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BASKETBALL: U.S. gets Czech Rep., Japan and Tunisia in FIBA World Cup Draw

By
Rich Perelman
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A massive crowd of more than 8,000 crowded into the Shenzhen Bay Arena to watch the draw for the 2019 FIBA World Cup, to be played in China beginning on 31 August. The groups (with current FIBA World Rankings):

● Group A (Beijing): China (30), Ivory Coast (64), Poland (25), Venezuela (20)
● Group B (Wuhan): Russia (10), Argentina (5), Korea (32), Nigeria (33)
● Group C (Guangzhou): Spain (2), Iran (27), Puerto Rico (16), Tunisia (51)
● Group D (Foshan): Angola (39), Philippines (31), Italy (13), Serbia (4)
● Group E (Shanghai): United States (1), Czech Rep. (24), Japan (48), Turkey (17)
● Group F (Nanjing): Greece (8), New Zealand (38), Brazil (12), Montenegro (28)
● Group G (Shenzhen): Dom. Rep. (18), France (3), Germany (22), Jordan
● Group H (Dongguan): Canada (23), Senegal (37), Lithuania (6), Australia (11)

With the popularity of basketball in China – the ceremony included icon Yao Ming – this is expected to be a highly-successful event, with a lot of attention on the NBA stars who will make up the U.S. team.

The format of the tournament has the top two teams from each group advancing into a second-round of four, four-time groups – beginning on 6 September – who will play each other for the right to advance to the quarterfinals.

The U.S. will play the Czech Rep. on 1 September, Turkey on 3 September and Japan on 5 September. The advancing teams from Group E will face the top two teams from Group F – Greece, New Zealand, Brazil and Montenegro – in the second round.

Further draw details are here.

GLOBETROTTING by Phil Hersh: Who will win 2019 figure skating worlds? My gold medal crystal ball perfectly clear on just one event

By
Phil Hersh
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Yuzuru Hanyu reacts after his free skate at the 2018 Olympics, when he won a second straight Olympic gold. (Getty Images.)

Yuzuru Hanyu reacts after his free skate at the 2018 Olympics, when he won a second straight Olympic gold. (Getty Images.)

There are two ways to do figure skating predictions.

One is based on the unlikely event that the top six or so skaters or couples in every discipline skate cleanly (wouldn’t that be wonderful to see.) Predictions then are relatively simple, since one can rely on measures of past clean programs and of pure ability.

The second method factors in recent performances, injuries, the way judges have perceived an athlete or team, how the athletes have done under pressure in big events and other intangibles.  These are much more valid but also trickier, given what might happen when you combine all that information with a slippery surface, knife-blade-wide skate edges and limit-pushing, extreme sports skills.

Take my 2018 Olympic predictions for icenetwork, which relied on using the variables cited in the second method.

I got just two of the five gold medalists right – Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan in men’s singles and Tessa Virtue-Scott Moir of Canada in ice dance.  I had the eventual silver medalists as winners in team, women’s singles and pairs, and my predicted silver medalists won gold in all three of those disciplines.

I managed to get all three medalists, if not the right order, in pairs and the team event.

Overall, I picked 12 of the 15 medalists.  My biggest miss was predicting a Russian (or, to be exact, “Olympic Athlete from Russia”) sweep in women’s singles.  They got 1-2 with Alina Zagitova and Evgenia Medvedeva, but the third Russian, then reigning Grand Prix Final silver medalist Maria Sotskova, began what has been an increasingly precipitous decline by finishing a distant eighth at the Games.

I also missed by picking Nathan Chen for singles bronze (he was 17th after an awful short program but won the free to finish fifth) and Madison Hubbell – Zach Donohue for bronze in ice dance, which they were on track to win before two big errors in the free dance.

And why am I bringing all this up?

As preamble to my predictions for next week’s World Championships, with competition beginning Wednesday in Saitama, Japan.

And here they are:

MEN’S SINGLES

Gold – Yuzuru Hanyu, Japan*

Silver – Nathan Chen, USA

Bronze – Shoma Uno, Japan

The asterisk (*) after Hanyu is there for the same reason I used one a year ago:  uncertainty. If he is healthy, he wins a third world title.

Hanyu missed competitions and a lot of training time after an ankle injury last season and returned from the sidelines to win the Olympics.  Vincent Zhou of the U.S., sixth at the 2018 Winter Games, said he wouldn’t be surprised to see Hanyu rebound that way after a similar impact from an injury this season.  “He’s on a different level from the rest of us,” Zhou said of the Japanese superstar.  “The way he made such a quick recovery to win the Olympic title, I don’t think anybody else could have done that.  He makes everything look easy.”

Added to the surpassing quality of Hanyu’s skating is a fierce competitive will that is the X factor making it hard to bet against him.

Prior to this season’s injury, Hanyu had three so-so (by his standards) free skates, even if the second (with two under-rotated quads) earned the highest score in the world for 2018-19 and included a wowza quad toe – triple axel sequence.  Hanyu had also been up and down prior to his injury last season

Chen, who won the 2018 world gold in Hanyu’s absence, comes into the season’s biggest event undefeated for the second year in a row.  His performances have improved all season, and Chen was lights out in winning a third straight U.S. title.

Should Chen repeat his performance level of nationals, Hanyu likely could not afford more than one significant mistake in the free skate.  A clean Hanyu in both programs is impossible to beat, even if Chen decides to revive the six-quad free skates he did at Olympics and worlds (nine of the quads got positive grades; the others all got full rotational credit.)

The other U.S. men?  Two clean skates could put Jason Brown in the top six, and Zhou could be close to a medal if the under-rotation police don’t arrest him again.

Rika Kihira and coach Mi Hamada after seeing her winning scores. (Getty Images)

Rika Kihira and coach Mi Hamada after seeing her winning scores. (Getty Images)

WOMEN’S SINGLES

Gold – Rika Kihira, Japan

Silver – Alina Zagitova, Russia

Bronze – Kaori Sakamoto, Japan

This is the hardest event to predict, given reigning Olympic champion Zagitova’s recent struggles and the pressure Kihira may feel as the favorite on home ice in her senior worlds debut.

Let’s start with the bronze medal.  I see five women in the running – Sakamoto, compatriot Satoko Miyahara, Russians Evgenia Medvedeva and Sofia Samodurova and Kazakh Elizabet Tursynbaeva. If two-time world champ Medvedeva somehow pulls off two clean programs, which she hasn’t done all season, she will win the bronze – and maybe more, depending on how Kihira and Zagitova perform. And if Tursynbaeva has a solid short and lands a quad salchow in the free, she could wind up with a medal.

Zagitova skated well enough in her first competition of the season, the Nebelhorn Challenger Series event, to win the world title.  FWIW: her total score from Nebelhorn has remained the highest in the world this season – by more than five points.

But three of Zagitova’s last four free skates, including the last two, have been poor to dismal, with the three bad ones producing an aggregate three falls, four under-rotations, one downgrade and one triple that she doubled.  (In the good free skate, she still singled a planned triple toe.)  She also fell twice in the free at the pre-season Russian test skate, and she has not been skating with the champion’s confidence and newbie’s insouciance (remember that five-triple-jump combo in Olympic practice?) that carried her from junior world champion at age 14 to Olympic champion at 15.

Kihira has made major mistakes (falls and popped jumps) in every one of her events this season except the low-key Challenge Cup last month.  She came closest to two clean programs at the Grand Prix Final, where she emphatically beat a solid Zagitova (no negative GOEs) to establish herself as the current top senior woman in the world.

Kihira, 16, has gained fame (and points) as a master of the triple axel, but her 18 (!!!) attempts this season have included three falls, two pops (singles), one downgrade and one double, for a decent success rate of 61 percent.  She has come from behind after the short program to win four times, missing a winning rally only at the Japanese Championships, where she was second to Sakamoto.  In three of the five SP losses, a failed triple axel was her undoing.

Kihira is trending up, despite a blip or two, while Zagitova has mainly been trending down since falling three times in the free skate at 2018 worlds.  So it would not even be surprising to see the Russian miss the podium entirely.

And the U.S. women?  Bradie Tennell, sixth at 2018 worlds, has been hammered by judges all this season for under rotations. Mariah Bell, a distant 12th at the last two worlds, struggles to put together two solid programs.  A top six for either would be very good, but their chances look slim to gain back a third women’s singles spot for the U.S. with combined finishes adding up to 13 or less.

Embed from Getty Images

PAIRS

Gold – Vanessa James and Morgan Cipres, France

Silver – Sui Wenjing and Han Cong, China

Bronze – Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov, Russia

The dazzling French couple has dominated the scene all season, with an undefeated record that includes historic golds at the Grand Prix Final (first by a French pair) and European Championships (second by a French pair – the other was 87 years ago.)  Their inventive lifts and powerful skating are compelling to watch.

For the second time in three years, reigning Olympic silver medalists and 2017 world champions Sui and Han of China have missed most of the season due to her foot injuries.  They returned this time to win the Four Continents Championships last month despite a fall in each program. Sui reportedly had another injury in a recent practice, but she and Han remain on the entry list.

The U.S?  The hope is for lone entry Ashley Cain and Timothy LeDuc to turn their worlds debut into a top 10 finish and a second U.S. pairs spot for next year.  Given that their top score this season ranks ninth in the world, that is not impossible.

 DANCE

 Gold – Gabrielle Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron, France

Silver – Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin, Russia

Bronze – Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue, USA

This is the one clear gold prediction, with the French team light years ahead of the competition as they seek a second straight world title and fourth in the last five years.

The other two medals are up for grabs.  Reigning world silver medalists Hubbell and Donohue have shot their medal chances in the foot with big free skate mistakes at other major events (2017 worlds, 2018 Olympics, 2019 Four Continents), but they won this season’s Grand Prix Final with Papadakis-Cizeron sidelined by an injury.  Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the U.S. won world medals in 2015 and 2016 but slipped to seventh and fifth the past two seasons.  After missing the first half of this season as Chock recovered from a foot injury, they won Four Continents. Canadians Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje could also be in the medal mix.

The third U.S. team?  Kaitlyn Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker finished 10th at worlds last season and could move up a spot or two.

SPEED READ: Headlines from The Sports Examiner for Friday, 15 March 2019

By
Rich Perelman
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Welcome to The Sports Examiner SPEED READ, a 100 mph (44.7 m/s) review of what happened over the last 96 hours in Olympic sport:

LANE ONE

Wednesday: Which Olympic sports are doing to die? The association of summer-sport federations issued a report which identifies the key issue for every one of them, and what they have to do to maintain their positions. But with about half of the IFs receiving a quarter or more of their annual revenue from their share of IOC television revenue, some are sure to drop off the map … but how soon?

Friday: For the IAAF, change has come. Faced with a required 16% reduction in the number of athletes at the Olympic Games, a new system of qualification has been instituted for 2020. At the heart of the program is the new “World Rankings” program, which has some significant flaws that penalize U.S., Jamaican, Kenyan and Ethiopian athletes. And the IAAF also decided that the 5,000 m is no longer of interest to television viewers.

THE BIG PICTURE

Thursday: Russia is still at the center of World Anti-Doping Agency’s work as its Annual Symposium concludes this week. WADA chief Craig Reedie (GBR) defends the Executive Committee’s decision to reinstate, while an alliance of national anti-doping organization insists Russian dopers must be pursued, no matter how long it takes.

ALPINE SKIING

Thursday: Another Crystal Globe for American superstar Mikaela Shiffrin, whose fourth-place finish in Soldeu (AND) clinched the seasonal title in the Super-G, her first speed-race title. Swiss Beat Feuz defended his men’s Downhill title and Italian Dominik Paris won his first-ever season title, in the men’s Super-G.

ATHLETICS

Tuesday: The IAAF Council votes to revamp the Diamond League for 2020, but keeps Russia on suspension, with two more conditions to be met.

BOBSLED & SKELETON

Monday: Germany’s Francesco Friedrich completes a two-year double-double that hasn’t been done in 58 years! Plus more history in Skeleton as the German women complete the first medals sweep ever and Latvia’s Martins Dukurs wins his sixth world title.

GYMNASTICS

Wednesday: European fans are on fire as Simone Biles makes a rare appearance in an FIG World Cup, this time in Stuttgart for the German Cup!

SHOOTING

Monday: U.S. Spring Selection Matches for Shotgun select a powerful team for the World Championships and ISSF World Cups, including World and Olympic medalists including Vince Hancock, Ashley Carroll and Kim Rhode.

PREVIEWS

● Badminton: Two iconic Olympic champs in men’s Singles face off this week in Basel
● Beach Volleyball: Men’s-only four-star tournament on this week in Qatar!
● Cross Country Skiing: World Cup seasonal races are too close to call!
● Curling: Is Sweden’s Anna Hasselborg the favorite at the Women’s World Champs?
● Cycling: Five past champs line up for prestigious women’s Ronde van Drenthe race
● Cycling: Historic Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico races on this week
● Fencing: U.S.’s Race Imboden headlines Foil Grand Prix in Anaheim
● Freestyle Skiing: Season titles on the line in Big Air and Ski Cross this week
● Judo: IJF World Tour visits Russia for Ekaterinberg Grand Slam
● Nordic Combined: Season concludes this week, with Norway’s Riiber the star
● Shooting: Strong fields at the Shotgun World Cup in Acapulco, including Kim Rhode.
● Ski Jumping: Kobayashi clinches men’s season title as the Raw Air Tourney continues…
● Snowboard: Big Air and SnowCross globes to be decided this weekend
● Wrestling: The U.S. tries to defend its 2018 men’s Freestyle World Cup title in Yakutsk!

UPCOMING

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

● Figure Skating: The 2019 World Championships start in Japan.

● Cross Country Skiing: The World Cup Final in Quebec City.

● Curling: The Women’s World Championship concludes in Denmark.

And a look ahead at a busy IOC Executive Board meeting starting on 24 March.

LANE ONE: The IAAF is changing track & field: computers are in, distance races are out

By
Rich Perelman
-

One of the great things about track & field is its simplicity.

Who threw the furthest? Who ran the fastest?

The technology to measure these events has gotten more and more precise, but the athlete’s goal is the same: get to the line first. Or jump higher or throw further than anyone else.

But who gets to run or jump or throw at the Olympic Games or World Championships is much harder to know now, thanks to changes by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) to a system that introduces its new “World Rankings” into the equation.

In short, what used to be a fairly clear delineation of who was in and who was not has been muddied. The IAAF’s announcement of the qualification standards for the 2020 Olympic Games last week showcase the issues that the IAAF is now trying to deal with.

Up through this year, there were entry standards for the Olympics and Worlds, and if an athlete met those standards, and were nominated by their national federation (often in a trials meet), they were entered.

That worked fine in a time of unlimited entries, but in the Olympic Games, those days are over.

The qualification documentation issued by the IAAF noted that the sport now has a hard quota of 1,900 total athletes for 2020. That’s a 16% haircut compared to the 2,268 athletes competing at the Rio Games in 2016, 368 athletes less. That’s a lot.

To deal with this, the IAAF changed its procedure from qualification by entry standards and then filling in from the list of yearly best marks of athletes who were eligible and not otherwise qualified. This is known in the trade as “filling the field” to meet the pre-determined number of entries in each event.

Now, the “filling the field” process will come from the World Rankings instead of the list of best marks during the qualification period. So, what are the World Rankings and how fair as they?

If you’re familiar with the rankings system used in golf and tennis, then you will recognize the IAAF World Rankings concept. It’s a points system, but with a specific adaptation for marks and for placement, designed to reward performances in higher-end meets.

If you read through the actual rankings criteria – don’t try this at night if you’re already in bed and ready to go to sleep – you will see that the points given for marks are according to the existing IAAF scoring tables and apply to all marks. The Rankings criteria have adjustments for the sprints and horizontal jumps for both headwinds and tailwinds.

It’s in the “placement” segment that the trouble begins. Points are awarded based on the place and the meet. So an Olympic or World Championships gold medal is worth 350 points; third place is worth 280 and eighth place earns 185 points.

The hierarchy of competitions goes down through the Diamond League Final, other IAAF World Championships, Diamond League meets and major Games (level A: including the Pan American Games), then to national championships (level B) and other events such as the NCAA Championships, classified as level C. And there are levels D, E and F.

For such a complex system, it’s amazingly unsophisticated, and clearly penalizes U.S. athletes and significant parts of the Jamaican, Kenyan and Ethiopian athlete base:

● The performance scores do not take altitude into consideration, and values a mark made at sea level – say Los Angeles – the same as if it were made in the thin air of Mexico City. This deeply impacts sprint and horizontal jump marks and penalizes the East African nations whose national championships and selection meets are at high altitude, penalizing their distance runners for slower marks in adverse conditions.

● The placement criteria are a real slap at the best athletes from the big athletics powers like the U.S., Jamaica, Kenya and Ethiopia. To award the same number of Rankings points for the USA Track & Field National Championships or the Olympic Trials and the – with no disrespect intended – national championships of Luxembourg is simply offensive.

● Moreover, to really be fair to athletes in these countries, a deeper valuation program is needed to reward individual events within larger championships. It’s insulting to value the NCAA Championships sprints and hurdles events – some of the best in the world each year – the same as second and third-tier events like the Mediterranean Games or Pan-Arab Games. Are you kidding?

Same for the sprints in the Jamaican national championships, surely worth more than the Pan American Games or an IAAF World Indoor Tour meeting. And there are many more examples.

Can we be surprised that the group who developed this process is from Europe, and not from the U.S. or Africa?

The system is up and running right now and the rankings are updated every Wednesday.

There is a lot more to using the World Rankings concept than simply “filling the field” for the Olympic Games, however. It is a tool for the IAAF to reach its own goals by:

(1) Encouraging athletes for competing in the IAAF Diamond League meets,
(2) So these meets can attract a larger in-stadium and television audience, and
(3) Lead to higher television rights fees and sponsorship agreements.

From that line of reasoning, it makes perfect sense. What does not compute, however, is that there is no prize money attached to World Ranking placements at the end of each calendar year.

If the Rankings are so important, why not?

The reaction to the IAAF’s World Rankings will be muted during much of 2019 as the sport examines the project and is able to evaluate it. But there are people with their hair on fire now as the IAAF has essentially declared the men’s and women’s 5,000 m “not safe for television” in the Diamond League starting in 2020.

Deciding that fast is better than slow, the Diamond League program for 2020 will complete the televised portion of meets in 90 minutes, shove as many field events into city-center venues and out of the main stadium as possible and limit running events to 3,000 m at most.

