SWIMMING Preview: Pan American team spots on the line at Open Water Nationals in Miami

May 1, 2019

tsx pix 2019-402 wilimovsky, jordan 750 (2018) — World Open Water champion Jordan Wilimovsky (USA)

USA Swimming’s Open Water Nationals are on for this weekend at the Miami Marine Stadium, with racing on three days:

● 3 May: 10 km National Championships
● 4 May: 5 km National Junior Champions (16 and under)
● 5 May: 5 km National Championships

The U.S. Pan American Team will be selected from the results of this event; the top two finishers in the 10 km race will be selected to swim in Lima (PER) this summer. In the two national championships held since the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, the top U.S. finishers were:

Men:
● Jordan Wilimovsky: 2017-18 U.S. 10 km champion
● David Heron: 2018 U.S. 10 km silver medalist; 2017-18 5 km champion
● James Brinegar: 2018 U.S. 10 km bronze medalist; 2018 5 km bronze medalist
● Brendan Casey: 2017 U.S. 10 km silver; 2018 U.S. 10km fourth
● Taylor Abbott ~ 2018 Nationals 10 km fifth; 2017 U.S. 5 km bronze medalist
● Brennan Graveley ~ 2018 U.S. 5 km silver medalist
● Andrew Gemmell ~ 2017 U.S. 10 km bronze medalist; 2017 U.S. 5 km silver medalist
● Chip Peterson ~ 2017 U.S. 10 km fourth
● Simon Lamar ~ 2017 U.S. 10 km fifth

Women:
● Ashley Twichell ~ 2017-18 U.S. 10 km champion; 2017 U.S. 5 km silver medalist
● Haley Anderson ~ 2017-18 U.S. 10 km silver medalist; 2017 U.S. 5 km champion
● Erica Sullivan ~ 2018 U.S. 10 km bronze medalist; 2018 5 km champion
● Kathryn Campbell ~ 2018 U.S. 10 km fourth; 2017 U.S. 10 km fifth
● Chase Travis ~ 2018 U.S. 10 km fifth
● Hannah Moore ~ 2018 U.S. 5 km silver medalist
● Mariah Denigan ~ 2018 U.S. 5 km bronze medalist
● Becca Mann ~ 2017 U.S. 10 km bronze medalist; 2017 U.S. 5 km bronze medalist
● Cathryn Saladin ~ 2017 U.S. 10 km fourth

The swims in Miami will be on a 1.66 km, five-sized course, with a long, 635 m backstraight. International swimmers are allowed, in limited numbers, in this race and have been contenders, especially in the women’s races against Twichell and Anderson.

The U.S. has been among the power nations in Open Water swimming, with Wilimovsky winning the 2015 World Championships at 10 km and taking silver in 2017. Anderson won Olympic silver in London 2012 in the 10 km and owns Worlds golds in the 5 km from 2013 and 2015. Twichell owns the 2017 5 km World Championships gold medal, among with a 2011 bronze.

Peterson and Heron went 1-2 at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto (CAN).

The fastest way to see the results will be in the USA Swimming Live Twitter feed here.

SPORT CLIMBING Preview: Song now the favorite at second China World Cup stop in Wujiang

Rich Perelman

May 1, 2019

tsx pix 2019-501 ifsc wcup wujiang 750 — New Speed world-record holder YiLing Song is already the poster girl for this week's World Cup in Wujiang (CHN).

Sport Climbing has a new star: 18-year-old YiLing Song, who has not only won both Speed World Cups this season, but rocketed to the two fastest times in history last week on Chongqing (CHN).

Her new mark of 7.101 could be in jeopardy this week in Wujiang (CHN) for the third Speed event of the season. Song sits at a perfect 200 points so far, well ahead of two-time defending World Cup champ (and former world-record holder) Anouck Jaubert of France (135) and another former world-record holder, Iullia Kaplina (RUS: 130).

In the meantime, the other climbing superstar, Slovenia’s Janja Garnbret, also has a perfect record in 2019, with three straight victories in the Bouldering competitions. She already has a huge lead over Fanny Gibert (FRA), 300-163, with Japan’s Akiyo Noguchi third at 160.

The men’s World Cup races are a lot closer:

● Men/Bouldering:
1. 180 Adam Ondra (CZE)
2. 160 Tomoa Narasaki (JPN)
3. 143 Manuel Cornu (FRA)

● Men/Speed:
1. 143 Bassa Mawem (FRA)
2. 112 Sergey Rukin (RUS)
3. 107 Alfian Muhammad (INA)

Cornu has a surprise victory in Chongqing, after Ondra won the opener at Meiringen (SUI) and Slovenia’s Jernej Kruder took the Moscow leg. In Speed, Mawem and Muhammad have won the two legs contested so far.

The Speed competition will be held on Friday and the Bouldering final on Sunday. Look for results here.

ATHLETICS Preview: Diamond League season opens at the site of the World Champs in Doha

Rich Perelman

May 1, 2019

tsx pix 62517 crouser ryan — Shot Put superstar Ryan Crouser (USA)

The IAAF outdoor season starts in earnest on Friday with the Diamond League opener in Doha (QAT) in the Khalifa International Stadium that will host the World Championships in September.

That makes this meet a little more interesting, not to mention the follow-up on the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s decision to allow the IAAF’s female eligibility regulations to go forward.

The meet itself should be pretty good, as early-season marks have been excellent in many events so far. Some of the highlighted events:

● Men/800 m: World leader (and Asian Champion) Abubaker Abdalla (QAT) will have the home crowd screaming for him, but he will be challenged by American Donavan Brazier (1:44.41 indoors), London Olympic silver medalist Nigel Amos (BOT), Kenyans Jonathan Kitilit and Ferguson Rotich and Poland’s two-time Worlds silver winner Adam Kszczot.

● Men/1,500 m: There are 14 runners in this race, with nine from Kenya. The focus will be on two of them: last year’s almost-unbeatable Tim Cheruiyot (3:28.41 world leader) and 2017 World Champion Elijah Manangoi (3:28.80 ‘17). There are plenty of other capable winners, but who’s in shape now?

● Men/Steeplechase: With Kenyan star Conseslus Kipruto and American Evan Jager not here, the headliner is Morocco’s Soufiane El Bakkali, last year’s world leader at 7:58.15. If he’s in shape, he’ll win. If not, it will be one of the 10 Kenyans in this 19-runner race.

● Men/Pole Vault: World Champion Sam Kendricks (USA) will be facing old friends in Rio 2016 champ Thiago Braz da Silva (BRA) and Poland’s Piotr Lisek. Both Kendricks and Lisek cleared 5.93 m (19-5 1/2) indoors and will challenge the 5.94 m (19-5 3/4) outdoor world leader by Mondo Duplantis (SWE). American Andrew Irwin is the wild card, having cleared 5,88 m (19-3 1/2) indoors this year.

● Men/Shot Put: It’s still early in the season, but Rio 2016 champ Ryan Crouser is on fire. He’s already thrown 22.74 m (74-7 1/4), the furthest throw since 1990 and already has three meets and four throws beyond the 22 m (72-2 1/4) mark … and it’s May 1! This will not be a walkover, though, with New Zealand’s Tom Walsh (already 21.91 m/71-10 3/4), Brazil’s Darlan Romani (21.83 m/71-7 1/2) and 2015 World Champion Joe Kovacs (USA) in the field.

● Men/Discus: Norway’s Ola Stunes Isene is the world leader at 67.78 m (222-4), with Iran’s Ehsan Hadadi – the Asian Champion – third at 67.19 m (220-5) and American Mason Finley (67.13 m/220-3) fifth. Sweden’s Daniel Stahl, the world leader for the last three seasons, will open up in Doha.

● Women/800 m: This is where all the attention will be, thanks to the decision in the IAAF female regulations case. Caster Semenya is not entered, but the silver-bronze winners from Rio who will both be subject to the new regulations – Francine Niyonsaba (BDI) and Margaret Wambui (KEN) – are listed. No one will be surprised if they pull out, but they will have their hands full in any case with American Ajee Wilson (1:55.61 PR in 2017), Natalya Goule (JAM: 1:56.15 ‘18) and Habitam Alemu (ETH: 1:56.71 ‘18).

● Women/3,000 m: We’re in the new era of races limited to 3,000 m being shown on television, so that’s what we’re running in Doha. Reigning World 5,000 m Champion and World Cross Country Champion Hellen Obiri is in this race and is the clear favorite. If she’s not in shape, other possible winners include Ethiopia’s Ginzebe Dibaba and Gudaf Tsegay and Steeplechase world-record holder Beatrice Chepkoech. Note this: Chepkoech’s record in the Steeple is 8:44.32 and her best flat 3,000 m is only 8:28.66; she can go a lot faster!

● Women/100 m Hurdles: The world lead of 12.57 by Janeek Brown (JAM) is in jeopardy from 2016 Olympic champ Brianna McNeal, Sharika Nelvis and Christina Clemons (nee Manning) of the U.S.. Last week, Clemons ran 12.59w at the Tom Jones Memorial in Gainesville, Florida and won easily, so this race could be fast.

● Women/400 m Hurdles: Rio champ Dalilah Muhammad hasn’t run over hurdles yet, but won the Mt. SAC Relays 400 m in a good 51.62, a lifetime best by a full second! So she’s ready. Rio bronze winner Ashley Spencer (USA) was third at the Drake Relays (57.02) and Jamaica’s Janieve Russell will also make her 2019 hurdles debut.

● Women/Long Jump: Rio champ Tianna Bartoletta has had a roller-coaster of a life and a career, but tweeted that she is ready to go for 2019. At 33, she is the two-time World Champion in this event for 2005 and 2015, but had a rough 2018. She’d rather be jumping around 7 m, as she did in 2014-15-16-17. Colombia’s Caterine Ibarguen, who won the Continental Cup long jump as well as the triple jump last year, is the likely favorite, but there are multiple possible winners, including Lorraine Ugen (GBR), Christabel Nettey (CAN) and Brooke Stratton (AUS).

There are other events with lesser fields; the complete entry lists are here. There is prize money in all events of $10,000-6,000-4,000-3,000-2,500-2,000-1,500-1,000 for the top eight and $500 for places 9-12 in the races of 1,500 m and longer.

NBC’s Olympic Channel has coverage from Doha beginning at noon Eastern time on Friday. Look for results here.

THE BIG PICTURE: Court of Arbitration for Sport upholds IAAF regulations on applicable levels of testosterone for women

Rich Perelman

May 1, 2019

tsx pix 10918 court of arb for sport 750x500 — The Court of Arbitration for Sport

The Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport has dismissed the requests for arbitration by Athletics South Africa and two-time Olympic 800 m champion Caster Semenya against the International Association of Athletics Federation’s new regulations on allowable levels of testosterone for women in specific events.

The announcement was posted online at noon Central European Time and noted that the three-member agreed, in a 2-1 decision, to allow the IAAF to go forward with its regulations for those competing in the women’s division with “Differences in Sex Development.”

The CAS statement demonstrated the difficulty that the panel had with this case, noting that the “Claimants were unable to establish that the DSD Regulations were ‘invalid’. The Panel found that the DSD Regulations are discriminatory but the majority of the Panel found that, on the basis of the evidence submitted by the parties, such discrimination is a necessary, reasonable and proportionate means of achieving the IAAF’s aim of preserving the integrity of female athletics” with restrictions limited to competitors in events from 400 m to one mile.

However, the 165-page decision – which has not yet been released – also noted that the “CAS Panel expressed some serious concerns as to the future practical application of these DSD Regulations. While the evidence available so far has not established that those concerns negate the conclusion of prima facie proportionality, this may change in the future unless constant attention is paid to the fairness of how the Regulations are implemented.”

The panel was also troubled about the actual advantage to be gained by women with elevated testosterone levels in the 1,500 m and mile events and suggested that the implementation of the regulations for those events be deferred.

The CAS holding is appealable to the Swiss Federal Tribunal within 30 days, but the IAAF and Athletics South Africa agreed previously that both sides would abide by the Court’s determination.

The IAAF’s statement noted that it is “grateful” for the “detailed and prompt response” to the challenge to its regulations, but will begin enforcing them as of 8 May. Going forward:

● “Relevant Athletes have one week (7 days) from today (1 May 2019) to reduce testosterone levels to within the regulation levels so are encouraged to initiate their suppressive treatment as soon as possible.”

● “Relevant Athletes seeking eligibility for the IAAF World Championships Doha 2019 must undergo a blood sampling to measure their serum testosterone level” by 8 May.

● In order to be eligible for this year’s IAAF World Championships in Doha (QAT), a “Relevant Athlete” must have a serum testosterone level of 5 nmol/L or less by 8 May.

The regulations do not apply to the IAAF Diamond League meet in Doha on Friday (3 May). Semenya is not entered in the meet, but two other women whose status is expected to be impacted by the regulations are registered to compete: 2016 Rio silver winner Francine Niyonsaba (BDI) and Rio bronze medalist Margaret Wambui (KEN).

So what about Semenya? She has hardly been idle, and is on the move to compete, having won the 1,500 m and 5,000 m (!) at the South African National Championships on 25-26 April. She won the 5,000 m in a lifetime best of 16:05.97 on the 25th – her second-ever competition at the distance – and the 1,500 m in 4:13.59 on the 26th.

She posted a Tweet on the decision 14 minutes after it was released:

🤷‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/FHmm10npfx

— Caster Semenya (@caster800m) May 1, 2019

Semenya could run in the 5,000 m at the World Champs if she met the qualifying standard of 15:22.00 by 6 September without having to do anything about her serum testosterone level. However, she would have to reduce her level to run in the 1,500 m if the IAAF maintains its regulation on that race, while the CAS has urged it to defer it.

LANE ONE: Beginning of the end for the Russian doping scandal, as WADA obtains 2,262 stored samples from the Moscow Lab!

Rich Perelman

April 30, 2019

The seemingly endless saga of Russian and one of the largest doping scandals in history may be moving toward its final chapter after a major breakthrough was made public on Tuesday.

The World Anti-Doping Agency announced that it had successfully retrieved some 2,262 samples held at the former Moscow Laboratory, including separate “A” and “B” samples that totaled 4,524 bottles.

Gunter Younger (GER), the head of the Investigations and Intelligence Division of WADA stated that “In removing the bottles, as a precaution we decided to take any and all samples that corresponded to data in the Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) database that was even remotely anomalous, even where an anti-doping rule violation (ADRV) was not suspected. We can therefore proceed to the next phase and support the various International Federations (IFs) and other Anti-Doping Organizations to bring cases forward.”

The announcement also noted that “all samples targeted by I&I in advance of the mission were successfully located and extracted.”

At the same time, the process of validating the data extracted from the Moscow Lab earlier this year was reported to be close to completion. The WADA statement added that a report to the WADA Executive Committee and Foundation Board on 15-16 May will have further details on this, from the WADA Compliance Review Committee.

These two developments, taken together, signal that the documentation demanded by WADA is now in its hands and should allow it to complete the review and testing of the samples of Russian athletes who were subject to the national doping program instituted from 2011-15.

The implications of this are far-reaching:

(1) WADA’s requirements for permanent reinstatement of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency as compliant with the World Anti-Doping Code included retrieval of the Moscow Lab database and access to the samples it wanted from those still stored there. Those appear to have been met.

(2) WADA’s announcement also significantly impacts other federations who have been asking for the same materials. These primarily include:

● International Paralympic Committee, which has conditionally reinstated the Russian Paralympic Committee, subject to getting the data and samples.

● International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), which has suspended Russia since 2015 and has its own reinstatement process, which requires the lab data and samples to determine which track & field athletes might have committed doping violations. This work will be carried out by its Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU).

● International Biathlon Union, which is going through a cover-up scandal that has removed both its long-time president, Anders Besseberg (NOR), and secretary-general Nicole Resch (GER) over alleged bribes paid to ignore Russian doping positives. It has political sanctions in place against Russia, and some biathletes have refused to compete in Russia.

(3) The upcoming trial of former IAAF chief Lamine Diack (SEN) in France also includes accusations of bribery regarding cover-ups of Russian doping positives; the work of the Athletics Integrity Unit on the samples may yield additional data for the French prosecutors.

(4) Other federations need to be aware of potential Russian positives in their sport. WADA’s statement noted – interestingly – that:

“In due course, the relevant IFs will be presented with evidentiary packages, which they will assess with the view to taking the cases forward as ADRVs. In cases where IFs choose not to take action, WADA will review the facts, discuss with the relevant IF and reserves the right to bring them forward to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.”

WADA has shown no reluctance to step in where federations have not done so, such as its 13 March appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport regarding FINA’s January decision not to suspend China’s Olympic gold medalist Yang Sun after news reports of a problematic testing procedure in 2018.

So this part of the Russian scandal may drag on for a while. But the end is in sight.

This was a very welcome announcement, especially in April, as WADA had a 30 June 2019 to obtain the samples it wanted from the Moscow Lab. Any delay beyond that date would place the Russian Anti-Doping Agency substantially at risk to be suspended again, after the 31 December 2018 deadline for WADA to be given access to the Moscow Lab database was missed (but completed on 17 January of this year).

All of this comes against the background of positive comments during the International Olympic Committee’s International Athlete Forum about the current quality of the Russian anti-doping efforts. WADA’s Chief Operating Officer, Frederic Donze (CAN) stated with considerable vigor that:

“This has been a long process, but this is a process which we believe has paid off. We now have in Russia an anti-doping agency which is, in our view, probably one of the top in the world. And we continue to work very closely with them to be sure they have the independence, the rigor and the professionalism that is needed to give confidence to the rest of the world.”

We’re not at the end yet, as there is an expectation that there are many, many more doping positives to come out of the analysis of the Moscow Lab data and the re-testing of the samples obtained by WADA. Canadian law professor Richard McLaren, whose 2016 reports detailed the immense scope of the program, told the German ARD network in January that “with the full electronic data, they could be able to build cases against 300 to 600 Russian athletes, although it is hard to calculate and the number could be higher.”

The IAAF, especially, has been slow and steady in its approach, but having the lab data and the specimens is a major step forward for it and its Athletics Integrity Unit. The Paralympic Committee also has a long list of conditions and monitoring that will go on for some time before its oversight of the Russian programs will be considered complete.

But we can see the end from here, thanks to improved Russian cooperation. This is good, but the future outlook isn’t necessarily clear.

First, there will be the – expected – continuing announcements of positives and medal, placement and prize money re-assignments for events from 2011-15, which will continue to embarrass Russian sport. Than there is the question of how many medals they win in Tokyo and Beijing and going forward.

Remember that the reason for the development of the doping program in the first place was Russia’s poor results in 2008 and 2010. In Beijing, the U.S. won 112 medals, China 100 and Russia only 60, down from 90 at the 2004 Games in Athens. In Vancouver in 2010, Russia’s Winter Games medal output was just 15, down from 22 in Turin in 2006.

Russian athletes won 56 medals in Rio with a team that was reduced to one person in track & field and none in weightlifting, among many reductions. And Russian athletes were re-named as “Olympic Athletes from Russia” for 2018, and won 17 medals, compared to 29 in Sochi in 2014.

Will sub-par performances kindle a new desire for doping? The worldwide anti-doping community would do well to remember what led up to the Russian doping program, not simply its effects. But after four years, it appears that we might nearing the time for Russia to make a fresh start in sport.

Rich Perelman
Editor

GYMNASTICS Preview: Russians Soldatova and Selezneva headline World Challenge Cup in Guadalajara

Rich Perelman

April 30, 2019

tsx pix 2019-414 soldatova, aleksandra 750 — Russia's Rhythmic star Aleksandra Soldatova

The FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup series has concluded and the World Challenge Cup – a second-tier series – is beginning this weekend in Guadalajara (ESP) with All-Around and Apparatus finals. The level of competition is usually not as good as in the World Cups, but there are three World Championships medal winners on the entry list; the headliners:

● Alexandra Agiurgiuculese (ITA) ~ 2018 Worlds Ball bronze
● Milena Baldassari (ITA) ~ 2018 Worlds Ribbon silver
● Aleksandra Soldatova (RUS) ~ 2018 World Championships bronze & Ribbon gold
● Ekaterina Selezneva (RUS) ~ Sofia World Cup Ball gold, Hoop silver
● Laura Zeng (USA) ~ 2018 Worlds All-Around eighth placer; six career World Cup medals

The prize money is less than for the World Cup events: CHF 875-690-565-375-315-250-190-125 for the top eight in the All-Around and then 600-450-300-200-150-100-100-100 for each apparatus.

There will be five World Challenge Cup events, but this is the only one until August; the last four will be held between 16 August and 8 September. Look for results from Guadalajara here.

FENCING Preview: Four 2018 World Champions in action in Cali, St. Petersburg and Tauberbischofsheim

Rich Perelman

April 30, 2019

tsx pix 2019-113 deriglazova, inna 750 (leipzig) — Russia's Olympic and World Foil Champion Inna Deriglazova

It’s a busy weekend in fencing, with the third Epee Grand Prix in Colombia and Foil World Cups in Europe. In all, winners of seven World Championship and three Olympic golds will be in action:

● Epee Grand Prix in Cali (COL)

A large field of 183 men and 165 women are ready to go in Colombia. The top seeds:

Men:
1. Yannick Borel (FRA) ~ 2018 World Champion
2. Bogdan Nikishin (UKR) ~ 2018 Worlds bronze medalist
3. Ruben Limardo Gascon (VEN) ~ 2018 Worlds silver medalist
4. Dmitriy Alexanin (KAZ)
5. Koki Kano (JPN)
6. Sangyoung Park (KOR) ~ 2016 Olympic Champion; 2018 Worlds Team silver
8. Kazuyasu Minobe (JPN)
9. Jacob Hoyle (USA)
10. Andrea Santarelli (ITA)

In the prior two Grand Prix tournaments, Borel defeated Yulen Pereira (ESP), with Hoyle third in Doha; Minobe defeated Santarelli for the Budapest title.

Women:
1. Man Wai Vivian Kong (HKG)
2. Young-Mi Kang (KOR) ~ 2018 Worlds Team silver medalist
3. Ana Maria Popescu (ROU)
4. Mara Navarria (ITA) ~ 2018 World Champion
5. Courtney Hurley (USA) ~ 2018 Worlds bronze; 2018 Worlds Team gold
7. Kelley Hurley (USA) ~ 2018 Worlds Team gold medalist
8. Katrina Lehis (EST)
9. Yiwen Sun (CHN) ~ 2016 Olympic bronze; 2018 World Team bronze medalist
10. Olena Kryvytska (UKR) ~ 2017 Worlds bronze medalist

In the opening Grand Prix tournament in Doha, Julia Beljajeva (EST) won the title over Kseniya Pantelyeyeva (UKR), in Budapest, it was Popescu defeating Kang in the final.

Look for results here.

● Foil World Cup 5 in St. Petersburg (RUS)

An enormous field of 233 Foilers is in St. Petersburg, including the entire top 10 in the FIE World Rankings:

1. Alessio Foconi (ITA) ~ 2018 World Champion
2. Richard Kruse (GBR) ~ 2018 Worlds silver medalist
3. Race Imboden (USA) ~ 2018 Worlds Team silver medalist
4. Daniele Garozzo (ITA) ~ 2016 Olympic Champion; 2018 Worlds Team gold medalist
5. Giorgio Avola (ITA) ~ 2018 Worlds Team gold medalist
6. Gerek Meinhardt (USA) ~ 2018 Worlds Team silver medalist
7. Ka Long Cheung (HKG)
8. Andrea Cassara (ITA) ~ 2018 Worlds Team gold medalist
9. Jun Heo (KOR) ~ 2018 Worlds bronze medalist
10. Alex Massialas (USA) ~ 2016 Olympic silver medalist

In the four prior men’s Foil World Cups, Garozzo, Kruse (twice) and Foconi have won; American stars Imboden and Meinhardt have taken silvers. Look for results here.

