organizers get excited, they could serve as a generator for best-practice templates that can be rolled out to the public and private sectors after the Games … if they are successful.

If any of this really works, perhaps the real legacy from Brisbane will be how governments at all levels and the private sector can actually work together. That would be an almost unimaginable breakthrough to be emulated in cities, states and nations around the world for the next century.

2.
U.S. swimmers finish in top-10 in 33 of 34 events in 2023

There’s depth and then there’s placing one or more swimmers in the top-10 in the world in 33 of 34 individual events in 2023. That’s what USA Swimming has done in The Sports Examiner’s review of 2023. Impressive to say the least!

In the men’s individual events – 14 Olympic events and three 50 m events added for the World Championships – the U.S. had at least one top-10 performer this year in 13 of 14 and 16 of 17 events. And the American men had by far the most top-10 swimmers among all countries (counting all 17 events):

● 1. United States, 33 top-10 performers
● 2. Australia and China, 14
● 4. Russia, 12
● 5. France and Germany, 11
● 7. Japan, 10
● 8. Great Britain, 9
● 9. Hungary and Italy, 8

The only event in which the U.S. did not have a performer was in the 400 m Freestyle, where David Johnston ranked 14th at 3:45.75.

Among the women, Australia is a stronger competitor to the U.S., but the American women also scored a top-10 performer in all 17 events and averaged more than three top-10 performers in each event! The numbers:

● 1. United States, 52 top-10 performers
● 2. Australia, 30
● 3. China, 18
● 4. Canada, 14
● 5. Italy and Japan, 6
● 7. Netherlands, 5
● 8. Great Britain, Russia, South Africa and Sweden, 4

The U.S. depth was so strong, there were two events – the 200 m Backstroke and 100 m Butterfly – where Americans held five of the top-10 rankings!

Added together, the U.S., Australia and China are the world’s strongest swimming nations by depth of performers (34 events total):

● 1. United States, 85 top-10 performers (in 33 events!)
● 2. Australia, 44 (in 26)
● 3. China, 32 (in 25)
● 4. Canada, 17 (in 14)
● 5. Russia, 16 (in 14)
● 6. Japan, 16 (in 12)
● 7. Italy and Germany 14 (both in 9)
● 9. France, 13 (in 12)
● 10. Great Britain, 13 (in 9)

These power rankings correspond well – but not exactly – with the medal count at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships for swimming, where the U.S. led with 38 medals (7-20-11), followed by Australia (25: 13-7-5), then China with 16 (5-3-8). Great Britain (8), France (6), Canada (6) and Italy (6) came next. Russia was not allowed to compete and Japan (two medals) and Germany (one) did not perform as well at the Worlds as their seasonal results showed.

3.
Compromise: U.S. marathon trials to start at 10 a.m.

After a furious back-and-forth between athletes, USA Track & Field and the Orlando organizers and race directors, a compromise was announced on the start time of the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials on 3 February 2024:

“In collaboration and consultation with feedback from the athletes regarding concerns around weather conditions, it has been agreed that the start time for the event will be moved to 10:00 a.m. ET.

“The decision to bring forward the start time to 10:00 a.m. ET was made following extensive meetings to address the concerns of athletes. The USOPC, USATF and GO Sports worked closely together to consult all stakeholders to ensure the best solution for all involved. After extensive scenario planning and multiple conversations with partners, a collective decision to bring the start time forward was made. The earlier start time will help provide an improved experience for athletes, spectators, and event staff, ensuring the comfort and safety of all involved. Additionally, robust contingency plans will be in place for further adjustments should projected weather conditions make it necessary.”

The original announced start time of 12 p.m. Eastern time was supposedly to support a live national telecast on NBC, but it was later apparent that the interest in this time was elsewhere, either with the Greater Orlando Sports Commission or USA Track & Field. The race directors, Track Shack, said in a reply to an athlete letter that the federation wanted the noon start and suggested an 8 a.m. start.