And the IAAF stated that the events program will be cut to 12 per gender, so which events are going to lose out? Right now, the Diamond League has 16 basic events for men and women:

● Running (9): 100-200-400-800-1,500-5,000 m-Steeple-110 m hurdles-400 m hurdles
● Field (7): High Jump-Pole Vault-Long Jump-Triple Jump-Shot Put-Discus-Javelin

Do we lose all the distance races? The discus and javelin? Triple jump?

The Vice President of the Ethiopian Athletics Federation, Gebreegziabher Gebremariam told reporters: “I had learned about the news of 5000 m’s exclusion from the Diamond League events with disbelief and I am still in great shock. I believe IAAF will revise its decision, since it is against the best interests of the athletes, specifically from the East African athletes’ perspective.”

More will be heard from East Africa, and from the American distance camps, including the U.S. Army’s World Class Athlete Program, home to Olympic medalist Paul Chelimo, among others.

IAAF President Sebastian Coe acknowledged that “Change is never easy,” but made it clear why the changes are being made, to give fans “a compelling reason to tune in and follow their stars over the next decade and beyond.” And that means distance races – if we take Coe at his word – are not compelling reasons for fans to watch the sport.

Ouch.

Rich Perelman
Editor

THE BIG PICTURE: Russia still at the center of World Anti-Doping Agency’s annual symposium

By
Rich Perelman
-

The continuing question of Russian doping cast a long shadow over the Annual Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Association (WADA) during its Annual Symposium on Wednesday and Thursday in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Just prior to the meeting, the leadership of 18 National Anti-Doping Organizations issued a statement that noted the forthcoming election of a new WADA Chair in November and insisted that:

“WADA Presidential Candidates must build on the organization’s success at retrieving the Moscow laboratory data by being committed to ensuring an exhaustive, transparent and thorough accounting of the data is achieved. Based on previous reports from WADA, there are thousands of presumptive positive samples in the Moscow laboratory data that must be investigated. Athletes are demanding that this review is completed in a transparent manner, which includes reporting the exact number of presumptive positive findings and how each finding has been managed. This process will take months, possibly years, and a future WADA President must not try to turn the page from this scandal, but be committed to a full investigation and pursuit of justice – no matter the cost or time.”

In his keynote speech to the Symposium, WADA Chair Craig Reedie (GBR) spent fully half of his talk on the Russia question and defended the controversial reinstatement last September and the succeeding work. Highlights:

“The period since we last met in this same room 12 months ago has been particularly
turbulent, a time that has been dominated yet again by the Russian doping scandal. This time one year ago, we were stuck in a deadlock with the Russian authorities as the Russian Anti-Doping Agency remained non-compliant with the World Anti-Doping Code. …

“Just like it was the correct decision to declare RUSADA non-compliant in November 2015, the decision WADA’s Executive Committee took on 20 September was in my view also the right one for clean sport. By that stage, by accepting the Schmid Report commissioned by the International Olympic Committee, Russia had accepted that officials within the Ministry of Sport had knowingly assisted with the systemic doping of Russian athletes and, under the terms of the reinstatement, Russia agreed to grant WADA, before the end of 2018, access to the data from the former Moscow Laboratory, which was sealed by Russian law enforcement authorities due to an ongoing federal investigation. …

“The data [finally acquired], if authentic and complete, will be a game changer. It will be absolutely crucial to build strong cases against cheats and exonerate other athletes suspected of having participated in widespread doping on the basis of previous WADA-commissioned investigations led by Richard Pound and Prof. Richard McLaren. In addition, under the terms of the 20 September Executive Committee decision, the Russian authorities must make available any samples stored in the Moscow lab required by WADA for re-analysis by 30 June 2019. In some cases where athletes are suspected of doping, the available evidence has not been conclusive up to now so to be able to bolster what we already have with further proof direct from the Moscow Laboratory will be very important. So, as you can see, we are resolutely moving forward. Leaving the situation in limbo served nobody, and certainly not athletes from other countries nor athletes within Russia. Nobody.”

Reedie noted that there have been other successes, including the raids by the authorities in Austria and Norway against doping by biathletes, and victories at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in other Russian doping cases.

And there was this about Russian doping today:

“The Russia experience has brought reforms within WADA including more independence, capacity for investigations and higher standards of compliance for Code Signatories. Significant changes have also taken place within RUSADA itself. It is now fully operational, significantly strengthened and has much more independence.”

This was a positive report from Reedie and having almost 900 delegates at the Symposium – including 75 athlete representatives – is a sign of reasonable health at WADA. According to Reedie, the organization now has about 120 employees and continues to expand gradually, especially in the investigative area, a key for the future.

WADA’s credibility for the future is now a key issue in the aftermath of the Russian reinstatement, and the next hot-button issue will be the presidential election in November. According to its governance structure, the next term will be served by a governmental official (vs. someone from the Olympic Movement).

There are three announced candidates: Witold Banka from Poland, nominated from Europe; Marcos Diaz of the Dominican Republic, from the Americas, and current WADA Vice President Linda Helleland (NOR), a member of the Norwegian Parliament, who has not been nominated by a continental group, but could stand as an independent candidate. Banks and Diaz both voted to reinstate Russia; Helleland was against.

The next step in the process is the WADA Executive Committee meeting – all three candidates are members – in Montreal (CAN) in mid-May.

WRESTLING Preview: U.S. men try to defend 2018 title at Freestyle World Cup in Yakutsk

By
Rich Perelman
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Opening Ceremony of the 2018 UWW Men's Freestyle Wrestling World Cup (Photo: UWW)

The United States finally won the men’s Freestyle World Cup in 2018 after a 15-year drought, and will try to win again in the 2019 edition in Yakutsk, Russia (yes, it’s in Siberia).

Last year’s triumph, however, did not include a win over either of the U.S.’s traditional rivals in the sport: Russia or Iran. Both pulled out of the event, held in Iowa City, Iowa, in disputes with United World Wrestling. Iran had won the prior six in a row.

For 2019, however, the top teams are all in. There are two groups of four that will wrestle in a round-robin format on Saturday and part of Sunday. The top teams in each group will meet for the championship; the second-ranked teams for the bronze medal and so on. The groups (and their 2018 World Championship team ranking):

● Group A: Russia (1), Cuba (4), Japan (5), Turkey (8)
● Group B: United States (2), Georgia (3), Iran (6), Mongolia (7)

The U.S. is sending a young team to Yakutsk, devoid of any of its first-line Olympic or World Championships medal winners. The only member of a prior U.S. World Championships team will be Zane Retherford at 65 kg.

There are five past NCAA champs on the team, including Nico Megaludis (61 kg; Penn State); Retherford (Penn State), Isaiah Martinez at 74 kg (Illinois); Kyven Gadson (97 kg; Iowa State), and Tony Nelson (125 kg; Minnesota).

The U.S. has been a major force in this tournament, which started in 1973. Only six teams have won the title, with the U.S. second with 15 (USSR: 16). Since the break-up of the Soviet Union, the titles have gone to the U.S. (10), Iran (8), Russia (6), Azerbaijan (2) and Cuba (1).

NBC’s Olympic Channel has coverage on Saturday at 3:30 a.m. Eastern time and of Sunday’s championship final at 4 a.m. Eastern. Look for results here.

CURLING Preview: Hasselborg the favorite at 2019 Women’s World Championship in Denmark?

By
Rich Perelman
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Sweden's Olympic Champion Anna Hasselborg

The 40th edition of the World Curling Federation’s world championship for women starts on Saturday in Silkeborg (DEN) and runs through the 24th of March, with Sweden’s Anna Hasselborg looking to claim her first world title after claiming an Olympic gold medal in 2018.

A total of 13 teams have qualified for the event and will play each other in a round-robin through 22 March, with the playoffs on 23 and 24 March. The top two teams will advance to the semifinals and the third-ranked and sixth-ranked teams, and the fourth- and fifth-ranked teams will play each other to advance into the semis.

In terms of depth, only five of the 13 teams are world-ranked in the top 20:

● 2: Sweden (Anna Hasselborg, skip)
● 4. Switzerland (Silvana Tirinzoni)
● 6: Canada (Chelsea Clarey)
● 11: Russia (Alina Kovaleva)
● 14: South Korea (Min-Ji Kim)

Hasselborg won at PyeongChang and was the 2018 Worlds runner-up to Canada’s Jennifer Jones. Canada’s Carey has the burden of being the skip of the only Canadian team not to win a Worlds medal in the past eight tournaments: she skipped the 2016 team that finished fourth.

Tirinzoni’s Swiss squad includes Alina Paetz as Fourth (and Vice-Skip); she was the skip on the 2015 World Champions; another member of that team – Marisa Winkelhausen – is the alternate.

The U.S. entry is led by Jamie Sinclair, ranked 36th in the WCF Order of Merit and the 2017-18-19 U.S. champions. Her rink finished fourth in the 2018 Worlds after finishing second in the U.S. Olympic Trials and missing qualifying for the Games.

Look for scores and standings here.

CYCLING Preview: Five previous champions lined up for 13th women’s Ronde van Drenthe

By
Rich Perelman
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Double World Track Cycling Champion in 2019: Kirsten Wild (NED)

The second race of the 2019 UCI Women’s World Tour is one of its highest-profile routes: the Ronde van Drenthe in the center of the Netherlands, with no less than 11 prior medalists and five race winners entered:

● Amy Pieters (NED) ~ Defending Champion
● Marianne Vos (NED) ~ Winner in 2011-12-13
● Chantal Blaak (NED) ~ Winner in in 2016
● Jolien D’Hoore (BEL) ~ Winner in 2015
● Amalie Dideriksen (DEN) ~ Winner in 2017
● Kirsten Wild (NED) ~ Second in 2011 and 2012
● Ellen van Dijk (NED) ~ Second in 2013; third in 2015
● Lucinda Brand (NED) ~ Third in 2017
● Alexis Ryan (USA) ~ Second in 2018
● Gracie Elvin (AUS) ~ Second in 2018
● Chloe Hosking (AUS) ~ Third in 2018

The route covers 165.7 km and is fairly flat, from Zuidwolde to Hoogeveen in more-or-less a “figure-8″ circuit, with three rises to make things interesting.

Wild, Pieters and D’Hoore are fresh from medal-winning performances at the UCI Track Cycling Worlds in Poland earlier this month. Wild won the Omnium, was second in the Scratch Race and teamed with Pieters to win the Madison, while D’Hoore took a bronze medal in the Scratch Race.

The race has been won by a Dutch rider eight times out of the 12 contested, but only twice in the last five, by Blaak in 2016 and Pieters in 2018. Look for results here.

ALPINE SKIING: Paris sweeps men’s speed events and Shiffrin wins the Super-G title in World Cup Final

By
Rich Perelman
-
Another Crystal Globe for American superstar Mikaela Shiffrin (Photo: FIS)

We’re only halfway through the FIS World Cup Final, but a series of firsts has highlighted the speed races, including first-ever discipline wins for Dominik Paris and Mikaela Shiffrin.

Italy’s Paris had never won a seasonal title and was in the running in both the men’s Downhill and Super-G. He certainly made an emphatic case, winning both races: the Downhill by 0.34 over Norway’s Kjetil Jansrud and the Super-G by 0.15 over Swiss Mauro Caviezel.

However, defending World Cup champ Beat Feuz (SUI) finished sixth in the Downhill and that was enough to win the seasonal Crystal Globe by 540-520 over Paris.

But Paris was already the leader in the Super-G, so a win there would give him the title. And he left no doubt with a clear victory that gave him 430 points to 346 for runner-up Vincent Kriechmayr (AUT).

Paris had a career year in 2018-19, with seven wins – he now has 16 in his career – and 10 medals on the circuit. At just 29, he’s in his prime and is going to be a contender for years to come.

The women’s speed program started with a shock in the Downhill, as Mirjam Puchner, 26, of Austria, won the race. It was only her second World Cup medal – and World Cup win – the last coming in March of 2016, and return to the podium after a 2017 injury.

The seasonal Downhill title was taken by Austria’s Nicole Schmidhofer, the leader coming into the race and her first seasonal title. She finished with 468 points to 372 for teammate Stephanie Venier.

The Super-G was a test for American superstar Shiffrin, who was trying to win a seasonal Globe in a speed event, vs. her domination of the Slalom and Giant Slalom. She had a 300-268 lead over Tina Weirather (LIE) coming into the race, but when Wierther couldn’t finish as the seventh starter, Shiffrin’s task got considerably easier.

Starting 13th, Shiffrin skied consistently and gained speed toward the finish and ended up fourth, more than enough to seal her first seasonal title in the event.

“It was super, super fun to ski,” Shiffrin said. “There were a lot of blind rolls and spots where you wanted to be tactical, but still like always in super-G, you have to go crazy. So I had some moments where I was thinking ‘whoa, maybe I lost it there!’ I was trying to go full-gas, but it was super fun and the conditions were perfect.”

Shiffrin, who just turned 24, finished with 350 points to 303 for Schmidhofer (who tied with Shiffrin for fourth in the race), with Weirather holding on to third at 267.

The Giant Slaloms and Slaloms will be held on the weekend and Shiffrin plans to ski in both; she has the Slalom title clinched and leads in the Giant Slalom, essentially needing only to finish to win the title. Summaries so far:

FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup Final
Soldeu (AND) ~ 13-17 March 2019
(Full results here)

Men

Downhill: 1. Dominik Paris (ITA), 1:26.80; 2. Kjetil Jansrud (NOR), 1:27:14; 3. Otmar Striedinger (AUT), 1:27:21; 4. Mauro Caviezel (SUI), 1:27.27; 5. Vincent Kriechmayr (AUT), 1:27.28. Also: 10. Travis Ganong (USA), 1:27.57; … 16. Steven Nyman (USA), 1:28.15; … 21. Bryce Bennett (USA), 1:28.91.

Downhill Final Standings: 1. Beat Feuz (SUI), 540; 2. Dominik Paris (ITA), 520; 3. 339, Vincent Kriechmayr (AUT), 339; 4. Aleksander Aamodt Kilde (NOR), 284; 5. Mauro Caviezel (SUI), 282. Also in the top 25: 7. Bryce Bennett (USA), 236; … 16. Steven Nyman (USA), 148; … 20. Travis Ganong (USA), 88.

Super-G: 1. Paris (ITA), 1:20.42; 2. Caviezel (SUI), 1:20.57; 3. Kriechmayr (AUT), 1:20.86; 4. Jansrud (NOR), 1:21.00; 5. Christof Innerhofer (ITA), 1:21.12. Also: 13. Ganong (USA), 1:21.93; … 16. Ryan Cochran-Siegle (USA), 1:22.24; … 19. River Radamus (USA), 1:23.16.

Super-G Final Standings: 1. Dominik Paris (ITA), 430; 2. Vincent Kriechmayr (AUT), 346; 3. Mauro Caviezel (SUI), 324; 4. Kjetil Jansrud (NOR), 316; 5. Aleksander Aamodt Kilde (NOR), 299. Also in the top 25: 16. Travis Ganong (USA), 115; … 23. Ryan Cochran-Siegle (USA), 47.

Women

Downhill: 1. Mirjam Puchner (AUT), 1:32.91; 2. Viktoria Rebensburg (GER), 1:32.94; 3. Corinne Suter (SUI), 1:32.99; 4. Nadia Fanchini (ITA), 1:33.13; 5. Tamara Tippler (AUT), 1:33.15.

Downhill Final Standings: 1. Nicole Schmidhofer (AUT), 468; 2. Stephanie Venier (AUT), 372; 3. Ramona Siebenhofer (AUT), 354; 4. Ilka Stuhec (SLO), 343; 5. Kira Weidle (GER), 307. Also in the top 25: 25. Mikaela Shiffrin (USA), 25.

Super-G: 1. Rebensburg (GER), 1:23.91; 2. Tippler (AUT), 1;24.06; 3. Federica Brignone (ITA), 1:24.25; 4. tie, Mikaela Shiffrin (USA) and Schmidhofer (AUT), 1:24.35.

Super-G Final Standings: 1. Mikaela Shiffrin (USA), 350; 2. Nicole Schmidhofer (AUT), 303; 3. Tina Weirather (LIE), 268; 4. Viktoria Rebensburg (GER), 257; 5. Ragnhild Mowinckel (NOR), 247.

SHOOTING Preview: Shotgun World Cup gets started in Acapulco, with strong fields

By
Rich Perelman
-

A large field of 351 shooters from 61 countries is assembling on the Mexican Riviera – specifically in Acapulco – for the first ISSF Shotgun World Cup over the next ten days. The schedule:

● 18 March: Women’s Trap
● 19 March: Men’s Trap
● 20 March: Mixed Team Trap
● 24 March: Women’s Skeet
● 25 March: Men’s Skeet

The fields include multiple Olympic and World Championships medal winners, including, but not limited to:

Men’s Trap:
● Josip Glasnovic (CRO) ~ 2016 Olympic Champion
● Giovanni Pellielo (ITA) ~ 2016 Olympic silver medalist
● Alberto Fernandez (ESP) ~ 2018 World Champion
● Lyndon Sosa (LUX) ~ 2018 Guadalajara World Cup winner

Men’s Skeet:
● Gabriele Rossetti (ITA) ~ 2016 Olympic Champion
● Marcus Svensson (SWE) ~ 2016 Olympic silver medalist
● Abdullah Al-Rashidi (KUW) ~ 2016 Olympic bronze medalist
● Vincent Hancock (USA) ~ 2008-12 Olympic Champion; 2018 World Champion
● Erik Watndal (NOR) ~ 2018 Worlds silver medalist

Women’s Trap:
● Natalie Rooney (NZL) ~ 2016 Olympic silver medalist
● Xiaojing Wang (CHN) ~ 2018 Worlds silver medalist
● Ashley Carroll (USA) ~ 2018 Guadalajara World Cup winner

Women’s Skeet:
● Diana Bacosi (ITA) ~ 2016 Olympic Champion
● Kim Rhode (USA) ~ 2010 World Champ; 2012 Olympic Champ; 2016 Worlds bronze

Rhode’s amazing career includes six medals in six consecutive Olympic Games, beginning in 1996. She will also try to qualify for the Trap final in the qualifying round, and she has lots of experience in World Cup competition, winning three of four events in 2018.

Look for results here.

GYMNASTICS Preview: Simone Biles headlines Stuttgart All-Around World Cup, with an Apparatus World Cup in Baku

By
Rich Perelman
-
Simone Biles at the 2016 Olympic Games (by Agencia Brasil Fotografias via Wikipedia Commons)

Two gymnastics World Cup events are on tap this weekend, an Apparatus-only event in Azerbaijan and an All-Around World Cup in Stuttgart (GER) featuring a 4-foot, 8-inch superstar from Texas.