● Foil World Cup 5 in Tauberbischofsheim (GER)

A very good field of 200 Foil-istas are gathering in Germany, with nine of the top 10 in the FIE rankings:

1. Inna Deriglazova (RUS) ~ 2016 Olympic Champion; 2017 World Champion
2. Alice Volpi (ITA) ~ 2018 World Champion; 2017 Worlds silver
3. Lee Kiefer (USA) ~ 2018 Worlds Team gold medalist
4. Arianna Errigo (ITA) ~ 2012 Olympic silver; 2013-14 World Champion
6. Leonie Ebert (GER)
7. Ysoara Thibus (FRA) ~ 2018 World Champs silver; 2017 Worlds bronze
8. Hee Seok Jeon (KOR)
9. Eleanor Harvey (CAN)
10. Elisa di Francesca (ITA) ~ 2016 Olympic silver medalist

Deriglazova has been on fire, winning three of the four World Cups this season – in Katowice, St. Maur and Cairo – and has 23 career World Cup medals (11-2-10). She is the one to beat … if anyone can. Look for results here.

MODERN PENTATHLON Preview: Five World Champions to clash in Szekesfehervar World Cup

Rich Perelman

April 30, 2019

tsx pix 2019-430 kovacs, sarolta 750 (tamas roth) — Hungarian World Champion Sarolta Kovacs (Photo: Tamas Roth via Wikimedia)

An outstanding field is assembling for a tremendous third World Cup of the UIPM season in Szekesfehervar (HUN), with a stunning list of past medal winners ready to compete:

Men:
● James Cooke (GBR) ~ 2018 World Champion
● Valentin Prades (FRA) ~ 2018 Worlds silver medalist
● Jinhwa Jung (KOR) ~ 2017 World Champion
● Alexander Lesun (RUS) ~ 2016 Olympic gold; 2012-14 World Champion
● Pavlo Tymoshchenko (UKR) ~ 2016 Olympic silver; 2015 World Champion, 2018 bronze
● Woong-Tae Jun (KOR) ~ No. 1 in UIPM World Rankings

Women:
● Laura Asadauskaite (LTU) ~ 2012 Olympic Champion
● Elodie Clouvel (FRA) ~ 2016 Olympic silver medalist
● Tamara Aleksaejev (HUN) ~ 2017 World Cup Final winner
● Annika Schleu (GER) ~ 2018 Worlds silver medalist
● Sarolta Kovacs (HUN) ~ 2016 World Champion; 2011 Worlds silver

The Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne notes that 16 of the top 17 men in its world rankings are entered this week, for competition that will begin on Thursday and conclude on Sunday.

This is the third World Cup of the season. Egypt’s Ahmed Elgendy won the opener in Cairo (EGY) followed by the surprise victory for Manuel Padilla in Sofia (BUL). The women’s winners have been Uliana Batashova (RUS) in Cairo and Marie Oteiza (FRA) in Sofia.

Look for results here.

CYCLING Preview: Mexico hosts the Pan American Road Championships in Pachuca

Rich Perelman

April 30, 2019

tsx pix 2019-430 neben amber 2016 750 (claudio martino) — Two-time World Time Trial champ Amber Neben (USA) (Photo: Claudio Martino via Wikimedia)

First organized in 1974, the Pan American Road Championships is scheduled for 1-5 at courses in and around Pachuca in the State of Hidalgo (MEX), with 23 countries expected to send riders for one or more of the six races:

● 1 May: Time Trials for Men (44 km), Women (22 km), U23 Men (33 km)
● 3 May: Women’s Road Race (88.2 km)
● 4 May: Men’s U23 Road Race (132.3 km)
● 5 May: Men’s Road Race (176.4 km)

The race awards points for quota places for the 2020 Tokyo road races. The biggest names in cycling are with the UCI World Tour, or the U.S. Cycling Pro Tour (with the Tour of the Gila starting Wednesday), but the top nations are still usually providing the winners.

The defending champions include:
● Men/Road: Juan Sebastian Milano (COL)
● Men/Time Trial: Walter Vargas (COL)

● Women/Road: Arlennis Sierra (CUB), leading a 1-2-3-4-5 Cuban sweep!
● Women/Time Trial: Amber Neben (USA)

The U.S. has done poorly at the men’s events for years, but had some success in the women’s program. In the road race, Skylar Schneider was the last medalist with a bronze in 2017 and Coryn Rivera won a silver in 2015. The last U.S. winner was Shelly Evans Olds in 2010.

In the women’s Time Trial, Neben led a 1-2 finish last year with Lauren Stephens and American women have won eight of the last 14 titles. Neben – a two-time World Time Trial Champion – has won in 2006-12-18, was second in 2010 and third in 2011 for five medals in the last 13 editions. The U.S. also went 1-2 in 2017 with Chloe Dygart and Tayler Wiles.

Look for results here.

CYCLING Preview: Kristoff going for fifth straight Eschborn-Frankfurt title Wednesday

Rich Perelman

April 30, 2019

tsx pix 2019-430 kristoff, alexander 750 (filip bossuyt) — Norway's sprint star Alexander Kristoff (Photo: Filip Bossuyt via Wikipedia)

Founded in 1962 as a way to promote the Henninger Tower in Frankfurt, the Eschborn-Frankfurt race has one focus: can anyone beat Alexander Kristoff?

The 31-year-old Norwegian sprinter has won the last four races in a row, the most of anyone in the 58 prior editions. He has had a good spring in the Classics races, winning Gent-Wevelgem at the end of March and a third in the Ronde van Vlaanderen. He’ll be one of six former medal winners in the field:

● Alexander Kristoff (NOR) ~ Winner in 2014-16-17-18
● John Degenkolb (GER) ~ Winner in 2011; third in 2017
● Michael Matthews (AUS) ~ Second in 2018
● Jerome Baugnies (BEL) ~ Second in 2011; third in 2014
● Oliver Naesen (BEL) ~ Third in 2018
● Andre Greipel (GER) ~ Third in 2013

The route is a punishing 187.5 km route, which has a massive climb up the Feldberg dominating the first 48 km of the course – from 130 m to 841 m! – and then three more climbs up the Mammolshainer Stich (377 m) in the remainder of the race. However, the final 42 km are a descent and then a long, flat stretch into Frankfurt, perfect for another sprint finish.

Kristoff has won all four of his races in close, final sprints. Mathews, Degenkolb, Naesen, Dylan Teuns (BEL), Dane Michael Valgren and others will all be watching him to gauge where they have to be to win at the line.

Look for results here.

BEACH VOLLEYBALL Preview: First-time event in Malaysia sees the return of Olympic champ Ludwig

Rich Perelman

April 30, 2019

tsx pix 2019-430 ludwig & walkenhorst 750 — Germany's Olympic champs Laura Ludwig (l) and Kira Walkenhorst

The fourth of five FIVB World Tour three-star tournaments is in Port Dickson (MAS) – about an hour outside of Kuala Lumpur – with some good teams, but none of the current super teams in the sport:

● Men:
1. Andre Loyola Stein/George Wanderley (BRA)
2. Alison Cerutti/Alvaro Filho (BRA)
3. Philipp Arne Bergmann/Yannick Harms (GER)
4. John Hyden/Ryan Doherty (USA)
5. Enrico Rossi/Adrian Carambula (ITA)

● Women:
1. Barbora Hermannova/Marketa Slukova (CZE)
2. Karl Borger/Julia Sude (GER)
3. Victoria Bieneck/Isabel Schneider (GER)
4. Laura Ludwig/Margareta Kozuch (GER)
5. Brooke Sweat/Kerri Walsh Jennings (USA)

There’s a lot of interest in the return of Germany’s Ludwig, half of the 2016 Olympic and 2017 World Championships gold medalist duo, who skipped the 2018 season for maternity. Her partner, Kira Walkenhorst, has been troubled by injuries, so Ludwig will play with Margareta Kozuch in Malaysia.

This is a new tournament for 2019. The Main Drew competition begins on 1 May, with the quarterfinals on the third and semis and finals on Saturday (4th).

Prize money for this tournament is $75,000 per gender, with $10,000-8,000-5,000–4,000 for the top four places and money down to the round of 32 teams. Look for results here.

THE BIG PICTURE: LA28 releases its first budget summary, with detailed revenues and expenses

Rich Perelman

April 30, 2019

Under its agreement with the City of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles 2028 organizing committee was required to submit “An independent review and written report of the proposed OCOG operating budget for the 2028 Games will be completed within 18 months of the OCOG formation …”

That time has come and the LA 2028 organizers released a two-page statement on Tuesday morning that included a summary of the budget that tracks – quite closely – the bid budget figures submitted for Los Angeles’s bid for the 2024 Games in 2017.

The figures are useful from the standpoint that this is the first budget which incorporates the changes from the 2024 to 2028 programs, including substantially more assistance from the International Olympic Committee.

According to the news release:

● Revenues:
$1.535.0 billion (22.3%) ~ International Olympic Committee
$2.517.7 billion (36.6%) ~ Domestic sponsorship
$1.928.8 billion (28.0%) ~ Ticket sales and hospitality
$0.304.9 billion (04.4%) ~ Licensing and merchandising
$0.597.8 billion (08.7%) ~ Other revenues

$6.884.2 billion total vs. $5.325.1 billion in 2016 dollars for 2024

● Expenses:
$1.463.7 billion (21.3%) ~ Venues
$1.228.7 billion (17.8%) ~ Games Services & Operations
$0.626.5 billion (09.1%) ~ Technology
$0.913.4 billion (13.3%) ~ People
$0.245.0 billion (03.6%) ~ Ceremonies
$0.397.3 billion (05.8%) ~ Communications, marketing & Look
$0.587.1 billion (08.5%) ~ Corporate Administration
$0.806.7 billion (11.7%) ~ Other expenses
$0.615.9 billion (09.0%) ~ Contingency

$6.884.2 billion total

The contingency is actually 9.8% of the expenses before that amount is figured in, just about the same percentage as in the bid budget for 2024.

The overall total is elevated $1.559.1 billion or 29.1% from the 2024 projections in 2016 dollars, thanks in part to (a) the Games are in 2028, (b) inflation from 2016-19 and (c) another $410.5 million in support from the International Olympic Committee. The expenses include an additional $200 million, with $160 million earmarked for the city youth programs agreed with the IOC and an added $40 million for an extra four years of operations since LA28 received the Games 11 years prior instead of the normal seven.

The percentages of spending are just about the same for this budget as for 2024, with a little more for the IOC’s share and sponsorship on the revenue side and some expense money shifted to staffing and corporate expenses, from venues and operations.

Are the figures trustworthy and instructive? Does it really matter this far out? What is noteworthy is that there are budget figures which are publicly available and can be used as a measuring stick against future budget releases. For now – nine years away from the Games – we have a first look at the financial plan, updated from the 2024 projections.

That’s what counts for now. And if you’d like to help with the licensing and merchandising revenue, you can check out some LA28 gear right now.

CYCLING Preview: Tour de France champ Thomas warms up in 73rd Tour de Romandie

Rich Perelman

April 30, 2019

tsx pix 2019-430 thomas, geraint (hobele-wikipedia) — 2018 Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas (GBR) (Photo by Hobele via Wikipedia)

The Tour de Romandie in western Switzerland is mostly about the area’s mountains and has made it a favored race in advance of the Tour de France. Four winners of this race have gone on to win the Tour de France in the same season, as late as 2013 (Britain’s Chris Froome), so it attracts some special attention from fans. The stages:

● 30 Apr.: Prologue (3.9 km): Neuchatel (flat)
● 01 May: Stage 1 (168.4 km): Neuchâtel to La Chaux-de-Fonds (mountains)
● 02 May: Stage 2 (174.4 km): Le Locle to Morges (mountains)
● 03 May: Stage 3 (160.0 km): Romont to Romont (hilly
● 04 May: Stage 4 (176.0 km): Lucens to Torgon (mountains)
● 05 May: Stage 5 (16.9 km Time Trial): Geneva (flat)

The entries include three former winners and five former medalists:

● Simon Spilak (SLO) ~ Winner in 2010
● Primoz Roglic (SLO) ~ Winner in 2018; second in 2013-14-15; third in 2017
● Ilnur Zakarin (RUS) ~ Winner in 2015
● Tony Martin (GER) ~ Second in 2011
● Rui Costa (POR) ~ Third in 2012-13-14

Among the starters is Swiss Michael Albasini, who ranks third all-time for the number stage wins at the Romandie with seven.

And the reigning Tour de France champ, Geraint Thomas (GBR), is in the race as well, in a test of fitness. He has had a quiet 2019 season thus far, with a best of 12th in the Strade Bianche in March. He will be closely watched this week.

Look for results here.

BADMINTON Preview: Japan has three top seeds in New Zealand Open

Rich Perelman

April 29, 2019

After three straight major tournaments in Asia, the BWF World Tour heads south to Oceania for the New Zealand Open this week and the Australia Open in June.

Founded in 1990, the tournament was upgraded to world-class status in 2016 and has been part of the World Tour since. The top seeds:

● Men’s Singles:
1. Anthony Ginting (INA) ~ World rank: 7
2. Tommy Sugiarto (INA) ~ World rank: 14
3. Jonatan Christie (INA) ~ World rank: 9

● Men’s Doubles:
1. Takeshi Kamura/Keigo Sonoda (JPN) ~ World rank: 3
2. Mohamad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan (INA) ~ World rank: 4
3. Hiroyuki Endo/Yuta Watanabe (JPN) ~ World rank: 9

● Women’s Singles:
1. Akane Yamaguchi (JPN) ~ World rank: 4
2. Saina Nehwal (IND) ~ World rank: 9
3. Beiwen Zhang (USA) ~ World rank: 11

● Women’s Doubles:
1. Yuki Fukushima/Sayaka Hirota (JPN) ~ World rank: 1
2. Misaki Matsutomo/Ayaka Yakahashi (JPN) ~ World rank: 3
3. Mayu Matsumoto/Wakana Nagahara (JPN) ~ World rank: 2

● Mixed Doubles:
1. Weijie Dong/Xiaofei Chen (CHN)
2. Peng Soon Chen/Liu Ying Goh (MAS) ~ World rank: 5
3. Soon Huat Goh/Shevon Jamie Lai (MAS) ~ World rank: 13

It’s a good field, and a rare high seed for American Zhang in women’s Singles. She has won one World Tour medal in 2019, a bronze at the Swiss Open last month, and is near her top ranking ever of 10th last year.

Prize money is $11,250-5,700-$2,175 for the top three places in Singles (on down through 32nd) and $11,850-5,700-2,100 for Doubles, on down to 32nd. Look for results here.

STAT PACK: Results for the week of 22-28 April 2019

Rich Perelman

April 29, 2019

The Stat Pack: a summary of results of international Grand Prix, World Cup and World Championships events, plus U.S. domestic events and Pan American championships events of note.

In this week’s issue are reports on 25 events in 18 sports:

● Archery: Hyundai World Cup 1 in Medellin
● Artistic Swim: FINA Artistic World Series 4 in Tokyo
● Athletics: IAAF Combined Events Challenge: Multistars in Lana
● Athletics: World Marathon Major: London Marathon
● Beach Volleyball: FIVB World Tour 4-star in Xiamen
● Curling: WCF World Mixed Curling Championships in Stavanger
● Curling: Grand Slam of Curling 7: Champions Cup in Saskatoon
● Cycling: MWT: La Fleche Wallonne, from Ans
● Cycling: WWT: La Fleche Wallonne, from Ans
● Cycling: MWT: Liege-Bastogne-Liege, from Liege
● Cycling: WWT: Liege-Bastogne-Liege, from Bastogne
● Cycling: UCI BMX Supercross World Cup in Manchester
● Cycling: UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Downhill in Maribor
● Diving: FINA World Series 3 in Montreal
● Fencing: FIE Sabre Grand Prix 2 in Seoul
● Gymnastics: FIG Rhythmic World Cup 4 in Baku
● Ice Hockey: IIHF Men’s U-18 Championship in Ornskoldsvik
● Judo: Pan American Championships in Lima
● Shooting: ISSF World Cup (Rifle/Pistol) in Beijing
● Sport Climb: IFSC World Cup (Bouldering/Speed) in Chongqing
● Swimming: FINA Champions Swim Series I in Guangzhou
● Table Tennis: ITTF World Championships in Budapest
● Triathlon: ITU World Series 2 in Hamilton
● Weightlifting: Pan American Weightlifting Championships in Guatemala City
● Wrestling: U.S. Open in Las Vegas

plus our calendar of upcoming events through 26 May. Click below for the PDF:

[wpdm_package id=12917 template=”link-template-button-popup.php”]

SPEED READ: Headlines from The Sports Examiner for Monday, 29 April 2019

Rich Perelman

April 29, 2019

Welcome to The Sports Examiner SPEED READ, a 100 mph (44.7 m/s) review of what happened over the last 72 hours in Olympic sport:

LANE ONE

Monday: Things have changed a lot since 1980, and one of them is merchandising. The U.S. team that didn’t go to Moscow missed out on a lot of things, and one of them was “U.S. Olympic Team” gear. Contrast that with today, when the United States Olympic Committee has 1,929 branded items on sale on its Web site! And the most outrageous is?

ARCHERY

Sunday: A big win for American shooting star Brady Ellison, who claimed his first World Cup tournament victory since 2016, in the season opener in Colombia. Ellison also teamed with 15-year-old Casey Kaufhold for a silver in the Mixed Team event, a good sign for possible success in this new event in Tokyo!

ARTISTIC SWIMMING

Monday: Pretty good turnout for the FINA World Series meet in Tokyo, with Russia taking five titles, including three for World Champion Svetlana Kolesnichenko. But Japan’s Yukiko Inui showcased her rise to medal class with four excellent performances in the Solo and Duet events.

ATHLETICS

Saturday: Pretty miserable weather at the Drake Relays in Des Moines made the performances even more impressive, especially Kentucky’s Daniel Roberts in his 13.28-13.29w victory over 2016 Olympic Omar McLeod (JAM). World-record holder Keni Harrison braved the cold and rain for a 12.65w victory in the 100 m hurdles.

Sunday: Stunning 2:02:38 victory for Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge in the London Marathon, his fourth career win, a new course record and more proof that he is the greatest marathoner of all time. How he did it …

Monday: Even more world leaders from over the weekend, led by a 5.94 m (19-5 3/4) clearance for Mondo Duplantis of Sweden (and LSU), a brilliant 49.05 400 m win for Shaunae Miller-Uibo (BAH) and an impressive, early-season 11.10/22.53 double for American Jenna Prandini.

BEACH VOLLEYBALL

Sunday: New stars were showcased in the four-star Xiamen Open in China as Russians Oleg Stoyanovskiy and Viacheslav Krasilnikov won their fourth medal in their last five starts and second win of the season, while Brazil’s Ana Patricia and Rebecca won their third tournament of the 2018-19 campaign.

CURLING

Saturday: Sweden, led by superstar Anna Hasselborg, won the WCF World Mixed Doubles Championship in Stavanger (NOR) in a tight final match with Canada. The U.S. pair of Cory Christensen and John Shuster won the bronze, only the second medal ever for the U.S. in this event!

Sunday: The Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling concluded with the Humpty’s Champions Cup in Saskatoon (CAN), with Edmonton-based Brendan Bottcher’s rink pulling off a stunning win over two-time World Champion Kevin Koe to win their third straight GSOC title to end the season! The women’s title went to Silvana Tirinzoni’s Swiss World Champions.

CYCLING

Sunday: Breakaway wins were the order of the day at the famed Liege-Bastogne-Liege races in Belgium. First, Dutch star Annemiek van Vleuten ran away with the women’s race, winning by 1:39 after a breakaway with about 30 km to go. Then Denmark’s Jakob Fuglsang – having a career year – attacked with 13 km left and finished unchallenged with a 27-second victory, the biggest win in his career so far!

Sunday: The UCI BMX and Mountain Bike World Cup seasons opened, with a surprise in Sunday’s BMX men’s race as unheralded Kye Whyte (GBR) won in front of the home fans in Manchester for his first-ever World Cup medal. The Mountain Bike World Cup opened with a Downhill in Maribor (SLO), with veterans Loic Bruni (FRA) and Tahnee Seagrave (GBR) the winners.

DIVING

Sunday: Nothing lasts forever, and China’s 20-event win streak in the FINA World Series finally ended in the first event of the Montreal leg, as a North Korea pair won the women’s 10 m Synchro competition. But Chinese divers then reeled off seven more wins in a row and finished with eight in the 10 events. But British Platform star Tom Daley won the men’s 10 m to end the Chinese individual-event streak at 11.

FENCING

Sunday: Another win for Ukraine’s Olga Kharlan in the second FIE Sabre Grand Prix in Seoul (KOR), giving her an astonishing 50 career medals – at age 28 – in the FIE Grand Prix and World Cup circuits in her career. Wow! Korea’s Sang-Uk Oh won the Grand Prix for the men, defeating Hungary’s Olympic champ Aron Szilagyi, just as he did in the first Grand Prix this season, in Cairo!

GYMNASTICS

Sunday: Major showdown in the final FIG Rhythmic World Cup of the season in Baku (AZE), but the outcome was the same. Russia’s Dina Averina – with three golds – is still the best Rhythmic gymnast in the world. American Laura Zeng, the only U.S. performer to ever win a World Cup medal, grabbed her sixth career podium with a Hoop bronze.

JUDO

Sunday: Brazil confirmed its standing as the top judo nation in the Americas by heading the medal count at the Pan American Championships in Lima (PER), with four golds, eight silvers and three bronzes. They had two 1-2 finishes, with Ivan Felipe Silva Morales and Rafael Macedo in the men’s 90 kg class and Rafael Silva and David Moura at +100 kg.

SHOOTING

Sunday: India has the strongest showing at the ISSF Rifle and Pistol World Cup in Beijing, winning three events, including both of the Mixed Doubles competitions. But the biggest noise may have been from 46-year-old twice Olympic champ Maria Grozdeva (BUL), who won the 25 m Pistol event for her 18th career World Cup gold, and from 50-year-old Nino Salukvadze (GEO), who finished fifth in the 10 m Air Pistol, but earned an Olympic quota place that will likely send her to a ninth Olympic Games in Tokyo!

SPORT CLIMBING

Sunday: While Janja Garnbret (SLO) was winning her third straight Bouldering World Cup competition this season, a new star emerged in women’s Speed: China’s YiLing Song. Competing in front of a home crowd in Chongqing, she broke the world record in the quarterfinals and then almost broke it again in the semis!

SWIMMING

Saturday: The new FINA Champions Series debuted in Guangzhou, with China the biggest winner with seven victories in the 15 events. Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom was sterling with two wins in her two events, but Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu swam in five (winning $29,000) and American Michael Andrew swam in four!

Sunday: Sweden’s Sjostrom the biggest star and the biggest winner as the first leg of the Champions Series concluded. There was one new world-leading performance, but the most amazing efforts came from Andrew and Hosszu: between them, they swam 17 events in two days!

TABLE TENNIS

Sunday: China demonstrated its preeminence once again by sweeping all five titles – both singles, both Doubles and Mixed Doubles – at the annual ITTF World Championships in Budapest. It’s the ninth time they have done it, but the first since 2011. Rio Olympic champ Long Ma wrote his name into the record books with his third straight World title in the men’s Singles, only the third man to ever win three in a row.

TRIATHLON

Saturday: Is American Katie Zaferes now the world’s top women’s triathlete? She’s two-for-two this season with a dominating win at the World Series tri in Bermuda, while the men’s race had a shocking upset winner: Dorian Coninx of France. Who? How? Why?