But all sides are now agreed on the 10 a.m. timing, with the 10-year temperatures averaging 3.5 degrees less than with a noon start (Orlando International Airport readings):

● 2014: 75 F at 10 a.m. ~ 82 F at noon
● 2015: 54 F at 10 a.m. ~ 62 F at noon
● 2016: 76 F at 10 a.m. ~ 81 F at noon
● 2017: 71 F at 10 a.m. ~ 77 F at noon
● 2018: 64 F at 10 a.m. ~ 69 F at noon
● 2019: 64 F at 10 a.m. ~ 67 F at noon
● 2020: 64 F at 10 a.m. ~ 69 F at noon
● 2021: 45 F at 10 a.m. ~ 51 F at noon
● 2022: 74 F at 10 a.m. ~ 81 F at noon
● 2023: 74 F at 10 a.m. ~ 73 F at noon

Nevertheless, a 10 a.m. start would have had temperatures from 71-74 degrees in five of the last 10 years. There is agreement for now, but the debate will continue.

4.
Russia hits back at Bach’s slap at Friendship Games

“In the abbreviation of the IOC, the letter ‘M’ does not mean a monopoly on the sports world.

“The sports world is much more multifaceted, covering a huge number of countries. The formats of competitions can be different, different countries can initiate them, all this can happen outside the context of the IOC. Everyone must understand this.”

That’s Russian government spokesman Dmitry Peskov, complaining to reporters about the criticism from International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach (GER) on Monday at the SportAccord International Federation Forum in Lausanne; Peskov added:

“We strongly disagree with the line that the IOC has taken towards our athletes in the context of their Olympic prospects.”

Bach pointed to the interference of governments in sports during his remarks, including:

“Some want to decide which athletes can compete in which competitions. Others want to decide where your competitions can take place. Still others want to organise their own political sports events. Especially the latter would mean a government takeover of international sport. If they succeed with this, your role and the role of the Olympic Movement would become obsolete. …

“For all these reasons, I call on all of you to stand against such politicised sport. None of us should participate in any way in such politically motivated sports events.”

Russian officials took this as a direct attack on its planned hosting of a BRICS Games (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) in June 2024 in Kazan – just prior to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games – and a World Friendship Games from 15-29 September in Russia and possibly also in Belarus.

The World Friendship Games organizing committee issued a statement saying it has no ill intentions:

“We are surprised by the tough position the IOC and some of its senior executives have taken with regard to the World Friendship Games being held in Russia. Our goal was never confrontation with the IOC or holding competitions that went against the Olympic Movement.”

“For Russian athletes who have been excluded from major international competitions, the World Friendship Games are intended to become the most important sporting event in recent years and provide an opportunity to compete in a representative international sports forum with the strongest foreign athletes, as well as provide motivation and support to continue an active professional career. In turn, a significant prize fund and comfortable conditions for participation make the Friendship Games commercially attractive for athletes from all continents, for whom we guarantee to perform with the flag and anthem of their country without any restrictions or conditions.”

State Duma Committee on Physical Culture and Sports head Dmitry Svishchev told the Russian news agency TASS:

“The IOC was afraid of competition and the number of countries that have already expressed a desire to participate in the World Friendship Games. I believe that the organization, which talks about the politicization of sports, has long been mired in this. And now it is trying to give recommendations to the national Olympic committees of countries, individual athletes who have already expressed their interest.”

State Duma member – and 2006 Olympic gold medalist in speed skating – Svetlana Zhurova also criticized the IOC:

“They accuse us of being politicized, but we have been barred from international competitions and we now come up with our own formats [Games] and it is absolutely normal. …

“The IOC certainly does not want the see the organization of BRICS Games, the World Friendship Games, because one way or the other most of the major tournaments are held under the patronage of the IOC while there is no coordination with the global organization in this case.

“They realize that we will have a large representation of international athletes, who will not be coordinating anything with the IOC, while our competitions will be of a great success. We offer excellent conditions, good prize-money rewards and I’m sure that our tournaments will be interesting for all athletes around the globe.”

The IOC Executive Board approved a 25 February 2022 statement on sanctions against Russia and Belarus which included a recommendation not to holds events there:

“The IOC EB today urges all International Sports Federations to relocate or cancel their sports events currently planned in Russia or Belarus. They should take the breach of the Olympic Truce by the Russian and Belarussian governments into account and give the safety and security of the athletes absolute priority. The IOC itself has no events planned in Russia or Belarus.”

5.
Saudi funding to re-arrange pro cycling?

Ready for a Saudi Arabian takeover of cycling? It might be coming, as detailed in a story from the British site Cyclist.

The concept would be, with funding from the Saudi Public Investment Fund – the folks who helped create LIV Golf and have invested in the English Premier League, Formula 1 and elsewhere – to create a new version of the UCI World Tour.