● FIG Apparatus World Cup in Baku

This is the third FIG World Cup this season, beginning on Thursday. Qualifications will continue through Friday and the top eight in each event will compete in the finals on Saturday and Sunday, at the National Gymnastics Arena.

The fields are excellent and include more than a dozen Olympic and World Championships medal winners:

Men:
• Diego Hypolito (BRA) ~ 2016 Olympic Floor silver medalist
• Yang Liu (CHN) ~ 2017 Worlds Rings bronze medalist
• Tin Srbic (CRO) ~ 2017 Worlds High Bar gold medalist
• Artem Dolgopyat (ISR) ~ 2017 Worlds Floor silver medalist
• Epke Zonderland (NED) ~ 2018 Worlds High Bar gold medalist
• Carlos Yulo (PHI) ~ 2018 Worlds Floor bronze medalist
• Denis Ablyazin (RUS) ~ 2017 Worlds Rings silver medalist
• Chih-Kai Lee (TPE) ~ 2018 Worlds Pommel Horse bronze medalist
• Igor Radivilov (UKR) ~ 2017 Worlds Vault silver medalist

Women:
• Jade Carey (USA) ~ 2017 Worlds Team silver medalist
• Tingting Liu (CHN) ~ 2018 Worlds Beam gold medalist
• Alexa Moreno (MEX) ~ 2018 Worlds Vault bronze medalist
• Marian Dragulescu (ROU) ~ 8-time World Champs gold medalist 2001-09
• Oksana Chusovitina (UZB) ~ Three-time Worlds gold medalist 1991-2003

Prize money is available for the top eight placers in each event: CHF 1,000-750-500-300-250-200-150-100.

NBC’s Olympic Channel has coverage on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. Eastern time and on Sunday at 10:30 p.m. Eastern time. Look for results on the Web here or on Twitter here.

● FIG All-Around World Cup in Stuttgart

Considerable attention is being paid to German Cup All-Around meet in Stuttgart’s Porsche-Arena because of one entry: American superstar Simone Biles.

It’s a rare appearance for Biles in a World Cup event, but she is entered and expected to compete; she will face a quality field, that includes four Olympic World or European medal winners::

● Aliia Mustafina (RUS) ~ 2012 & 2016 Olympic Uneven Bars gold medalist
● Elisabeth Seitz (GER) ~ 2018 Worlds Uneven Bars bronze medalist
● Zsofia Kovacs (HUN) ~ 2017 European All-Around Champs silver medalist
● Anne-Marie Padurriu (CAN) ~ 2018 Worlds Balance Beam silver medalist

Biles, of course, is one of the greatest gymnasts of all time, earning four Olympic golds in Rio and 14 World Championship golds, including the 2013-14-15-18 All-Around world titles. At the 2018 World Championships, she won the All-Around, Vault and Floor, was second on Bars and took bronze on the Beam.

The men’s field is not as high-profile, but includes three World Championships medalists:

● Wei Sun (CHN) ~ 2018 World Team Champion
● Bart Duerloo (BEL) ~ 2017 World Champs High Bar bronze medalist
● Artur Dalaloyan (RUS) ~ 2018 World All-Around and Floor Champion
● Akash Modi (USA) ~ Fourth in 2018 World Team Champs event

The men will compete on Saturday and the women on Sunday. There is substantial prize money available for the top eight places: CHF 12,000-1,000-8,000-6,000-5,500-5,000-4,500-4,000, plus bonuses for the leaders after each series of CHF 25,000-15,000-10,000.

NBC’s Olympic Channel has coverage on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time (delayed), and on Sunday at 7:15 a.m. (live) or 2 p.m. Eastern (delayed). Look for results here or at www.stb.de.

SNOWBOARD: Big Air and SnowCross globes on offer at season’s end

By
Rich Perelman
-
American Snowboarding star Lindsey Jacobellis

The seasonal crowns in Big Air and Snowboard Cross are to be decided this weekend in Canada and Switzerland; the current situations:

● Big Air in Quebec City

The Big Air discipline was pretty limited in 2018-19, with just four competitions scheduled and the final event this weekend. The seasonal leaders:

● Men:
1. 2,600 Takeru Otsuka (JPN)
2. 2,090 Chris Corning (USA) ~ Defending Champion
3. 1,340 Clemens Millauer (AUT)
4. 1,045 Ruki Tobita (JPN)
5. 1,000 Sven Thorgren (SWE)

● Women:
1. 2,400 Reira Iwabuchi (JPN)
1. 2,400 Miyabi Onitsuka (JPN)
3. 1,600 Anna Gasser (AUT) ~ Defending Champion
4. 1,200 Klaudia Medlova (SVK)
5. 990 Loranne Smans (BEL)

Corning has already won the Slopestyle seasonal title and will try to expand his trophy case in Big Air. Otsuka has won medals in all three events held so far: silver-bronze-silver compared to gold-silver-ninth for Corning.

Onitsuka has been consistent: second in all three World Cups! Onitsuka won the first two, then slipped to sixth in the last contest, so they are tied on the points list going into the final event. Defending champ Gasser could only catch them if both of the Japanese fail badly.

● Snow Cross in Veysonnaz

This is the fifth race in the World Cup SnowCross series and the season titles are hardly settled:

● Men:
1. 1,830 Martin Noerl (GER)
2. 1,640 Alessandro Hammerle (AUT)
3. 1,535 Omar Visintin (ITA)
4. 1,440 Alex Pullin (NZL)
5. 1,378.2 Emanuel Perathoner (ITA) ~ 2019 World Championships bronze medalist

● Women:
1. 3,400 Lindsey Jacobellis (USA) ~ Six-time World Champion
1. 3,400 Eva Samkova (CZE) ~ 2019 World Champion
3. 2,050 Micaela Moioli (ITA) ~ Defending Champion, 2019 Worlds bronze
4. 1,850 Charlotte Bankes (GBR) ~2019 World Championships silver medalist
5. 1,700 Nelle Moenne Loccoz (FRA)

The men’s situation is completely opaque since there have been four winners in the four races so far. In fact, Noerl is the only one of the leaders who has won two medals this season. The World Championships medal winners aren’t in the seasonal running at all: Mick Dierdorff (USA) won gold, followed by Hanno Douschan (AUT) and Perathoner.

Jacobellis ended up fifth in the World Championships, missing the Big Final altogether, but won a gold medal in the Mixed Team event with Dierdorff. She won a seasonal World Cup title only once, back in 2007, and was second in 2008 and 2014.

Samkova won the 2017 World Cup title and now owns a career triple crown of a World Cup title, Olympic gold medal (2014) and World Championships gold.

Both have been consistent riders this season, with both winning medals in all four races. Jacobellis has finished 1-2-1-3, while Samkova placed 2-1-3-1 in the four races to date.

Look for results here.

FREESTYLE SKIING: Season titles on the line in Big Air and Ski Cross this weekend

By
Rich Perelman
-
U.S. Freestyle Moguls star Jaelin Kauf

The World Cup seasons for Big Air and Ski Cross will conclude this weekend, with three of the four seasonal titles still up for grabs.

● Big Air in Quebec City

There have only been two Big Air events this season, so the possibilities are many. The current standings:

Men:
1. 160 Andri Ragettli (SUI)
2. 150 Birk Ruud (NOR)
3. 104 Evan McEachran (CAN)
4. 98 Alex Hall (USA)
5. 92 Finn Bitous (NZL)

Women:
1. 150 Elena Gaskill (CAN)
2. 109 Caroline Claire (USA)
3. 100 Mathilde Gremaud (SUI)
4. 82 Silvia Bertagna (ITA) ~ Defending Champion
5. 80 Sarah Hoefflin (SUI)

Ragettli has medaled in both events, winning in Cardrona (NZL) back in September (!) and then placing third behind Ruud and Hall on Modena (ITA) in November. Gaskell won the women’s Big Air in Cardrona and Gremaud won in Modena.

In the World Championships, Fabian Boesch (SUI) won the men’s Big Air and Tess Ledeux (FRA) won the women’s gold and none of the World Cup contenders were medalists.

So, anything can happen; the final will be on Saturday. Look for results here.

● Ski Cross in Veysonnaz

The Ski Cross World Cup will finish with a single competition for men and women on Sunday (17th), with the men’s title decided and the women’s title almost clinched:

Men:
1. 696 Bastien Midol (FRA) ~ World Cup Champion
2. 472 Jean Frederic Chapuis (FRA)
3. 463 Alex Fiva (SUI)
4. 339 Brady Leman (CAN) ~ 2019 World Championships silver medalist
5. 287 Florian Wilmsmann (GER)

Women:
1. 763 Fanny Smith (SUI) ~ 2019 World Championships silver medalist
2. 675 Sandra Naeslund (SWE) ~ Defending Champion
3. 556 Marielle Thompson (CAN) ~ 2019 World Champion
4. 424 Alizee Baron (FRA) ~ 2019 World Championships bronze medalist
5. 417 Brittany Phelan (CAN)

Midol has clinched his first World Cup title, but teammate Francois Place won the Worlds gold, with Leman and Kevin Drury (CAN) third. Smith only needs three points to clinch the women’s seasonal title and should do so with ease. She’s won six of the 10 events on tour this season and medals in two other races.

Look for results here.

● U.S. Moguls Championships in Waterville Valley

The annual U.S. Moguls Champs are on from Friday through Sunday at the Waterville Valley Resort in New Hampshire, with the Moguls finals on Saturday and the Dual Moguls event on Sunday.

Although the entries are not yet available, the top American performers so far this season in the World Cup are:

● Men/Moguls:
7. 303 Bradley Wilson
9. 206 Casey Andringa
15. 166 Dylan Walczyk
19. 88 Hunter Bailey
22. 81 Jesse Andringa

● Men/Dual Moguls:
7. 267 Bradley Wilson
10. 180 Casey Andringa
17. 134 Dylan Walczyk
21. 77 Hunter Bailey
25. 65 Jesse Andringa

● Women/Moguls:
2. 570 Jaelin Kauf
5. 349 Tess Johnson
11. 206 Olivia Giaccio
12. 204 Nessa Dzieman
14. 158 Alex Jenson

● Women/Dual Moguls:
3. 525 Jaelin Kauf
5. 320 Tess Johnson
11. 190 Nessa Dzieman
12. 166 Olivia Giaccio
16. 122 Alex Jenson

Wilson, Jesse Adringa and Walczyk went 1-2-3 in the men’s 2018 Moguls Championships; Wilson, Walczyk and Troy Murphy were the Dual Moguls medal winners.

The now-retired Keaton McCargo won the women’s 2018 Moguls title, with Avital Shimko and Giaccio in silver and bronze. The women’s Dual Moguls medal winners were Tess Johnson, Kauf and McCargo.

Look for results here.

JUDO Preview: Two no. 1-ranked judoka for Grand Slam in Ekaterinburg

By
Rich Perelman
-

A large field of 403 judoka from 48 countries are entered in the Grand Prix in Ekaterinburg (RUS), at the 5,000-seat Palace of Sports. The top seeds (with their IJF world rankings):

Men:
● -60 kg: 1. Yeldos Smetov (KAZ: 6); 2. Sharafuddin Lutfillaev (UZB: 8)
● -66 kg: 1. Vazha Margvelashvili (GEO: 1); 2. Baruch Shmailov (ISR: 4)
● -73 kg: 1. Lasha Shavdatuashvili (GEO: 3); 2. Tommy Macias (SWE: 5)
● -81 kg: 1. Frank de Wit (NED: 2); 2. Saki Mugi (ISR: 6)
● -90 kg: 1. Aleksandar Kukolj (SRB: 3); 2. Nemanja Majdov (SRB: 8)
● -100 kg: 1. Peter Paltchik (ISR: 3); 2. Michael Korrel (NED: 8)
● +100 kg: 1. Duurenbayar Ulziibayar (MGL: 3); 2. David Moura (BRA: 4)

Women:
● -48 kg: 1. Paula Pareto (ARG: 5); 2. Irina Dolgova (RUS: 7)
● -52 kg: 1. Natalia Kuziutina (RUS: 5); 2. Charline van Snick (BEL: 6)
● -57 kg: 1. Jessica Klimkait (CAN: 4); 2. Christa Deguchi (CAN: 5)
● -63 kg: 1. Tina Trstenjak (SLO: 2); 2. Juul Franssen (NED: 5)
● -70 kg: 1. Marie Eve Gahie (FRA: 1); 2. Sanne van Dijke (NED: 3)
● -78 kg: 1. Natalie Powell (GBR: 4); 2. Mayra Aguiar (BRA: 6)
● +78 kg: 1. Larisa Ceric (BIH: 2); 2. Maria Suelen Altheman (BRA: 5)

The two no. 1-ranked entries are Georgia’s Vazha Margvelashvili in the 66 kg men’s division, and Marie Eve Gahie (FRA) – the 2018 Worlds silver medalist – in the women’s 70 kg class.

Prize money of $5,000-3,000-1,500 is available to the top three placers. Look for results here.

FENCING Preview: U.S.’s Imboden headlines Second Foil Grand Prix in Anaheim

By
Rich Perelman
-

Two high-quality fields of 190 men and 147 women are lined up to compete in the second Grand Prix in Foil at the Anaheim Convention Center in California; the top seeds:

● Men:
1. Race Imboden (USA) ~ 2018 Worlds Team silver medalist
2. Alessio Foconi (ITA) ~ 2018 World Champion
3. Richard Kruse (GER) ~ 2018 Worlds silver medalist
4. Daniele Garozzo (ITA) ~ 2017 Worlds bronze medalist
5. Andrea Cassara (ITA) ~ 2018 Worlds Team gold medalist
6. Giorgio Avola (ITA) ~ 2018 Worlds Team gold medalist
7. Alexey Cheremisinov (RUS) ~ 2018 Worlds Team bronze medalist
8. Gerek Meinhardt (USA) ~ 2018 Worlds Team silver medalist
9. Timur Safin (RUS) ~ 2018 Worlds Team bronze medalist
10. Ka Long Cheung (HKG)

There are other top U.S. entries, including Olympic silver medalist Alexander Massialas (seeded 13th) and former World Champion Miles Chamley-Watson (22nd).

● Women:
1. Inna Deriglazova (RUS) ~ 2016 Olympic and 2017 World Champion
2. Alice Volpi (ITA) ~ 2018 World Champion & 2017 Worlds silver medalist
3. Lee Kiefer (USA) ~ 2018 Worlds Team gold medalist
4. Ines Boubakri (TUN) ~ 2018 Worlds bronze medalist
5. Leonie Ebert (GER)
6. Arianna Errigo (ITA) ~ 2018 Worlds bronze medalist
7. Ysoara Thibus (FRA) ~ 2018 Worlds silver medalist
8. Eleanor Harvey (CAN)
9. Camilla Mancini (ITA) ~ 2017 Worlds Team gold medalist
10. Komaki Kikuchi (JPN)

Nicole Ross (USA) is also entered and seeded 11th. The competition will begin on Friday and conclude on Sunday.

In the first Foil Grand Prix in February in Turin (ITA), Imboden defeated Cheung in the final, with Foconi and Meinhardt third in the men’s division, while Italy dominated the women’s division. Volpi out-pointed Elisa Di Francesca in the final, with Anastasiia Ivanova (RUS) and Francesca Palumbo (ITA) third.

Look for results here.

LANE ONE: Which Olympic sports are going to die?

By
Rich Perelman
-

There was a collective eyebrow-raising in the world of Olympic sports when the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) released its “Future of Global Sport” report on 28 February.

In its 46 pages, the collective wisdom of a 17-member, blue-ribbon panel of sports experts – from Olympic and non-Olympic backgrounds – was shared with considerable concern for the future.

There were 10 recommendations for International Federations to look to for the future, with five each in the categories of Governance and Entrepreneurialism, and much of the reporting has focused on those.

But the absolute key to the success of any federation – and the sport it governs – was stated on page 38 in a section of the “Future of sponsorship”:

The biggest challenge for IFs in the next 10 to 20 years is to attract new people to participate in and consume their sports.

That is the entire issue for sports and federations and, in truth, nothing else matters. The rest, as a wise man once said, is commentary.

There are positive things federations can do to promote themselves, such as producing better events, with better television presentation values, and using good governance and working against cheating to keep from losing faith with fans.

But the fan base – called “audience” in marketing-speak – is the key issue. And on the size of a sport’s fan base is whether it will live or die.

The report goes into some depth on this, and of course no individual federation is singled out in any of the many charts. But there are warning signals:

“[A]round half the IFs may be said to have a significant reliance on IOC revenues, that is more than 25% of their revenues coming from their Games revenue share [of television rights sales] in any four-year cycle, with more than a third relying on Games revenue share for over 45% of their income.

“While this reliance is steadily decreasing overall (from an approximate average dependency of 45% at the time of the Sydney 2000 Games, to about 32% following those of Rio 2016), the bottom third would be ill-advised to let this situation linger.”

No kidding.

But the truth is that these sports, which depend so heavily on IOC money, are ripe for removal from the Games and possibly disappearing from the international stage. Weightlifting, for example, is essentially on IOC probation regarding the 2024 Paris Games because of the enormous number of doping positives in sport. The head of the International Weightlifting Federation, Tamas Ajan (HUN) has noted the danger to the sport if it were to be removed from the Olympic program, saying of the doping problem in late 2018, “ I basically think the sport, or a very big majority, understand that the sport cannot exist in the future if we are not very strict and we don’t do everything to make it clean.”

Who else is in trouble? The federations distribute their Olympic revenue from the IOC according to an agreed-on tier system which is based on which sports got the most viewers, on-site attendees, media coverage and so on. We have listed this previously, but it tell you a lot about the relative profile of the sports; the current ASOIF distribution scheme:

● Tier 1: Athletics, Aquatics, Gymnastics
● Tier 2: Basketball, Cycling, Football, Tennis, Volleyball
● Tier 3: Archery, Badminton, Boxing, Judo, Rowing, Shooting, Table Tennis, Weightlifting
● Tier 4: Canoeing, Equestrian, Fencing, Handball, Hockey, Sailing, Taekwondo, Triathlon, Wrestling
● Tier 5: Modern Pentathlon, plus Golf and Rugby as first-time sports in 2016.

The IOC is currently examining the program for the 2024 Paris Games and is expected to finalize the sports and events in 2020. It will be fascinating to see what changes will be made, and what the IOC does about two sports it continues to have doubts about: boxing and weightlifting.