WEIGHTLIFTING

Saturday: Sensational performance by a resurgent U.S. weightlifting squad, with 22 golds and 43 total medals – plus both the men’s and women’s team titles – at the Pan American Championships! Sarah Robles, the 2017 World Champion at +87 kg, won her third straight Pan American title.

WRESTLING

Sunday: A wild U.S. Open in Las Vegas decided half of the fields for the Final X competitions coming in June. Four women defended their Freestyle titles from 2018, but there were no repeat winners in any of the men’s Freestyle or Greco-Roman divisions. The biggest surprise? How about Worlds medalist James Green being defeated at 70 kg on a late takedown, 8-6, by Ryan Deakin, who placed sixth for Northwestern in the recent NCAA Championships!

UPCOMING

Highlights of the coming week, with previews in the coming days on TheSportsExaminer.com:

● Athletics: Start of the IAAF Diamond League season, in Doha on Friday!

● Swimming: The USA Swimming Open Water Nationals will be held in Miami.

And an LA28 budget update, scheduled to be announced this week!

ARTISTIC SWIMMING: Five Russian wins, but Inui also stars in Tokyo World Series

Rich Perelman

April 29, 2019

tsx pix 2019-419 inui, yukiko 750 (hiroyuki nakamura) — Japan's Yukiko Inui (Photo: FINA/Hiroyuki Nakamura)

The FINA Artistic Swimming World Series has had a lot of trouble attracting deep fields for its competitions, usually combining the event with an existing national competition. But with the Olympic Games on the horizon in Tokyo in 2020, there was much more interest than usual in the Tokyo leg of the 2019 schedule.

Heading the list were the Russian entries, including World Champion Svetlana Kolesnichenko, who won the Solo Technical with a brilliant performance that scored 94.0252. She and new Duet partner Svetlana Romashina – also a former World Champion – dominated the Technical and Free events, winning with scores of 95.7896 and 96.9333.

But there were plenty of other top competitors, with Japan’s Yukiko Inui – fourth in both Technical and Free in the 2017 Worlds – showing she is ready to compete for medals next year. She was runner-up in the Solo Tech at 92.0159, ahead of 2017 silver medalist Ona Carbonnell (ESP: 90.5317.). She went on to win the Solo Free at 93.4667, ahead of Italy’s Linda Cerutti (91.1000).

Inui and Megumu Yoshida were strong seconds to Romashina and Kolesnichenko in both Duet events as well, in highly impressive performances.

The Russian Mixed Duet pair of Aleksandr Maltsev and Mayya Gurbanberdieva showed that they will be leading contenders for honors at the World Championships this year with wins in the Technical and Free events. Summaries:

FINA World Series no. 4
Tokyo (JPN) ~ 27-29 April 2019
(Full results here)

Solo Technical: 1. Svetlana Kolesnichenko (RUS), 94.0252; 2. Yukiko Inui (JPN), 92.0159; 3. Ona Carbonell (ESP), 90.5317.

Solo Free: 1. Inui (JPN), 93.4667; 2. Linda Cerutti (ITA), 91.1000; 3. Jacqueline Simoneau (CAN), 90.2000.

Duet Technical: 1. Svetlana Romashina/Svetlana Kolesnichenko (RUS), 95.7896; 2. Yukiko Inui/Megumu Yoshida (JPN), 91.3775; 3. Linda Cerutti/Constanca Ferro (ITA), 89.5706.

Duet Free: 1. Romashina/Kolesnichenko (RUS), 96.9333; 2. Inui/Yoshida (JPN), 94.2000; 3. Wenwen Jiang/TingTing Jiang (CHN), 93.7667.

Team Technical: 1. Japan, 91.3871; 2. Canada, 87.5982; 3. France, 85.9191.

Team Free: 1. Japan, 93.0333; 2. Spain, 89.2667; 3. Canada, 88.2000.

Team Free Combination: 1. Japan, 92.3000; 2. China, 88.6333; 3. Korea, 79.0667.

Team Highlight: 1. Japan, 92.0000; 2. Spain, 91.6333; 3. Canada, 88.4333.

Mixed Duet Technical: 1. Aleksandr Maltsev/Mayya Gurbanberdieva (RUS), 90.2902; 2. Atsushi Abe/Yumi Adachi (JPN), 88.0718; 3. Emma Garcia/Pau Ribes (ESP), 84.5511.

Mixed Duet Free: 1. Maltsev/Gurbanberdieva (RUS), 93.5333; 2. Giorigo Minisini/Manila Flamini (ITA), 91.9000; 3. Abe/Adachi (JPN), 89.8333.

ATHLETICS Panorama: More world leaders, including from Mondo Duplantis and Shaunae Miller-Uibo

Rich Perelman

April 29, 2019

tsx-pix-81618-duplantis-clears-750x500 — Sweden's Olympic and World Champion Mondo Duplantis coming back to Los Angeles for the first time since 2017 for the USATF L.A. Grand Prix.

There was a lot of action in addition to the Penn and Drake Relays, and the London Marathon over the weekend, including more world leaders:

Men:
● Pole Vault: 5.94 m (19-5 3/4), Mondo Duplantis (SWE)

Women:
● 100 m: 11.10 (=), Jenna Prandini (USA)
● 200 m: 22.53, Jenna Prandini (USA)
● 400 m: 49.05, Shaunae Miller-Uibo (BAH)
● Mile: 4:38.19. Victoria Starcher (USA/Ripley (W.Va.) High School)
● 100 m Hurdles: 12.57, Janeek Brown (JAM)
● Long Jump: 6.90 m (22-7 3/4), Chantel Malone (IVB)

Miller-Uibo’s mark is amazing for so early in the year; she won the Tom Jones Memorial in Gainesville, Florida over reigning U.S. champ Shakima Wimbley by 2.27 seconds!

At the IAAF World Challenge series opener – the Gran Premio de Brazil – in Braganca Paulista, Brazil’s Gabriel Constantino won the 110 m hurdles in a wind-aided 13.24 (+3.8 m/s) and Alison dos Santos took the 400 m hurdles in 48.84. Nigeria’s Chukwuebuka Enekwechi reached 21.77 m (71-5 1/4) in the shot.

The top women’s performances included Andrea Vargas (CRC) beating Americans Evonne Britton and Ebony Morrison in the 100 m hurdles in a windy 12.78 (+2.8) to 12.80-13.01. American Jessica Ramsey won the shot at 18.90 m (62–0 1/4).

At the IAAF Combined Events Challenge at the Metrostars meet in Lana (ITA), Czech Jan Dolezal won with a new lifetime best of 8,117, the only one above 8,000 points. American Annie Kunz won the women’s hep at 5,971. Summaries from Lana:

IAAF Combined Events Challenge/Multistars
Lana (ITA) ~ 27-28 April 2019
(Full results here)

Men: 1. Jan Dolezal (CZE), 8,117; 2. Kristjan Rosenberg (EST), 7,950; 3. Mathias Brugger (GER), 7,927; 4. Martin Roe (NOR), 7,917; 5. Tim Nowak (GER), 7,884; 6. Risto Lillemets (EST), 7,707; 7. Yuma Maryuma (JPN), 7,613; 8. Marek Lukas (CZE), 7,589; 9. Jean-Baptiste Nutte (BEL), 7,554; 10. Luiz de Araujo (BRA), 7.492.

Women: 1. Annie Kunz (USA), 5,971; 2. Kate O’Connor (IRL), 5,881; 3. Riley Cooks (USA), 5,873; 4. Allison Reaser (USA), 5,789; 5. Vanessa Chefer (BRA), 5,676; 6. Jessica Jemmett (GBR), 5,663; 7. Diane Marie-Hardy (FRA), 5,657; 8. tie, Marijke Esselink (NED) and Anne van der Wiel (NED), 5,646; 10. Martha Araujo (COL), 5,614.

WRESTLING: Wild U.S. Open sets half of the field for Final X World Championships selection finals.

Rich Perelman

April 28, 2019

tsx pix 82317 ragan, alli 750 — Worlds medalist Alli Ragan (USA)

There are no short cuts in wrestling. Not in training, not in competition and not on the long road to making the U.S. team for the 2019 World Championships. The first step was the 2019 U.S. Open in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Over four days at the South Point Arena, all 30 classes in men’s and women’s Freestyle and Greco-Roman were contested with many of the winners moving on to the Final X selection tournament to select the U.S. team for the 2019 Worlds.

While Final X slots were already reserved for U.S. medal winners at the 2018 Worlds, there were three slots available in men’s Freestyle, nine in Greco-Roman and six in women’s Freestyle:

● Men’s Freestyle:

Daton Fix at 57 kg, Yianni Diakomihalis at 65 kg and Ryan Deakin at 70 kg all fought their way to Final X. Fix was U.S. Open runner-up in 2018, made it to Final X and lost two tough matches to Tom Gilman. This time he was able to overcome Gilman, 8-4 and advance to Final X once again.

Diakomihalis was NCAA champion at 141 pounds and defeated 2017 World Team member Zain Retherford, 6-4, in the final. He was named Outstanding Wrestler in the men’s Freestyle tournament, having defeated 2016 Olympic team member Frank Molinaro earlier.

Deakin, the World Junior silver winner in 2017, was only sixth in the NCAA tournament this year at Northwestern, and came into the tournament seeded 10th. But he stunned everyone by defeating top-ranked (and former Worlds medalist) James Green, 8-6 in the final and earned a Final X berth. He may well see Green there again.

● Women’s Freestyle:

There were six spots available, with five claimed by women who were 2018 Final X participants:

50 kg: Whitney Conder
55 kg: Jacarra Winchester
57 kg: Becca Leathers
59 kg: Alli Ragan
65 kg: Forrest Molinari

All five were either World Championships Team members or prior Worlds medalists (Ragan and Leathers). The last spot, at 72 kg, went to Alvia Fiske.

● Greco-Roman:

Only Adam Coon, at 130 kg, the Worlds silver winner last year, had a Final X spot locked up, so the other nine winners all advanced to Final X. Seven of those will be repeaters in Final X:

55 kg: Max Nowry
63 kg: Ryan Mango
67 kg: Ellis Coleman
72 kg: RaVaughn Perkins
77 kg: Kamal Bey
87 kg: Pat Martinez
97 kg: G’Angelo Hancock

For those advancing to Final X, training will be focused on June. But before then is the Senior World Team Trials Challenge Tournament in Raleigh, North Carolina from 16-19 May. It’s all part of the long road to the Worlds. Summaries from Las Vegas:

USA Wrestling U.S. Open
Las Vegas, Nevada (USA) ~ 25-27 April 2019
(Full results here)

Men’s Freestyle

57 kg/ Final: Daton Fix d. Thomas Gilman, 8-4; Third: Zane Richards d. Vito Arujau, 8-2. Fifth: Darian Cruz d. Nathan Tomasello, forfeit. Seventh: Frank Perrelli d. Zach Sanders, 2-1.

61 kg/ Final: Cody Brewer pinned Nico Megaludis (3:32). Third: Joey Palmer d. Tyler Graff, 2-2 (criteria). Fifth: Cory Clark d. Anthony Ramos, 7-4. Seventh: Earl Hall d. Beau Bartlett, 8-6.

65 kg/ Final: Yianni Diakomihalis d. Zain Retherford, 6-4. Third: Jayson Ness pinned Frank Molinaro (1:45). Fifth: Jaydin Eierman d. Jordan Oliver, forfeit. Seventh: Kanen Storr d. B.J. Futrell, forfeit.

70 kg/ Final: Ryan Deakin d. James Green, 8-6. Third: Jason Nolf d. Alec Pantaleo, 10-6. Fifth: Brandon Sorenson d. Nazar Kulchytskyy, forfeit. Seventh: Jason Chamberlain tech.fall Anthony Collica, 11-0.

74 kg/ Final: Isaiah Martinez d. Tommy Gantt, 6-4; Third: Anthony Valencia d. Logan Massa, 4-4. Fifth: Brian Murphy tech.fall Dan Vallimont, 10-0. Seventh: Jared Frayer tech.fall Quinton Godley, 15-4.

79 kg/ Final: Alex Dieringer tech.fall Chance Marsteller, 11-0; Third: Nick Becker tech.fall Matthew Finesliver, 11-0; Fifth: Geno Morelli tech.fall Stacey Davis, 17-5; Seventh: Ben Harvey d. C.J. Brucki, 10-4,

86 kg/ Final: Pat Downey d. Nick Heflin, 10-4; Third: Sammy Brooks d. Brett Pfarr, 7-3; Fifth: Nate Jackson d. Myles Martin, forfeit; Seventh: Kenneth Courts d. Maxwell Dean, forfeit.

92 kg/ Final: Bo Nickal tech.fall Hayden Zilmer, 13-3; Third: Michael Macchiavello d. T.J. Dudley, medical forfeit; Fifth: Kollin Moore tech.fall Riley Lefever, 15-4; Seventh: Timmy McCall d. Scottie Boykin, 8-6.

97 kg/ Final: Kyven Gadson d. Benjamin Honis, 5-0; Third: Danny Chaid d. Ty Walz, 5-5;
Fifth: Kevin Beazley d. Michael Boykin, forfeit; Seventh: Wynn Michalak d. Jeremiah Imonode, 3-2.

125 kg/ Final: Adam Coon d. Tony Nelson, 5-2; Third: Dom Bradley d. Derek White, 3-3; Fifth: Youssif Hemida pinned Tate Orndorff (1:14); Seventh: Garrett Ryand.James Romero, forfeit.

Greco-Roman

55 kg/ Final: Max Nowry d. Dalton Duffield, 5-3. Third: Jabari Moody pinned Ibrahim Bunduka, 2:00. Fifth: Britain Longmire d. Jemone Carter, 8-0. Seventh: Joe Deangelo d. Bernardino Gomez, forfeit.

60 kg/ Final: Leslie Fuenffinger d. Ildar Hafizov, 6-4. Third: Dalton Roberts d. Randon Miranda, 6-0. Fifth: Taylor Lamont d. Matthew Schmitt, 4-4 (criteria). Seventh: Devon Jackson tech.fall Joshua Wright, 8-0.

63 kg/ Final: Ryan Mango tech.fall Sam Jones, 9-1. Third: Travis Rice tech.fall Kyle Evans, 10-0. Fifth: Nathan Cervantez d. Xavier Johnson, forfeit. Seventh: Dylan Gregerson d. Christopher Anderson, 10-8.

67 kg/ Final: Ellis Coleman tech.fall Hayden Tuma, 12-3. Third: Jamel Johnson d. Austin Morrow, 5-0. Fifth: Jarod Verkleeren tech.fall Morgan Flaharty, 12-4. Seventh: Jessy Williams tech.fall Daniel Van Hoose, 10-2.

72 kg/ Final: Raymond Bunker d. RaVaughn Perkins, 4-3. Third: Michael Hooker d. Lenny Merkin, 13-10. Fifth: Nick Tarpley d. Colin Schubert, 4-4 (criteria). Seventh: Connor Myers d. Eleazar Deluca, injury default.

77 kg/ Final: Kamal Bey d. Pat Smith, 7-5. Third: Mason Manville d. Corey Hope, 3-0. Fifth: Jesse Porter tech.fall Peyton Walsh, 8-0. Seventh: Tyler Dow d. Brandon Mueller.

82 kg/ Final: Kendrick Sanders tech.fall Spencer Woods, 10-0. Third: Chandler Rogers tech.fall Terrence Zaleski, 8-0. Fifth: John Stefanowicz (Marines) d. Cheney Haight, forfeit. Seventh: Carter Nielsen d. Jacob Fisher, 7-5.

87 kg/ Final: Joe Rau d. Patrick Martinez, 3-1. Third: Ben Provisor tech.fall Vaughn Monreal-Berner, 9-0 (1:37). Fifth: James Souza d. Barrett Stanghill, forfeit. Seventh: George Sikes d. Haszell West, forfeit.

97 kg/ Final: G’Angelo Hancock d. Lucas Sheridan, 9-0. Third: Daniel Miller tech.fall Eric Twohey, 9-1. Fifth: Khymba Johnson tech.fall Blake Smith, 8-0. Seventh: Orry Elor d. Easton Hargrave, 12-7.

130 kg/ Final: Jacob Mitchell d. Tate Orndorff, 7-0. Third: Toby Erickson tech.fall Haydn Maley, 8-0. Fifth: West Cathcart tech.fall Ike Okoli, 8-0. Seventh: Thomas Helton tech.fall Zach Schrader, 9-0.

Women’s Freestyle

50 kg/ Final: Whitney Conder d. Erin Golston, 7-0. Third: Victoria Anthony pinned Haley Augello, 0:24. Fifth: Amy Fearnside d. Emily Shilson, 12-3. Seventh: Alleida Martinez d. Maria Vidales, 8-0.

53 kg/ Final: Tiare Ikei tech.fall Katherine Shai, 14-4. Third: Gracie Figueroa d. Cody Pfau, forfeit. Fifth: Peyton Prussin d. Marissa Ritchie, 10-6. Seventh: Madison Angelito tech.fall Kierstien Bush, 10-0.

55 kg/ Final: Jacarra Winchester tech.fall Areana Villaescusa, 10-0. Third: Dominique Parrish tech.fall Alisha Howk (Sunkist Kids), 10-0. Fifth: Shauna Isbell-Kemp d. Alexandra Hedrick, 4-3. Seventh: Ronna Heaton (Sunkist Kids) d. Samantha Klingel, forfeit.

57 kg/ Final: Becka Leathers d. Jenna Burkert, 7-5. Third: Cameron Guerin pinned Kelsey Campbell, 0:57. Fifth: Allison Petix d. Koral Sugiyama, 8-8. Seventh: Dajan Treder tech.fall Sierra Brown-Ton, 12-2.

59 kg/ Final: Alli Ragan tech.fall Abigail Nette, 10-0. Third: Lauren Mason d. Lauren Louive, 2-2 (criteria). Fifth: Megan Black pinned Maya Porter, 1:52. Seventh: Daishea Jaime tech.fall Alayna Swilley, 10-0.

62 kg/ Final: Kayla Miracle tech.fall Desiree Zavala, 10-0. Third: Alexis Porter d. Brenda Reyna, injury default. Fifth: Alexandria Liles pinned Amber Strong, 1:22. Seventh: Natalia Hinojo d. Bridgette Duty, forfeit.

65 kg/ Final: Forrest Molinari d. Maya Nelson, 5-1. Third: Macey Kilty tech.fall Nicole Joseph, 11-0. Fifth: Destiny Lyng d. Julia Salata, forfeit. Seventh: Gabrielle Garcia pinned Melissa Jacobs, 1:56.

68 kg/ Final: Randi Beltz d. Jayden Laurent, 10-1. Third: Ashlynn Ortega d. Kayla Marano, 6-1. Fifth: Skylar Grote tech.fall Anna Naylor, 10-0. Seventh: Marilyn Garcia tech.fall Ophelia Lara, 12-2.

72 kg/ Final: Alyvia Fiske d. Victoria Francis, 5-4. Third: Iman Kazem tech.fall Lena Flanagan, 13-2 . Fifth: Rachel Watters d. Alexis Gomez, forfeit. Seventh: Dymond Guilford tech.fall Myranda Velazquez, 10-0.

76 kg/ Final: Precious Bell pinned Hannah Gladden. Third: Korinahe Bullock d. Nahiela Magee, 4-4 (criteria). Fifth: Kenya-Lee Sloan d. Paige Baynes, forfeit. Seventh: Payton Rigert d. Leilani Camargo-Naone forfeit.

TABLE TENNIS: Ma keys World Championships sweep (again) for China

Rich Perelman

April 28, 2019

tsx pix 2019-428 long ma 750 (Remy Gros) — Chinese superstar Long Ma, whose name will be etched for a third straight time on the perpetual World Championships trophy (Photo: ITTF/Remy Gros)

The 2019 Liebherr World Table Tennis Championships confirmed what most people already knew: China continues as the dominant force in the sport and Long Ma is one of the great men’s champions of all time.

China won all five titles for the ninth time in its history, but for the first time since 2011:

● Long Ma led a 1-3 finish in the men’s Singles and won his third title in a row. Only Victor Barna (HUN: 1932-34) and Zhuang Zedong (CHN: 1961-65) had previously won three titles in a row. Ma’s win was the eighth men’s Singles title in a row for China.

● Shiwen Liu led a sweep of all four medals in the women’s Singles. That’s 13 in a row for the Chinese women going back to 1995 and 20 of the last 21 world titles.

● Ma and Chuqin Wang took the men’s Doubles title and Jingkun Liang and Gaoyuan Lin won one of the bronze medals. That’s 13 of the last 14 titles for China in this event.

● Yingsha Sun and Manyu Wang won the women’s Doubles crown and Meng Chen and Yuling Zhu claimed one of the bronzes. China has now won 16 straight world titles in this event.

● Xin Xu and Liu won the Mixed Doubles and Zhendong Fan and Ning Ding took a bronze. All-Chinese teams won 11 world titles in a row from 1991-2011, but hadn’t won since.

All of this adds up to 12 medals for the Chinese, with Japan next at three. Impressive, and scary; summaries:

ITTF World Championships
Budapest (HUN) ~ 21-28 April 2019
(Full results here)

Men/Singles: 1. Long Ma (CHN); 2. Mattias Falck (SWE); 3. Jingkun Liang (CHN) and Jae-Hyun An (KOR). Semis: Ma d. Liang, 4-1; Falck d. An, 4-3. Final: Ma d. Falck, 4-1.

Men/Doubles: 1. Long Ma/Chuqin Wang (CHN); 2. Ovidiu Ionescu (ROU)/Alvaro Robles (ESP); 3. Tiago Apolonia/Joao Montiero (POR) and Jingkun Liang/Gaoyuan Lin (CHN). Semis: Ma/Wang d. Liang/Lin, 4-0; Ionescu/Robles d. Apolonia/Montiero, 4-3. Final: Ma/Wang d. Ionescu/Robles, 4-1.

Women/Singles: 1. Shiwen Liu (CHN); 2. Meng Chen (CHN); 3. Ning Ding (CHN) and Manyu Wang (CHN). Semis: Chen d. Wang, 4-0; Liu d. Ding, 4-2. Final: Liu d. Chen, 4-2.

Women/Doubles: 1. Yingsha Sun/Manyu Wang (CHN); 2. Hina Hayata/Mima Ito (JPN); 3. Honoka Hashimoto/Hitomi Sato (JPN) and Meng Chen/Yuling Zhu (CHN). Semis: Hayata/Ito d. Hashimoto/Sato, 4-2; Sun/Wang d. Chen/Zhu, 4-3. Final: Sun/Wang d. Hayata/Ito, 4-2.

Mixed Doubles: 1. Xin Xu/Shiwen Liu (CHN); 2. Maharu Yoshimura/Kasumi Ishikawa (JPN); 3. Zhendong Fan/Ning Ding (CHN) and Patrick Franziska/Petrissa Solja (GER). Semis: Xu/Liu d. Fan/Ding, 4-0; Yoshimura/Ishikawa d. Franziska/Solja, 4-1. Final: Xu/Lin d. Yoshimura/Ishikawa, 4-1.

LANE ONE: Getting Team USA gear is a lot easier now than it was for the forgotten Olympians of 1980

Rich Perelman

April 28, 2019

Olympic bronze medalist Anita DeFrantz filed an unsuccessful lawsuit against U.S. President Jimmy Carter to try and overcome his American boycott of the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, and for the only time in the history of the modern Games of the Olympiad, there was no American team.

DeFrantz was later elected to the International Olympic Committee and today serves as the senior member in the United States. As such, she has written and spoken widely about her Olympic experience and about the 1980 boycott.