In 2023, the Tour had 35 races, featuring the famed Grand Tours – Giro d’Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana – along with 12 other multi-stage races and 20 one-day races, often conflicting with each other. For example, the popular Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico multi-stage events were held on the same dates in March.

The Tuesday story by reporter Flo Clifford attributed the potential new league to One Cycling, promoted by the Dutch Jumbo-Visma team and the Belgian Soudal-QuickStep team. Several other World Tour teams are also interested.

News of the idea broke in an October report by RadioCycling:

“It revealed the PIF’s involvement and a competitive, week-in-week-out ‘Champions League’ format, which could be in place as early as 2026, complete with a points rankings system to determine an overall champion at the end of the year.”

But there are many questions, including the so-far-unstated view of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), which governs the World Tour, and the race promoter, notably the Amaury Sports Organisation, which owns and operates the Tour de France among many other races.

The teams are interested because, under the current system, the races are owned by promoters, who can sell the television rights and sponsorships, with nothing going directly to the teams, who have to raise their own sponsorships.

However, a better-organized circuit, with a less burdensome calendar, would end up killing some races. Moreover, the chatter has so far not included any mention of the UCI Women’s World Tour, which the UCI is trying to upgrade with more races (27 events in 2023) and more money.

And what of the reception of the riders, teams and promoters to support from the Saudi Public Investment Fund, which has been such a controversy in golf?

≡ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS ≡

● Football ● Two-thirds of the group-stage matches have been concluded at the FIFA men’s U-17 World Cup in Indonesia, with six teams out of 24 having won their first two matches and assured of moving on to the elimination round:

● Group B: Spain (2-0)
● Group C: England (2-0)
● Group D: Senegal (2-0)
● Group E: France and the U.S. (2-0)
● Group F: Germany (2-0)

The American men defeated South Korea, 3-1, and Burkina Faso by 2-1 and will face France for the group title on 18th.

Ecuador is the leader in Group A to 1-0-1 (W-L-T), ahead of Morocco (1-1-0).

The only crazy scores have come from Group C, where England crushed New Caledonia, 10-0, and Brazil beat New Caledonia, 9-0.

The elimination rounds begin on 22 November, with the championship match on 2 December.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Deaflympics ● Another casualty of the Hamas attack on Israel and Israel’s response has come from the Canadian Deaf Sports Association, which announced Wednesday:

“The CDSA has decided to withdraw its ice-hockey and curling teams from the Games despite their extensive planning and diligent training and the sacrifices they have made in preparing for the competition. The current geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East has left us with limited choices.”

The 2024 Winter Deaflympics is scheduled for 18-28 February 2024 in Ankara.

Good news for deaf wrestlers, as the International Committee for Sports for the Deaf (ICSD) signed a four-year memorandum of understanding with United World Wrestling:

“The MoU will enable both organizations to work together to help and assist deaf wrestlers around the world to take up, participate, and develop in wrestling.

“Both UWW and ICSD will also work to develop wrestling for deaf women, search for common strategies, and establish actions to preserve wrestling against the dangers of doping and violence. UWW has also agreed to collaborate for the training of officials.”

● Aquatics ● If you’re thinking about going to the World Aquatics Championships next February, the destination management agency of Qatar Airways wants to talk:

“In partnership with Discover Qatar, Doha 2024 is thrilled to offer a variety of exceptional ticket options for those planning to travel and witness their favourite aquatic athletes in action in 2024.”

The World Aquatics Championships will be held between 2 and 18 February, followed by the World Aquatics Masters Championships from 23 February to 3 March in Doha.

Tourism is a significant part of the reason why Qatar – and other Gulf states, now including Saudi Arabia – are so keen on hosting major international sporting events, which most recently included the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

The Web presentation of the packages include a selection of hotels and other options, but without any package pricing being posted. Tickets are being sold separately.

● Cycling ● The Union Cycliste Internationale announced the conclusion of disciplinary actions against two riders, who were withdrawn from the Gree – Tour of Guangxi in China in October:

“The incident involved the publication of a video on [Belgian] Gerben Thijssen’s Instagram account with an image of Madis Mihkels [EST] making a racist and discriminatory gesture. Both riders acknowledged the violation of article 12. 4.004 of the UCI Regulations and accepted the sanctions proposed by the UCI. Besides the immediate withdrawal from the Gree – Tour of Guangxi, in China, by their team – Intermarche-Circus-Wanty (BEL) –, they shall each pay a fine and physically attend an educational course on the fight against discrimination.