The Future of Global Sport report also makes a significant point about the differences in the European and American models of sport. In Europe, the pyramidal structure starts with the participants at the bottom and layering clubs, national federations, IFs and the IOC at the top. The U.S. model is quite different, featuring closed professional leagues that are separate and apart from the Olympic sports and their National Governing Bodies and the high school and college systems that end up sending a small number of their athletes to play for pay.

Which is the future? The report notes that federations must become more business-like, because “Where IFs and [National Federations] do not assert themselves, business may well sweep in and capitalise on missed opportunities, or the public sector may feel the need to make up for ineffective governance.”

That’s more the U.S. model, which is based in the private sector, but the report sees that public entities could engage privately-organized entities to create participation opportunities. In the U.S., the models would be Little League Baseball, Pee Wee and Pop Warner Football and similar programs at the grass-roots levels, which are not directed by any national federation.

There is also the possibility of promoter-based elite events, of which the report notes that “There are recent examples of sports events with growth potential organised independently of the IF. If such an event succeeds, an IF could lose control of a major global competition in a matter of years. … A tall order, but not impossible.” Think of ESPN’s X Games as a success in this area.

The report also notes that the “vaster populations” of Asian nations such as China, India and Indonesia are so important in the future that federations “must accelerate their focus on developing effective strategies toward the regions of the world to which economic power continues to shift.”

These are all important, but the report once again states the key objective on page 23, and any sport which loses sight of this will be doomed:

“At its core, this means having a product that tells a story, is entertaining enough to capture and hold fans’ attention and imagination, and that the barrier to understanding what is unfolding in front of the spectator is as low as possible in order to deliver growth.”

Are you listening, Sport Climbing and Wrestling, among others?

The report was a fascinating read in that ASOIF provided a call-to-arms for its members that their futures are hardly assured. There are many more excellent, small suggestions included, but the core question is well framed: how many people care about your sport?

The IOC – among others – is watching, and counting.

Rich Perelman
Editor

NORDIC COMBINED Preview: Season concludes in Schonach, with Riiber the star

By
Rich Perelman
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Japan's Akito Watabe, celebrating his win in the Seefeld Triple in 2018 (Granada via Wikimedia Commons)

The final two competitions of the 2018-19 World Cup season come this weekend in Schonach (GER), with Gundersen-style events off a 106 m hill and a 10 km race on Saturday and 15 km on Sunday.

The seasonal title belongs to Norway’s surprise star, Jarl Magnus Riiber, who won 11 of the first 19 competitions and has clinched the crown:

1. 1,358 Jarl Magnus Riiber (NOR)
2. 819 Akito Watabe (JPN)
3. 787 Franz-Joseph Rehrl (AUT)
4. 761 Johannes Rydzek (GER)
5. 753 Vinzenz Geiger (GER)

There are five athletes vying for second place, but Watabe – last season’s champ – has the edge and has been competing well. Plus, he won both events last season in Schonach … beating Riiber in both!

Look for results here.

BEACH VOLLEYBALL Preview: Top men’s teams in four-star in Doha

By
Rich Perelman
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This week stop on the FIVB World Tour is a men-only, four-star tournament in Doha (QAT), which has attracted a very fine field. The top seeds:

1. Cherif Younousse/Ahmed Tijan (QAT)
2. Michal Bryl/Grzegorz Fijalek (POL)
3. Aleksandrs Samoilovs/Janis Smedins (LAT)
4. Pablo Herrera/Adrian Gavira (ESP)
5. Viacheslav Krasilnikov/Oleg Stoyanovskiy (RUS)

Further down the seeding list are entries like Piotr Kantor and Bartosz Losiak (POL), Hendrik Mol and Christian Sorum (NOR), Italy’s Paolo Nicolai and Daniele Lupo, Brazilians Evandro Goncalves and Bruno Oscar Schmidt and Pedro Solberg and Vitor Felipe and the American duo of Nick Lucena and Phil Dalhausser.

Also in the draw are the 2018 defending champs, Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen of the Netherlands; Lucena and Dahlhauser were fourth last year.

It should be quite a show; look for results here.

BADMINTON Preview: Two Olympic champs in Yonex Swiss Open men’s Singles field

By
Rich Perelman
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China's 2016 Olympic Badminton singles champion Long Chen

After the thrill of the All-England Open, the BWF World Tour is a little calmer this week with a Level 300 Series tournament, the Yonex Swiss Open in Basel. The top seeds:

● Men’s Singles:
1. Yuqi Shi (CHN)
2. Long Chen (CHN)
3. Anthony Sinisuka Ginting (INA)

● Men’s Doubles:
1. Kim Astrup/Anders Rasmussen (DEN)
2. Mohamed Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan (INA)
3. Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto (INA)

● Women’s Singles:
1. Yufei Chen (CHN)
2. Irina Amalie Andersen (DEN)
3. Ji-Hyun Sung (KOR)

● Women’s Doubles:
1. Qingchen Chen/Yifan Jia (CHN)
2. Gabriela Stoeva/Stefani Stoeva (BUL)
3. Nami Matsuyama/Chiharu Shida (JPN)

● Mixed Doubles:
1. Marcus Ellis/Lauren Smith (ENG)
2. Mathias Christiansen/Christinna Pedersen (DEN)
3. Mark Lamsfuss/Isabel Herttrich (GER)

The men’s Singles field is especially noteworthy with the presence of 2008-12 Olympic champ Dan Lin as well as Chen, who won in 2016. Shi is ranked no. 2 in the world at present and Chen is no. 5. Yufei Chen, top-seeded in the women’s Singles, is also ranked no. 2 in the current BWF rankings list.

Look for results here.

ALPINE SKIING Preview: World Cup Final on this week in Andorra, with five Globes on the line

By
Rich Perelman
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The FIS Crystal Globe

The biggest prizes of the Alpine World Cup season – the overall World Cup winners – have been decided, but there are still considerable prizes at stake in the World Cup Final this week in Soldeu (AND). Eight events will be held along this schedule (weather permitting):

● 13 March: Men’s and Women’s Downhill
● 14 March: Men’s and Women’s Super-G
● 15 March: Alpine Team Event
● 16 March: Men’s Giant Slalom and Women’s Slalom
● 17 March: Men’s Slalom and Women’s Giant Slalom

In terms of the titles available for the men, Austria’s amazing Marcel Hirscher has wrapped up the overall title – his eighth straight – and the Giant Slalom and Slalom titles (six each of those for him now). But the Downhill and Super-G races are yet to be decided:

● Men’s Downhill:
1. 500 Beat Feuz (SUI) ~ Defending champion
2. 420 Dominik Paris (ITA)
3. 294 Vincent Kriechmayr (AUT)

● Men’s Super-G:
1. 330 Dominik Paris (ITA)
2. 286 Vincent Kriechmayr (AUT)
3. 267 Aleksandr Aamodt Kilde (NOR)
4. 266 Kjetil Jansrud (NOR) ~ Defending champion
5. 255 Matthias Mayer (AUT)
6. 244 Mauro Caviezel (SUI)

Feuz has been working his way back to the top during the last half of the season and might be able to repeat as Downhill champion. He and Paris are the only contenders for the seasonal title; Paris has never won one.

If he doesn’t get the Downhill globe, Paris could still win the Super-G title, and if he finishes third or higher, no one can beat him. But there are six in mathematical contention.

In the women’s racing, American superstar Mikaela Shiffrin has clinched the overall title and the Slalom. But the season globes for the Downhill, Super-G and Giant Slalom are still in doubt:

● Women’s Downhill:
1. 444 Nicole Schmidhofer (AUT)
2. 354 Ramona Siebenhofer (AUT)
3. 343 Ilka Stuhec (SLO)

● Women’s Super-G:
1. 300 Mikaela Shiffrin (USA)
2. 268 Tina Weirather (LIE) ~ Defending champion
3. 253 Nicole Schmidhofer (AUT)
4. 247 Ragnhild Mowinckel (NOR)

● Women’s Giant Slalom:
1. 515 Mikaela Shiffrin (USA)
2. 418 Petra Vlhova (SVK)
3. 410 Tessa Worley (FRA)

Shiffrin expects to compete in the Super-G and Giant Slalom and win two more trophies. She’s almost a shoo-in for the Giant Slalom, needing only four points to clinch the title; that’s a 27th-place finish.

In the Super-G, Shiffrin can secure the seasonal crown by finishing first or second, but lower if Weirather – the defending World Cup champ – doesn’t win.

Schmidhofer only needs to finish 20th or higher to take the Downhill crown, which would be her first seasonal title.

It’s also worthwhile to note that any race that Shiffrin wins will extend her remarkable record of 15 World Cup race wins in a season.

“I’m still feeling good, I’m feeling motivated; there’s a little bit of energy left in the tank, and I’m enjoying these last races,” Shiffrin said. “It’s beautiful here in Andorra, the training today was perfect – the surface is surprisingly amazing for this time of year – so I’m really looking forward to this final push.”

NBC’s Olympic Channel has coverage of the World Cup Final starting on Wednesday; click here for details. Look for results here.

CROSS COUNTRY SKIING: Seasonal races too close to call!

By
Rich Perelman
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Norway's Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg (Photo: Frankie Fouganthin via Wikipedia)

The Cross Country World Cup seasonal title is coming down to the final events of the season, with two Norwegian winners of Sprint races on Tuesday.

In Drammen (NOR), sprint king Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo won the men’s 1.2 km Classical Sprint to retake the seasonal World Cup lead, but only by 1,281-1,250 over Russia’s Alexander Bolshunov, who was eliminated in the quarterfinals.

They’re the only two in contention for the seasonal crown, with Norway’s Sjur Roethe well back in third at 802. There are five races left in the season:

● 16-17 March in Falun (SWE): Sprint Freestyle, 15 km Freestyle
● 22-24 March in Quebec (CAN): Sprint Freestyle, 15 km Mass Start Classical, 15 km Pursuit Freestyle

With Klaebo an ace in the Sprint events, Bolshunov’s chance will come with three distance races remaining to two Sprints. It’s worth noting that Klaebo did win two 15 km races – Mass Start and Pursuit – way back in January at the Tour de Ski, so he’s capable. It should be quite a duel.

The women’s season race is just as close and also a match between Norway and Russia. Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg (NOR) has a tiny, two-point lead over Russian Natalia Nepyraeva, the emerging star of the season, by 1,329-1,327. Their remaining schedule:

● 16-17 March in Falun (SWE): Sprint Freestyle, 10 km Freestyle
● 22-24 March in Quebec (CAN): Sprint Freestyle, 10 km Mass Start Classical, 10 km Pursuit Freestyle

In Drammen, Norwegian sprint star Maiken Caspersen Falla barely outlasted teammate Astrid Jacobsen in the women’s 1.2 km Sprint, winning by just 0.8 seconds in the final. They were followed by Nepryaeva (+1.06) and Sweden’s Stina Nilsson (+1.28) with American Jessie Diggins fifth.

With Norway’s comebacking sensation Therese Johaug dominating the distance races, Oestberg hasn’t won a World Cup race since early January and hasn’t won a medal in the last nine races. Nepryaeva hasn’t won since 30 December, but has medals in eight of 14 races this year. At age 23, she is poised to make the jump from 13th last season to the Crystal Globe in this one.

Look for results from Falun and Quebec here. Summaries from Drammen:

FIS Cross Country World Cup
Drammen (NOR) ~ 12 March 2019
(Full results here)

Men’s 1.2 km Sprint Classic: 1. Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR), 2:37.90; 2. Erik Brandsdal (NOR), +0.89; 3. Richard Jouve (FRA), +2.17; 4. Sondre Fossli (NOR), +3.34; 5. Oskar Svensson (SWE), +3.63.

Women’s 1.2 km Sprint Classic: 1. Maiken Caspersen Falla (NOR), 2:56.12; 2. Astrid Jacobsen (NOR), +0.80; 3. Nataia Nepryaeva (RUS), +1.06; 4. Stina Nilsson (SWE), +1.28; 5. Jessica Diggins (USA), +5.38.

SKI JUMPING: Kobayashi clinches World Cup season title as Raw Air Tournament revs up

By
Rich Perelman
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Japan's Olympic Champion Ryoyu Kobayashi

The remarkable rise of 22-year-old Ryoyu Kobayashi (JPN) has been confirmed as he has clinched the seasonal World Cup title after a third-place performance in the Lillehammer World Cup on Tuesday.

Kobayashi’s consistency, with medals in 10 of the 17 events since New Year’s, has him with an unbeatable total of 1,725 points. With four scoring events left, he can’t be caught by second-place Kamil Stoch (POL), with 1,215.

At the same time, the “Raw Air Tournament” – a combination of the 10 jumps, including all of the qualifying events, held in the competitions in Oslo (3), Lillehammer (2), Trondheim (2) and Vikersund (3) – has reached the halfway mark. Norway’s Robert Johansson has the lead so far, with 950.3 points to 937.4 for Stefan Kraft (AUT) and Kobayashi (921.4). The remaining schedule:

● 13 March: Trondheim ~ 140 m hill/Prologue
● 14 March: Trondheim ~ 140 m hill/World Cup
● 15 March: Vikersund ~ 240 m hill/Prologue
● 16 March: Vikersund ~ 240 m hill/Team Event
● 17 March: Vikersund ~ 240 m hill/World Cup

The women’s competition is still in doubt, even with Norway’s Maren Lundby scoring her 12th win in 19 events this season in Lillehammer on Tuesday. She now has 1,513 points to 1,213 points for Germany’s Katharina Althaus – with three wins and six silver medals – with five events remaining.

The first Raw Air Tournament for women is underway with four of six events completed. Lundby has the lead at 745.0 points, followed by Althaus (725.9) and Daniela Iraschko-Stolz (AUT: 696.4). The women will jump off the 140 m hill in Trondheim, but not the 240 m ski-flying hill at Vikersund.

Instead, the women will compete on the weekend at Nizhny Tagil (RUS) off a 100 m hill, part of a new series in 2019, the Russian Blue Bird Tour. It’s the first time back at this venue for the women in a couple of years; Lundby and Sara Takanashi (JPN) won the kast two jumps held there, in December 2016.

Look for this week’s results here. Summaries from Lillehammer:

FIS Ski Jumping World Cup
Lillehammer (NOR) ~ 11-12 March 2019
(Full results here)

Men (140 m hill): 1. Stefan Kraft (AUT), 285,7; 2. Robert Johansson (NOR), 273.3; 3. Ryoyu Kobayashi (JPN), 261.7; 4. Kamil Stoch (POL), 260.2; 5. Johann Andre Forfang (NOR), 254.1.

Women (140 m hill): 1. Maren Lundby (NOR), 271.7; 2. Katharina Althaus (GER), 267.7; 3. Eva Pinkelnig (AUT), 255.9; 4. Daniela Iraschko-Stolz (AUT), 248.7; 5. Juliane Seyfarth (GER), 246.0.

ATHLETICS: IAAF Council wants to revamp the Diamond League; keeps Russia at bay

By
Rich Perelman
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The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Council met in Doha (QAT) and made some major changes to the way the sport will be presented starting in 2020, but also maintained its suspension of the Russian Athletics Federation. Some of the highlights:

● Diamond League to be streamlined in 2020

The IAAF’s Diamond League program will be revised in 2020 from its current format and will include 12 meets instead of the current 14, leading to a single final meet instead of the current dual-final program in Zurich (SUI) and Brussels (BEL).

Moreover, the number of events in the program will be reduced from 32 to 24 and no event will be longer than 3,000 m, and each meet will be conducted in 90 minutes.

There will be meets that will be added – no doubt starting with the ISTAF meet in Berlin (GER) – and some will be dropped. Those meets that are “relegated” will be “compensated” and the IAAF wants to add them to the second-tier Continental Circuit.

The most important element was barely mentioned: how the meets will be scheduled. The IAAF’s notice states that the calendar will be “reformed,” but no more details were given. Having a series of meets that fans can actually anticipate on some sort of regular schedule is crucial, but 12 meets over five months isn’t a lot.

● Russia stays in suspension

The IAAF heard from its Russian Task Force, chaired by Norway’s Rune Andersen and maintained the suspension of the Russian Athletic Federation, pending two conditions still outstanding.

These include (1) reimbursement of the IAAF’s costs of about $2.8 million, which has not yet been received, and (2) receipt of the analytical data from the Moscow Laboratory now being reviewed by the World Anti-Doping Agency, and access to the samples of athletics athletes for testing by the Athletics Integrity Unit.

WADA has committed to providing the data to the AIU as soon as it is validated.

● Race walking changes are still in process

The recommendations of the IAAF Race Walking Committee, to change the events to 10 km and 30 km for both men and women were “agreed in principle,” but the Council is moving forward with a plan to “roll out of two of the following events: 10km, 20km, 30km or 35km from 2022.”

● Olympic qualification for Tokyo 2020

The Tokyo qualifying period will start on 1 May 2019 and conclude on 29 June 2020 and includes the IAAF’s new World Rankings system. The idea is to qualify about half of the entries by achieving a specified qualification mark, and fill in the remaining places via the World Rankings.

The entry standards are here.

● Rule changes

The IAAF approved a change in field-event rules, reinstating the 60-second time limit, and some smaller rule changes.

This is a busy time for the IAAF, and its president, Sebastian Coe (GBR) appears finally to be getting to the presentation and scheduling issues that were the centerpiece of his campaign in 2015. Athletics may be the premier sport in the Olympic Games, but that’s once every four years; its profile is hardly what it used to be compared especially to team sports like football and basketball which have grown exponentially.

Will the new Diamond League format work? No one will know until there are more details, but the question is not whether the reforms make the meets better. It’s whether they make the public pay more attention.

CYCLING: Two major Euro stage races in a row: Paris-Nice and the Tirreno Adriatico

By
Rich Perelman
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Dylan Groenewegen (NED) wins Stage 2 of Paris-Nice

The European cycling season is now fully engaged with two famed stage races either underway or coming up: the 77th edition of the eight-stage Paris-Nice race and the 54th Tirreno-Adriatico, in seven stages from 13-19 March.

● Paris-Nice: Two wins for Dylan Groenewegen in the first two stages

Dutch rider Dylan Groenewegen is enjoying the 2019 edition of Paris-Nice, as he has won both of the first two stages.