One of the common aspects of her talks is usually a side comment about clothing. She frequently notes that among the many negative aspects of not having an Olympic team in 1980, American athletes in many sports didn’t get any “USA” gear.

As she points out, in order to get uniforms, sweats, bags and other stuff with “USA” all over it, you have to – in those days – be part of the team. Otherwise, it simply wasn’t sold, or otherwise available.

The situation is a lot different today, but DeFrantz’s comments should lead us to see just how far the pendulum has swung. And it has swung a long way.

Licensing and merchandising of every kind of logo and trademark is a big business in the U.S. and abroad. And stuff with “Team USA” or U.S. team apparel and accessories for any of the U.S. National Governing Bodies, is available in an avalanche of types, sizes and styles.

How many?

A very quick check of the United States Olympic Committee shopping site will stun you. How about 1,929 items?!?

That’s what the on-site search counter shows. What are these things? Well, let’s see:

● 1,135 kinds and styles of T-shirts;
● 187 hats of various types, including caps and bucket hats;
● 28 styles of cups, mugs and shot glasses (is drinking a sport now?);
● 28 jackets of various kinds;
● 19 styles of flags, banners and posters.

Plus a staggering 170 kinds of “accessories,” including scarves, backpacks and luggage, watches, luggage tags, keychains, pins and … face tattoos. Just in case you have a newborn, there are 11 items for babies and toddlers.

The scarves are especially wild: there are 35 styles, mostly from U.S. Soccer and 13 with the individual names of players (past and present) of the U.S. Women’s National Team, including Carli Lloyd, Megan Rapinoe, Julie Ertz, Alex Morgan, Alyssa Naeher and many more. All of those are generally $29.99 unless they are on sale.

The USOC’s shopping site offers many items themed for individual sports and/or their National Governing Bodies, even if most people aren’t too familiar with them. The top sport-themed/NGB-themed collections:

● 156 items from U.S. Soccer
● 71 items from USA Golf
● 70 items from USA Speedskating
● 65 items from USA Bobsled & Skeleton
● 65 items from USA Karate
● 65 items from USA Luge
● 65 items from USA Table Tennis
● 65 items from USA Team Handball
● 64 items from USA Curling
● 51 items from USA Basketball

There are also 25 items from USA Surfing, but just eight for track & field, two for gymnastics and one for swimming. That’s because USA Track & Field, USA Swimming and USA Gymnastics all have their own gear. USATF gets the prize for selection at 442 items for one sport, followed by USA Swimming at 75 and USA Gymnastics at 57.

This is a lot different than what DeFrantz faced in 1980!

And it’s a good thing. It’s commercial, of course, but licensed merchandise is a way for people to feel a little closer to their favorite team, and the U.S. Olympic Team is certainly a team that many people want to support.

One of the changes from DeFrantz’s time is that the USOC, in a time when licensing was still in its infancy – and before online shopping – used to offer souvenirs in return for donations. There were wall plaques and paperweights and even a “desk spinner,” which you could flip around with your finger while talking on the phone.

This is not used now and the “Donate” portion of the USOC site is a straight donation platform that does not offer premiums.

OK, so what are the strangest “Team USA” items available for sale?

Our vote here is for two:

● The “Team USA 3.5″ Brass Brazed Cheering Cowbell,” made of steel and covered with recycled bullet casings from a military practice range … from Norway! It “makes a strong sound,” and is available for $45.99 … while they last!

● The “Team USA Dog Leash,” of 100% Nylon, approximately 72 inches long with woven graphics that say “Team USA.” It’s made in the U.S. and is available for $23.99.

Really? Why not! Sure, things are a little out of hand, but it’s better than in DeFrantz’s day, when no one got to share the U.S. Olympic “spirit.” Maybe we have a little too much of it – a Team USA dog leash? – but it’s better than too little.

Rich Perelman
Editor

SPORT CLIMBING: Song’s world record and Garnbret’s win headline Chongqing World Cup

Rich Perelman

April 28, 2019

tsx pix 2019-428 garnbret, janja moscow (the circuit) 750 — Slovenian climbing star Janja Garnbret (Photo: The Circuit/Climbing.com)

The stars of the early IFSC World Cups shone brightly in Chongqing (CHN), as home favorite YiLing Song and Slovanian star Janja Garnbret both produced brilliant World Cup victories.

Song, the new star in Speed this season, placed a permanent mark on the sport with a world record of 7.101 seconds up the 15 m wall in the quarterfinals, breaking the mark of France’s Anouck Jaubert (7.320) from last season.

Song showed that the mark was no fluke with a semifinal win in 7.110 – no. 2 ever – in the semis against Jaubert, who was within 1/100th of her own record at 7.321! In the final, Song clocked only 7.673, but it was more than enough as Pole Aleksandra Rudzinska fell.

That might have been the highlight of the event, but then Garnbret took over in the Bouldering program. She ripped through the program with four tops, the same as Japan’s Akiyo Noguchi, but on fewer tries. It was Garnbret’s third straight victory in the World Cup this season, and her eighth career victory, all in the last three seasons. She remains the Olympic favorite for 2020.

The men’s events also had surprises, with France’s Manuel Cornu taking his first World Cup victory (and first World Cup medal). He had been third in the 2016 World Championships, but never better than fifth in a World Cup; he beat former World Champion Tomoa Narasaki (JPN) for the victory.

Indonesia’s Alfian Muhammad dominated the men’s Speed event, touching in 5.970 in the final over Ukraine’s Konstantin Pavlenko (6.315). Summaries:

IFSC World Cup
Chongqing (CHN) ~ 26-28 April 2019
(Full results here)

Men

Bouldering: 1. Manuel Cornu (FRA), 3T4z-5/5; 2. Tomoa Narasaki (JPN), 3T4z-5/6; 3. Anze Peharc (SLO), 3T4z-10/10; 4. Sascha Lehmann (SUI), 2T4z-3/10; 5. Alexsey Rubtsov (RUS), 2T/4z-4/11.

Speed/ Final: 1. Alfian Muhammad (INA), 5.970; 2. Kostiantyn Pavlenko (UKR), 6.315; Third: 3. Sergey Rukin (RUS), 6.808; 4. QiXin Zhong (CHN), fell.

Women

Bouldering: 1. Janja Garnbret (SLO), 4T4z-8/6; 2. Akiyo Noguchi (JPN), 4T4z-12/9; 3. Jessica Pilz (AUT), 3T4z-8/11; 4. Petra Klingler (SUI), 1T3z-2/8; 5. Futaba Ito (JPN), 1T2z-1/4.

Speed/ Final: 1. YiLing Song (CHN), 7.673; 2. Aleksandra Rudzinska (POL), fell. Third: 3. Iullia Kaplina (RUS), 8.492; 4. Anouck Jaubert (FRA), fell.

DIVING: China dominates, but wins “only” eight events at Montreal World Series

Rich Perelman

April 28, 2019

tsx pix 2019-428 daley, tom 2012 750 (The Rambling Man) — Two-time World Platform Champion Tom Daley (GBR) (Photo: The Rambling Man and Kim Ratcliffe of Think Equestrian via Wikimedia)

Well, it had to end eventually. China’s 20-event win streak in the FINA Diving World Series came to an end at the third stop of the circuit, in Montreal (CAN), but that didn’t mean that it didn’t dominate the event.

After winning all 10 events at the first two World Series stops in Japan and China, it was North Korea which triumphed in the women’s 10 m Synchro event, with Mi Rae Kim and Jin Mi Jo scoring 329.70. Canada’s Meaghan Benfeito and Caeli McKay were second at 328.47 and China’s Wei Lu and Jiaqi Zhang finished third (320.64). OK, the streak was over.

But a new one started right away, with Han Wang and Wei Lu taking the women’s 3 m and 10 m events and Siyi Xie winning the men’s 3 m Springboard. But after seven wins in a row, it was two-time World Champion Tom Daley (GBR) who won the 10 m Platform event to end China’s individual-event streak for 2019 at 11 straight. The Chinese went 2-3 with Jian Yang and Hao Yang, but Daley led from start to finish.

So, with three meets completed and two remaining, China has won 28 events to one each for Great Britain and North Korea. Next up is the World Series in Kazan (RUS) on 10-12 May. Summaries from Montreal:

FINA Diving World Series no. 3
Montreal (CAN) ~ 26-28 April 2019
(Full results here)

Men

3m Springboard: 1. Siyi Xie (CHN), 537.65; 2. Jack Laugher (GBR), 508.85; 3. Yuan Cao (CHN), 495.70.

10 m Platform: 1. Tom Daley (GBR), 550.05; 2. Jian Yang (CHN), 537.60; 3. Hao Yang (CHN), 497.15. Also: 6. David Dinsmore (USA), 450.95.

3 m Synchro: 1. Yuan Cao/Siyi Xie (CHN), 457.14; 2. Rommel Pacheco Marrufo/Jahir Ocampo Marroquin (MEX), 433.02; 3. Andrew Capobianco/Mike Hixon (USA), 416.49.

10 m Synchro: 1. Hao Yang/Junjie Lian (CHN), 464.52; 2. Tom Daley/Matt Lee (GBR), 412.20; 3. Kevin Berlin Reyes/Andres Villarreal Tudon (MEX), 398.46. Also: 6. David Dinsmore/Brandon Loschiavo (USA), 378.84.

Women

3 m Springboard: 1. Han Wang (CHN), 377.40; 2. Tingmao Shi (CHN), 370.00; 3. Maddison Keeney (AUS), 354.85.

10 m Platform: 1. Wei Lu (CHN), 423.85; 2. Yajie Si (CHN), 390.60; 3. Mi Rae Kim (PRK), 369.80.

3 m Synchro: 1. Tingmao Shi/Han Wang (CHN), 327.00; 2. Jennifer Abel/Melissa Citrini-Beaulieu (CAN), 306.27; 3. Maddison Keeney/Annabelle Smith (AUS), 303.39. Also: 4. Brooke Schultz/Samantha Bromberg (USA), 288.60.

10 m Synchro: 1. Mi Rae Kim/Jin Mi Jo (PRK), 329.70; 2. Meaghan Benfeito/Caeli McKay (CAN), 328.47; 3. Wei Lu/Jiaqi Zhang (CHN), 320.64. Also: 7. Delaney Schnell/Jessica Parratto (USA), 270.42.

Mixed

3 m Synchro: 1. Hao Yang/Yani Chang (CHN), 318.15; 2. Tom Daley/Grace Reid (GBR), 314.10; 3. Francois Imbeau-Dulac/Jennifer Abel (CAN), 310.89.

10 m Synchro: 1. Junjie Lian/Yajie Si (CHN), 342.21; 2. Il Myong Hyon/Jin Mi Jo (PRK), 320.10; 3. Nikita Shleikher/Iullia Timoshinina (RUS), 310.08. Also: 7. Tyler Downs/Katrina Young (USA), 271.53.

CURLING: Bottcher sweeps through Humpty’s Champions Cup for third straight GSOC win

Rich Perelman

April 28, 2019

tsx pix 2019-423 bottcher, brendan 750 — Brendan Bottcher (CAN) skipped the winners in the Humpty's Champions Cup

The Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling is a league which brings together the finest teams in the world, so when one team gets on a winning streak, it’s worth noticing.

Brendan Bottcher’s squad is being noticed after its third straight win, including the Canadian Open, the Players Championship and now the Humpty’s Champions Cup held in Saskatoon (CAN).

The Edmonton-based quartet of Bottcher, Darren Moulding, Bradley Thiessen and Karrick Martin defeated Scotland’s Bruce Mouat in the semifinals and then overcame two-time World Champion Kevin Koe’s rink in the final for a 6-5 win and the $40,000 first prize.

The final was typically close, although Bottcher had a 3-1 lead after two ends. It was tied at 3-3 after four ends; Bottcher went up 5-3 in the fifth, but Koe scored single points in the sixth and eighth ends to tie. Bottcher’s rink was able to score one in the extra end for the win.

The women’s division saw another victory for Silvana Tirinzoni’s rink from Switzerland. Already the World Champions for 2019, they slipped past Kerri Einarson (CAN) and her rink, 603.

The final was tied at 2-2 after four ends, but the Swiss scored twice in the fifth end and got another point in the seventh and eighth ends to salt away the title and the $40,000 first prize.

It’s a dream year for the team, which added a former World Champion skip in Alina Paetz during the season and the addition paid huge dividends, as they are the team to beat heading into the 2019-20 season coming in October. Summaries:

Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling/Humpty’s Champions Cup
Saskatoon (CAN) ~ 23-28 April 2019
(Full results here)

Men: 1. Brendan Bottcher (CAN); 2. Kevin Koe (CAN); 3. Bruce Mouat (SCO) and Niklas Edin (SWE). Semis: Bottcher d. Mouat, 7-2; Koe d. Edin, 6-5. Final: Bottcher d. Koe, 6-5.

Women: 1. Silvana Tirinzoni (SUI); 2. Kerri Einarson (CAN); 3. Rachel Homan (CAN) and Team Hasselborg (SWE). Semis: Tirinzoni d. Homan, 5-4; Einarson d. Hasselborg, 5-4. Final: Tirinzoni d. Einarson, 6-3.

ARCHERY: Ellison storms to World Cup win in season opener in Medellin

Rich Perelman

April 28, 2019

tsx pix 2019-428 ellison, brady medellin 750 — U.S. shooting star Brady Ellison (Photo: World Archery)

American Brady Ellison is, without a doubt, one of the finest archers in the world. But he’s been very unhappy with his inability to win a World Cup stage over the last three years.

So he was all smiles when he ran through the field like a buzzsaw in Medellin (COL), winning his matches by decisive 6-2, 7-3 and 6-4 scores before heading into the final against Korea’s Woo-Seok Lee.

But that was no problem, either, as Ellison outscored Lee, 29-27, 28-28, 30-27, 29-29 for a 6-2 victory.

“It’s emotional, man,” he said afterwards. “It’s been a long frickin’ time. You know it’s funny when we were coming out to the podium, [two-time World Champion] Kim Woo-Jin was like ‘welcome back.’ And coming from him I think it’s a strong statement.

“I think I’m back. I think I’m only going to get stronger. I’m still nervous about these tournaments because it’s been so long. I still need to keep working, I still need another couple of months and then I’ll be back to 100%. Yeah, then there’s more to come; maybe that 700 [in qualifying].”

Ellison shot 692 to co-lead the qualifying in Medellin, on his way to his 11th World Cup win, including four World Cup Final victories. His last stage win? In Medellin also, back in 2016.

He also teamed up with the newest American shooting star, 15-year-old Casey Kaufhold, to win a silver in the Mixed Team event. They fought Korea’s Kim and Chae-Young Kang to a standstill, with a 19-19 shoot-off in the fifth end, decided by a closest-to-the-center arrow, but ended up second.

Kaufhold, competing in her first outdoor World Cup, reached the second round in the women’s event, won by Kang over France’s Melanie Gaubil, 6-0.

In the Compound division, Colombia’s Sara Lopez earned her 10th World Cup stage win in a closest-to-the-center final-arrow battle with Jodi Vermeulen (NED). American Alex Ruiz, 19, won the bronze medal and took home three medals in all, as she was part of the runner-up Compound Team event and won the Mixed Team Compound event with Matt Sullivan.

Braden Gellenthien of the U.S. reached the final of the men’s Compound division, but ended up just short of Dutch star Mike Schloesser, losing 149-145. Summaries:

World Archery World Cup no. 1
Medellin (COL) ~ 22-28 April 2019
(Full results here)

Men

Recurve: 1. Brady Ellison (USA); 2. Woo-Seok Lee (KOR); 3. Woo-Jin Kim (KOR); 4. Sjef van den Berg (NED). Semis: Ellison d. van den Berg, 6-4; Lee d. Kim, 6-2. Third: Kim d. van den Berg, 6-4. Final: Ellison d. Lee, 6-2.

Team Recurve: 1. Korea (Woo-Jin Kim, Seung-Yun Lee, Woo-Seok Lee); 2. Australia; 3. Netherlands; 4. Canada. Semis: Korea d. Canada, 6-0; Australia d. Netherlands, 5-3. Third: Netherlands d. Canada, 5-4 (29-28). Final: Korea d. Australia, 5-3.

Compound: 1. Mike Schloesser (NED); 2. Braden Gellenthien (USA); 3. Jean Philippe Boulch (FRA); 4. Tate Morgan (USA). Semis: Gellenthien d. Morgan, 150-146; Schloesser d. Boulch, 149-148. Third: Boulch d. Morgan 145-145 (shoot-off: 10-9). Final: Schloesser d. Gellenthien, 149-145.

Team Compound: 1. Italy (Pagnoni, Pagni, Mior); 2. France; 3. Netherlands; 4. United States (Matt Sullivan, Tate Morgan, Kris Schaff). Semis: Italy d. Netherlands, 237-231; France d. U.S., 235-235 (shoot-off: 29-28); Third: Netherlands d. U.S., 233-232. Final: Italy d. France, 234-231.

Women

Recurve: 1. Chae-Young Kang (KOR); 2. Melanie Gaubil (FRA); 3. Tomoni Sugimoto (JPN); 4. Lu Lan (CHN). Semis: Kang d. Sugimoto, 6-0; Gaubil d. Lan, 7-1. Third: Sugimoto d. Lan, 6-4. Final: Kang d. Gaubil, 6-0.

Team Recurve: 1. Korea (Kang, Choi, Chang); 2. Italy; 3. France; 4. Spain. Semis: Korea d. France, 6-0; Italy d. Spain, 5-4 (shoot-off: 27-26). Third: France d. Spain, 5-3. Final: Korea d. Italy, 6-0.

Compound: 1. Sara Lopez (COL); 2. Jodi Vermeulen (NED); 3. Alexis Ruiz (USA); 4. Tanja Jensen (DEN). Semis: Lopez d. Jensen, 149-146; Vermeulen d. Ruiz, 148-142. Third: Ruiz d. Jensen, 145-144. Final: Lopez d. Vermeulen, 146-146 (9-9, closest to the center).

Team Compound: 1. Colombia (Lopez, Usquiano, Sandino Borrais); 2. United States (Alexis Ruiz, Sophia Strachan, Jamie van Natta). 3. Italy; 4. Peru. Semis: Colombia d. Peru, 237-212; U.S. d. Italy, 232-222. Third: Italy d. Peru, 222-195. Final: Colombia d. U.S., 230-229.

Mixed

Team Recurve: 1. Korea (Chae-Young Kang/Woo-Jin Kim); 2. United States (Casey Kaufhold/Brady Ellison); 3. China; 4. France. Semis: Korea d. France, 6-2; U.S. d. China, 6-2. Third: China d. France, 5-3. Final: Korea d. U.S., 5-4 (19-19, closest to the center).

Team Compound: 1. United States (Alexis Ruiz/Matt Sullivan); 2. France; 3. Colombia; 4. Netherlands. Semis: U.S. d. Netherlands, 156-155; France d. Colombia, 157-154. Third: Colombia d. Netherlands, 156-148. Final: U.S. d. France, 155-152.

FENCING: Kharlan claims 50th career in-season medal in Sabre World Cup in Seoul

Rich Perelman

April 28, 2019

tsx pix 2019-428 kharlan, olga on attack 750 — Ukraine's Sabre World Champion Olga Kharlan on the attack!

The three-time World Champion in the women’s Sabre, Olga Kharlan, is already in the record books as one of the greatest fencers of her generation. But she reached a new plateau with her 15th FIE Grand Prix victory and her 50th Grand Prix and World Cup medal in her brilliant career.

Kharlan defeated Korea’s Ji-Yeon Kim by 15-14 in a thrilling final to claim the victory. She’s still only 28 has been wining medals at the international level for 10 years:

● 26 World Cup medals from 2011-17: 12-6-8
● 24 Grand Prix medals from 2009-19: 15-2-7
● 6 World Champs medals from 2011-17: 3-2-1
● 2 Olympic Games medals from 2012-16: 0-0-2

Kim, 31, is no slouch, either. Her silver gives her 19 career Grand Prix (9) and World Cup (10) medals, but that’s 31 behind Kharlan!

Embed from Getty Images

The men’s Grand Prix final was just as close, with Sang-Uk Oh – a Team gold medalist at last year’s World Championships – outlasting Hungary’s 2012-16 Olympic Champion, Aron Szilagyi, 15-14, in the final.

Amazingly, this was the exact same final pairing as at the first Grand Prix of the season in Cairo (EGY) last February, where Oh defeated Szilagyi, 15-10. Sunday’s victory is Oh’s fourth Grand Prix gold in his career, for the no. 2-ranked Sabreman in the world. For Szilagyi, 29, he won his 15th Grand Prix medal (2-6-7) and 30th career “in-season” medal as he has 15 World Cup podiums as well (5-5-5). It makes Kharlan’s total even more impressive.

American Eli Dershwitz, ranked no. 1 coming into the week, retained his position by finishing fifth once again, losing in the quarterfinals to the eventual bronze medalist Jung-Hwan Kim, 15-11. Summaries:

FIE Sabre Grand Prix
Seoul (KOR) ~ 26-28 April 2019
(Full results here)

Men: 1. Sang-Uk Oh (KOR); 2. Aron Szilagyi (HUN); 3. Max Hartung (GER) and Jung-Hwan Kim (KOR). Semis: Oh d. Hartung, 15-2; Szilagyi d. Kim, 15-13. Final: Oh d. Szilagyi, 15-14.

Women: 1. Olga Kharlan (UKR); 2. Ji-Yeon Kim (KOR); 3. Manon Brunet (FRA) and Ji-Yeon Seo (KOR). Semis: Kim d. Seo, 15-10; Kharlan d. Brunet, 15-12. Final: Kharlan d. Kim, 15-14.

GYMNASTICS: Dina Averina wins three golds; Zeng get rare U.S. medal in Baku World Cup

Rich Perelman

April 28, 2019

tsx pix 2019-407 averina dina+arina 750 — Dominant: Dina and Arina Averina (RUS)

The elite of the Rhythmic Gymnastics world converged on Baku (AZE) for the fourth and final FIG World Cup of 2019, once again confirming the status of Russian twins Dina and Arina Averina as the finest in the world.

Dina, the reigning World Champion, won the All-Around in a rout over Arina by 85.600-79.850, and then picked up golds in the Clubs and Hoop. She also finished second to Israel’s Linoy Ashram in the Ball event, and a bronze in Ball for medals in all five individual programs.

Arina took silvers in the Clubs and Ribbon and finished fifth in Ball for three medals in all.

American Laura Zeng, 19, the only U.S. performer ever to win a World Cup medal, added to her collection with a bronze in Hoop. It’s her sixth career World Cup medal – and fourth in Hoop – and she has won at least one World Cup medal in each of the last four seasons.

Although this was the final World Cup of the 2019 season, the second-level circuit, the World Challenge Cup, will start next week in Guadalajara (ESP) and continue into September. Summaries from Baku:

FIG Rhythmic World Cup/AGF Trophy
Baku (AZE) ~ 26-28 April 2019
(Full results here)

All-Around: 1. Dina Averina (RUS), 85.600; 2. Arina Averina (RUS), 79.850; 3. Vlada Nikolchenko (UKR), 78.900; 4. Katsiaryna Halkina (BLR), 78.200; 5. Katrin Taseva (BUL), 78.150. Also in the top 25: 19. Laura Zeng (USA), 71.350; … 25. Camilla Feeley (USA), 67.950.

Ball: 1. Linoy Asham (ISR), 21.750; 2. D. Averina (RUS), 21.100; 3. Halkina (BLR), 20.500.

Clubs: 1. D. Averina (RUS), 22.500; 2. A. Averina (RUS), 22.300; 3. Nikolchenko (UKR), 21.400.