“Upon ratification of the proposed sanctions by the UCI Disciplinary Commission, the proceedings were settled by means of an Acceptance of Consequences pursuant to article 12.6.019 of the UCI Regulations.”

● Football ● UEFA and adidas announced the Official Match Ball of EURO 2024, the men’s continental championship, called FUSSBALLLIEBE – “love of football” in German – with some special features:

“FUSSBALLLIEBE features adidas Connected Ball Technology for the first time at a UEFA EURO – providing unprecedented insight into every element of the movement of the ball and contributing to UEFA’s video assistant refereeing decision-making process.”

In other words, the ball will have more to say about goals and offsides calls than before.

The design is also unique, with illustrations of each EURO 2024 stadium on the ball, with the name of the host city.

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TSX REPORT: French authorities disclose Azeri disinfo effort vs. Paris 2024; Games traffic will be difficult; Emma Hayes confirmed as USWNT coach

Rich Perelman

November 15, 2023

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

★ To get The Sports Examiner by e-mail: sign up here! ★

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

1. French note Azeri disinformation campaign vs. Paris 2024
2. French transport minister says Paris 2024 traffic “complicated”
3. U.S. Soccer announces Emma Hayes as women’s coach
4. USA Wrestling announces $380,000 in World Champs bonuses
5. Skating’s core audience maintained against the NFL

● The French government’s digital watchdog agency said that an Azeri disinformation campaign had been launched against Paris 2024, beginning in July. Carried primarily on X (ex-Twitter), it depicted images of riots against symbols of France and Paris 2024. The agency previously detected a Russian effort in June against the French government.

● The French transport minister told hotel and restaurant representatives that traffic in Paris during the Olympic period in 2024 will be “complicated.” The detailed plan for transportation is due to be presented at the end of November or in early December.

● U.S. Soccer formally announced the hiring of Chelsea coach Emma Hayes, born in England, but with long experience in the U.S. She has been a sensation for Chelsea, establishing it as the premier club team in England. She will start next year, following the close of the current club season.

● American wrestlers who won medals at the 2023 UWW World Championships received bonuses of $380,000 from the Living the Dream Medal Fund. The four gold winners each received $50,000, with $25,000 for the three silver medalists and $15,000 for the seven bronze medalists. For Paris, the Fund will offer prizes of $250,000, $50,000 and $25,000 for medal-winning performances!

● The core audience for U.S. figure skating appears to be about 600,000 off of the latest television viewing statistics, after the fourth ISU Grand Prix highlights broadcast pn NBC last Sunday drew 606,000 in direct competition with the NFL. The prior three Grand Prix audiences were close to that number.

● Panorama: Russia (2: Ski federation chief says feds will beg Russians to come back; Olympic Committee calls gymnastics re-entry regs “segregation”) = Alpine Skiing (Shiffrin names her seventh reindeer) = Athletics (Crouser and Lyles finalists for men’s athlete of the year) = Ice Hockey (English police arrest suspect in Johnson’s throat-slash death) = Luge (Gustafson and Farquharson win U.S. individual titles) ●

1.
French note Azeri disinformation campaign vs. Paris 2024

“The investigations showed that at least one foreign actor close to Azerbaijan had acted, via the use of unauthentic processes, with the objective of harming at France’s reputation in its capacity to host the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

That’s from a report from the French state agency for Vigilance and Protection against Foreign Digital Interference (VIGINUM) made available to media on Monday.

An inquiry was opened in late July after “several visuals calling for a boycott of the 2024 Olympics” were posted on X (formerly Twitter), showing rioting, Paris and the Paris 2024 logo, accompanied by hashtags #PARIS2024 and #BOYCOTTPARIS2024. On 26 and 27 July, more than 1,600 posts using these items were seen on X, with about 90 accounts doing the posting, which the report classified as “suggesting artificial amplification.”

Of these, 40 accounts were created in July alone and carried only anti-Paris 2024 messages. Of these accounts, “a significant proportion had at least one link to Azerbaijan,” showing the Azerbaijani flag, locations in the country or quotes from Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

Agence France Presse reported:

“The account @MuxtarYev published 15 visuals calling for a boycott, which were then amplified by inauthentic accounts and picked up by X accounts linked to Azerbaijan — a pattern that ‘reinforces the hypothesis of a coordinated manoeuvre,’ Viginum said.

“Created in June 2023, the @MuxtarYev account claims to be located in Azerbaijan.