There are eight prior medalists competing in the 2019 edition, including some of the top riders in the world:

● Luis Leon Sanchez (ESP) ~ Winner in 2009
● Sergio Henao (COL) ~ Winner in 2017
● Marc Soler (ESP) ~ Winner in 2018
● Simon Yates (GBR) ~ Second in 2018; 2018 Vuelta a Espana champion
● Michal Kwiatkowski (POL) ~ Second in 2015
● Simon Spilak (SLO) ~ Third in 2015
● Gorka Izagirre (ESP) ~ Third in 2018
● Arthur Vichot (FRA) ~ Third in 2014

There are plenty of other contenders, including Rigoberto Uran (COL: Giro d’Italia and Tour France runner-up); 2012 World Champion Philippe Gilbert (BEL), France’s Romain Bardet, also a Tour de France runner-up and more. Summaries and stages:

UCI World Tour/Paris-Nice
France ~ 10-17 March 2019
(Full results here)

Stage 1 (138.5 km): 1. Dylan Groenewegen (NED), 3:17:35; 2. Caleb Ewan (AUS), 3:17:35; 3. Fabio Jakobsen (NED), 3:17:35; 4. Sam Bennett (IRL), 3:17:35; 5. John Degenkolb (GER), 3:17:35.

Stage 2 163.5 km): 1. Groenewegen (NED), 3:14:04; 2. Ivan Garcia Cortina (ESP), 3:14:04; 3. Philippe Gilbert (BEL), 3:14:04; 4. Matteo Trentin (ITA), 3:14:04; 5. Michal Kwiatkowski (POL), 3:14:04. Also in the top 50: 36. Tejay van Garderen (USA), 3:14:09; … 50. Lawson Craddock (USA), 3:14:56.

12 March: Stage 3 (200.0 km): Cepoy to Moulines/Yzeure (flat)
13 March: Stage 4 (212.0 km): Vichy to Pélussin (hilly)
14 March: Stage 5 (25.5 km Individual Time Trial): Barbentane (flat)
15 March: Stage 6 (176.5 km): Peynier to Brignoles (mountains)
16 March: Stage 7 (181.5 km): Nice to Col de Turini (mountain finish)
17 March: Stage 8 (110.0 km): Nice to Nice (hilly)

● Tirreno-Adriatico: Nibali looks for third win vs. van Avemaet, Sagan and others

The famed race across Italy – run between the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic coasts – starts on Wednesday with the first of seven stages:

13 March: Stage 1 (21.5 km Team Time Trial): Lido di Camaiore (flat)
14 March: Stage 2 (195.0 km): Camaiore to Pomarance (hilly)
15 March: Stage 3 (226.0 km): Pomarance to Foligno (hilly)
16 March: Stage 4 (221.0 km): Foligno to Fossombrone (hilly)
17 March: Stage 5 (180.0 km): Colli al Metauro to Recanati (hilly)
18 March: Stage 6 (195.0 km): Matelica to Jesi (mountains)
19 March: Stage 7 (10.0 km Individual Time Trial): San Benedetto del Tronto (flat)

First held in 1966, it began as a three-day race, but expanded until 2002, when it reached its current seven stages. The superstar field includes nine prior medal winners:

● Vicenzo Nibali (ITA) ~ Winner in 2012 and 2013; won all three Grand Tours
● Greg van Avermaet (BEL) ~ Winner in 2016
● Peter Sagan (SVK) ~ Runner-up in 2016
● Robert Gesink (NED) ~ Runner-up in 2011
● Damiano Caruso (ITA) ~ Second in 2018
● Rohan Dennis (AUS) ~ Second in 2017
● Geraint Thomas (GBR) ~ Third in 2018; 2018 Tour de France champion
● Thibaut Pinot (FRA) ~ Third in 2017
● Roman Kreuziger (CZE) ~ Third in 2014

There are other contenders as well, including Rafal Majka (POL), Strade Biache winner Julian Alaphilippe (FRA), sprint star Elia Viviani (ITA) and more. Look for results here.

SHOOTING: Haldeman, Jungman, Carroll and Rhode claim World Champs slots at Shotgun Spring Selection

By
Rich Perelman
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Plane tickets to the most important competitions of the season were on the line for the American Trap and Skeet specialists at the Shotgun Spring Selection Matches at the Tucson Trap & Skeet Range over the past two weeks.

According to USA Shooting, “A top-three standing qualified athletes for the ISSF World Championship for Shotgun for both Open and Junior athletes, which will be contested June 30-July 11 in Lonato, Italy” and will have a major impact on the U.S. team for the Pan American Games in Lima (PER) later in July.

The top performers in each event were clear.

Derek Haldeman won the Trap Qualification rounds with 241/250 targets and then finished second in the Final to Caleb Lindsey, 44-42. In Skeet, Philip Jungman won the qualification at 243/250 and then won the Final as well, scoring 56/60, as did Christian Elliott, but Jungman won the title on the combined points.

The immortal Kim Rhode – winner of six medals over the last six Olympic Games – led the women’s Skeet qualifying at 241/250, then finished second in the final, scoring 57/60, as did Dania Vizzi. But Vizzi won the shoot-off, 4-3; both should be on the team.

Ashley Carroll and Rachel Tozier had the top score in women’s Trap at 223, and both scored 44 in the Final, but Carroll won the shoot-off, 6-5, for top honors. Summaries:

USA Shooting Shotgun Spring Selection
Tucson, Arizona (USA) ~ 25 February-9 March 2019
(Link to Trap results here; Link to Skeet results here)

Men

Trap Final Standings: 1. Derek Haldeman, 241; 2. Brian Burrows, 236; 3. Haicheng Yu (CHN), 233; 4. Derrick Mein, 231; 5. Caleb Lindsey, 230.

Trap Finals: 1. Lindsey, 44; 2. Haldeman, 42; 3. Burrows, 34.

Skeet Final Standings: Phillip Jungman, 243; 2. Mark Steffen, 241; 3. Christian Elliott, 241; 4. Robert Johnson, 241; 5. Frank Thompson, 238; 6. Eli Christman, 238; 7. Remington McBee, 238; 8. Vince Hancock, 238.

Skeet Finals: 1. Jungman, 56; 2. Elliott, 56; 3. Hancock, 46.

Women

Trap Final Standings: 1. Ashley Carroll, 223; 2. Rachel Tozier, 223; 3. Kayle Browning, 222; 4. Madelynn Bernau, 220; 5. Yingzi Liu (CHN), 218.

Trap Finals: 1. Carroll, 44; 2. Browning, 44 (Carroll won shoot-off, 6-5); 3. Tozier, 34.

Skeet Final Standings: 1. Kim Rhode, 241; 2. Sam Simonton, 239; 3. Austen Smith, 238; 4. Dania Vizzi, 237; 5. Amber English, 237.

Skeet Finals: 1. Vizzi, 57; 2. Rhode, 57 (Vizzi won shoot-off, 4-3); 3. Simonton, 44.

Mixed

Team Trap: 1. Brian Burrows/Kayle Browning, 141; 2. Derek Haldeman/Ashley Carroll, 140; 3. Austin Odom/Ariel Skinner, 136; 4. Grayson Eavey/Julia Stallings, 136; 5. Yu Du/Xiaojing Wang (CHN), 135; 6. Haicheng Yu/Yingzi Liu (CHN), 135.

Team Trap Finals: 1. Haldeman/Carroll, 45; 2. Burrows/Browning, 41; 3. Davey/Stallings, 31.

BOBSLED & SKELETON: Friedrich completes historic Worlds sweep with Four-Man title

By
Rich Perelman
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Francesco Friedrich's crew celebrates a Four-Man world title in Whistler (Photo: IBSF)

Germany’s Francesco Friedrich made more history with a sensational double in the four-man sled to cap the final week of the IBSF World Championships in Whistler, British Columbia (CAN) last Friday.

Friedrich’s first run placed his team third, 0.11 seconds behind Latvia’s Oskars Kibermanis, but he was never headed from them on. Fredrich’s team had the fastest times on runs two, three and four and ended up with a 0.29-second margin in Kibermanis to complete a double-double of World Championship golds in the two- and four-man sleds.

How impressive was this? Friedrich won his fifth straight two-man title in Whistler to tie the record for consecutive wins with the legendary Eugenio Monti (ITA). With his double-double, he matched Monti’s feat in 1960 and 1961 – 58 years ago – and no one has done it since.

At just 28, Friedrich could put all of the records out of sight completely; consider that Monti won double gold at age 40 in the Grenoble Winter Games of 1968!

The Skeleton events were also held last week, with Martins Dukurs (LAT) winning his sixth World Championships gold, although he had only one win during the World Cup season. The silver went to Russian Nikita Tregubov, who had been fourth during the World Cup. With six titles, Dukurs continues to extend his status as the greatest Skeleton racer ever; no one else has won more than three World Championships.

The women’s Skeleton was a German sweep by Tina Hermann, Jacquline Loelling and Sophia Griebel, the first time one country has swept the Skeleton medals in a single women’s Worlds; it’s been done once in the men’s Worlds (Austria in 1991). By winning, Hermann ties the women’s record for the most world titles with four, also by Marion Thees (GER) from 2009-13. Summaries:

IBSF World Championships
Whistler (CAN) ~ 1-9 March 2019
(Full results here)

Two-Man: 1. Francesco Friedrich/Thorsten Margis (GER), 3:24.54; 2. Justin Kripps/Cameron Stones (CAN), 3:25.13; 3. Nico Walther/Paul Krenz (GER), 3:25.43; 4. Chris Spring/Neville Wright (CAN), 3:25.68; 5. Brad Hall/Nick Gleeson (GBR), 3:25.68; 6. Oskars Kibermanis (LAT), 3:25.78; 7. Yunjong Won/Youngwoo Seo (KOR), 3:25.81; 8. Johannes Lochner/Christopher Weber (GER), 3:26.05. Also: 16. Codie Bascue/Joshua Williamson (USA), 3:27.39; … 19. Hunter Church/Chris Kinney (USA), 3:28.18.

Four-Man: 1. Germany (Francesco Friedrich), 3:21.33; 2. Latvia (Oskars Kibermanis), 3:21.62; 3. Canada (Justin Kripps), 3:21.78; 4. Russia (Maxim Andrianov ), 3:22.09; 5. Switzerland (Michael Vogt), 3:22.27; 6. Austria (Benjamin Maier), 3:22.32; 7. Korea (Yunjong Won), 3:22.79; 8. Germany (Nico Walther), 3:22.88. Also: 11. United States (Codie Bascue, James Reed, Chris Kinney, Joshua Williamson), 3:23.44; … 16. United States (Hunter Church, Kyle Wilcox, Blaine McConnell, Kyle Allison), 3:24.07.

Two-Woman: 1. Mariama Jamanka/Annika Drazek (GER), 3:30.08; 2. Stephanie Schneider/Ann-Christin Strack (GER), 3:31.14; 3. Christine de Bruin/Kristen Bujnowski (CAN), 3:31.25; 4. Katrin Beierl/Jennifer Onasanya (AUT), 3:31.46; 5. Brittany Reinbolt/Lauren Gibbs (USA), 3:31.65; 6. Nadezhda Sergeeva/Yulia Belomestnykh (RUS), 3:32.11; 7. Anna Koehler/Leonie Fiebig (GER), 3:32.41; 8. An Vannieuwenhuyse/Sara Aerts (BEL), 3:32.58. Also: 9. Nicole Vogt/Nicole Brungardt (USA), 3:32.87.

Team Event: 1. Germany (Grotheer, Koehler/Gericke, Griebel/Rademacher), 3:31.85; 2. Canada (Greszczyszyn, De Bruin/Bujnowski, Rahneva, Poloniato/Joyce), 3:32.00; 3. United States (Greg West, Brittany Reinbolt/Jessica Davis, Savannah Graybill, Geoff Gadbois/Kris Horn), 3:32.49. Also: 4. United States (Austin Florian, Nicole Vogt/Sylvia Hoffman, Kendall Wesenberg, Hunter Church/Blaine McConnell) 3:32.88.

Men’s Skeleton: 1. Martins Dukurs (LAT), 3:28.11; 2. Nikita Tregubov (RUS), 3:28.62; 3. Sung-Bin Yun (KOR), 3:28.99; 4. Christopher Grotheer (GER), 3:29.09; 5. Tomass Dukurs (LAT), 3:29.11; 6. Alexander Tretiakov (RUS), 3:29.24; 7. Alexander Gassner (GER), 3:30.19; 8. Austin Florian (USA), 3:30.22. Also: 16. Greg West (USA), 3:31.36; … 19. Kyle Brown (USA), 3:31.76.

Women’s Skeleton: 1. Tina Hermann (GER), 3:33.03; 2. Jacqueline Loelling (GER), 3:33.41; 3. Sophia Griebel (GER), 3:34.20; 4. Anna Fernstaedtova (CZE), 3:34.80; 5. Elena Nikitina (RUS), 3:35.06; 6. Marina Gilardoni (SUI), 3:35.38; 7. Yulia Kanakina (RUS), 3:35.40; 8. Savannah Graybill (USA), 3:35.63. Also: 11. Kendall Wesenberg (USA), 3:36.12; … 18. Megan Henry (USA), 3:37.93.

STAT PACK: Results for the week of 4-10 March 2019

By
Rich Perelman
-

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 30 events in 21 sports:

● Alpine Skiing
● Badminton
● Beach Volleyball
● Biathlon
● Bobsled & Skeleton
● Cross Country Skiing
● Cycling
● Diving
● Fencing
● Figure Skating
● Football
● Freestyle Skiing
● Judo
● Nordic Combined
● Rugby
● Shooting
● Short Track
● Snowboard
● Speed Skating
● Swimming
● Triathlon

plus our calendar of upcoming events through 14 April. Click below for the PDF:

[wpdm_package id=11643 template=”link-template-button-popup.php”]

SPEED READ: Headlines from The Sports Examiner for Monday, 11 March 2019

By
Rich Perelman
-

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: The U.S. women’s National Team sued U.S. Soccer for unequal pay vs. the men’s team. The complaint has some fascinating details of who got paid how much for what and the ancillary issues like charter flights and the field surface that the women say they are being treated unfairly. Some added facts not in the complaint and the new reality of how this frames the women’s team going into the 2015 World Cup.

ALPINE SKIING

Saturday: An amazing 15th seasonal win for Mikaela Shiffrin in the Slalom in Spindleruv Mlyn, giving her the record for the most World Cup wins in a single season. Plus, she is closing in on her last goal of the season: winning the World Cup Giant Slalom title!

Sunday: He did it: an eighth consecutive World Cup overall title for Marcel Hirscher (AUT), thanks to the results of the Giant Slalom and Slalom in Kranjska Gora. He’s also won the Giant Slalom and Slalom titles again, so he now owns 20 Crystal Globes. Time for a museum?

ATHLETICS

Sunday: Fabulous NCAA Championships for Florida’s Grant Holloway, who set an American Record of 7.35 in the 60 m Hurdles, won the 60 m sprint and finished third in the long jump as his Gators won the team title. Plus Cuba’s Juan Miguel Echevarria threatens the world long jump record!

BADMINTON

Sunday: History for no. 1-ranked Kento Momota of Japan, who became the first Japanese winner of the men’s Singles at the historic All-England Open!

BEACH VOLLEYBALL

Sunday: The top-seed Australians faltered, but 31st-seeded Nicole Laird and Becchara Palmer came through for the home crowd in Sydney in the FIVB World Tour 3-star tournament. American teams finished 2-3.

BIATHLON

Sunday: This is why sports is so great. At the World Championships in Sweden, favored Johannes Thingnes Boe won the men’s Sprint, nearly-unknown Dmytro Pidruchnyi of Ukraine won the 12.5 km Pursuit as Boe missed three shots on the final set and had to settle for silver. Impossible? It happened.

CYCLING

Saturday: The Women’s World Tour got started in Siena (ITA) and defending champion Annemiek van Vleuten (NED) took the seasonal lead right away with a late push to win the Strade Bianche.

DIVING

Saturday: Another 10-for-10 sweep of the FINA World Series stop in Beijing (CHN) for China. The hosts have now won 88 of the last 90 World Series events held there!

FENCING

Sunday: Japan’s Kazuyasu Minobe and Romania’s Ana Maria Popescu took the titles in the Epee Grand Prix in Budapest.

FREESTYLE SKIING

Sunday: Rough weather at Mammoth Mountain, California, but it cleared long enough for Canadian Cassie Sharpe to win the seasonal Halfpipe title, while American Birk Irving won the men’s Halfpipe event.

JUDO

Sunday: Germany led the medal parade with seven (and two wins) in the Marrakesh Grand Prix.

NORDIC SKIING

Sunday: The famed Holmenkollen Ski Fest in Oslo saw the 11th straight distance win for Norway’s sensational Therese Johaug in the 30 km Mass Start race, and Russia’s Alexander Bolshunov took over the seasonal lead in the Cross Country World Cup standings.

RUGBY

Sunday: Bad news and good news for the U.S. men’s team in the sixth stage of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series. The Americans didn’t make the final for the first time this season. The good news is that by finishing fourth, they are still in first place!

SHORT TRACK

Sunday: Sweeps in the 1,000 m and the 3,000 m Superfinal were the keys to the World Championships overall titles for Hyo-Jun Lim (KOR) and Suzanne Schulting (NED) in Bulgaria.

SNOWBOARD

Saturday: The World Cup program at Mammoth Mountain was hampered by rough weather, but it cleared long enough for Olympic champ Red Gerard (USA) to take the Slopestyle gold, but American Chris Corning won the seasonal title. In the Halfpipe events, Yuko Totsuka (JPN) and Xuetong Cai (CHN) both won and took the season titles.

SPEED SKATING

Saturday: Wow! World records in four events on the first day of the ISU World Cup Final at the famed Utah Olympic Oval, including the 1,000 m record for American Brittany Bowe, who clinched the 1,000 m seasonal title with a come-through performance!

Sunday: More world records at the Olympic Oval on the final day of the season, and a second seasonal title for Bowe, this time in the 1,500 m.

SWIMMING

Saturday: The first Tyr Pro Swim Series in Des Moines was a big success, with 11 world-leading marks, five wins for sprint ace Michael Andrew and a Backstroke sweep for world-record holder Kathleen Baker.

TRIATHLON

Saturday: The ITU World Series season opener in Abu Dhabi had a 1-2 finish for the U.S. in the women’s race, with Katie Zaferes and Taylor Spivey at the front. Spain’s Mario Mola opened defense of his 2018 world title with a tough win in the men’s Sprint race.

UPCOMING

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

● Alpine Skiing: The World Cup Final is in Andorra, with titles still at stake for Mikaela Shiffrin and many others.

● Basketball: The FIBA World Cup Draw will be held on Saturday; who will the U.S. stars play in China?