Hoop: 1. D. Averina (RUS), 22.000; 2. Ashram (ISR), 21.850; 3. Zeng (USA), 20.350.

Ribbon: 1. Anastasiia Salos (BLR), 20.650; 2. A. Averina (RUS), 20.600; 3. D. Averina (RUS), 20.250.

Group/All-Around: 1. Japan, 49.250; 2. Russia, 48.950; 3. Bulgaria, 48.850. Also: 13. United States, 39.800.

Group/5 Balls: 1. Russia, 24.850; 2. Japan, 24.450; 3. Ukraine, 24.350.

Group/3 Hoops+2 Clubs: 1. Bulgaria, 25.550; 2. Russia, 25.250; 3. Ukraine, 25.150.

SHOOTING: Strong showing for India in Rifle/Pistol World Cup in China

Rich Perelman

April 28, 2019

tsx pix 2019-428 grosdeva, maria beijing WCup 750 — The amazing Maria Grozdeva (BUL), 46, winner of the 25 m Pistol event in Beijing (Photo: ISSF)

The continuing quest for Olympic quota places earned headlines in India as it scored a tournament-high three gold medals in the latest ISSF World Cup for rifle and pistol in Beijing (CHN).

Abhisek Verma won the men’s 10 m Air Pistol for his first-ever World Cup victory (and World Cup medal), and Indian teams with both of the Mixed events, in 10 m Air Pistol and 10 m Air Rifle.

China won two individual golds, in the men’s 25 m Rapid-Fire Pistol (Junmin Lin) and the 10m Air Rifle (Zicheng Hui).

One of the highlights of the week came on the final day as Bulgaria’s Maria Grozdeva, 46, won the 25 m Pistol competition to secure an Olympic quota place and to claim her 18th career World Cup victory, and 15th with the Sport Pistol. She won her first back in 1993, and also has victories in two World Cup finals to go along with Olympic golds in Sport Pistol in 2000-04 (and three other Olympic medals from 1992-04). She’s not done yet!

Along the same lines, 50-year-old Nino Salukvadze (GEO) likely assured herself a place in Tokyo for the 2020 Games after a fifth-place finish in the women’s 10 m Air Pistol event. As the others in front of her in the event had already won quota places, her finish may allow her (if selected) to compete in an amazing ninth Olympic Games, beginning with the 1988 Seoul Games. Wow! Summaries:

ISSF Rifle/Pistol World Cup
Beijing (CHN) ~ 21-29 April 2019
(Full results here)

Men

10 m Air Pistol: 1. Abhisek Verma (IND), 242.7; 2. Artem Chernousov (RUS), 240.4; 3. Seungwoo Han (KOR), 220.0.

25 m Rapid-Fire Pistol: 1. Junmin Lin (CHN), 35; 2. Oliver Geis (GER), 31; 3. Jean Quiquampoix (FRA), 27.

10 m Air Rifle: 1. Zicheng Hui (CHN), 249.4; 2. Divyansh Panwar (IND), 249.0; 3. Grigorii Shamakov (RUS), 227.5.

50 m Rifle/3 Positions: 1. Filip Nepejchal (CZE), 458.7; 2. Sergey Kamenskiy (RUS), 458.1; 3. Zhonghao Zhao (CHN), 445.1.

Women

10 m Air Pistol: 1. Min-Jung Kim (KOR), 245.0; 2. Vitalina Batsarashkina (RUS), 240.6; 3. Veronika Major (HUN), 220.5.

25 m Pistol: 1. Maria Grozdeva (BUL), 36; 2. Veronika Major (HUN), 35; 3. Anna Korikaki (GRE), 30.

10 m Air Rifle: 1. Yulia Karimova (RUS), 251.1; 2. Eunji Kwon (KOR), 250.2; 3. Ji-Hyeon Keum (KOR), 228.0.

50 m Rifle/3 Positions: 1. Snjezana Pejcic (CRO), 464.0; 2. Sang Hee Bae (KOR), 459.5; 3. Jeanette Hegg Duestad (NOR), 447.1.

Mixed

10 m Air Pistol/ Final: 1. Manu Bhaker/Chaudhary Saurabh (IND), 16; 2. Ranxin Jiang/Wie Pang (CHN), 6. Bronze: 3. Vitalina Batsarashkina/Artem Chernousov (RUS), 16; 4. Wei Qian/Meng Yi Wang (CHN), 4.

10 m Air Rifle/ Final: 1. Anjjm Moudgil/Divyansh Panwar (IND), 17; 2. Ruxuan Liu/Haoran Yang (CHN), 15. Bronze: 3. Yulia Karimova/Grigorii Shamakov (RUS), 16; 4. Alison Weisz/Tim Sherry (USA), 2.

JUDO: Brazil dominates Pan American Championships in Lima

Rich Perelman

April 28, 2019

tsx pix 101518 pareto paula 750 — Argentina's Olympic 48 kg gold medalist Paula Pareto

There’s not much doubt that Brazil has been the top country in the Americas in judo since its excellent performance in Rio in 2016. The latest proof was at the Pan American Championships, where Brazil led the medal table with four golds, eight silvers and three bronzes.

The Brazilians picked up two 1-2 finishes, with Ivan Felipe Silva Morales and Rafael Macedo in the men’s 90 kg class and Rafael Silva and David Moura at +100 kg.

Canada also had four winners, plus two silvers and four bronzes (10 total), and also had a 1-2 in the men’s 81 kg division with Antoine Valois-Fortier and Etienne Briand.

There were two Rio 2016 gold winners in the tournament: Argentina’s gold medalist, Paula Pareto, won again in Lima at 48 kg, and Rafaela Silva, who won an emotional gold at 57 kg, won a silver in Lima. Summaries:

Pan American Championships
Lima (PER) ~ 27-28 April 2019
(Full results here)

Men

-60 kg: 1. Lenin Preciado (ECU); 2. Eric Takabatake (BRA); 3. Roberto Almenares (CUB) and Steven Moracho (ECU).

-66 kg: 1. Daniel Cargnin (BRA); 2. Juan Postigos (PER); 3. Orlando Polanco (CUB) and Jaciob Valois (CAN).

-73 kg: 1. Magdiel Estrada (CUB); 2. Arthur Margelidon (CAN); 3. Antoine Bouchard (CAN) and Sergio Mattey (VEN).

-81 kg: 1. Antoine Valois-Fortier (CAN); 2. Etienne Briand (CAN); 3. Jack Hatton (USA) and Eduardo Yudy Santos (BRA).

-90 kg: 1. Ivan Felipe Silva Morales (BRA); 2. Rafael Macedo (BRA); 3. Zachary Burt (CAN) and Robert Florentino (DOM).

-100 kg: 1. Shady Elnahas (CAN); 2. Leonardo Goncalves (BRA); 3. Thomas Briceno (CHI) and Liester Cardona (CUB).

+100 kg: 1. Rafael Silva (BRA); 2. David Moura (BRA); 3. Andy Granda (CUB) and Francisco Solis (CHI).

Women

-48 kg: 1. Paula Pareto (ARG); 2. Nathalia Brigida (BRA); 3. Edna Castillo (MEX) and Vanesa Godines Aleman (CUB).

-52 kg: 1. Larissa Pimenta (BRA); 2. Angelica Delgado (USA); 3. Brillith Gamarra Carbajal (PER) and Sarah Menezes (BRA).

-57 kg: 1. Christa Deguchi (CAN); 2. Rafaela Silva (BRA); 3. Anailys Dorvigny (CUB) and Ana Rosa (DOM).

-63 kg: 1. Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard (CAN); 2. Maylin del Toro Carvajal (CUB); 3. Estefania Garcia (CUB) and Hannah Martin (USA).

-70 kg: 1. Maria Perez (PUR); 2. Maria Portela (BRA); 3. Elvismar Rodriguez (VEN) and Kelita Zupancic (CAN).

-78 kg: 1. Mayra Aguiar (BRA); 2. Kaliema Antomarchi (CUB); 3. Lucia Cantero (ARG) and Nefeli Papadakis (USA).

+78 kg: 1. Idalys Ortiz (CUB); 2. Maria Suelen Altheman (BRA); 3. Melissa Mojica (PUR) and Beatriz Souza (BRA).

CYCLING: Surprise home win for Whyte in BMX opener in Manchester

Rich Perelman

April 28, 2019

tsx pix 2019-428 whyte, kye 750 — Surprise BMW World Cup winner Kye Whyte (GBR)

One of the great aspects of new seasons are athletes who emerge from prior years. Such was the case for Kye Whyte (GBR) in the opening races of the UCI BMX Supercross World Cup in Manchester (GBR).

The first men’s race (Saturday) was won by a familiar face: Joris Daudet (FRA), the runner-up to Niek Kimmann (NED) last season, as part of a French sweep, ahead of Jeremy Rencurrel and Sylvain Andre, the 2017 seasonal champion.

But on Sunday. It was Whyte who took the win over Kimman and Diego Arboleda Ospina (COL), with Andre fourth. For Whyte, it was his first-ever World Cup victory; he’s never finished higher than eighth before. He’s 19 and the current British national champ; a new contender for 2019?

The women’s winners were well known for BMX fans: Dane Simone Christensen, who finished third in the 2016 and 2017 World Cup seasons, and France’s Manon Valentino, seventh on the World Cup circuit in 2018, but who her first race since 2011! Christensen finished ahead of Dutch rider Judy Paauw, last season’s bronze medalist.

It’s an interesting start to the season; next up will be racing in Papendal (NED) in mid-May.

In the Mountain Bike World Cup Downhill opener in Maribor (SLO), three-time World Champion (2015-17-18) Loic Bruni (FRA) took the race in a tight finish with Britain’s 2011-16 World Champion Danny Hart.

The women’s race was a British 1-2, with Tahnee Seagrave, always a contender but the World Cup runner-up the last two seasons, managed a victory over six-time World Cup champ Rachel Atherton, with Tracey Hannah (AUS). Those three finished the 2018 World Cup season placing 2-1-3. Summaries:

UCI BMX Supercross World Cup
Manchester (GBR) ~ 27-28 April 2019
(Full results here)

Men I: 1. Joris Daudet (FRA), 27.839; 2. Jeremy Rencurel (FRA), 27.995; 3. Sylvain Andre (FRA), 28.117; 4. David Graf (SUI), 28.127; 5. Paddy Sharrock (GBR), 28.335.

Men II: 1. Kye Whyte (GBR), 27.868; 2. Niek Kimmann (NED), 28.523; 3. Diego Arboleda Ospina (COL), 28.982; 4. Andre (FRA), 29.027; 5. Alfredo Campo (ECU), 29.706.

Women I: 1. Simone Christensen (DEN), 31.314; 2. Judy Paauw (NED), 31.605; 3. Merle van Benthem (NED), 31.879; 4. Mariana Pajon (COL), 32.155; 5. Paola Reis Santos (BRA), 33.475. Also: 8. Felicia Stancil (USA), did not finish.

Women II: 1. Manon Valentino (FRA), 32.032; 2. Natalia Afremova (RUS), 32.289; 3. Ruby Huisman (NED), 32.621; 4. Alise Willoughby (USA), 33.153; 5. Sarah Walker (NZL), 33.306. Also: 6. Stancil (USA), 33.539.

UCI Mountain Bike World Cup
Maribor (SLO) ~ 27-28 April 2019
(Full results here)

Men/Downhill (1.94 km): 1. Loic Bruni (FRA), 2:58.839; 2. Danny Hart (GBR), 2:59.243; 3. Troy Brosnan (AUS), 2:59.603; 4. Charlie Harrison (USA), 2:59.767; 5. Matt Walker (GBR), 3:00.449. Also in the top 10: 6. Aaron Gwin (USA), 3:00.734; … 10. Dakotah Norton (USA), 3:01.890.

Women/Downhill (1.94 km) 1. Tahnee Seagrave (GBR), 3:25.888; 2. Rachel Atherton (GBR), 3:26.743; 3. Tracey Hannah (AUS), 3:28.526; 4. Marine Cabirou (FRA), 3:29.430; 5. Monika Hrastnik (SLO), 3:30.213.

BEACH VOLLEYBALL: New contenders from Brazil and Russia showcased in Xiamen 4-star

Rich Perelman

April 28, 2019

tsx pix 2019-428 krasilnikov-stoyanovskiy xiamen 750 — Xiamen winners Oleg Stoyanovskiy and Viacheslav Krasilnikov (RUS) (Photo: FIVB)

Player combinations change all the time in beach volleyball, for all kinds of reasons. But two fairly new duos showed that they are contenders for high honors with impressive wins in the four-star tournament in Xiamen (CHN).

In the men’s tournament, Russians Oleg Stoyanovskiy and Viacheslav Krasilnikov only got together at the end of last season. But they won their second World Tour tournament together with a 21-19, 21-13 victory over Pablo Herrera and Adrian Gavira (ESP) in the final.

Krasilnikov turned 28 on Sunday and is moving back into contention with Stoyanovskiy after he and Konstantin Semenov finished fourth in the Rio Games in 2016. Already in this new season, Krasilnikov and Stoyanovskiy were second in the four-star at Yangzhou (CHN) last October, then third at the Las Vegas four-star and won at The Hague in January, before Sunday’s victory. Five starts and four medals!

The women’s tournament was the third win of this season for the new Brazilian combo of Ana Patricia Silva Ramos and Rebecca Cavalcanti. They won a very hard fought two sets from Czechs Barbora Hermannova and Marketa Slukova, 25-23, 26-24.

But it was a fifth straight top-four finish for this pair, who teamed up for part of the 2018 season, but are now on a roll:

● October: 1st in Qinzhou (CHN) ~ 3-star
● October: 2nd in Yangzhou (CHN) ~ 4-star
● October: 4th in Las Vegas (USA) ~ 4-star
● January: 1st in The Hague (NED) ~ 4-star
● April: 1st in Xiamen (CHN) ~ 4-star

It’s an impressive performance, especially as they got to the final by defeating no. 1-ranked Heather Bansley and Brandie Wilkerson (CAN), 21-19, 21-17, in the quarterfinals.

The American pair of Sara Hughes and Summer Ross continued their strong play in China, placing in the top four again for the second time this season; they finished fourth to Australia’s Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho del Solar. Summaries:

FIVB World Tour 4-star
Xiamen (CHN) ~ 23-28 April 2019
(Full results here)

Men: 1. Oleg Stoyanvskiy/Viacheslav Krasilnikov (RUS); 2. Pablo Herrera/Adrian Gavira (ESP); 3. Cherif Younousse/Ahmed Tijan (QAT); 4. Enrico Rossi/Adrian Carambula (ITA). Semis: Herrera/Gavira d. Cherif/Ahmed, 2-0; Stoyanovskiy/Krasilnikov d. Rossi/Carambula, 2-0. Third: Cherif/Ahmed d. Rossi/Carambula, 2-1. Final: Stoyanovskiy/Krasilnikov d. Herrera/Gavira, 2-0 (21-19, 21-13).

Women: 1. Ana Patricia Silva Ramos/Rebecca Cavalcanti (BRA); 2. Barbora Hermannova/Marketa Slukova (CZE); 3. Taliqua Clancy/Mariafe Artacho del Solar (AUS); 4. Sara Hughes/Summer Ross (USA). Semis: Ana Patricia/Rebecca d. Hughes/Ross, 2-0; Hermannova/Slukova d. Clancy/Artacho del Solar, 2-0. Third: Clancy/Artacho del Solar d. Hughes/Ross, 2-0. Final: Ana Patricia/Rebecca d. Hermannova/Slukova, 2-0 (25-23, 26-24).

CYCLING: Fuglsang and van Vleuten run away with Liege-Bastogne-Liege wins

Rich Perelman

April 28, 2019

tsx pix 2019-428 fuglsang, jakob 750 — Denmark's Jakob Fuglsang

There was no mad dash for the line in either the men’s or women’s edition of the famed Liege-Bastogne-Liege race on Sunday as winners Jakob Fuglsang (DEN) and Annemiek van Vleuten (NED) both won with runaway performances.

Fuglsang has been having a career year, finishing third at Tirreno-Adriatico, fourth in the Itzulia Basque Country, third in the Amstel Gold Race, runner-up at La Fleche Wallonne and now a victory in one of the cherished Ardennes Classics. It’s his first win in a one-day World Tour Classics race.

Despite a rainy ride, Fuglsang, Michael Woods (CAN) and Davide Formolo (ITA), attacked with 15 km to go as the route climbed the Cote de la Roche-aux-Faucons and then headed into Liege for the finish. Fuglsang poured on the speed and was clear with 13 km to go and rode solo to the line, jubilant with his historic win. He nearly crashed on a wet spot on the descent with about five km left, but he managed to hold on to the finish.

He simply had too much left for the rest of the field, and he won by 27 seconds over Formolo, with Woods dropping to fifth as Maximilian Schachmann (GER) came up for third, 57 seconds behind.

That seemed like a close finish compared to the rout in the women’s race. Dutch star Annemiek van Vleuten, the reigning World Tour champ, attacked at the Cote de la Redoute with about 30 km left and no one followed.

“The weather was hard. I was cold and I just had to focus myself, like, ‘It’s my day. It’s my day. It’s my day.’ And then I had to commit on La Redoute,” van Vleuten said.

She won by 1:39 over countrywoman Floortje Mackaij and 1:43 over a pack of 12 more riders who simply could not keep pace. Van Vleuten completed a brilliant month of racing with five outstanding results

● 03 April: 7th at Dwars door Vlaanderen
● 07 April: 2nd at Ronde van Vlaanderen
● 21 April: 2nd at Amstel Gold Race
● 24 April: 2nd at La Fleche Wallonne
● 28 April: 1st at Liege-Bastogne-Liege

With the victory, van Vleuten took over the World Tour lead for 2019, passing Italy’s Marta Bastianelli, 850-710, with Kasia Niewiadoma (POL) third at 605. Summaries:

UCI World Tour/Liege-Bastogne-Liege
Liege (BEL) ~ 28 April 2019
(Full results here)

Final Standings (256.0 km): 1. Jakob Fuglsang (DEN), 6:37:37; 2. Davide Formolo (ITA), 6:38:04; 3. Maximilian Schachmann (GER), 6:38:34; 4. Adam Yates (GBR), 6:38:34; 5. Michael Woods (CAN), 6:38:34; 6. David Gaudu (FRA), 6:38:34; 7. Mikel Landa (ESP), 6:38:34; 8. Vincenzo Nibali (ITA), 6:38:34; 9. Dylan Teuns (BEL), 6:38:34; 10. Wout Poels (NED), 6:38:34.

UCI Women’s World Tour/Liege-Bastogne-Liege
Bastogne to Liege (BEL) ~ 28 April 2019
(Full results here)

Final Standings (138.5 km): 1. Annemiek van Vleuten (NED), 3:42:10; 2. Floortje Mackaij (NED), 3:43:49; 3. Demi Vollering (NED), 3:43:53; 4. Soraya Paladin (ITA), 3:43:53; 5. Lucinda Brand (NED), 3:43:53; 6. Kasia Niewiadoma (POL), 3:43:53; 7. Lizzie Deignan (GBR), 3:43:53; 8. Alena Amialiusik (BLR), 3:43:53; 9. Elisa Longo Borghini (ITA), 3:43:53; 10. Cecile Uttrup Ludwig (DEN), 3:43:53. Also in the top 25: 16. Katie Hall (USA), 3:44:05.

SWIMMING: Sjostrom stars with four wins and $51,000 at Champions Swim Series opener

Rich Perelman

April 28, 2019

tsx pix 2019-428 sjostrom, sarah 750 — Sweden's sprint superstar Sarah Sjostrom

The debut of the FINA Champions Swim Series will be remembered for its unique concept and seeing a lot of Sarah Sjostrom (SWE), Katinka Hosszu (HUN) and Michael Andrew (USA).

Sjostrom was the star of the show in Guangzhou (CHN), winning four of her five individual events and swimming in one relay to top the prize money list at $51,000. Sjostrom won the 100 m and 200 m Freestyles and the 50 and 100 m Butterflys, and chased home Australia’s Cate Campbell in the 50 m Free in her individual events and swam on the second-place Medley Relay team. That made her the top earner in the meet.

However, that workload was nothing compared to what Hosszu and Andrew did. Hosszu swam five events (including the relay) on the first day, and came back with wins in the 200 m Backstroke and 200 m Medley, plus a leg on the fourth-place Medley Relay team, for a two-day total of eight events and $49,000.

Andrew swam in an astonishing total of nine events: four on Saturday and five on Sunday (including the relay) and although he was third or fourth in all but one of his seven individual events, he won $44,000 in total. On Sunday, he swam in five different events in 95 minutes; amazing.

(Truth is stranger than fiction: both Hosszu and Andrew are plaintiffs in a restraint-of-trade suit against FINA, along with the International Swimming League, whose Web site was silent about FINA distributing $1.02 million in prize money to swimmers this weekend.)

The marks at the meet were good, but not great. There was one new world-leading mark, the women’s 200 m Breaststroke win for China’s Shiwen Ye at 2:22.53, but the no. 2 marks in the world for 2019 were recorded in the 50 m Frees by Ben Proud (GBR: 21.48) and Campbell (24.00, beating Sjostrom).

China won 10 events in the meet, with three wins on the second day after dominating with seven on the opening program. The next stop for the Champions Swim Series will be in Budapest on 11-12 May, and it will be interesting to see the European reaction to this program. Summaries:

FINA Champions Series I
Guangzhou (CHN) ~ 27-28 April 2019
(Full results here)

Men

50 m Freestyle: 1. Ben Proud (GBR), 21.48; 2. Vladimir Morozov (RUS), 21.60; 3. Michael Andrew (USA), 21.97; 4. Anthony Ervin (USA), 22.90.

100 m Freestyle: 1. Pieter Timmers (BEL), 48.60; 2. Kliment Kolesnikov (RUS), 48.75; 3. Vladimir Morozov (RUS), 49.10; 4. Chad le Clos (RSA), 49.25.

200 m Free: 1. Yang Sun (CHN), 1:46.12; 2. Danas Rapsys (LTU), 1:46.28; 3. Shun Wang (CHN), 1:48.08; 4. Le Clos (RSA), 1:50.24.

400 m Free: 1. Y. Sun (CHN), 3:42.75; 2. Gabriele Detti (ITA), 3:46.45; 3. Jack McLaughlin (AUS), 3:47.89; 4. Mykhallo Romanchuk (UKR), 3:48.55.

50 m Backstroke: 1. Kolesnikov (RUS), 24.58; 2. Robert Glinta (ROU), 24.59; 3. Andrew (USA), 24.95; 4. Morozov (RUS), 25.50.

100 m Back: 1. Jiayu Xu (CHN), 52.98; 2. Ryosuke Irie (JPN), 53.25; 3. Glinta (ROU), 53.70; 4. Kolesnikov (RUS), 53.99.

200 m Back: 1. J. Xu (CHN), 1:55.24; 2. Ryosuke Irie (JPN), 1:56.24; 3. Guangyuan Li (CHN), 1:57.42; 4. Danas Rapsys (LTU), 1:58.77.

50 m Breaststroke: 1. Felipe Lima (BRA), 26.68; 2. Joao Gomes Jr. (BRA), 26.70; 3. Andrew (USA), 27.07; 4. Fabio Scozzoli (ITA), 27.11.

100 m Breast: 1. Scozzoli (ITA), 59.74; 2. Anton Chupkov (RUS), 59.83; 3. Arno Kamminga (NED), 1:00.23; 4. Andrew (USA), 1:02.78.

200 m Breast: 1. Chupkov (RUS), 2:07.48; 2. Haiyang Qin (CHN), 2:08.31; 3. Ippei Watanabe (JPN), 2:09.33; 4. Dmitriy Balandin (KAZ), 2:09.37.