“The name Muxtar Nagiyev and the account’s profile photo coincide with the identity of the chairman of the Sabail district organisation of the New Azerbaijan party, the ex-Soviet country’s ruling party.”

Relations between Azerbaijan and France have been strained over the September Azeri takeover of the Nagorno-Karabakh area, also claimed by Armenia.

The Paris 2024 organizers stated on Tuesday, “Between now and the Games, Paris 2024 will continue to monitor, in conjunction with the relevant authorities, the veracity of information circulating about the event and its organisation.”

The disclosure of the VIGINUM report follows an International Olympic Committee statement last Thursday condemning “fake news posts targeting the IOC,” notably on the Telegram social-media service and others.

VIGINUM previously announced a Russian disinformation campaign in June, “involving Russian actors and to which government bodies or bodies affiliated with the Russian State have participated by spreading misinformation.

“This campaign consists, among other things, of creating fake web pages usurping the identity of national media outlets and government websites as well as creating fake accounts on social media. …

“VIGINUM has also observed that several government bodies or bodies affiliated with the Russian State participated in spreading certain content produced under this campaign.”

2.
French transport minister says Paris 2024 traffic “complicated”

“By the end of November, at the very beginning of December at the latest, the long-awaited traffic plans in Paris will be presented. I will not hide from you that these traffic plans … they will be ‘hardcore.’

“On competition days, it will be complicated to get around Paris.”

That’s French Transport Minister Clement Beaune, speaking on Tuesday to the Group of Hotels and Restaurants of France, explaining what they should expect from the government in order to make their own plans for deliveries, guests and staff.

Beaune said there would be further discussions with the group and others concerning traffic flows and restrictions. Also:

“There will be an information campaign both on anticipation of the Games, how to ensure that we have a little less unnecessary travel … during the Games,” and “to explain this, what happens during the Games: the plans, the exemptions, those who have the right to travel.”

Transportation is one of the most complex and unforgiving aspects of any Olympic Games, with priority given to athletes, teams and sports officials who need to get to their venues, along with television production crews, technical and security staff and volunteers, along with media and, of course, spectators. For those simply living in the host city, daily life can get re-arranged pretty quickly.

The transportation authorities, especially in the Ile-de-France region that includes Paris, have consistently warned about preparations, even as to a limit for the Opening Ceremonies on the Seine River that would be limited to the capacity of the public transit systems close to the river.

3.
U.S. Soccer announces Emma Hayes as women’s coach

Although already widely publicized, U.S. Soccer formally announced the hiring of Chelsea women’s coach Emma Hayes (GBR) as the new head coach of the U.S. Women’s National Team.

Hayes, 47, has plenty of American experience, having worked in the U.S. since 2001 and served as the head coach of the Chicago Red Stars of Women’s Professional Soccer from 2008-10. She was hired by Chelsea in 2012 and will serve to the end of this season, having compiled a brilliant 237-58-39 record (W-L-T) so far.

She was named “Best FIFA Football Coach” in 2021 and her Chelsea squad won five Women’s F.A. Cup titles in 2015-18-21-22-23 and six F.A. Women’s Super League trophies, in 2015-18-20-21-22-23.

According to the announcement:

“Hayes will finish the 2023-24 Women’s Super League season in England and then join the U.S. team officially two months prior to the start of the 2024 Olympics. Interim head coach Twila Kilgore will continue in her role and then join Hayes’ staff full-time as an assistant coach.”

She will have four matches as the head of the USWNT prior to the start of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Hayes was asked about moving on from Chelsea, where she has had so much success:

“I’m sure everybody can understand when you’ve been associated with a club for almost 12 years, a club built from the bottom up, they’ve become my family, become so much of my own identity. Without question it pulled up my heartstrings because I care so much for the players and everybody that I’ve built relationships with.

“But I’m all about challenge. We’ve won a lot at Chelsea and I’m very proud of that, and I’m proud of the fact that I can leave that club in a better place and one that I hope continues to compete. But for me, the challenge of competing for World Cups, for Olympics, the dream of coaching a team that I’ve always wanted to get the opportunity to, I simply couldn’t turn it down.”

And Hayes has a clear concept of what she will be expected to produce:

“I understand how important the team is to people and culture of the United States.

“This is not just about the soccer community and I fully understand the prestige and place that the team has in U.S. society. I’ve lived it. I remember being a young coach working my way up through the system in the U.S. and watching all those young girls aspire to play on the U.S. Women’s National Team.