● Cycling: Two famed stage races in the men’s World Tour: Paris-Nice in France and the Tirreno-Adriatico in Italy.

And a look at how international federations have to prepare for the future.

ATHLETICS Panorama: Sensational NCAA Champs for Grant Holloway

By
Rich Perelman
-
Wold 110 m hurdles leader Grant Holloway (Photo: jenaragon94 via Wikimedia)

The indoor track & field season concluded over the weekend with the NCAA Indoor Championships in Birmingham, Alabama, with a four world-leading marks:

● Men’s 400 m: 44.82, Tyrell Richard (USA/South Carolina State)
● Men’s 60 m Hurdles: 7.35, Grant Holloway (USA/Florida)

● Women’s 200 m: 22.66, Kayla White (USA/North Carolina A&T)
● Women’s 400 m: 51.50, Kaelin Roberts (USA/USC)

Holloway won a rare double, taking the 60 m in 6.50, making him the no. 2 performer on the 2019 world list, and the 60 m hurdles in a sensational 7.35, the world leader for 2019 and moving him to no. 3 on the all-time list. The hurdles time is also an American Record, removing the 7.36 mark by Greg Foster in 1987, and tied by Allen Johnson in 2004 and Terrence Trammell in 2010.

He also long jumped 7.95 m (26-1) for third, so he scored 26 points for the national champion Gators by himself! His 60/60 Hurdles double was the first since Trammell did it for South Carolina back in 2000.

Also impressive was 400 m winner Richard, whose goal was to try to set the world record (44.52 by Michael Norman in 2018), but his 44.82 did place him as the no. 4 performer in indoor history! He’s run 44.70 outdoors, at the NCAA meet in Eugene last year.

Not world leaders, but still impressive were wins by Mondo Duplantis (LSU/Sweden) in the pole vault at 5.83 m (19-1 1/2) and American Payton Otterdahl’s win for North Dakota State in the shot put at 21.71 m (71-2 3/4).

The team titles were won by Florida for the men and Arkansas for the women.

It’s impossible to know if the tweet is completely accurate, but DeporCuba reported that long jumper Juan Miguel Echevarria recorded a wind-aided 8.92 m performance – that’s 29-3 1/4 – with a 3.3 m/s aiding wind.

If true, it would be the fourth-longest jump in history, behind three jumps by Mike Powell: 8.99w (29-6w) in 1992, his world record of 8.95 (29-4 1/2) in 1991 and 8.95 m (29-4 1/2w) again in 1994.

China’s national race walk championships in Huangshan yielded an important breakthrough for women in the 50 km walk: the first-ever sub-4:00 time.

Hong Liu won the race in 3:59:15, more than four minutes ahead of Maocuo Li (4:03.51) and shattering the existing mark of 4:04:36 by China’s Rui Liang from 2018.

Of course, the IAAF is also considering doing away with the 50 km distance and replacing the 20 and 50 with 10 km and 30 km races.

JUDO: Germany leads with seven medals to headline Marrakesh Grand Prix

By
Rich Perelman
-
France's Amandine Buchard Nordmeyer (Photo: IJF/Emanuele Di Feliciatonio)

A very large field of 440 judoka fought in the Marrakesh Grand Prix, with Germany leading the medal table with two wins and seven total medals.

Three countries had two wins: Uzbekistan, France and Germany, and the lone no. 1-ranked fighter in the field won her division: France’s Amandine Buchard Nordmeyer at 52 kg. Summaries:

IJF World Tour/Marrakesh Grand Prix
Marrakesh (MAR) ~ 9-10 March 2019
(Full results here)

Men

-60 kg: 1. Sharafuddin Lutfillaev (UZB); 2. Artem Lesiuk (UKR); 3. Amiran Papinashvili (GEO) and Yanislav Gerchev (BUL).

-66 kg: 1. Sardor Nurillaev (UZB); 2. Mohamed Abdelmawgoud (EGY); 3. Yerlan Serikzhanov (KAZ) and Sebastian Seidl (GER).

-73 kg: 1. Denis Iartcev (RUS); 2. Lasha Shavdatuashvili (GEO; 3. Khikmatillokh Turaev (UZB) and Antoine Bouchard (CAN).

-81 kg: 1. Ivaylo Ivanov (BUL); 2. Vedat Albayrak (TUR); 3. Damian Szwarnowiecki (POL) and Alexios Ntanatsdis (GRE).

-90 kg: 1. Nemanja Majdov (SRB); 2. Eduard Trippel (GER); 3. Quedjau Nhabali (UKR) and Robert Florentino (DOM).

-100 kg: 1. Benjamin Fletcher (IRL); 2. Toma Nikiforov (BEL); 3. Kayhan Ozcicek-Takagi (AUS) and Mukhammadkarim Khurramov (UZB).

+100 kg: 1. Sven Heinle (GER); 2. Yerassyl Kazhybayev (KAZ); 3. Andril Kolesnyk (UKR) and Temur Rakhimov TJK).

Women

-48 kg: 1. Julia Figueroa (ESP); 2. Monica Ungureanu (ROU); 3. Melanie Clement (FRA) and Katharina Menz (GER).

-52 kg: 1. Amandine Buchard Nordmeyer (FRA); 3. Estrella Lopez Sheriff (ESP) and Gefen Primo (ISR).

-57 kg: 1. Chen-Ling Lien (TPE); 2. Anna Borowska (POL); 3. Timna Nelson Levy (ISR) and Hedvig Karakas (HUN).

-63 kg: 1. Andreja Leski (SLO); 2. Katharina Haecker (AUS); 3. Geke van den Berg (NED) and Lubjana Piovesana (GBR).

-70 kg: 1. Margaux Pinot (FRA); 2. Megan Fletcher (IRL); 3. Laura Vargas Koch (GER) and Elisavet Teltsidou (GRE).

-78 kg: 1. Anna Maria Wagner (GER); 2. Loriana Kuka (KOS); 3. Patricia Sampaio (POR) and Luisa Malzahn (GER).

+78 kg: 1. Kayra Sayit (TUR); 2. Tessie Savelkouls (NED); 3. Hortence Vanessa Mballa Atagana (CMR) and Nihel Cheikh Rouhou (TUN).

LANE ONE: For the U.S. women’s national soccer team, it’s about money … and time

By
Rich Perelman
-

On International Women’s Day, 28 members of the United States women’s national soccer team filed a lawsuit in U.S. Federal Court in the Central District of California entitled:

Plaintiffs’ Collective Action Complaint for Violations
of the Equal Pay Act and Class Action Complaint
for Violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

In short, the U.S. women players (“WNT”) are suing because they are paid less than the members of the U.S. men’s national team (“MNT”), but are far more successful on the field and – according to the complaint – earn just as much or more money for the U.S. Soccer Federation than the players on the men’s team.

The suit comes about three months before the women will play in the FIFA Women’s World Cup in France as defending champions, and as of today, as the no. 1-ranked team in the world (although their recent results question that status).

So what now? There are three immediate impacts:

● The narrative of the U.S. women’s team has changed, and the players and coaches will be now be asked continuously about the suit, the time being spent on it by players and whether it has already, or will in the future injure the performance of the American women in their defense of their World Cup title.

No matter what happens, it’s clear that the most underpaid people at U.S. Soccer going forward will be the team’s press officers.

● The folks at the U.S. Soccer Federation are now on the spot and will have to answer the suit, and will sooner or later have to make a decision as to what should be done: litigate it or settle it.

● A lot more information is now available about what players in the U.S. get paid to play on the national team.

On the last point, the complaint makes a series of assertions which make for worthwhile reading about being a professional soccer player in the United States. Some highlights quoted from the complaint:

58. A comparison of the WNT and MNT pay shows that if each team played 20 friendlies in a year and each team won all twenty friendlies, female WNT players would earn a maximum of $99,000 or $4,950 per game, while similarly situated male MNT players would earn an average of $263,320 or $13,166 per game against the various levels of competition they would face. A 20-game winning top tier WNT player would earn only 38% of the compensation of a similarly situated MNT player.

60. From March 19, 2013 through December 31, 2016, WNT players earned only $15,000 total for being asked to try out for the World Cup team and for making the team roster. MNT players, on the other hand, earned $55,000 each for making their team’s roster in 2014 and could have earned $68,750 each for making their team’s roster in 2018.

61. The pay for advancement through the rounds of the World Cup was so skewed that, in 2014, the USSF provided the MNT with performance bonuses totaling $5,375,000 for losing in the Round of 16, while, in 2015, the USSF provided the WNT with only $1,725,000 for winning the entire tournament. The WNT earned more than three times less than the MNT while performing demonstrably better.

(On the pay differential cited in paragraph 61, it’s worthwhile to note that FIFA’s payouts to participating teams at the World Cup and the Women’s World Cup were vastly different. The U.S. men made the Round of 16 at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and received $9 million from FIFA. In contrast, the U.S. women won the 2015 Women’s World Cup and received $2 million from FIFA. The World Cup winners in 2014 – Germany – received $35 million from FIFA.

(So the USSF paid the women 86.25% of the money it got from FIFA, and paid the men only 59.72% of FIFA’s payout.)

The complaint states a series of other disparities in treatment, including “playing, training and travel conditions; promotion of their games; support and development for their games
and other terms and conditions of their employment that are less favorable than
provided to MNT players.”

In specific, the complaint complains about women having to play on artificial turf fields 13 times between 2014-17 (over 62 games), while the men’s team played only once (out of 49 matches) on artificial turf during the same period. And that while – in 2017 – the U.S. men’s team flew to matches on charters 17 times, this was not done once for the women’s team.

The filing asks to certify a class of plaintiffs from among all of the women’s team’s players from 4 February 2015 to the end date of the case, and requests damages including back pay and benefits, compensatory and punitive damages and attorney’s fees (which will be substantial in this case).

What the complaint does not talk about – quite properly – is the discrepancy between salaries of players in Major League Soccer, a men’s league, and the National Women’s Soccer League. In short,

● MLS salaries have a minimum of $54,500, and a small number of “designated players” earn well of $1 million.

● NWSL salaries have a minimum of $16,538 and a maximum of $46,200, less than the MLS minimum.

So the money paid to the women’s players on the National Team is that much dearer, and the U.S. Soccer Federation employs both men and women as members of the National Teams and so can be attacked on the equal pay grounds, where the club leagues – which are separate and unrelated entities – can not.

U.S. Soccer’s senior leadership, and its lawyers, now have to determine how to handle the complaint. They can fight it, negotiate and/or settle the case and must determine whether they have sufficient funds to do any of these things. With the 2026 FIFA World Cup coming to the U.S. (and Canada and Mexico), there will be a lot more money available for everyone, so the USSF might be wise to settle now rather than later.

The suit is a bad look for the federation and a warning to U.S. National Governing Bodies in team sports. But, from the public’s viewpoint, the way the women’s National Team is looked at from now through the World Cup has changed.

If the team wins in France, the players will be civil rights heroes who protested and won while doing it. If the U.S. falls short in June and is eliminated early, the suit will be the distraction that kept them from playing their best.

As noted above, perhaps the loser in all of this is the public relations staff of the USSF and the Women’s National Team.

Rich Perelman
Editor

RUGBY: South Africa wins in Vancouver, but the U.S. remains in first place in men’s Sevens Series

By
Rich Perelman
-

The bad news was that the U.S. Eagles, who had been in five straight finals, didn’t make into the final of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series in Vancouver (CAN).

The good news is that they are still in first place, after six of the 10 stages of this year’s Sevens Series.

The U.S. and England were the only undefeated pool winners, and ended up facing each other in the quarterfinals, with the U.S. eking out a 21-19 victory. That sent the Eagles up against France and that didn’t go too well.

The French thrashed the U.S., 33-5, so for the first time this season, the American squad was not in the championship game.

On the other side of the bracket, South Africa crushed Fiji, 31-12, to move into the final, while Fiji met the U.S. for third. The Springboks won their first tournament of the season, 21-12 and the Fijians beat the U.S. in a medal match for the third time in a row this season, 24-14.

However, with the third-place finish, the U.S. has 113 points, staying ahead of New Zealand (106), Fiji (101) and South Africa (89). Importantly, the top four in this season’s standings will qualify for the Tokyo Games in 2020.

The men’s Sevens Series heads to Asia for two legs: in Hong Kong on 5-7 April and in Singapore on 13-14 April. The Vancouver pool standings and playoff results are here.

BEACH VOLLEYBALL: Laird and Palmer salvage Aussie pride with win in Sydney Open

By
Rich Perelman
-
Australia's Sudney Open winners Nicole Laird and Becchara Palmer (Photo: FIVB)

The FIVB World Tour 3-star tournament in Sydney (AUS) was supposed to be about top-seeded Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho defending their title in front of a raucous home crowd.

It didn’t turn out that way, but the crowd was happy anyway, as the Australian duo of Nicole Laird and Becchara Palmer won the tournament, having been seeded only 31st! They defeated the American pair of no. 7 Betsi Flint and Emily Day in three sets in the final, after besting the U.S. team of Brooke Sweat and Kerri Walsh Jennings in the semis. Sweat and Walsh Jennings finished third.

The men’s tournament was also surprising, with Marco and Esteban Grimalt from Chile – seeded second – standing atop the podium after defeating 25th-seeds Enrico Rossi and Adrian Carambula of Italy in straight sets. Summaries:

FIVB World Tour
Sydney (AUS) ~ 6-10 March 2019
(Full results here)

Men: 1. Marco Grimalt/Esteban Grimalt (CHI); 2. Enrico Rossi/Adrian Carambula (ITA); 3. Stafford Slick/William Allen (USA); 4. Youssef Krou/Edouard Rowlandson (FRA). Semis: Grimalt/Grimalt d. Krou/Rowlandson, 2-0; Rossi/Carambula d. Slick/Allen, 2-0. Third: Slick/Allen d. Krou Rowlandson, 2-0 (injury). Final: Grimalt/Grimalt d. Rossi/Carambula, 2-0 (21-18, 21-12).

Women: 1. Nicole Laird/Becchara Palmer (AUS); 2. Betsi Flint/Emily Day (USA); 3. Brooke Sweat/Kerri Walsh Jennings (USA); 4. Fan Wang/Xinyi Xia (CHN). Semis: Laird/Palmer d. Sweat/Walsh Jennings, 2-1; Flint/Day d. Wang/Xia, 2-0. Third: Sweat/Walsh Jennings d. Wang/Xia, 2-0. Final: Laird/Palmer d. Flint/Day, 2-1 (21-19, 16-21, 15-13)

BADMINTON: Three wins for China and Momota makes history at the $1,000,000 All-England Open

By
Rich Perelman
-
Defending Japan Open champ Kento Momota of Japan (Photo: BWF)

The big money – $1,000,000 in prize money – brought out all of the no. 1 -ranked players and teams in the world for the Yonex All-England Open at the Arena Birmingham.

Two of the five won.

Japan’s Kento Momota continued to show he is the world’s best men’s Singles player with a three-set win over Denmark’s no. 6-ranked Viktor Axelsen and the Mixed Doubles team of Seiwei Zhang and Yaqiong Huang (CHN) dispatched no. 3-ranked Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino (JPN) in straight sets.

The other three top-ranked entries had mixed results. Tzu Ying Tai (TPE) reached the women’s final, but lost to no. 4 Yufei Chen of China in straight sets. In the women’s Doubles, no. 5 Qingchen Chen and Yifan Jia of China beat no. 1 Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota in the semis and then won the final against no. 3 Mayu Matsumoto and Wakana Hagahara.

Indonesia’s top-ranked Marcus Gideon and Kevin Sukamuljo (INA) lost their first match and were eliminated, but countrymen Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan (no. 7) won instead, beating surprise finalists Aaron Chia and Wooi Yik Soh (MAS) in the final.

Momota became the first Japanese men’s Singles winner at the All-England, he said afterwards, “It makes me very happy to become the first from my country to win the men’s singles title at the All England. It is not only my achievement, it is a tribute to the entire team as all of us have worked very hard for this. This title is comparable to the World Championships; however, I don’t want to be satisfied just yet.” Summaries:

BWF World Tour/All-England Open
Birmingham (GBR) ~ 6-10 March 2019
(Full results here)

Men’s Singles: 1. Kento Momota (JPN); 2. Viktor Axelsen (DEN); 3. Ka Long Angus Long (HKG) and Yuqi Shi (CHN). Semis: Momota d. Long, 21-19, 21-11; Axelsen d. Shi, 22-20, 13-21, 21-9. Final: Momota d. Axelsen, 21-11, 15-21, 21-15.

Men’s Doubles: 1. Mohammed Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan (INA); 2. Aaron Chia/Wooi Yik Soh (MAS); 3. Takeshi Kamura/Keigo Sonoda (JPN) and Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto (INA). Semis: Ahsan/Setiwan d. Kamura/Setiawan, 21-19, 21-16; Chia/Soh d. Alfian/Ardianto, 12-21, 22-20, 21-19. Final: Ahsan/Setiawan d. Chia/Soh, 11-21, 21-14, 21-12.

Women’s Singles: 1. Yufei Chen (CHN); 2. Tzu Ying Tai (TPE); 3. Akane Yamaguchi (JPN) and Nozomi Okuhara (JPN). Semis: Chen d. Okuhara, 21-17, 21-11; Tai d. Yamaguchi, 21-13, 10-21, 21-8. Final: Chen d. Tai, 21-17; 21-17.

Women’s Doubles: 1. Qingchen Chen/Yifan Jia (CHN); 2. Mayu Matsumoto/Wakana Nagahara (JPN); 3. Yuki Fukushima/Sayaka Hirota (JPN) and Shiho Tanaka/Kohau Yonemoto (JPN). Semis: Chen/Jia d. Fukushima/Hirota, 21-18, 23-21; Matsumoto/Nagahara d. Tanaka/Yonemoto, 21-11, 21-12. Final: Chen/Jia d. Matsumoto/Nagihara, 18-21, 22-20, 21-11.

Mixed Doubles: 1. Siwei Zhang/Yaqiong Huang (CHN); 2. Yuta Watanabe/Arisa Higashino (JPN); 3. Soon Huat Goh/Shevon Jemie Lai (MAS) and Praveen Jordan/Melati Daeva Oktavianti (INA). Semis: Watanabe/Higashino d. Goh/Lai, 21-16, 21-13; Zhang/Huang d. Jordan/Oktavianti, 13-21, 22-20, 21-13. Final: Zhang/Huang d. Watanabe/Higashino, 21-17, 22-20.