50 m Butterfly: 1. Nicholas Santos (BRA), 23.01; 2. Andrew (USA), 23.27; 3. Andrii Govorov (UKR), 23.28; 4. Proud (GBR), 23.34.

100 m Fly: 1. Andrei Minakov (RUS), 51.44; 2. tie, Zhuhao Li (CHN) and Le Clos (RSA), 51,66; 4. Andrew (USA), 52.49.

200 m Fly: 1. Masato Sakai (JPN), 1:56.44; 2. Le Clos (RSA), 1:58.31; 3. Zhuhao Li (CHN), 1:58.51; 4. Zhou Wang (CHN), 1:59.61.

200 m Medley: 1. S. Wang (CHN), 1:57.24; 2. Haiyang Qin (CHN), 1:57.89; 3. Yizhe Wang (CHN), 2:02.61; 4. Andrew (USA), 2:04.26.

Women

50 m Freestyle: 1. Cate Campbell (AUS), 24.00; 2. Sarah Sjostrom (SWE), 24.11; 3. Pernilla Blume (DEN), 24.28; 4. Ranomi Kromowidjojo (NED), 24.47.

100 m Free: 1. Sjostrom (SWE), 52.82; 2. C. Campbell (AUS), 53.00; 3. Blume (DEN), 53.68; 4. Bingjie Li (CHN), 55.26.

200 m Free: 1. Sjostrom (SWE), 1:57.62; 2. B. Li (CHN), 1:59.40; 3. Jianjiahe Wang (CHN), 2:00.93; 4. Katinka Hosszu (HUN), 2:02.56.

400 m Free: 1. Hosszu (HUN), 4:05.16; 2. B. Li (CHN), 4:05.21; 3. Yuhan Zhang (CHN), 4:07.39; 4. J. Wang (CHN), 4:07.57.

50 m Backstroke: 1. Yuanhui Fu (CHN), 27.60; 2. Xiang Liu (CHN), 27.85; 3. Georgia Davies (GBR), 28.08; 4. Emily Seebohm (AUS), 29.40.

100 m Back: 1. Yuanhui Fu (CHN), 59.60; 2. Davies (GBR), 1:00.61; 3. Seebohm (AUS), 1:01.99; 4. Hosszu (HUN), 1:02.99.

200 m Back: Hosszu (HUN), 2:09.05; 2. Xuwei Peng (CHN), 2:09.61; 3. Yaxin Liu (CHN), 2:10.73; 4. Seebohm (AUS), 2:12.14.

50 m Breaststroke: 1. Imogen Clark (GBR), 30.71; 2. Molly Hannis (USA), 30.94; 3. Junyang Feng (CHN), 31.70; 4. Shiwen Ye (CHN), 32.10.

100 m Breaststroke: 1. S. Ye (CHN), 1:07.48; 2. Hannis (USA), 1:08.33; 3. Jingyao Yu (CHN), 1:08.51; 4. Clark (GBR), 1:08.99.

200 m Breast: 1. Shiwen Ye (CHN), 2:22.53; 2. Jingyao Yu (CHN), 2:25.85; 3. Yun He (CHN), 2:27:51; 4. Hannis (USA), 2:31.02.

50 m Butterfly: 1. Sjostrom (SWE), 25.55; 2. Kelsi Dahlia (USA), 25.95; 3. Kromowidjojo (NED), 26.38; 4. C. Campbell (AUS), 26.40.

100 m Fly: 1. Sjostrom (SWE), 57.16; 2. Dahlia (USA), 58.25; 3. Ranomi Kromowidjojo (NED), 58.77; 4. Dana Vollmer (USA), 1:00.78.

200 m Fly: 1. Yufei Zhang (CHN), 2:07.36; 2. Dahlia (USA), 2:09.77; 3. Hosszu (HUN), 2:11.95; 4. Yuhan Zhang (CHN), 2:12.28.

200 m Medley: 1. Hosszu (HUN), 2:08.72; 2. Seoyeong Kim (KOR), 2:10.35; 3. Min Zhou (CHN), 2:16.93; 4. Sishi Zhang (CHN), 2:20.07.

Mixed

4×100 m Free: 1. Team 3 (He/CHN, Proud/GBR, Kromowidjojo/NED, Davies/GBR), 3:28.84; 2. Team 2 (Minakov, le Clos, Hosszu, Li), 3:30.55; 3. Team 1 (Morozov, Timmers, Wang, Vollmer), 3:31.40; 4. Team 4 (Kamminga, Andrew, Clark, C. Campbell), 3:31.55.

4×100 m Medley: 1. Team 3 (Kromowidjojo/NED, Gomes Jr./BRA, Dahlia/USA, Proud/GBR), 3:48.55; 2. Team 2 (Sjostrom, Andrew, Santos, Santos, C. Campbell), 3:48.90; 3. Team 4 (Seebohm, Balandin, Minakov, Clark), 3:49.03; 4. Team 1 (Hosszu, Lima, Kamminga, Hannis), 3:58.53.

ATHLETICS: Kipchoge runs second-fastest marathon ever to take fourth London Marathon title

Rich Perelman

April 28, 2019

rsx pix 2019-428 kipchoge, eliud wins london 750 — A fourth London Marathon win for the unbeatable Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) in 2019.

He is the finest marathon runner of all time. That’s about all you can say about Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge, who essentially led from start to finish at the 39th London Marathon and authored the second-fastest time in history at 2:02:37.

From the start, Kipchoge was part of the lead pack of about nine runners, and never wavered. The group crossed the halfway mark together in 1:01:37, indicating a course record was possible; Kipchoge had the standard at 2:03:05 from his 2016 victory. But the next 5 km winnowed the field, as only Ethiopians Tola Shura Kitata, Mosinet Geremew and Leul Gebresilasie could stay close. Ethiopian Mule Wasihun and British favorite Mo Farah dropped back by five seconds and had to work hard to maintain contact.

Gebresilasie dropped back and Wasihun moved up by 30 km and the top four ran together through the 35 km mark. Now the pressure increased and Kipchoge was able to break everyone except Geremew by 40 km. And then, in marathon terms, the Kenyan turned on the jets, finishing the last 2.2 km in 6:18 compared to 6:33 for Geremew and creating the final 18-second difference at the finish line.

Kipchoge’s 2:02:37 trails only his Berlin world record of 2:01:39 from 2018 and gives him three of the top six performances of all time. He’s now run 12 career marathons and won 11 and has a 10-race winning streak. He’s 34 and shows no signs of slowing down.

Geremew, just 27, was spectacular, too, at 2:02:55, no. 3 ever and a national record, breaking Kenenisa Bekele’s mark of 2:03:03 from 2016. Wasihun finished third in 2:03:16 and moved to seventh on the all-time list.

Kipchoge will also have to talk to his accountant about his tax situation after breaking the bank with his run. He won:

● $55,000 first prize
● $25,000 course record
● $100,000 for a sub-2:05:00 finishing time.

That’s $180,000 for the race. There was a lot of bonus money paid out as the first three finishers all collected the $100,000 time bonus for a sub-2:05 finish and Kitata and Farah both won $75,000 for their sub-2:06 runs.

The women’s race featured an early breakaway from Australia’s 42-year-old Sinead Diver, who ran away from the pack after the 10 km mark and had a 16-second lead at the halfway mark. This couldn’t last for someone who had only broken 2:30 in 2018, right?

She came back to reality after the halfway mark and was eighth and fading by 25 km, leaving a lead pack of seven that included 2017 winner and course-record holder Mary Keitany (KEN). But then Kenyan Brigid Koskei, who had finished first or second in eight of her nine career marathons, took over.

Between 25 km and 30 km, Kosgei dropped a 15:37 bomb on the field and ran away from everyone except defending champ Vivian Cheruiyot (KEN). Kosgei continued with a small lead through 35 km, then ran her fastest split of the race – 15:32 – between 35 km and 40 km and sealed her sixth career win in 10 career marathons.

Kosgei kept motoring to the finish as Cheruiyot lost ground and at the finish, the gap was a startling 1:54 as Kosgei won in 2:18:20, the ninth-fastest time in history, making Kosgei no. 7 all-time, moving just ahead of Cheruiyot on the all-time list! Cheruiyot finished in 2:20:14, and Diver held on to finish seventh in 2:24:11, a lifetime best by more than a minute, making her no. 3 all-time in Australia!

Kosgei won $55,000 for finishing first and a time bonus of $75,000 for running sub-2:20.

The top American finishers included Emily Sisson with a very impressive marathon debut in sixth at 2:23:08 – no. 7 all-time U.S. – and Molly Huddle with a lifetime best in 12th at 2:26:33. The top U.S. man in the race was Colin Leak in 24th at 2:15:02. Summaries:

World Marathon Majors/London Marathon
London (GBR) ~ 28 April 2019
(Full results here)

Men: 1. Eliud Kipchoge (KEN), 2:02:37; 2. Mosinet Geremew (ETH), 2:02:55; 3. Mule Wasihun (ETH), 2:03:16; 4. Tola Shura Kitata (ETH), 2:05:01; 5. Mo Farah (GBR), 2:05:39; 6. Tamirat Tola (ETH), 2:06:57; 7. Bashir Abdi (BEL), 2:07:03; 8. Leul Gebresilasie (ETH), 2:07:15; 9. Yassine Rachik (ITA), 2:08:05; 10. Callum Hawkins (GBR), 2:08:14. Also in the top 25: 24. Colin Leak (USA), 2:15:02.

Women: 1. Brigid Kosgei (KEN), 2:18:20; 2. Vivian Cheruiyot (KEN), 2:20:14; 3. Roza Dereje (ETH), 2:20:51; 4. Gladys Cherono (KEN), 2:20:52; 5. Mary Keitany (KEN), 2:20:58; 6. Emily Sisson (USA), 2:23:08; 7. Sinead Diver (AUS), 2:24:11; 8. Carla Salome Rocha (POR), 2:24:47; 9. Birhane Dibaba (ETH), 2:25:04; 10. Charlotte Purdue (GBR), 2:25:38. Also in the top 25: 12. Molly Huddle (USA), 2:26:33.

TRIATHLON: Shocking win for Coninx and dominant run for Zaferes in World Triathlon Bermuda

Rich Perelman

April 27, 2019

tsx pix 2019-427 coninx dorian bermuda 750 — Shocking win for France's Dorian Coninx in the World Triathlon Bermuda! (Photo: ITU)

Back when American star Katie Zaferes was still Katie Hursey, she was running for Syracuse as an All-Big East steeplechaser. So when her triathlons come down to the run phase, she’s pretty confident that she’ll be in contention.

When she is one of the fastest out of the water, then, it’s going to be hard to beat her. And no one did on Saturday at the second stop of the 2019 World Triathlon Series in Hamilton (BER). She dominated the race, winning her second straight race of the season and her third career World Series title.

Battling harsh winds that made the swimming difficult, Zaferes was fourth out of the 1,500 m first phase, trailing leader Jessica Learmonth (GBR) and made a quick transition to the 40 km bike phase. Only Learmonth and Norway’s Lotte Miller could stay with her on the bike, but once the 10 km run started, there could be little doubt who would cross first.

Her time was the fourth-fastest in the entire field, but having broken away from everyone but Learmonth and Miller, Zaferes won by a stunning 1:41 over Learmouth, with Miller fading to eighth and Canadian Joanna Brown charging up for third and her first career World Triathlon Series medal.

While Zaferes’s win was hardly a surprise, seeing France’s Dorian Coninx win the men’s race was a total shock. He had been a star at the Junior and U23 levels, but had only one World Triathlon Series medal to his resume, a bronze at the Cape Town (RSA) Sprint in 2016. In his last three World Series races, he had placed 37-15-14.

But there he was in the run phase, making up ground on the lead group of Vincent Luis (FRA), Kristian Blummenfelt and Gustav Iden (both NOR) and five-time World Triathlon champ Javier Gomez (ESP).

Coninx’s strong pace dropped Luis and Brummenfelt, and took the lead with less than 200 m left, outpacing Gomez with Iden finishing third, just as he did at this race a year. “I am really happy,” he said afterwards. “Especially because after Abu Dhabi I was a bit disappointed, and when you start the season so badly, it is very hard to get over it. But I did, and during the race I was just thinking on enjoying it.”

Spain’s pre-race favorite, Mario Mola, had a difficult swim in the choppy waters and fell way behind, finally finishing in 26th place. His next chance for redemption will come in Yokohama (JPN) on 18-19 May. Summaries:

ITU World Series no. 2
Hamilton (BER) ~ 27-28 April 2019
(Full results here)

Men: 1. Dorian Coninx (FRA), 1:50.36; 2. Javier Gomez Noya (ESP), 1:50:38; 3. Gustav Iden (NOR), 1:50:38; 4. Vincent Luis (FRA), 1:50:48; 5. Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR), 1:51:04; 6. Pierre Le Corre (FRA), 1:51:10; 7. Bence Bicsak (HUN), 1:51:11 ; 8. Joao Pereira (POR), 1:51:12; 9. Fernando Alarza (ESP), 1:51:29; 10. Leo Bergere (FRA), 1:51:47.

Women: 1. Katie Zaferes (USA), 1:59:52; 2. Jessica Learmonth (GBR), 2:01:33; 3. Joanna Brown (CAN), 2:02:05; 4. Lisa Perterer (AUT), 2:02:14; 5. Georgia Taylor-Brown (GBR), 2:02:22; 6. Taylor Spivey (USA), 2:02:40; 7. Angelica Olmo (ITA), 2:02:53; 8. Lotte Miller (NOR), 2:03:05; 9. Natalie Van Coevorden (AUS), 2:03:37; 10. Julia Hauser (AUT), 2:03:40.

WEIGHTLIFTING: U.S. takes 22 golds, both team titles in Pan American Championships

Rich Perelman

April 27, 2019

tsx pix 62517 cummings, clarence 2015 — World Junior record-setter Clarence Cummings, Jr. (USA)

A resurgent U.S. weightlifting squad made a powerful statement at the 2019 Pan American Championships in Guatemala City (GUA), winning both team titles and taking eight individual titles out of the 20 classes.

As late as 2016, U.S. lifters won a grand total of one weight class in the Pan Am Champs. But by 2017, it was three, and two last year. This year, the American team exploded, especially:

● At 73 kg, 18-year-old Clarence Cummings, Jr. not only win his class, but set an astonishing 15 records on a single day with success on all six of his lift attempts. He won the Snatch, Clean & Jerk and the total, of course, setting American and American Junior records, Pan American and Pan American Junior records and World Junior records for his 153 kg (Snatch), 191 kg (Clean & Jerk) and 344 kg total.

“I’m speechless right now,” Cummings told USA Weightlifting. “I didn’t know I broke that many records. I thought it was maybe three.”

● D’Angelo Osorio had won a Clean & Jerk gold at 105 kg in 2017, but won all three sections of the 102 kg class for his first Pan Am class sweep.

● Wesley Kitts won his second straight Pan American gold, this time at 109 kg, after winning in 2018 at 105 kg.

● Caine Wilkes moved up from silver medals in all three lifts in 2018 to gold in Clean & Jerk and the total in 2019 in the +109 kg class, giving him medals in five straight Pan American Championships. He had previously won in 2014 and 2017, and silvers in 2016 and 2018. Keiser Witte won the overall bronze for good measure!

“It wasn’t quite the lifts I wanted,” Wilkes noted. “I felt like I could’ve hit some bigger numbers, but I ended up hitting what I needed to today. It’s been an awesome week for Team USA, and I’m happy to be able to contribute.”

● Alyssa Ritchey moved up from a 2017 bronze at 48 kg to the gold at 49 kg, winning all three lifts.

● Jourdan Delacruz took the Clean & Jerk and total wins at 55 kg, plus a bronze in the Snatch.

● Kate Nye, the World Junior silver winner at 69 kg in 2018, won the gold medal in all three lifts at 71 kg. She led a 1-2 finish with veteran Mattie Rogers – still just 23 – who won silvers in all three lifts and now has won 12 Pan American Champs medals in 2016-17-18-19: 11 silvers and one bronze.

● Women’s 2017 World Champion Sarah Robles won her third straight Pan American title – 2017-18-19 – in the +87 kg class, winning all three lift classes for the second time in three years. “The competition went better than my training has been going,” Robles said. “I was pleasantly surprised with how well I performed today.”

In all, the U.S. won 15 medals in the combined-total events, to 14 for perennial Pan Am power Colombia, which won six class titles. The American men collected 25 medals (12-7-6) and the women won 18 (10-5-3) for a grand total of 43. Colombia came next with 23 men’s medals (10-5-8) and 19 for women (8-7-4) for a total of 42. Ecuador won 17 in total; Mexico had 13 and Cuba won 12.

In the team scoring, the American men scored 726 points, well ahead of Colombia (661) and Guatemala (568). The women were even more impressive, racking up 750 points to 658 from Colombia and 550 for Ecuador. Summaries:

Pan American Weightlifting Championships
Guatemala City (GUA) ~ 20-28 April 2019
(Full results here; only combined totals shown)

Men

55 kg: 1. Jairo Garcia (COL), 243 kg combined total; 2. Jose Ical (GUA), 215 kg; only finishers.

61 kg: 1. Antonio Vasquez (MEX), 282 kg; 2. Luis Garcia (DOM), 281 kg; 3. Cristhian Zurita (ECU), 272 kg; 4. Arley Calderon (CUB), 269 kg; 5. Otto Onate (CUB), 266 kg.

67 kg: 1. Jonathan Munoz (MEX), 304 kg; 2. Jose Osorio (COL), 295 kg; 3. Edgar Pineda (GUA), 291 kg; 4. Luis Bardalez (PER), 289 kg; 5. Jordan Wissinger (USA), 288 kg.

73 kg: 1. Clarence Cummings, Jr. (USA), 344 kg; 2. Luis Mosquera (COL), 322 kg; 3. Jose Gavino (COL), 319 kg; 4. Julio Cedeno (DOM), 310 kg; 5. Jorge Sanchez (PUR), 302 kg.

81 kg: Brayan Rodallegas (COL), 363 kg; 2. Zacarias Bonnat (DOM), 351 kg; 3. Juan Solis (COL), 351 kg; 4. Alex Bellemarre (CAN), 337 kg; 5. Christian Rodriguez (USA), 336 kg.

89 kg: 1. Arley Mendez (CHI), 375 kg; 2. Jordan Cantrell (USA), 343 kg; 3. Yony Andica (COL), 338 kg; 4. John Downey (USA), 328 kg; 5. Josue Ferreira (BRA), 325 kg.

96 kg: 1. Jhonatan Rivas (COL), 391 kg; 2. Angel Luna (VEN), 372 kg; 3. Satavy Boady (CAN), 370 kg; 4. Marco Machado (BRA), 356 kg; 5. Wilmer Contreras (ECU), 355 kg. Also: 6. Jason Bonnick (USA), 343 kg.

102 kg: 1. D’Angelo Osorio (USA), 364 kg; 2. Paul Ferrin (ECU), 351 kg; 3. Herman Viera (PER), 345 kg; 4. Cristopher Pavon (HON), 336 kg; 5. Sender Maquin (GUA), 289 kg.

109 kg: 1. Wesley Kitts (USA), 399 kg; 2. Jesus Gonzalez (VEN), 382 kg; 3. Juan Columbie (CUB), 380 kg; 4. Josue Medina (MEX), 366 kg; 5. Richard Davidson (CAN), 329 kg.

+109 kg: 1. Caine Wilkes (USA), 401 kg; 2. Luis Lauret (CUB), 400 kg; 3. Keiser Witte (USA), 387 kg; 4. Raul Manriquez (MEX), 380 kg; 5. Luis Coca (DOM), 380 kg.

Women

45 kg: 1. Manuela Berrio (COL), 167 kg; 2. Fiorella Cueva (PER), 159 kg; 3. Maria Benavidez (ECU), 143 kg; 4. Mara Navarro (NCA), 137 kg; 5. Silvana Gonzalez (GUA), 132 kg.

49 kg: 1. Alyssa Ritchey (USA), 190 kg: 2. Beatriz Piron (DOM), 184 kg; 3. Morghan King (USA), 180 kg; 4. Ana Segura (COL), 179 kg; 5. Ludia Montero (CUB), 174 kg.

55 kg: 1. Jourdan Delacruz (USA), 207 kg; 2. Alexandra Escobar (ECU), 203 kg; 3. Ana Lopez (MEX), 202 kg; 4. Yenny Sinisterra (COL), 201 kg; 5. Rachel LeBlanc (CAN), 196 kg. Also: 6. Caitlin Hogan (USA), 196 kg.

59 kg: 1. Rosive Silgado (COL), 220 kg; 2. Maria Lobon (COL), 215 kg; 3. Jessica Lucero (USA), 207 kg; 4. Darsigny Tali (CAN), 203 kg; 5. Shoely Mego (PER), 195 kg.

64 kg: 1. Mercedes Perez (COL), 229 kg; 2. Natalia Llamosa (COL), 227 kg; 3. Mattie Sasser (USA), 227 kg; 4. Charron Maude (CAN), 226 kg; 5. Marina Rodriguez (CUB), 220 kg.

71 kg: 1. Kate Nye (USA), 245 kg; 2. Mattie Rogers (USA), 238 kg; 3. Hellen Escobar (COL), 219 kg; 4. Jennifer Cantu (MEX), 215 kg; 5. Lenka Rojas (CHI), 200 kg.

76 kg: 1. Neisi Dajomes (ECU), 245 kg; 2. Jenny Arthur (USA), 243 kg; 3. Kristel Ngarlem (CAN), 228 kg; 4. Melisa Aguilera (CUB), 227 kg; 5. Yeneisy Merino (CUB), 220 kg.

81 kg: 1. Anacarmen Torres (MEX), 233 kg; 2. Dayana Mina (ECU), 232 kg; 3. Taila Cesar (CUB), 214 kg; only finishers.

87 kg: 1. Crismery Santana (DOM), 253 kg; 2. Maria Valdes (CHI), 249 kg; 3. Tamara Salazar (ECU), 243 kg; 4. Jaqueline Ferreira (BRA), 236 kg; 5. Keyshia Rodriguez (PUR), 218 kg.

+87 kg: 1. Sarah Robles (USA), 279 kg; 2. Veronica Saladin (DOM), 270 kg; 3. Tania Mascorro (MEX), 264 kg; 4. Liseth Ayovi (ECU), 264 kg; 5. Yaniuska Espinosa (VEN), 230 kg.

CURLING: Sweden tops Canada at World Mixed Doubles Champs, as U.S. takes bronze

Rich Perelman

April 27, 2019

tsx pix 2019-427 curling mixed dbls medals 750 — The 2019 World Mixed Doubles Championships medalists, from (l-r) Canada, Sweden and the U.S. (Photo: World Curling)

The enormous, 48-team World Curling Mixed Doubles Championship finally ended in Stavanger (NOR) with three familiar teams at the top of the standings: Sweden, Canada and the United States.

The final showcased once again the brilliant play of Sweden’s Anna Hasselborg, who teamed with four-time Worlds team gold medalist Oskar Eriksson to win her first outright World Championship after winning the team Olympic title in PyeongChang (KOR) last year and earning silvers in the 2018 and 2019 World Championships.

The Swedes lost to Canada’s Jocelyn Peterman and Brent Gallant during the round-robin phase, 7-6, but qualified as one of 11 teams to compile 6-1 records, along with Hungary’s perfect 7-0 mark, to head into the 16-team playoffs.

The Swedes defeated New Zealand and the Czech Republic to make it to the semis against Australia’s Tahli Gill and Dean Hewitt, winning a tight match, 7-6, and earning a rematch with the Canadians.