“For me, the honor of building on that legacy is part of my motivation, no question. I have watched all the teams endlessly since I was a teenager. I have coached players at different points that have been across the program. I understand what it means to the U.S. people, and I will do everything possible to make sure that we compete on the top end, because in the world game there’s no denying the gaps have closed worldwide so it’s important we work hard, but we work together because we’re not going achieve that alone. It’s the entire ecosystem and landscape that has to cooperate to make sure that the U.S. Women’s National Team is at the top of the podium. That’s our objective.”

Hayes follows Vlatko Andonovski as the head coach of the American women’s team. He had a shiny 51-5-9 (W-L-T) record from 2019-2023, but the U.S. was eliminated by Sweden in the first playoff round at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. He is now the head coach of the Kansas City Current of the NWSL.

4.
USA Wrestling announces $380,000 in World Champs bonuses

U.S. wrestlers who won medals at the recent UWW World Championships in Serbia received a total of $380,000 in bonuses from the federation’s Living the Dream Medal Fund, with the bonus total across 14 years now totaling $5.060 million paid to 46 athletes.

There were 14 Americans who won medals in Belgrade, each receiving significant amounts:

● Gold: $50,000, awarded to Vito Arauju (men’s 61 kg Freestyle), Zain Retherford (men’s 70 kg Freestyle), David Taylor (men’s 86 kg Freestyle) and Amit Elor (women’s 72 kg Freestyle).

● Silver: $25,000, awarded to Kyle Dake (men’s 74 kg Freestyle), Jacarra Winchester (women’s 55 kg Freestyle) and Macey Kilty (women’s 65 kg Freestyle).

● Bronze: $15,000, awarded to Zahid Valencia (men’s 92 kg Freestyle), Kyle Snyder (men’s 97 kg Freestyle), Mason Parris (men’s 125 kg Freestyle), Sarah Hildebrandt (women’s 50 kg Freestyle), Helen Maroulis (women’s 57 kg Freestyle), Jennifer Page (women’s 59 kg Freestyle), and Adeline Gray (women’s 76 kg Freestyle).

The fund is supported by private donations and direct support from USA Wrestling and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee. The amounts in World Championship years exceeds the Operation Gold amounts offered by the USOPC for Olympic medals of $37,500-22,500-15,000.

For Olympic medals, the Living the Dream Medal Fund payments are sensational, with $250,000-50,000-25,000 offered for Paris in 2024.

The total payout for 2023 ($380,000) was down from 2022, when 15 wrestlers won prizes, including seven gold winners for a total of $530,000.

The 2021-24 quadrennial is shaping up to be the best yet in terms of payout, with $1,360,000 already awarded for the 2021, 2022 and 2023 Worlds. The prior quad payouts have included:

● $1,850,000 for 2017-20
● $1,075,000 for 2013-16
● $775,000 for 2009-12

The all-time Fund payments leader is 2012 Olympic winner and six-time World Champion Jordan Burroughs, with $595,000, with Snyder – the Rio 2016 gold medalist – the only other recipient over $500,000, at $530,000.

5.
Skating’s core audience maintained against the NFL

After four stops on the ISU Grand Prix circuit for 2023, the core U.S. TV audience for figure skating in the U.S. has become clear at about 600,000.

The latest evidence came from the fourth leg of the tour, the Cup of China last weekend. Right-holder NBC keeps the live programming on its Peacock subscription streaming service, then shows a highlights package on Sunday or even a week later.

So for the Cup of China last Sunday (12th), the NBC highlights show came on at 3:00 p.m. Eastern, right up against the final hour of the 1:00 p.m. games which drew 28.8 million on Fox and CBS combined.

The average audience was 606,000, right in line with the other Grand Prix stops on NBC so far:

● Oct. 21 (Sat.): 191.000 on E! for Skate America: live
● Oct. 22 (Sun.): 699,000 on NBC for Skate America: delayed
● Nov. 04 (Sat.): 622,000 on NBC for Skate Canada International: delayed
● Nov. 05 (Sun.): 551,000 on NBC for the Grand Prix of France: delayed

The Grand Prix moves back to Europe this week, for the Grand Prix Espoo in Finland from 17-19 November and then finishes its regular season in Japan and following week for the NHK Trophy in Osaka. The Grand Prix Final will be held from 7-10 December in Beijing.