BIATHLON: Stunning Pursuit win for unknown Pidruchnyi in World Champs in Oestersund

By
Rich Perelman
-
Ukraine's surprise World Champion Dmytro Pidruchnyi (Photo: IBU)

One of the amazing things about sport is that it is about people and not about prior performance.

Sure, we know about the top performers, but to see what Ukraine’s Dmytro Pidruchnyi did at the World Biathlon Championships in Oestersund (SWE) is why sport is so great.

Now 27, he came into the World Championships never having won a World Cup medal, let along a World Championships medal. He had a great start in the Sprint, finishing fourth – equaling his career-best finish – behind superstar winner Johannes Thingnes Boe (NOR).

In Sunday’s 12.5 km Pursuit, Boe was again out in front, but suffered an uncharacteristic three misses on the shooting range and that let Pidruchnyi take the lead with 2.5 km left. Boe couldn’t catch him and the Ukranian crossed first and into dreamland.

“For the moment I cannot believe that I won a medal, a Gold medal. I do not believe that I could steal a medal from such a person as Johannes,” he said afterwards. “Actually, the last loop was really crazy for me. I was trying to do maximum. I was trying to battle as hard as I could, because Johannes was behind me and he is really strong.”

The women’s event winners were more familiar, as three-time Olympic gold medalist Anastasiya Kuzmina (SVK) won – surprisingly – her first career World Championships gold medal in the Sprint and Germany’s Denise Herrmann – a four-tine winner on the World Cup tour – won her first Worlds gold in the 10 km Pursuit.

The World Championships continue this week, with the men’s 20 km Individual race on Tuesday. Summaries so far:

IBU World Championships
Oestersund (SWE) ~ 7-17 March 2019
(Full results here)

Men’s 10 km Sprint: 1. Johannes Thingnes Boe (NOR), 24:37.6 (1 penalty); 2. Alexander Loginov (RUS), +13.7 (0); 3. Quentin Fillon Maillet (FRA), +16.5 (0); 4. Dmytro Pidruchnyi (UKR), +16.8 (0); 5. Simon Desthieux (FRA), +24.8 (0); 6. Martin Fourcade (FRA), +32.5 (0); 7. Erlend Bjoentegaard (NOR), +34.8 (0); 8. Erik Lesser (GER), +44.7 (0). Also in the top 25: 22. Sean Doherty (USA), +1:32.1 (0).

Men’s 12.5 km Pursuit: 1. Pidruchnyi (UKR), 31:54.1 (2); 2. J.T. Boe (NOR), +8.3 (5); 3. Fillon Maillet (FRA), +17.7 (3); 4. Tarjei Boe (NOR), +18.1 (1); 5. Fourcade (FRA), +27.8 (2); 6. Andrejs Rastorgujevs (LAT), +40.8 (1); 7. Antonin Guigonnat (FRA), +47.3 (2); 8. Benjamin Weber (FRA), +47.8 (3). Also in the top 25: 20. Doherty (USA), +1:54.3 (2).

Women’s 7.5 km Sprint: 1. Anastasiya Kuzmina (SVK), 22:17.5; 2. Ingrid Tandrevold (NOR), +9.7; 3. Laura Dahlmeier (GER), +12.6; 4. Hanna Oeberg (SWE), +13.2; 5. Mona Brorsson (SWE), +21.7; 6. Denise Herrmann (GER), +23.9; 7. Marketa Davidova (CZE), +26.5; 8. Ekaterina Yurlova-Percht (RUS), +31.4. Also in the top 25: 11. Clare Egan (USA), +33.3.

Women’s 10 km Pursuit: 1. Herrmann (GER), 31:45.9 (2); 2. Tiril Eckhoff (NOR), +31.4 (2); 3. Dahlmeier (GER), +31.6 (1); 4. Marte Olsbu Roeiseland (NOR), +1:35.0 (4); 5. Oeberg (SWE), +1:35.0 (5); 6. Kuzmina (SVK), +1:41.3 (7); 7. Brorsson (SWE), +1:47.2 (4); 8. Ingrid Tandrevold (NOR), +2:01.2 (4). Also in the top 25: 12. Egan (USA), +2:44.3 (5); … 25. Susan Dunklee (USA), +3:27.6 (3).

Mixed Relay (2×6 km/2x 7.5 km): 1. Norway (Roeiseland, Eckhoff, Boe, Christiansen), 1:17:41.4; 2. Germany (Hinz, Herrmann, Peiffer, Doll), +13.1; 3. Italy (Vittozzi, Wierer, Hofer, Windisch), +1:09.6; 4. Russia, +1:32.4; 5. Sweden, +1:35.3; 6. Czech Rep., +1:51.3; 7. Ukraine, +2:27.2; 8. France, +2:41.2. Also: 19. United States (Susan Dunklee, Clare Egan, Sean Doherty, Leif Nordgren), +7:21.2.

FREESTYLE SKIING: Irving and Sharpe claim Halfpipe wins in season finale at Mammoth

By
Rich Perelman
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Canada's World Cup Halfpipe champ Cassie Sharpe (Photo: FIS)

The weather was difficult, but the victories were sweet for American Birk Irving and Canada’s Cassie Sharpe in the final Halfpipe World Cup of the season at Mammoth Mountain, California.

The seasonal World Cup title was on the line for both the men and women, but for Irving, it was his first World Cup of the season!

No matter, he came with an 88.60 on his first run that had him in second place, then turned up the volume on his final run and scored 95.20 for the victory. “It’s amazing to finish off the season with my first podium and my first victory,” said Irving, “I just wanted to put my stock run on my first run. I was able to put it down and I was sitting in top-3. Then I just thought that I didn’t have that much to lose so I tried to throw some different tricks in there and it worked out perfectly.”

Canada’s Simon d’Artois finished second off his first-round score of 93.80, but even better was that he won the seasonal World Cup title. “I can’t believe it. It hasn’t yet hit me”, said d’Artois, “It was a tough day and I was happy to put two runs. There was obviously some tough competition out here. And Birk absolutely killed it and he deserves to be in first. But to finish second here today and to walk away with the globe is just unbelievable.”

In the women’s Halfpipe, Canada’s Cassie Sharpe won both the competition in Mammoth and the seasonal title.

“I like to put myself under pressure,” said Sharpe, ”It stresses me out, but it’s so fun. I came into this not expecting to get the globe, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up about it. If it happened then yeah, but if it didn’t, I did not want to be upset about it.”

Sharpe was also second after the first round, but scored a fabulous 95.60 on the second run to win easily from Estonia’s 17-year-old wunderkind, Kelly Sildaru (87.40). The victory allowed her to take the season crown, 280-260 from teammate Rachael Karker.

Sunday’s Slopestyle events were also affected by weather, but Mac Forehand of the U.S. managed a win in the men’s division for his second medal of the season. Swiss Mathilde Gremaud won the women’s Slopestyle, but the seasonal races won’t be decided until the final competition in Switzerland at the end of the month. Summaries:

FIS Freestyle Skiing World Cup
Mammoth Mountain, California (USA) ~ 7-10 March 2019
(Full results here)

Men’s Halfpipe: 1. Birk Irving (USA), 95.20; 2. Simon d’Artois (CAN), 93.80; 3. Thomas Krief (FRA), 86.60; 4. David Wise (USA), 85.20; 5. Jaxin Hoerter (USA), 84.80. Also: 8. Hunter Hess (USA), 74.40; … 10. Cameron Brodrick (USA), 61.80; … 12. Cassidy Jarrell (USA), 58.60.

Men’s Halfpipe Final Standings: 1. Simon d’Artois (CAN), 256; 2. Nico Porteous (NZL), 225; 3. David Wise (USA), 210; 4. Hunter Hess (USA), 178; 5. Thomas Krief (FRA), 164.

Men’s Slopestyle: 1. Mac Forehand (USA), 90.95; 2. Ferdinand Dahl (NOR), 86.05; 3. Kiernan Fagan (USA), 85.20; 4. Teal Harle (CAN), 83.95; 5. Max Moffatt (CAN), 82.05. Also: 6. Nick Goepper (USA), 80.85; … 10. Colby Stevenson (USA), 66.15; … 16. Peter Raich (USA), 32.40.

Women’s Halfpipe: 1. Cassie Sharpe (CAN), 95.60; 2. Kelly Sildaru (EST), 87.40; 3. Kexin Zhang (CHN), 82.20; 4. Rachael Karker (CAN), 79.40; 5. Zoe Atkin (GBR), 73.80. Also: 6. Brita Sigourney (USA), 68.40.

Women’s Halfpipe Final Standings: 1. Cassie Sharpe (CAN), 280; 2. Rachael Karker (CAN), 260; 3. Kexin Zhang (CHN), 256; 4. Kelly Sildaru (EST), 180; 5. Fanghui Li (CAN), 156.

Women’s Slopestyle: 1. Mathilde Gremaud (SUI), 86.65; 2. Johanne Killi (NOR), 79.15; 3. Megan Oldham (CAN), 76.15; 4. Sarah Hoefflin (SUI), 75.75; 5. Julia Krass (USA), 64.70. Also: 6. Taylor Lundquist (USA), 61.80.

SPEED SKATING: More world records fall in Utah, and Bowe wins 1,500 World Cup title

By
Rich Perelman
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World-record holder Miho Takagi (JPN) (Photo: ISU)

The star of the 2019 World Cup Final was the Utah Olympic Oval, which re-confirmed its status as the fastest track in the world, with two more world records on the final day of the meet:

● Men’s 1,500 m: 1:40.176, Kjeld Nuis (NED)

● Women’s 1,500 m: 1:49.839, Miho Takagi (JPN)

Takagi claimed her record in the first race of the day, but she had to beat the world record set two pairs earlier by American Brittany Bowe. Like the 1,000 m the day before, Bowe sped to a world mark of 1:50.327 – better than American Heather Bergsma’s mark of 1:50.85 from 2015, on this same track – and took the lead. Takagi, skating against Dutch star Ireen Wust, won and became the first women under 1:50 with a time of 1:49.839!

In all, four women broke Bergsma’s time from four years ago, with Takagi owning the record, but Bowe winning the seasonal 1,500 m title – her first at that distance – to go with her 1,000 m title from Saturday.

In the men’s 1,500 m, Nuis skated in the second pair against teammate Thomas Krol and moved powerfully around the oval to clock 1:40.76, breaking Russian Denis Yuskov’s 1:41.02 from 2017. Yuskov was still to come and he made a mighty effort, finally finishing in 1:41.499, but finished third to Nuis, and to Krol (1:40.541).

Yuskov got the consolation prize of winning the 1,500 m season title with 319 points, well ahead of Min-Seok Kim (KOR: 279) and Nuis (274).

In the sprints, Russia’s Pavel Kulizhnikov, who set a world record on Saturday, was the easy winner of the season series after Sunday’s race, won by Tatsuya Shinhama (JPN). Kulizhnikov finished with 630 points to 594 for Shinhama.

The women’s 500 m season title went to Austria’s Vanessa Herzog by 708-600, even though runner-up Nao Kodaira (JPN) won both races on the weekend. Kodaira’s mid-season decision to skip some World Cup races for more training was the difference, as she was undefeated in the eight races she skated. But Herzog competed in all 11.

The meet concluded with an astonishing eight world marks being set in six (of the 10) events, with two each in the women’s 1,000 m and 1,500 m, making the Utah Olympic Oval once again the star of the international speed skating circuit for 2019! Summaries:

ISU Speed Skating World Cup Final
Kearns, Utah (USA) ~ 9-10 March 2019
(Full results here)

Men

500 m I: 1. Pavel Kulizhnikov (RUS), 33.616 (World Record; old, 33.98, Kulizhnikov, 2015); 2. Tatsuya Shinhama (JPN), 33.835; 3. Yuma Murakami (JPN), 34.113; 4. Min-Kyu Cha (KOR), 34.227; 5. Ryohei Haga (JPN), 34.238.

500 m II: 1. Shinhama (JPN), 33.790; 2. Cha (KOR), 34.030; 3. Murakami (JPN), 34.104; 4. Viktor Mushtakov (RUS), 34.168; 5. Havard Holmefjord Lorentzen (NOR). 34281.

500 m World Cup Final Standings: 1. Pavel Kulizhnikov (RUS), 630; 2. Tatsuya Shinhama (JPN), 594; 3. Havard Holmefjord Lorentzen (NOR), 498; 4. Ryohei Hag (JPN), 492; 5. Yuma Murakami (JPN), 481.

1,000 m: 1. Kjeld Nuis (NED), 1:06.183 (World Record; old, 1:06.42, Shani Davis (USA), 2009); 2. Thomas Krol (NED, 1:06.255; 3. Kai Verbij (NED), 1:06.347; 4. Kulizhnikov (RUS), 1:06.476; 5. Lorentzen (NOR), 1:06.513. Also: 9. Joey Mantia (USA), 1:07.348.

1,000 m World Cup Final Standings: 1. Kjeld Nuis (NED), 342; 2. Kai Verbij (NED), 304; 3. Pavel Kulizhnikov (RUS), 303; 4. Thomas Krol (NED), 298; 5. Havard Lorentzen (NOR), 297. Also: 10. Joey Mantia (USA), 219.

1,500 m: 1. Nuis (NED), 1:40.176 (World Record; old, 1:41.02, Denis Yuskov (RUS), 2017); 2. Krol (NED), 1:40.541; 3. Denis Yuskov (RUS), 1:41.499; 4. Sverre Lunde Pedersen (NOR), 1:42.392; 5. Min-Seok Kim (KOR), 1:42.545. Also: 8. Mantia (USA), 1:42.924.

1,500 m World Cup Final Standings: 1. Denis Yuiskov (RUS), 319; 2. Min-Seok Kim (KOR), 279; 3. Kjeld Nuis (NED), 274; 4. Seitaro Ichinohe (JPN), 263; 5. Thomas Krol (NED), 259. Also: 7. Joey Mantia (USA), 249.

5,000 m: 1. Patrick Roest (NED), 6:03.706; 2. Marcel Bosker (NED), 6:08.904; 3. Ted-Jan Bloemen (CAN), 6:09.645; 4. Alexander Rumyantsev (RUS), 6:10.785; 5. Pedersen (NOR), 6:10.982.

5,000/10,000 m World Cup Final Standings: 1. Alexander Rumyantsev (RUS), 322; 2. Marcel Bosker (NED), 320; 3. Sverre Lunde Pedersen (NOR), 317; 4. Patrick Roest (NED), 282; 5. Patrick Beckert (GER), 270.

Mass Start (16 laps): 1. Ryosuke Tsuchiya (JPN), 7:38.390; 2. Vitaly Mikhailov (LR), 7:41.210; 3. Simon Schouten (NED), 7:51.660; 4. Viktor Hald Thorup (DEN), 7:58.000; 5. Chris Huizinga (NED), 7:10.510. Also: 9. Mantia (USA), 7:12.120.

Mass Start World Cup Final Standings: 1. Cheonho Um (KOR), 535; 2. Bart Swings (BEL), 502; 3. Ruslan Zakharov (RUS), 434; 4. Livio Wenger (SUI), 420; 5. Ryosuke Tsuchiya (JPN), 410. Also: 9. Joey Mantia (USA), 371.

Women

500 m I: 1. Nao Kodaira (JPN), 36.474; 2. Vanessa Herzog (AUT), 36.850; 3. Angelika Golikova (RUS), 36.9032; 4. Brittany Bowe (USA), 37.168; 5. Konami Soga (JPN), 37.190.

500 m II: 1. Kodaira (JPN), 36.492; 2. Olga Fatkulina (RUS), 36.833; 3. Herzog (AUT), 36.835; 4. Konami Soga (JPN), 36.995; 5. Maki Tsuji (JPN), 37.090. Also: 6. Bowe (USA), 37.126.

500 m World Cup Final Standings: 1. Vanessa Herzog (AUT), 708; 2. Nao Kodaira (JPN), 600; 3. Olga Fatkulina (RUS), 587; 4. Angelika Golikova (RUS), 556; 5. Brittany Bowe (USA), 510.

1,000 m: 1. Brittany Bowe (USA), 1:11.610 (World Record; old, 1:11.713, Miho Takagi (JPN) in prior pair; pre-meet world record: 1:12.09, Nao Kodaira (JPN), 2017); 2. Miho Takagi (JPN), 1:11.713; 3. Kodaira (JPN), 1:11.776; 4. Yekaterina Shikhova (RUS), 1:12.469; 5. Olga Fatkulina (RUS), 1:12.986.

1,000 m World Cup Final Standings: 1. Brittany Bowe (USA), 397; 2. Miho Takagi (JPN), 310; 3. Nao Kodaira (JPN), 298; 4. Vanessa Herzog (AUT), 277; 5. Daria Kachanova (RUS), 256.

1,500 m: 1. Takagi (JPN), 1:49.839 (World Record; old, 1:50.327, Brittany Bowe (USA) in a prior pair; pre-meet world record: 1:50.85, Heather Bergsma (USA), 2015); 2. Bowe (USA), 1:50.327; 3. Yekaterina Shikhova (RUS), 1:50.637; 4. Ireen Wust (NED), 1:50.708; 5. Melissa Wijfje (NED), 1:52.559.

1,500 m World Cup Final Standings: 1. Brittany Bowe (USA), 378; 2. Miho Takagi (JPN), 331; 3. Ireen Wust (NED), 303; 4. Lotte van Beek (NED), 273; 5. Yekaterina Shikhova (RUS), 264.

3,000 m: 1. Martina Sabilkova (CZE), 3:52.027 (World Record; old, 3:53.31, Sabilkova, 2019); 2. Esmee Visser (NED), 3:54.023; 3. Natalia Voronina (RUS), 3:54.064; 4. Isabelle Weidemann (CAN), 3:55.582; 5. Maryna Zuyeva (BLR), 3:55.731. Also: 10. Cariljn Schoutens (USA), 4:07.050.

3,000/5,000 m World Cup Final Standings: 1. Martina Sabilkova (CZE), 370; 2. Esmee Visser (NED), 343; 3. Natalia Voronina (RUS), 335; 4. Isabelle Weidemann (CAN), 322; 5. Ivanie Blondin (CAN), 272.

Mass Start (16 laps): 1. Irene Schouten (NED), 8:00.18; 2. Bo-Reum Kim (KOR), 8:00.43; 3. Ivanie Blondin (CAN), 8:00.54; 4. Francesca Lollobrigida (ITA), 8:00.75; 5. Elizaveta Kazelina (RUS), 8:01.35.

Mass Start World Cup Final Standings: 1. Bo-Reum Kim (KOR),478; 2. Irene Schouten (NED), 456; 3. Francesca Lollobrigida (ITA), 414; 4. Ivanie Blondin (CAN), 380; 5. Nana Takagi (JPN), 362.