Peterman and Gallant whipped through their playoff rounds, beating Finland, 7-2, and Russia, 7-3, before facing Americans Cory Christensen and Olympic hero John Shuster. The Canadians got on top early, with three points in the second and fourth ends for a 6-1 lead and despite giving up three points in the fifth end, scored two and one in ends six and seventh to clinch a 9-5 victory.

In the third-place match, Gill and Hewitt got off to a 3-0 lead with single points in the first three ends. But four straight ends produced one point each for the U.S. for a 4-3 lead before Gill pushed a U.S. stone out of scoring position and tied the match in the eighth end. It took an extra end for Shuster to place a stone near the button and then Gill missed to give the Americans a 5-4 win and the bronze medal.

In the final, Sweden piled up a 3-1 lead through four ends, but Canada cane back with two in the fifth to tie the game at 3-3 when Peterman moved a Swedish stone away from the scoring zone.

But Hasselborg then came back to place a second stone in the scoring area in the sixth end for a 5-3 lead and put the Canadians in danger. But Peterman came through again to place a second stone in a scoring spot and got the two back for a 5-5 tie.

In the eighth end, Canada had two stones and Sweden had one in the four-foot zone with Hasselborg up for the final shot. She expertly ran her stone by a Canadian guard stone and into the center button for a final point that won the title.

In the 12th edition of this event, it’s the first win for Sweden in five appearances in the final! Amazingly, for Canada, this was just its second appearance in a Mixed Doubles Championships final.

Cristiansen and Shuster won the second-ever medal for the U.S., both bronzes. It’s Shuster’s fourth medal in championship competition, after the 2018 Olympic gold, a 2006 Turin Olympic bronze and a 2016 Worlds bronze. Summaries:

WCF World Mixed Doubles Championship
Stavanger (NOR) ~ 20-27 April 2019
(Full results here)

Final Standings: 1. Anna Hasselborg/Oskar Eriksson (SWE); 2. Jocelyn Peterman/Brett Gallant (CAN); 3. Cory Christensen/John Shuster (USA); 4. Tahli Gill/Dean Hewitt (AUS); 5. tie, Zuzana Paulova/Tomas Paul (CZE), Marie Turmann/Harri Lill (EST), Satsuki Fujisawa/Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi (JPN) and Anastasia Moskaleva/Alexander Eremin (RUS). Semis: Peterman/Gallant d. Christensen/Shuster, 9-5; Hasselborg/Eriksson d. Gill/Hewitt, 7-5. Third: Christensen/Shuster d. Gill/Hewitt, 5-4. Final: Hasselborg/Eriksson d. Peterman/Gallant, 6-5.

ATHLETICS: Roberts upsets McLeod, Nilsen beats Kendricks, Harrison 12.65w in frigid Drake Relays

Rich Perelman

April 27, 2019

tsx pix 2019-427 roberts, daniel 750 — Kentucky hurdles star Daniel Roberts

A weekend that should have been filled with fun was a victim of weather as wind took down some of the relay marks at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia and winter-esque conditions turned the Drake Relays into more of a survival exercise than a celebration of track & field.

In Des Moines, Saturday’s conditions featured temperatures around 40 F plus wind and blowing rain, but the show went on. There were some good races, with remarkably good marks considering the conditions:

● World-record holder Keni Harrison was impressive with a 12.65w (+3.3 m/s) victory in the women’s 100 m hurdles, running away from Jasmine Camacho-Quinn (PUR: 12.85) in the middle of the race.

● Kentucky junior Daniel Roberts, already at 13.30 this season, overcame Jamaica’s Olympic champ Omar McLeod in a wind-aided 13.28-13.29 (+2.3). Roberts ran cleanly, but McLeod – normally smooth – hit hurdles 1-3-4-6-10 and still almost won with a lean at the end.

Asked about running with the Olympic champion, Roberts told NBCSN’s Lewis Johnson, “I was just running for my life out there.”

● The shot put was a mess, but Ryan Crouser and North Dakota State senior Payton Otterdahl were in good form, reaching 21.11 m (69-3 1/4) and 20.75 m (68-1).

● The men’s vault was moved inside and was one of the best events of the meet, with world outdoor leader Chris Nilsen of South Dakota clearing 5.85 m (19-2 1/4), his best-ever indoors. That was enough to best Americans Sam Kendricks and Andrew Irwin, who both cleared 5.80 m (19-0 1/4).

● The women’s vault was held on the track on Friday, with Sandi Morris making a good return from surgery at the end of last year to rack up a win at 4.76 m (15-7 1/4) over world outdoor leader Jenn Suhr (4.66 m (15-3 1/2). The height places Morris no. 4 on the year list.

● Kori Carter came from behind to log a win in the women’s 400 m hurdles in 56.07, equal-8th on the 2019 world list, over Yanique Haye-Smith (TKS). Haye-Smith had a big lead into the eighth hurdles, but Carter was swift over the final hurdle and on the run-in to get the win.

In Philadelphia, none of the USA vs. the World relays were especially noteworthy, but they were exciting. The U.S. quartet of Chris Belcher, Bryce Robinson, Josiah Young and Mike Rodgers ran 38.80 to win the men’s 4×100 m over Canada (38.94), while Jamaica won the women’s race in 43.19 (also over Canada, 44.37).

These were hardly even “B” teams for the U.S., Canada or Jamaica, but Michael Cherry’s 44.3 second-leg split was the difference in the men’s 4×400 m for the Americans, who won easily in 3:02.70. Dontavius Wright ran a 45.06 third leg and Je’Von Hutchinson brought home the win with a 46.15 lap.

The Jamaican women were the class of their 4×400 m race, with Stephenie McPherson running 52.47 to finish off a balanced team: Shericka Jackson (51.6), Janieve Russell (52.5) and Christina Day (52.41) gave her a big lead; the second Jamaican team was second, ahead of Canada and the two U.S. teams.

Click here to access the Drake Relays results; click here for Penn.

SWIMMING: Seven wins for China, two for Sjostrom, $29,000 for Hosszu in Champs Series debut

Rich Perelman

April 27, 2019

tsx pix 2019-427 xu, jiayu 750 — China's swim star Jiayu Xu

The debut of the FINA Champions Swim Series, a new concept designed as a showcase for the top swimmers in the world – and a $1 million-plus payday – was a demonstration of Chinese dominance in Guangzhou (CHN).

The home crowd had a lot to be happy about, as Chinese swimmers won seven of the 15 events, including a 100-200 m Backstroke double for Jiayu Xu and a 50-100 m Back double for Yuanhui Fu.

Those two had the best marks in terms of the 2019 world list coming into the meet, with both improving slightly on their existing, no. 2-ranked swims in the men’s 200 Back – Xu improved from 1:55.65 to 1:55.24 – and the women’s 50 Back, as Fu swam 27.60 to shave 0.01 off her prior season best of 27.61.

Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom showed that no matter where the competition, she is dominant, winning the 200 m Free by almost two seconds in 1:57.62, and the 100 m Butterfly in 57.16, more than a second ahead of Kelsi Dahlia of the U.S.

The biggest scores were in the bank accounts of the swimmers, as the races had only four swimmers each and paid $10,000-8,000-6,000-5,000, plus some added money for relays. That made the night’s real winners Katinka Hosszu (HUN) and Michael Andrew of the U.S.

They are both plaintiffs in a lawsuit against FINA for restraint of competition, but here they swam five events (Hosszu) and four events (Andrew) and won $29,000 and $19,000, respectively on day one! That wasn’t easy with the entire program of 15 events crammed into a 95-minute timeframe.

With two wins each, Xu, Sjostrom and Fu each won $20,000. And more coming on Sunday.

Other than Andrew, U.S. participation in the meet was limited. Dahlia was second in both Fly events (= $16,000), Molly Hannis was second in the 100 m Breast and Dana Vollmer was fourth in the 200 m Fly and swam a leg on the third-place relay. Summaries:

FINA Champions Series I
Guangzhou (CHN) ~ 27-28 April 2019
(Full results here)

Men

100 m Freestyle: 1. Pieter Timmers (BEL), 48.60; 2. Kliment Kolesnikov (RUS), 48.75; 3. Vladimir Morozov (RUS), 49.10; 4. Chad le Clos (RSA), 49.25.

100 m Backstroke: 1. Jiayu Xu (CHN), 52.98; 2. Ryosuke Irie (JPN), 53.25; 3. Robert Glinta (ROU), 53.70; 4. Kolesnikov (RUS), 53.99.

200 m Back: 1. J. Xu (CHN), 1:55.24; 2. Ryosuke Irie (JPN), 1:56.24; 3. Guangyuan Li (CHN), 1:57.42; 4. Danas Rapsys (LTU), 1:58.77.

50 m Breaststroke: 1. Felipe Lima (BRA), 26.68; 2. Joao Gomes Jr. (BRA), 26.70; 3. Michael Andrew (USA), 27.07; 4. Fabio Scozzoli (ITA), 27.11.

50 m Butterfly: 1. Nicholas Santos (BRA), 23.01; 2. Andrew (USA), 23.27; 3. Andrii Govorov (UKR), 23.28; 4. Benjamin Proud (GBR), 23.34.

200 m Fly: 1. Masato Sakai (JPN), 1:56.44; 2. Le Clos (RSA), 1:58.31; 3. Zhuhao Li (CHN), 1:58.51; 4. Zhou Wang (CHN), 1:59.61.

200 m Medley: 1. Shun Wang (CHN), 1:57.24; 2. Haiyang Qin (CHN), 1:57.89; 3. Yizhe Wang (CHN), 2:02.61; 4. Andrew (USA), 2:04.26.

Women

200 m Free: 1. Sarah Sjostrom (SWE), 1:57.62; 2. Bingjie Li (CHN), 1:59.40; 3. Jianjiahe Wang (CHN), 2:00.93; 4. Katinka Hosszu (HUN), 2:02.56.

400 m Free: 1. Hosszu (HUN), 4:05.16; 2. B. Li (CHN), 4:05.21; 3. Yuhan Zhang (CHN), 4:07.39; 4. J. Wang (CHN), 4:07.57.

50 m Backstroke: 1. Yuanhui Fu (CHN), 27.60; 2. Xiang Liu (CHN), 27.85; 3. Georgia Davies (GBR), 28.08; 4. Emily Seebohm (AUS), 29.40.

100 m Back: 1. Yuanhui Fu (CHN), 59.60; 2. Davies (GBR), 1:00.61; 3. Seebohm (AUS), 1:01.99; 4. Hosszu (HUN), 1:02.99.

100 m Breaststroke: 1. Shiwen Ye (CHN), 1:07.48; 2. Molly Hannis (USA), 1:08.33; 3. Jingyao Yu (CHN), 1:08.51; 4. Imogen Clark (GBR), 1:08.99.

100 m Butterfly: 1. Sjostrom (SWE), 57.16; 2. Kelsi Dahlia (USA), 58.25; 3. Ranomi Kromowidjojo (NED), 58.77; 4. Dana Vollmer (USA), 1:00.78.

200 m Fly: 1. Yufei Zhang (CHN), 2:07.36; 2. Dahlia (USA), 2:09.77; 3. Hosszu (HUN), 2:11.95; 4. Yuhan Zhang (CHN), 2:12.28.

Mixed

ATHLETICS Preview: Unbeatable Kipchoge looks for fourth London Marathon title

Rich Perelman

April 26, 2019

tsx pix 2019-426 kipchoge & farah london 750 — Two of the players in Sunday's London Marathon: Britain's Mo Farah and Kenyan WR holder Eliud Kipchoge (Photo: London Marathon)

The usual preface to any marathon is that it’s “unpredictable.” Not when Eliud Kipchoge is running.

The Kenyan star finally claimed the world record last year with his stunning 2:01:39 performance in Berlin, and at age 34, appears ready to continue to dominate the marathon scene. Consider:

● He has ran 11 career marathons and finished them all: winning 10 and finishing second once;

● He holds the course records in Berlin (2:01:39 ‘18) and London (2:03:05 ‘16);

● He has three of the top 10 marathon performances of all time: 2:01:39 (1), 2:03:05 (4) and 2:03:32 (8);

● He has won his last nine marathons in a row, not counting his 2017 time trial (2:00:25) and last lost on 29 September 2013;

● The average of his top 10 marathon finishes is 2:04:00, which would rank him 12th on the all-time list!

So he’s clearly the favorite for the 39th London Marathon, the third World Marathon Majors race of 2019, although there is an excellent field to chase him:

2:03:13 ‘16 Wilson Kipsang (KEN) ~ London winner in 2012-14, second in ‘15
2:04:00 ‘18 Mosinet Geremew (ETH) ~ Chicago runner-up ‘18, Berlin third ‘17
2:04:02 ‘18 Leule Gebrselassie (ETH) ~ Dubai runner-up ‘18; third career marathon
2:04:06 ‘18 Tamirat Tola (ETH) ~ Worlds silver ‘17; fourth at New York ‘18
2:04:37 ‘18 Mule Wasihun (ETH) ~ Amsterdam runner-up ‘18
2:04:49 ‘13 Tola Shura Kitata (ETH) ~ London & New York runner-up ‘18
2:05:11 ‘18 Mo Farah (GBR) ~ 4 OG golds/6 World titles; Chicago winner in 2018
2:05:21 ‘16 Daniel Wanjiru (KEN) ~ London winner ‘17; fifth in New York ‘18

There has been considerable coverage of a dust-up between Farah – third in London last year – and Ethiopian legend Haile Gebrselassie over what happened or didn’t happen at one of Gebreselassie’s hotels in Ethiopia, but Sunday’s question will be whether Farah or anyone else can challenge Kipchoge.

Kipchoge’s coach, Patrick Sang, said Friday that the conditions should be good for a fast time. “So if all goes well, he should be able to better his course record of 2:03:05 from 2016. The guy’s in good shape. Of course, other factors can come into play – how the race is run after the pacemakers have gone, how the weather’s behaving, all those uncontrollables – but all factors remaining constant, hopefully, it could be the first sub-2:03 in London.”

As is almost everything Kipchoge does these days, that would be historic.

The women’s field is headlined by the brilliant Mary Keitany, who ran an electrifying women-only world best of 2:17:01 in 2017, but was fifth in London last year. At 37, she has run 14 career marathons and finished in the top three 11 times, with seven wins, including London in 2011-12-17. The elite field stars:

2:17:01 ‘17 Mary Keitany (KEN) ~ Women-only race WR in London ‘17; 4x NYC winner
2:18:11 ‘18 Gladys Cherono (KEN) ~ Berlin winner 2015-17-18
2:18:31 ‘18 Vivian Cheruiyot (KEN) ~ Olympic 5,000 gold ‘16; defending London champ
2:18:35 ‘18 Brigid Koskei (KEN) ~ London runner-up, Chicago winner ‘18
2:19:17 ‘18 Rosa Dereje (ETH) ~ Chicago runner-up ‘18
2:19:51 ‘18 Birhane Dibaba (ETH) ~ Tokyo winner 2015-18, Chicago third 2014-15
2:20:13 ‘18 Haftamnesh Tesfay (ETH) ~ Frankfurt runner-up ‘18
2:21:36 ‘17 Yuka Ando (JPN) ~ Nagoya second ‘17, Osaka thiurd ‘18
2:21:40 ‘18 Tadelech Bekele (ETH) ~ Amsterdam winner 2017-18; London third ‘18

Cherono, 35, has run only six career marathons, winning three times in Berlin and finishing 2-5-4 in Dubai-Boston-London in 2015-17-18. For Cheruiyot, also 35, this will be her fifth career marathon and after a 1-2 finish in London-New York last year, she might be the favorite in this field.

Also part of the women’s elite field is Molly Huddle of the U.S., the former American record holder in the 10,000 m. It’s her first marathon outside the U.S.; she has finished 3-4 in the 2016-18 New York City Marathon (2:26:44 PR last year) and was 11th in the storm-blown 2018 Boston race. This could be a break-out opportunity for her, with good conditions expected.

The prize purse includes $156,500 for the top 12 places: $55,000-30,000-22,500-15,000-10,000 for the top five and on down to $1,000 for 12th. Course records are worth $25,000 more. Look for results here.

SPEED READ: Headlines from The Sports Examiner for Friday, 26 April 2019

Rich Perelman

April 26, 2019

Welcome to The Sports Examiner SPEED READ, a 100 mph (44.7 m/s) review of what happened this week in Olympic sport:

LANE ONE

Wednesday: The LA28-USOC deal with NBCUniversal could be just the beginning. That deal is just for the U.S., what about new concepts to renovate the sponsorship concept in other countries, or even continents?

Friday: If you’re already making plans for 2020, maybe you’ll want to take off the week of 21-28 June, as the three biggest U.S. Olympic sports – track, swimming and gymnastics – all hold their Olympic trials. It’s a great way for NBC to promote its Olympic broadcasts, but is it good for the athletes?

THE BIG PICTURE

Wednesday: USA Gymnastics announces its 2020 Olympic Trials venue in St. Louis, but the deadline for abuse survivors to file their claims is coming, too, on 29 April. The federation’s future rests on both of these developments.

ARCHERY

Tuesday: U.S. star Brady Ellison looks for 11th career World Cup victory as the season opens in Colombia

ATHLETICS

Monday: Qatar’s Abderrahmane Samba zips to 47.51 world leader to win Asian Championships in Doha, plus three more world leaders in the first two days.

Wednesday: More world-leading marks at the Asian Championships – including four golds for Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Naser – plus previews of the world-class events at the Drake Relays and USA vs. the World relays at the Penn Relays.

CYCLING

Wednesday: Memorable sprint-finish victories for France’s Julian Alaphilippe and Dutch star Anna van der Breggen at the La Fleche Wallonne races in Belgium.

Thursday: Finish of Ardennes Classics week with the famed Liege-Bastogne-Liege: a pounding, hilly course for men and women on Sunday. Will Alaphilippe win his fourth World Tour race this season? Will van der Breggen win her third straight L-B-L?

DIVING

Wednesday: FINA World Series moves to Montreal, but China stays steady, on a 20-event winning streak this season! Will they ever lose?

FENCING

Tuesday: No. 1-ranked Eli Dershwitz of the U.S. headlines the FIE Sabre Grand Prix in Seoul.

GYMNASTICS

Wednesday: Rhythmic World Cup showdown in Baku as Russia’s Averina twins face Israeli star Linoy Ashram!

SWIMMING

Thursday: New FINA Champions Series bows with $1.03 million in prize money and two star athletes who are suing FINA in line to – perhaps – win the most money? A thorough preview of the weekend’s races in Guangzhou.

TRIATHLON

Thursday: Preview of the second ITU World Series stop, in Bermuda, with Spain’s Mario Mola and American Katie Zaferes as the favorites.

WRESTLING

Thursday: Long and winding road for most U.S. wrestlers to get to the World Championships starts at the U.S. Open in Las Vegas. An in-depth preview of who to look for!

PREVIEWS

Beach Volleyball: Wide-open field at the four-star Xiamen Open in China
Curling: Grand Slam of Curling finishes with Humpty’s Champions Cup in Saskatoon
Cycling: UCI World Cup seasons in BMX and Mountain Bike start in Europe
Judo: Pan American Championships in Lima welcome judoka from 29 nations
Sport Climbing: IFSC World Cup swing through China starts in Chongqing

UPCOMING

Highlights of the coming week, covered in the coming days on TheSportsExaminer.com:

● Athletics: Start of the IAAF Diamond League season in Doha (QAT).

● Swimming: USA Swimming’s Open Water National Championships in Miami.

And later today, a look ahead to Sunday’s London Marathon!

LANE ONE: Planning your time off for 2020 yet? How about U.S. Trials week next June?

Rich Perelman

April 25, 2019

With the announcement of St. Louis, Missouri as the site for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials for men and women, the United States Olympic Committee – and its television partner, NBC – have assembled two weeks of continuous Olympic Trials action for next June.

Over the course of almost a year, four U.S. Trials events – in four glamour sports – will be held:

● 13-21 June: Diving in Indianapolis, Indiana
● 19-28 June: Track & Field in Eugene, Oregon
● 21-28 June: Swimming in Omaha, Nebraska
● 25-28 June: Gymnastics in St. Louis, Missouri

Especially from Saturday, 21 July through Sunday, 28 July, you’ll be watching wall-to-wall Trials action from the track, swimming and gymnastics trials.

Is this a good idea?

From the standpoint of the individual National Governing Bodies, if the timing is early enough to get ready for the Games in Tokyo that start on 25 July, then OK. For the USOC, the same. But for NBC, this creates a tremendous, extended promotional effort for the Games coverage just four weeks before the Opening Ceremony.

And there is history: this kind of concentrated competition to select the U.S. team – during the same time period – has worked for the network. In fact, it’s the second time in the last three quadrennials that all of “big three” – track, swimming and gymnastics – were held during the same week in recent Olympic years. In this century:

● 2016: Track & Gymnastics in the same week
23 June-25 June: Gymnastics (men) in St. Louis
26 June-03 July: Swimming in Omaha
01 July-10 July: Track & Field in Eugene
08 July-10 July: Gymnastics (women) in San Jose

● 2012: All three held in the same week
21 June-01 July: Track & Field in Eugene
25 June-02 July: Swimming in Omaha
29 June-01 July: Gymnastics in San Jose

● 2008: All three overlapped, but not completely
19 June-30 June: Gymnastics (women: 19-22; men: 28-30) in Philadelphia
27 June-08 July: Track & Field in Eugene
29 June-06 July: Swimming in Omaha

● 2004: Track & Swimming ran concurrently
24 June-27 June: Gymnastics in Anaheim
07 July-14 July: Swimming in Long Beach
09 July-18 July: Track & Field in Sacramento

● 2000: Swimming & Gymnastics held at the same time
14 July-23 July: Track & Field in Sacramento
09 August-16 August: Swimming in Indianapolis
17 August-20 August: Gymnastics in Boston

The NBC production teams will be busy at all three sites, with pictures and video interviews of almost all of the U.S. team members in these three sports which will dominate the Games in terms of viewing hours. There will be plenty of drama on who makes the team, let alone who can win a medal in Japan a month later.

But the trifecta of track, swimming and gymnastics, plus diving the week before, may not be all on offer during “Trials Week” in 2020. There are more possibilities in at least three sports that figure to be heavily featured by NBC during the Games:

● Wrestling is in the process of determining when and where it will hold its Olympic Trials – possibly at Penn State – and could place the event in the same time frame.

● Volleyball will have multiple practice matches for its men’s and women’s teams, which could be included as well;

● Basketball, which will be the gold-medal favorites in both the men’s and women’s divisions, will have an exhibition schedule before the Games and the Trials Week period is after the end of the NBA Finals. These are also a possibility.

From the coaching viewpoint, there are two schools of thought about the timing of selection meets: one says hold off until the last possible moment, figuring that whoever makes the team at that point has peaked and should only be asked to hold form for the shortest possible time. The other says to hold a trials meet late, but with enough time so that no has to rush and that the build-up to an even higher peak for the Games can proceed in an orderly way.

With the “Trials Week” approach, the U.S. NGBs have gone with the leave-some-time approach, ahead of the Opening Ceremony on 25 July. Remembering that the trip and the time lag are substantial – Tokyo is 13 hours ahead of New York and 16 hours ahead of Los Angeles – all four teams in the “Trials Week” group will have about a month to get ready:

● 21 June to 26 July: 35 days for Diving ~ Tokyo dates: 26 July-8 August
● 28 June to 25 July: 27 days for Gymnastics ~ Tokyo dates: 25 July-4 August
● 28 June to 25 July: 27 days for Swimming ~ Tokyo dates: 25 July-2 August
● 28 June to 31 July: 33 days for Track & Field ~ Tokyo dates: 31 July-9 August

No doubt each will have a training camp in Japan to get prepared, acclimate to the time, the weather and the local food (to the extent they wish to try it). And given the sterling U.S. performance at the Games, especially in Beijing, London and Rio, this has worked well enough to continue.