≡ PANORAMA ≡

● Russia ● The President of the Russian Ski Federation, Elena Vyalbe, told reporters on Tuesday that the IOC and other sports organizations will be asking for Russians to return to competition:

“What [IOC President Thomas] Bach [GER] says today does not mean that tomorrow it will be the same repeated words again; he can say something of his own, come up with something new. His last statement was that he is not very happy that we are holding tournaments, that it could affect the reputation and interest in international organizations that have been around for a long time.

“My deep conviction is that Bach and not only him, but also the top IOC staff do not have the right to say what they would like to say.

“I’m sure that he, as a former athlete, would like everyone to compete, but there are sponsors who dictate what should be done. So you have to cancel Russia: they canceled us. But from nothing, let’s wait, they themselves will come crawling on their knees, they will still beg.”

Asked about Russian participation in the 2026 Winter Games in Italy, she replied:

“Do I believe in competing at the 2026 Olympics? I’m an optimist in life, so we need to believe to the last that sooner or later, of course, we will be allowed to participate in international competitions, including the Olympics. …

“There is faith that we will take part [in the Games] in 2026, why shouldn’t there be this faith?”

As for the participation regulations issued by the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), the Russian Olympic Committee issued another statement, that included:

“The FIG issued a list of requirements for the admission of Russians to competitions, this document reads like a real ode to segregation. It simply talks about the complete neutralization of the color scheme of competitive equipment and equipment, and the already most impersonal gymnasts and gymnasts are invited to perform in a single-color outfit. In artistic gymnastics, where leotard design is a separate art and an element of production, which is of great importance for the integrity of any image and performance, respectively, its visual perception and evaluation.

“The policy of double standards and discrimination based on nationality seems to abolish all moral and ethical norms and common sense in the Olympic movement.”

● Alpine Skiing ● American skiing superstar Mikaela Shiffrin posted on X (ex-Twitter) a note on her seventh Levi reindeer naming:

“Loved all the suggestions for reindeer names that everyone sent (head over to Insta to see all of the ideas)! Finally landed on one that I don’t think too many people would expect: Grogu!”

She included a photo of her and Grogu, with the animal distinctly nonplussed; Shiffrin commented: “Thank goodness [boyfriend] @AleksanderKilde [NOR] doesn’t look at me like this when I try to kiss him”

● Athletics ● The finalists for the World Athletics’ Men’s World Athlete of the Year were announced Tuesday, including two U.S. stars:

● Neeraj Chopra (IND) ~ Worlds javelin gold, Asian Games gold
● Ryan Crouser (USA) ~ Worlds shot gold, world shot record
● Mondo Duplantis (SWE) ~ Worlds vault gold, world record
● Kelvin Kiptum (KEN) ~ Marathon world record
● Noah Lyles (USA) ~ Worlds 100/200/4×100 m golds

The announcement noted that two million votes from the public were tallied for this award, with the winner to be revealed on 11 December.

● Ice Hockey ● The South Yorkshire Police in England arrested a man on Tuesday in connection with the death of Nottingham Panthers play Adam Johnson (USA), who died after receiving a skate cut to his throat during a 28 October game against the Sheffield Steelers in Sheffield.

Johnson, 29, died afterwards. The Associated Press reported that video of the incident showed Steelers player Matt Petgrave [CAN] falling after a collision with a Panthers player and his left skate hit Johnson in the neck.

The police did not release the name of the arrested individual taken on suspicion of manslaughter.

● Luge ● USA Luge crowned its national champions in Lake Placid, New York over the weekend, with Johnny Gustafson and Ashley Farquharson taking the individual titles.

Gustafson won his second U.S. championship on a difficult track, with hard ice and a bumpy course that changed the scoring to the best combined two runs out of three. Gustafson finished his two best runs in 1:45.811, ahead of 2018 Olympic silver winner Chris Mazdzer (1:46.169) and Hunter Harris (1:46.340).

Farquharson took her first American championship in 1:30.659, comfortable ahead of junior competitors Sophia Gordon (1:32.158) and Emma Erickson (1:32.181).

Current World U-23 champs Zach DiGregorio and Sean Hollander won the men’s Doubles in 1:29.859, ahead of Marcus Mueller and Ansel Hauhsjaa (1:30.666) and debutante pair Dana Kellogg and Frank Ike (1:31.746). The women’s Doubles crown went to 2022 Worlds bronze winners Chevonne Forgan and Sophie Kirkby in 1:32.726, the only pair to post two finishes.

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