Trials Week will be a busy time next year, but a great way to introduce yourself to the U.S. athletes who will be competing in Tokyo a month later. It might be worth penciling it is for some time off … if you have any vacation time left after making your Olympic viewing plans.

Rich Perelman
Editor

CYCLING Preview: Ardennes Classics week finishes with Liege-Bastogne-Liege on Sunday

Rich Perelman

April 25, 2019

tsx pix 2019-425 valverde, alejandro 750 (usuario barcex) — Four-time Liege-Bastogne-Liege winner Alejandro Valverde (ESP) (Photo: Usuario Barcex via Wikimedia)

One of the most intense weeks in cycling finishes on Sunday with the third UCI World Tour race in eight days with the 105th edition of Liege-Bastogne-Liege in Belgium. The build-up:

● 21 April: Amstel Gold Race (NED)
1. 6:28:18 Mathieu van der Poel (NED)
2. 6:28:18 Simon Clarke (AUS)
3. 6:28:18 Jakob Fuglsang (DEN)
4. 6:28:18 Julian Alaphilippe (FRA)
5. 6:28:18 Maximilian Schachmann (GER)

● 24 April: La Fleche Wallonne (BEL)
1. 4:55:14 Julian Alaphilippe (FRA)
2. 4:55:14 Jakob Fuglsang (DEN)
3. 4:55:20 Diego Ulissi (ITA)
4. 4:55:22 Bjorn Lambrecht (BEL)
5. 4:55:22 Maximilian Schachmann (GER)

Now for Sunday, this famed race of 256 km has 13 returning medal winners:

● Alejandro Valverde (ESP) ~ Winner in 2006-08-15-17; second in 2007-14
● Philippe Gilbert (BEL) ~ Winner in 2011
● Dan Martin (IRL) ~ Winner in 2013; second in 2017
● Wout Poels (NED) ~ Winner in 2016
● Bob Jungels (LUX) ~ Winner in 2018
● Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) ~ Second in 2012
● Julian Alaphilippe (FRA) ~ Second in 2015
● Michael Albasini (SUI) ~ Second in 2016
● Michael Woods (CAN) ~ Second in 2018
● Enrico Gasparotto (ITA) ~ Third in 2012
● Romain Bardet (FRA) ~ Third in 2018
● Rui Costa (POR) ~ Third in 2016
● Michal Kwiatkowski (POL) ~ Third in 2014

Valverde’s four wins ties him for second-most in the race’s history; Belgium’s Eddy Merckx won five times and Valverde could join him; he finished eighth at Ronde van Vlaanderen and 11th in La Fleche Wallonne, so another title would not be totally unexpected.

But there are loads of contenders, and Alaphilippe is going for his fourth win of the season, while Gilbert won Paris-Roubaix a couple of weeks ago. Climbers like Nairo Auintana (COL), Adam Yates (GBR), Dutch star Tom Dumoulin and reigning Tour de France champ Geraint Thomas (GBR) are all possibilities.

Liege-Bastogne-Liege is the fourth of the five “Monument” races held each year, having started way back in 1892. The final Monument won’t come until mid-October with Il Lombardia in Italy. The course is hilly and difficult; it starts at 73 m and finishes at 69 m, but in between are climbs to 520 m in Bastogne and 587 m at the Cote de Mont-le-Soie, plus a dozen others. The race finishes on a major descent and then a flat finish into Liege.

Look for results here.

The women’s Liege-Bastogne-Liege race will be third ever and includes a hilly, demanding course of 138.5 km, with five major climbs. The build-up:

● 21 April: Amstel Gold Race (NED)
1. 3:25:48 Kasia Niewiadoma (POL)
2. 3:25:48 Annemiek van Vleuten (NED)
3. 3:25:58 Marianne Vos (NED)
4. 3:25:58 Annika Langvad (DEN)
5. 3:25:58 Soraya Paladin (ITA)

● 24 April: La Fleche Wallonne (BEL)
1. 3:17:04 Anna van der Breggen (NED)
2. 3:17:05 Annemiek van Vleuten (NED)
3. 3:17:08 Annika Langvad (DEN)
4. 3:17:18 Marianne Vos (NED)
5. 3:17:20 Demi Vollering (NED)

The same cast of characters have been among the top finishers in the first two editions of the women’s race:

● Anna van der Breggen (NED) ~ Winner in 2017 and 2018
● Annemiek van Vleuten (NED) ~ Third in 2018
● Kasia Niewiadoma (POL) ~ Third in 2017
● Lizzie Deignan (GBR) ~ Second in 2017
● Amanda Spratt (AUS) ~ Second in 2018

The route starts at 520 m in Bastogne, then moves through a series of modest descents and climbs, with the five tough climbs in the last 80 km of the race. The finish is also downhill from the last climb in Liege into the city center.

Look for results here.

TRIATHLON Preview: Mola and Zaferes headline second ITU World Series in Bermuda

Rich Perelman

April 25, 2019

tsx pix 2019-425 zaferes, katie 750 — American triathlon star Katie Zaferes

The ITU World Series heads for idyllic Bermuda for the second leg of the 2019 circuit, with an Olympic-distance course ready in and around Hamilton:

● Swim: 1,500 m: one lap of 700 m, then one lap of 800 m
● Bike: 40 km: 10 loops of a 4 km course, and
● Run: 10 km: 4 loops of a 2.5 km course.

Unfortunately, Bermudan star Flora Duffy is injured and won’t be racing, removing the local favorite from the program. But that leaves the door open for other favorites; in the opening race in Abu Dhabi (UAE):

Men:
1. 52:00 Mario Mola (ESP)
2. 52:03 Alex Yee (GBR)
3. 52:12 Fernando Alarza (ESP)
4. 52:14 Leo Bergere (FRA)
5. 52:15 Vincent Luis (FRA)

Mola has been unstoppable, winning four of eight races last season and in Abu Dhabi. He now has a medal streak of seven races in a row and nine of his last 10, and is looking for his fourth straight World Series title.

But Bermuda was the only last season where Mola didn’t win a medal, as Norwegians Casper Stornes, Kristian Blummenfelt and Gustav Iden went 1-2-3. And in the Abu Dhabi opener, Alex Yee was a surprise, winning his first World Series medal with a silver-medal finish.

Women:
1. 55:31 Katie Zaferes (USA)
2. 55:57 Taylor Spivey (USA)
3. 56:06 Jessica Learmonth (GBR)
4. 56:09 Taylor Knibb (USA)
5. 56:37 Non Stanford (GBR)

Zaferes won six medals in eight races last season and was impressive in the Sprint distance program in Abu Dhabi. In the Bermuda race last year, Duffy was the winner, followed by Vicky Holland (GBR) and Zaferes.

Look for results here.

CYCLING Preview: BMX Supercross and Mountain Bike Downhill World Cup seasons begin in Europe

Rich Perelman

April 25, 2019

tsx pix 2019-425 kiemann niek 750 — Dutch BMX World Cup champion Niek Kimmann

It’s World Cup time again for BMX riders and the first two races in the 2019 BMX Supercross World Cup are in Manchester (GBR) on the weekend. This is the first of five stops this season, with racing on Saturday and Sunday.

The defending men’s World Cup champion is Dutch rider Niek Kimmann, who amassed 975 points to edge Joris Daudet (FRA: 900) and Sylvain Andre (FRA: 815), who won the World Championship race over Daudet in Baku (AZE) last June. The current UCI World Rankings:

1. 1,440 Niek Kimmann (NED)
2. 1,285 Sylvain Andre (FRA)
3. 1,255 Joris Daudet (FRA)
4. 1,020 David Graf (SUI)
5. 955 Joris Harmsen (NED)

American Corbin Sharrah – the 2016 World Cup seasonal champ – ranks sixth with 940 points. The entire top 10 in the rankings is entered in Manchester.

Among the women, the defending World Cup champ is Dutch star Laura Smulders, who won for the third season in a row. Saya Sakakibara (AUS) was second, ahead of Judy Baauw (NED). The current world rankings:

1. 1,830 Laura Smulders (NED)
2. 1,261 Judy Baauw (NED)
3. 1,195 Saya Sakakibara (AUS)
4. 1,085 Natalia Afremova (RUS)
5. 1,045 Alise Willoughby (USA)

Colombia’s Mariana Pajon, the 2013 and 2015 World Cup champion (and a three-time World Champion), is back from injury and if she is right, is going to be a factor.

Look for results here.

The 2019 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup season gets going with a Downhill event in Maribor (SLO) on Saturday (27th).

Amaury Pierron (FRA) won the men’s title last year over Danny Hart (GBR) and Troy Brosnan (AUS), his first career World Cup seasonal title, ending a three-year streak for American Aaron Gwin. The UCI world rankings heading into Maribor:

1. 1,288 Danny Hart (GBR)
2. 1,270 Amaury Pierron (FRA)
3. 1,111 Troy Brosnan (AUS)
4. 1,020 Loris Vergier (FRA)
5. 988 Loic Bruni (FRA)

In the women’s division, Rachel Atherton (GBR) completed her comeback from a bad crash in 2017 and take her sixth career title, with five within the last seven years. She finished ahead of Tahnee Seagrave (GBR) and Tracey Hannah (AUS); Seagrave finished second for the second year in a row and Hannah won the seasonal bronze for the third straight year. The women’s world rankings:

1. 1,686 Rachel Atherson (GBR)
2. 1,540 Tahnee Seagrave (GBR)
3. 1,500 Tracey Hannah (AUS)
4. 1,219 Monika Hrastnik (SLOL)
5. 980 Miryam Nicole (FRA)

This is the first of 10 stops on the 2019 tour; next up is Albstadt (GER) for the opening Cross Country World Cups in mid-May. Look for results here.

SWIMMING Preview: New, $1.03 million FINA Champions Series debuts Saturday in Guangzhou

Rich Perelman

April 25, 2019

tsx pix 81618 sjostrom sarah glasgow 2018 — Swedish swimming sprint superstar Sarah Sjostrom

Well, it’s here. While the International Swimming League promises to revolutionize professional swimming with its team-based meet series that is supposed to start in October, a tangible result of its efforts is the new FINA Champions Series, a sort-of “All-Star Game” program for swimmers with good paydays attached to each event.

There are three meets, starting with Guangzhou (CHN) this weekend, followed by Budapest (HUN) on 11-12 May and Indianapolis (USA) on 31 May-1 June.

There are just four invited swimmers per event, all of high caliber, with payouts for each event of $10,000-8,000-6,000-5,000 for a total of $812,000 per meet, and $16,000-12,000-8,000 for the Mixed 4×100 m Free and 4×400 m Medley relays that end the program each night. That’s $1.028 million in prize money for each meet, and FINA is paying appearance fees and travel costs for all of the athletes for each meet.

Is this a good idea? Yes, sort of. The timing is good for much of the world because it comes just after the rash of national championships in the late March-early April time frame, so most of the world’s swimmers are in good shape. It’s still well before the 12-28 July FINA World Championships, so training schedules are not much damaged for those involved.

Is this a blockbuster waiting to happen? Probably not. There is no build-up to this, as there is for a World Championship or an Olympic Games. It’s an invitational and for swimming, the prize money is good, but it’s only about half what is paid for the Worlds in Gwangju (KOR) later this year. Without a lead-in and more prestige, the meets are on an island and unconnected to the rest of the calendar. But for swimming, it’s an opportunity to get some attention it normally doesn’t get, and that’s good.

What about the events? The program is pretty full, but tilted toward speed rather than distance:

● Freestyle: 50-100-200-400 m
● Backstroke: 50-100-200 m
● Breaststroke: 50-100-200 m
● Butterfly: 50-100-200 m
● Medley: 200 m
● Relays: Mixed 4×100 m Free, 4×100 m Medley

The daily schedule is here. Some of the most interesting match-ups include:

Men:

● 50 m Free: Rio Olympic champ Anthony Ervin (USA) vs. nos. 2-3-4 on the 2019 world list: Ben Proud (GBR: 21.50), Andrea Vergani (ITA: 21.53) and Vladimir Morozov (RUS: 21.55).

● 200 m Free: Rio re-run with China’s Yang Sun and South Africa’s Chad le Clos; Sun ranks fourth on the 2019 list at 1:45.73.

● 400 m Free: The Rio silver (Sun) and bronze (Gabriele Detti/ITA) face off and are 1-2 in the world this year at 3:43.36 for Detti and 3:43.73 for Sun.

● 50 m Back: American Michael Andrew, fifth on the world list for 2019 (24.66) takes on Russian champ Kliment Kolesnikov (no. 6: 24.77) and no. 8 Robert Ginta (BEL: 24.83).

● 50 m Breast: Andrew (27.17 in 2019) is back, facing world leader Joao Gomes Jr. (BRA: 26.42), no. 2 Felipe Lima (BRA: 26.48) and no. 6 Fabio Scozzoli (ITA: 26.82). Andrew is also in the 100 m Breast.

● 200 m Breast: Nos. 1-2 in the world for 2019 will face off: Russia’s World Champion Anton Chupkov (2:07.00) and Japan’s world-record holder, Ippei Watanabe (JPN: 2:07.02).

● 50 m Fly: Andrew is entered in the 50 m and 100 m Fly events; the time leaders in the 50 m is Brazil’s World silver winner Nicholas dos Santos (no. 2: 22.77 in 2019) and Britain’s World Champion Ben Proud (no. 6: 23.25). Andrew is also in the 100 m Fly.

● 200 m Medley: Andrew will swim in his sixth event here and shocked everyone by beating 2017 World Champion Chase Kalisz at the Tyr Pro Swim Series in Richmond on 13 April. Here he will be swimming World Champs bronze medalist Shun Wang (CHN: no. 2 at 1:56.66 in 2019).

Women:

● 50 m Free: Rio champ Pernille Blume (DEN) has to deal with 2017 World Champion Sarah Sjostrom, 2017 silver winner Ranomi Kromowidjojo (NED) and Australia’s double Freestyle relay gold medalist Cate Campbell. Sjostrom (23.91), Campbell (24.30) and Kromo (24.48) are 1-2-5 on the world list for 2019.

● 100 m Free: World list leader Campbell (52.35) is back against Sjostrom (no. 2: 52.76), Blume and sister Bronte Campbell (53.81 in 2019).

● 200 m Free: Rio silver winner Sjostrom is in a third event, against Hungarian star Katinka Hosszu and China’s emerging star Jianjiahe Wang and 2017 Worlds silver/bronze distance medalist Bingjie Li. Hosszu, Li and Wang are also in the 400 m Free

● 200 m Back: A Rio rematch between gold medalist Emily Seebohm (AUS) and Hosszu, who took silver; they are both also in the 100 m Back.

● 50 m Breast: American Molly Hannis, no. 8 in 2019 at 30.69, will face no. 7 Imogen Clark (GBR: 30.68) and China’s Shiwen Ye and Junyang Feng. Hannis will also swim in the 100 and 200 Breast events.

● 50 m Fly: Sjostrom is back for event no. 4, against Kromowidjojo and Cate Campbell, plus Americam Kelsi Dahlia. Sjostrom won the Olympic 100 Fly title in Rio and the 50 and 100 crowns at the 2017 Worlds in Hungary. Kromo won World silver in the 50 Fly in 2017 and Dahlia took the 100 Fly bronze, but Sjostrom is the world leader in 2019 at 25.34.

● 100 m Fly: More Sjostrom (no. 5), more Kromo (no. 3), more Dahlia, plus American Dana Vollmer (London 2012 gold, Rio 2016 bronze). In 2019, Sjostrom is the world leader at 56.69.

● 200 m Fly: Hosszu won the Worlds bronze in this event in 2017 and is no. 2 on the world list at 2:07.18. She will have to deal with Dahlia (2:09.09 in 2019) and China’s Yufei Zhang (2:08.24) and Yifan Zhang (2:09.27).

● 200 m Medley: Hosszu won Olympic gold here in 2016 and the world title in 2017; she’s the world leader at 2:08.55 and will be heavily favored in event no. 5.

It has not gone unnoticed in FINA circles that Andrew and Hosszu, both plaintiffs in ISL-promoted lawsuits against FINA, have bellied up to the trough for paydays of at least $30,000 and $25,000 and probably more than double that for each.

A great meet? No, but it could have some surprises and it will be fun. That’s a good start; here’s hoping that the attendance in Guangzhou will be good.

NBC’s Olympic Channel has coverage of the meet on Saturday at 7:30 a.m. Eastern time and 5:00 a.m. Eastern on Sunday. Look for results here.

WRESTLING Preview: U.S. Open in Las Vegas is the first step to the World Champs for American wrestlers

Rich Perelman

April 24, 2019

USA Wrestling’s multi-step road to the 2019 World Championships in Astana (KAZ) in September starts for most American wrestlers at this week’s massive U.S. Open in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The new format for qualification starts with those wrestlers who earned World Championships medals in 2018: 7 in men’s Freestyle, one in Greco-Roman and four in women’s Freestyle. They advance directly to the “Final X” series, which will pit them against the winner of the U.S. World Team Trials Challenge Tournament. The field for the Challenge event will be built primarily from the U.S. Open results.

But in those classes where there is no medalist from 2018, the winner of the U.S. Open will get the Final X spot for that weight. Got it? Now to the previews:

Men/Freestyle

● 57 kg:
Thomas Gilman was in Final X last year as a 2017 Worlds medalist, but will have to earn it this year. Daton Fix was the Open runner-up last year and Zach Sanders defeated Frank Perrelli for third; they’re the most likely contenders.

● 61 kg:
Joe Colon won the Worlds bronze last year, so he has advanced to Final X. The top returnees from 2018’s Open are third-placer Nico Megaludis and Tyler Graff. Cody Brewer won the Dave Schultz Memorial Invitational in January.

● 65 kg:
Logan Stieber, the 2016 World Champion at 61 kg, was wrestling at this weight, but has retired. That leaves Joey McKenna and Jaydin Eierman as the top two from the 2018 U.S. Open, with Nick Dardanes fourth behind Stieber. B.J. Futell won the Dave Schultz Memorial, but the buzz is about former National Team members Jordan Oliver and Zain Retherford.

● 70 kg:
Two-time Worlds medal winner James Green is favored, after missing a medal at the 2018 Worlds. Jason Chamberlain and Hayden Hidlay were 1-2 in the 2018 U.S. Open and Nazar Kulchytskyy – a National Team member at 74 kg – is moving down in weight to compete here.

● 74 kg:
Jordan Burroughs is already into Final X as a Worlds medalist (his seventh), so the top returnees from last year are Isaiah Martinez and Dan Vallimont. A wild card is 2012 Olympian Jared Frayer (at 66 kg), now 40 and coaching at Virginia Tech; a surprise perhaps?

● 79 kg:
Kyle Dake won the world title last year, so the contenders at the Open are Alex Dieringer, the 2018 Open runner-up, Nathan Jackson (fifth) and Ben Harvey (sixth).

● 86 kg:
David Taylor is the World Champion, so Pat Downey, seventh at the Open last year, but the winner of the Dave Schultz Memorial, might be next in line this year. Former National Team member Nick Heflin has come down in weight to wrestle in this class as well.

● 92 kg:
World Champion J’den Cox is off to Final X, so 2018 Open runner-up Hayden Zillmer is the logical favorite this year. Tim Dudley has moved up from 86 kg and won the Dave Schultz Memorial in January. Nikko Reyes and Tim McCall, fifth and sixth last year, are poised to move up.

● 97 kg:
Kyle Snyder took the Worlds silver in 2018, so he’s already in Final X. The top returnees are 2018 runner-up Ty Walz and fifth-placer Ben Honis.

● 125 kg:
The first spot in Final X belongs to Worlds bronze winner Nick Gwiazdowski, so runner-up Adam Coon – who won a Worlds Greco silver medal – is suddenly the favorite. National Team member Tony Nelson and third-placer Dom Bradley are other likely contenders.

Men/Greco-Roman

The U.S. Open seeds have been released, and include:

● 55 kg:
1. Max Nowry ~ 2019 Pan American Champion
2. Dalton Duffield
3. Jerome Carter ~ 7th in 2018 U.S. Open

● 60 kg:
1. Dalton Roberts ~ 2018 U.S. Open Chamoion
2. Ildar Hafizov
3. Randon Miranda ~ 2018 U.S. Open bronze at 55 kg

● 63 kg:
1. Ryan Mango ~ 2019 Pan American silver medalist
2. Xavier Johnson
3. Sam Jones ~ 2018 U.S. Open runner-up

● 67 kg:
1. Ellis Coleman ~ 2019 Pan American silver medalist
2. Hayden Tuma
3. Jamel Johnson ~ 2018 U.S. Open bronze medalist

● 72 kg:
1. RaVaughn Perkins ~ 2019 Pan American Champion
2. Raymond Bunker ~ 2019 Dave Schultz Memorial Champion
3. Michael Hooker

● 77 kg:
1. Kamel Bey ~ 2019 Pan American silver medalist
2. Pat Smith
3. Mason Manville

● 82 kg:
1. Chaney Haight ~ 2019 Pan American Champion
2. John Stefanowicz ~ 2018 U.S. Open sixth
3. Jon Jay Chavez

● 87 kg:
1. Patrick Martinez ~ 2019 Pan American bronze medalist
2. Ben Provisor ~ 2018 U.S. Open Champion at 87 kg
3. Joe Rau

● 97 kg:
1. G’Angelo Hancock ~ 2019 Pan American silver medalist
2. Daniel Miller ~ 2018 U.S. Open Champion
3. Lucas Sheridan ~ 2018 U.s. Open bronze medalist

● 130 kg:
1. David Tate Orndorff ~ 2018 U.S. Open bronze medalist
2. Toby Erickson
3. Malcolm Allen

Women/Freestyle

The U.S. Open seeds for women’s Freestyle are also now available:

● 50 kg:
1. Erin Golston ~ 2019 Pan American silver medalist
2. Whitney Conder ~ 2018 U.S. Open Champion
3. Victoria Anthony ~ 2018 U.S. Open silver medalist

● 53 kg:
1. Cody Pfau ~ U.S. Open bronze medalist
2. Gracie Figueroa
3. Katherine Shai

● 55 kg:
1. Jacarra Winchester ~ 2019 Pan American bronze medalist at 57 kg
2. Dominique Parrish ~ 2018 U.S. Open runner-up
3. Alexandra Hedrick ~ 2019 Pan American Champion

● 57 kg:
1. Jenna Burkert
2. Kelsey Campbell ~ 2019 Pan American Champs fourth at 59 kg
3. Becka Leathers

● 59 kg:
1. Alli Ragan ~ Two-time Worlds silver medalist
2. Lauren Louive ~ 2018 U.S. Open runner-up
3. Abigail Nette ~ 2018 U.S. Open bronze medalist

● 62 kg:
1. Kayla Miracle ~ 2018 U.S. Open Champion
2. Brenda Reyna
3. Alexis Porter

● 65 kg:
1. Forrest Molinari ~ 2018 U.S. Open runner-up
2. Julia Salata ~ 2019 Pan American Champion
3. Maya Nelson

● 68 kg:
1. Randyll Beltz ~ 2018 U.S. Open runner-up
2. Jaydin Laurent
3. Ashlynn Ortega

● 72 kg:
1. Dymond Guilford
2. Rachel Watters ~ 2019 Pan American silver medalist
3. Victoria Francis ~ 2016 U.S. Open runner-up

● 76 kg:
1. Paige Baynes
2. Leilani Camargo-Naone ~ 2018 U.S. Open runner-up
3. Korianahe Bullock ~ 2018 U.S. Open fourth

The tournament runs through the 27th. Look for results here.