FENCING: Minobe and Popescu triumph in Epee Grand Prix in Budapest

By
Rich Perelman
-
Romania's Olympic Epee medalist Ana Maria Popescu (Photo: Marie-Lan Nguyen via Wikipedia)

The second Grand Prix of the season was a showcase for the veterans, as 31-year-old Kazuyasu Minobe and Romania’s Ana Maria Popescu, 34, came out as the winners.

Minobe won his first career Grand Prix gold medal – he also has three World Cup golds – by defeating Italy’s Andrea Santarelli in the final, 15-12. The silver was Santarelli’s third Grand Prix medal and his first silver after two prior bronzes.

Popescu has had a storied career, with an Olympic silver in 2008. She dispensed with Korea’s Young Mi Kang, 15-7, in the final as the two moved up in the FIE World Rankings to fourth (Popescu) and third (Kang).

Kang is also 34, but Popescu won her 15th Grand Prix medal, with seven wins dating back as far as 2008. This was Kang’s first-ever Grand Prix medal.

In the men’s Sabre World Cup in Padua (ITA), home favorite Luca Curatoli took the gold medal – his first ever in a World Cup – by edging legendary countryman Aldo Montano, 15-12. For the 40-year-old Montano – the 2004 Olympic Champion – it was his 20th World Cup medal, but his first in three years.

American Eli Dershwitz, ranked no. 1, finished fifth – losing in the quaretrfinals – but maintained his top ranking.

The women’s Sabre World Cup was won by Russia’s reigning World Champion, Sofia Podzniakova, who defeated three-time World Champion Olga Kharlan (UKR) in the final, 15-13. Despite being the current world champ, this was Podzniakova’s first World Cup medal ever, while Kharlan won her 26th. Summaries:

FIE Epee Grand Prix
Budapest (HUN) ~ 8-10 March 2019
(Full results here)

Men’s Epee: 1. Kazuyasu Minobe (JPN); 2. Andrea Santarelli (ITA); 3. Tibor Andrasfi (HUN) and Max Heinzer (SUI). Semis: Andrasfi, 15-9; Santarelli d. Heinzer, 15-10. Final: Minobe d. Santarelli, 15-12.

Women’s Epee: 1. Ana Maria Popescu (ROU); 2. Young Mi Kang (KOR); 3. Injeong Choi (KOR) and Coraline Vitalis (FRA). Semis: Popescu d. Choi, 13-11; Kang d. Vitalis, 15-13. Final: Popescu d. Kang, 15-7.

FIE Sabre World Cup
Padua (ITA) ~ 8-10 March 2019
(Full results here)

Men’s Sabre: 1. Luca Curatoli (ITA); 2. Aldo Montano (ITA); 3. Max Hartung (GER) and Benedikt Wagner (GER). Semis: Curatoli d. Wagner, 15-12; Montano d. Hartung, 15-10. Final: Curatoli d. Montano, 15-13.

Men’s Team Sabre: 1. Korea; 2. Iran; 3. Italy; 4. Romania. Semis: Korea d. Romania, 45-28; Iran d. Italy, 45-43. Third: Italy d. Roman, 45-41. Final: Korea d. Iran, 45-28.

FIE Sabre World Cup
Athens (GRE) ~ 8-10 March 2019
(Full results here)

Women’s Sabre: 1. Sofia Pozdniakova (RUS); 2. Olga Kharlan (UKR); 3. Ji-Yeon Kim (KOR) and Lisa Pusztai (HUN). Semis: Pozdniakova d. Kim, 15-11; Kharlan d. Pustzai, 15-05. Final: Pozdniakova d. Kharlan, 15-10.

Women’s Team Sabre: 1. France; 2. Russia; 3. Italy; 4. United States. Semis: France d. U.S., 45-34; Russia d. Italy, 45-39. Third: Italy d. U.S., 45-42. Final: France d. Russia, 45-32.

NORDIC SKIING: Bolshunov leads a Russian sweep, while Johaug remains perfect at Holmenkollen in Oslo

By
Rich Perelman
-
Norwegian cross-country superstar Therese Johaug

The amazing story of Therese Johaug added another chapter on Sunday as she won her 11th straight distance race at the World Cup or World Championships with a victory in front of a happy home crowd in the 30 km Mass Start race in Oslo.

She simply could not be beaten and has now won all eight of her World Cup distance starts to go along with three World Championships distance gold medals.

Because she is a distance-only star – she finished 33rd in her one Sprint race of the season, back in November – she sits fourth in the seasonal standings behind teammate Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg (NOR: 1,317), new Russian star Natalia Nepryaeva (1,267) and Finland’s Krista Parmakoski (1,057).

There are six races left in the season, with three sprints and three distance races, so Oestberg is in a good position to win her first overall title.

In the men’s famed 50 km race at the Holmenkollen Ski Fest in Oslo, Alexander Bolshunov not only led a 1-2-3-4 sweep, but took the season lead in the Cross Country World Cup. He now has 1,230 points to 1,181 for Norway’s Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo, also with six races left.

With Nepryaeva at 23 and Bolshunov just 22, Russia could be contending for honors for the next decade, if they can stay free from injury.

In the Nordic Combined, Norway’s seasonal World Cup champion Jarl Magnus Riiber came from ninth after the jumping to win his 11th event of the 19 held this season. Although his 10 km time was only fifth-fastest in the field, he was able to outlast Finland’s Ilkka Herola by 0.2 seconds at the finish line.

In Ski Jumping, the man with the best moustache in sports – Norway’s Robert Johansson – won his first event of the season, ahead of Austrian star Stefan Kraft. Japan’s World Cup leader Ryoyu Kobayashi essentially clinched the seasonal title with a fifth-place finish. He now has a 500-point lead with five events left. A single point in any of them will give the 22-year-old the Crystal Globe.

In the women’s jumping, 35-year-old Daniela Iraschko-Stolz won her their event of the season, but Maren Lundby (NOR) maintained a solid 1,413-1,330 lead over Katharina Althaus (GER) in the cumulative standings. Summaries from the Holmenkollen Ski Fest:

FIS Cross Country World Cup
Oslo (NOR) ~ 9-10 March 2019
(Full results here)

Men’s 50 km Mass Start Classical: 1. Alexander Bolshunov (RUS), 2:23:49.8; 2. Maxim Vylegzhanin (RUS), 2:23:50.8; 3. Andrey Larkin (RUS), 2:23:51.4; 4. Ilia Semkov (RUS), 2:23:51.8; 5. Alex Harvey (CAN), 2:23:54.4. Also in the top 25: 19. Scott Patterson (USA), 2:24:56.2; … 24. David Norris (USA), 2:25:56.4.

Women’s 30 km Mass Start Classical: 1. Therese Johaug (NOR), 1:18:54.5; 2. Natalie Nepryaeva (RUS), 1:20:40.4; 3. Ebba Andersson (NOR), 1:20:44.4; 4.Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg (NOR), 1:20:44.6; 5. Charlotte Kalla (SWE), 1:21:12.4.

FIS Nordic Combined World Cup
Oslo (NOR) ~ 9 March 2019
(Full results here)

Gundersen 134 m hill/10.0 km: 1. Jarl Magnus Riiber (NOR), 26:13.8; 2. Ilkka Herola (FIN), 26:14.0; 3. Espen Bjoernstad (NOR), 26:21.6; 4. Manuel Faisst (AUT), 26:26.1; 5. Akito Watabe (JPN), 26:31.8.

FIS Ski Jumping World Cup
Oslo (NOR) ~ 9-10 March 2019
(Full results here)

Men’s 134 m hill: 1. Robert Johansson (NOR), 262.0; 2. Stefan Kraft (AUT), 258.3; 3. Peter Prevc (SLO), 252.8; 4. Philip Aschenwald (AUT), 250.2; 5. Ryoyu Kobayashi (JPN), 250.1.

Men’s Team 134 m hill: 1. Norway (Forfang, Pedersen, Lindvik, Johansson), 469.8; 2. Japan, 456.8; 3. Austria, 454.4; 4. Poland, 440.9; 5. Germany, 437.9.

Women’s 134 m hill: 1. Daniela Iraschko-Stolz (AUT), 209.0; 2. Juliane Seyfarth (GER), 194.3; 3. Katharina Althaus (GER), 193.3; 4. Sara Takanashi (JPN), 192.1; 5. Maren Lundby (NOR), 186.5.

SHORT TRACK: Second-day sweeps claim world titles for Lim and Schulting

By
Rich Perelman
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World Short Track Champion Suzanne Schulting (NED) wins the Superfinal. (Photo: ISU)

The ISU World Championships in Short Track were decided by second-day performances from Korea’s Hyo-Jun Lim and Dutch star Suzanne Schulting that gave them the title of “World Champion” for 2019.

Lim, the Olympic 1,500 gold medalist last year, won his specialty on the first day, ahead of Canada’s Samuel Girard, but then took over on Sunday in Sofia (BUL). He first won the 1,000 m, just ahead of favored Dae-Heon Hwang (KOR) and then squeezed out a win on the 3,000 m over Russia’s Semen Elistratov.

That gave Lim three wins in the four events – Hwang won the 500 m over Olympic champ Dajing Wu (CHN) – and an easy overall win with 102 points to just 55 for Hwang. The 1-2 finish for Korea was their first since 2013.

“I came to the World Championships for the first time last year and finished fourth, so I am really happy to win this time,” said Lim. And it is great that my teammate got second place. On the ice we always try to win, to beat each other, but off it we are friends.”

In the women’s racing, defending champ Min-Jeong Choi won the 1,500 m on Saturday, but Schulting came on strong on Sunday, winning the 1,000 m – where she was Olympic Champion – and then the 3,000 m Superfinal, edging Choi by 1/10th of a second.

That was enough for an 81-76 win in the overall classification, the first-ever World Championship overall title for a Dutch skater woman.

“I am incredibly happy right now,” said Schulting. “It’s bizarre, incredible. I won this because I trained so, so hard last summer. This really counts. After my Olympic title at PyeongChang over 1,000 m, I wanted to prove that I am not a one-day fly. I won so many races this year. I won the European title, so that encouraged me to come to Sofia and finish with the World title. All credit to my coach, Jeroen Otter.”

Summaries:

ISU Short Track World Championships
Sofia (BUL) ~ 9-10 March 2019
(Full results here)

Men

500 m: 1. Dae-Heon Hwang (KOR), 42.490; 2. Dajing Wu (CHN), 42.275; 3. Ziwei Ren (CHN), 42.888. Disqualified: Shaolin Sandor Liu (HUN).

1,000 m: 1. Hyo-Jun Lim (KOR), 1:26.468; 2. Dae-Heon Hwang (KOR), 1:26.657; 3. Semen Elistratov (RUS), 1:26.660; 4. Keita Watanabe (JPN), 1:26.877; 5. Tommaso Dotti (ITA), 1:26.967; 6. Ziwei Ren (CHN), 1:27.369.

1,500 m: 1. Lim (KOR), 2:31.632; 2. Sam Girard (CAN), 2:31.685; 3. June-Seo Lee (KOR), 2:31.717; 4. Steven Dubois (CAN), 2:31.814; 5. Elistratov (RUS), 2:32.438; 6. Hongzhi Xu (CHN), 2:35.284. Disqualified: Hwang (KOR) and Watanabe (JPN).

3,000 m Superfinal: 1. Lim (KOR), 5:00.998; 2. Elistratov (RUS), 5:01.120; 3. Watanabe (JPN), 5:01.847; 4. J-S Lee (KOR), 5:01.917; 5. Ren (CHN), 5:05.156; 6. Dubois (CAN), 5:05.189; 7. Girard (CAN), 5:07.162; 8. D. Wu (CHN), 6:08.291.

Final Standings: 1. Hyo-Jun Lim (KOR), 102; 2. Dae Heon Hwang (KOR), 55; 3. Semen Elistratov (RUS), 44; 4. Samuel Girard (CAN), 29; 5. Dajing Wu (CHN), 22; 6. Keita Watanabe (JPN), 21; 7. June-Seo Lee (KOR), 21; 8. Ziwei Ren (CHN), 19.

5,000 m Relay: 1. Korea (Hwang, Le, Lim, Park), 7:04.292; 2. China (Ren, Wu, Xu, Yang), 7:04.651; 3. Hungary (Burjan, Krueger, S-S Liu, Varnyu), 7:04.961; 4. Russia, 7:18.095.

Women

500 m: 1. Lara van Reijnen (NED), 43.267; 2. Kexin Fan (CHN), 43.427; 3. Suzanne Schulting (NED), 43.518. Disqualified: Martina Valcepina (ITA).

1,000 m: 1. Schulting (NED), 1:28.986; 2. Min-Jeong Choi (KOR), 1:29.187; 3. Kim Boutin (CAN), 1:29.211; 4. Ji-Yoo Kim (KOR), 1:30.679; 5. Safia Prosvirnova (RUS), 1:30.803.

1,500 m: 1. Choi (KOR), 2:29.741; 2. Boutin (CAN), 2:29.803; 3. Prosvirnova (RUS), 2:29.843; 4. J-Y Kim (KOR), 2:29.961; 5. Hanne Desmet (BEL), 2:30.148; 6. Veronique Pierron (FRA), 2:30.884. Disqualified: Ekaterina Efremenkova (RUS).

3,000 m Superfinal: 1. Schulting (NED), 5:26.880; 2. Choi (KOR), 5:26.980; 3. J-Y Kim (KOR), 5:27.039; 4. Prosvirnova (RUS), 5:27.121; 5. Yize Zang (CHN), 5:27.198; 6. Boutin (CAN), 5:27.428; 7. Kexin Fan (CHN), 5:29.195.

Final Standings: 1. Suzanne Schulting (NED), 81; Min Jeong Choi (KOR), 76; 3. Kim Boutin (CAN), 37; 4. Lara van Reijnen (NED), 34; 5. Ji-Yoo Kim (KOR), 29; 6. Sofia Prosvirnova (RUS), 26; 7. Kexin fan (CHN), 24; 8. Yize Zang (CHN), 13.

3,000 m Relay: 1. Korea (Choi, G-H Kim, J-Y Kim, S-H Shim), 4:13.904; 2. Russia (Efremenkova, Konstantinova, Malagich, Prosvirnova), 4:14.353; 3. Canada (Boutin, Serres-Rainville, Charles, Sarault), 4:14.984; 4. Netherlands, 4:21.751.

TRIATHLON: Zaferes and Spivey go 1-2 for U.S. in World Series opener in Abu Dhabi

By
Rich Perelman
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An ITU World Series title coming for American Katie Zaferes? (Photo: ITU)

A powerful U.S. team went 1-2-4 on the women’s Sprint course in Abu Dhabi (UAE), with Katie Zaferes scoring her second career World Triathlon Series victory, finishing 26 seconds ahead of fellow American Taylor Spivey.

Zaferes was third out of the water and fourth-fastest on the bike, but her track & field background made her an easy winner in the 5 km run to the finish. Her run time of 16:09 was the fastest of the day and she won easily.

“I’m so excited”, said Zaferes. “My muscles were a little tight at the start but it went as well as it could out there. I had a good swim with [Jessica Learmonth] and then a strong bike, and the group we had was optimal, everyone did a great job. This is a brilliant start to the year and I just want to keep getting better. Last year, losing by so little, has really driven me on for this campaign.”

Zaferes was the runner-up to Britain’s Vicky Holland for the seasonal title in 2018 by just 5,540-5,488, as Holland finished second in the World Series Grand Final and Zaferes third. Now Zaferes has the lead to start the season, but may have new challengers in her fellow Americans.

Spivey had second sewn up halfway through the run phase and Learmouth (GBR) overcame American Taylor Knibb near the finish to grab third.

“That race couldn’t have gone better for me,” said Spivey afterwards. “When I knew we could get a breakaway and make it stick I finally had my opportunity to work it out. It was hard to tell how it was panning out on the first two laps then we slowly saw the gap increasing which was really reassuring. The U.S. women are so strong right now, and qualifying for Tokyo will be tough but this is a great way to start the qualification process.”

In the men’s race, Spain’s Mario Mola – the reigning champion – moved up from second in Abu Dhabi a year ago to win the season opener. He was challenged by a newcomer – Alex Yee of Great Britain – in his first World Series race, and Mola managed the win by just three seconds.

“I had to dig deep there,” said Mola, “but I knew that if I was strong it would be a good fight. It was great to have a first battle against Alex and to have the new generation coming up, I know how good Alex is. There were some tricky corners and a few crashes right in front of me and it definitely wasn’t easy, but I’m really happy with that win.”

Australia managed to take the Mixed Relay from the U.S. in the final event, thanks to a strong close from Jacob Birtwhistle on anchor. Summaries:

ITU World Series
Abu Dhabi (UAE) ~ 8-9 March 2019
(Full results here)

Men (Sprint: 750 m swim, 10 km bike, 5 km run): 1. Mario Mola (ESP), 52:00; 2. Alex Yee (GBR), 52:03; 3. Fernando Alarza (ESP), 52:12; 4. Leo Bergere (FRA), 52:14; 5. Vincent Luis (FRA), 52:15. Also in the top 25: 13. Eli Hemming (USA), 52:27; … 20. Matthew McElroy (USA), 52.47.

Women (Sprint: 750 m swim, 10 km bike, 5 km run): 1. Katie Zaferes (USA), 55:31; 2. Taylor Spivey (USA), 55:57; 3. Jessica Learmonth (GBR), 56:06; 4. Taylor Knibb (USA), 56:09; 5. Non Stanford (GBR), 56:37. Also in the top 25: 16. Chelsea Burns (USA), 57:21.

Mixed Relay: 1. Australia (Ashleigh Gentle, Luke Willian, Emma Jeffcoat, Jacob Birtwhistle), 1:24:16; 2. United States (Taylor Spivey, Ben Kanute, Katie Zaferes, Eli Hemming), 1:24:21; 3. New Zealand, 1:24:31; 4. France, 1:24:39; 5. Germany, 1:24:41.

ALPINE SKIING: Eighth World Cup title in a row for Marcel Hirscher!

By
Rich Perelman
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Austria's Marcel Hirscher with yet another Crystal Globe

It was a formality for sure, but the amazing Marcel Hirscher (AUT) continued to set new records by winning his eighth consecutive overall World Cup title. He finished sixth and third in the Giant Slalom and Slalom at Kranjska Gora (SLO) and wrapped up the title in Sunday.

Hirscher – still only 30 – now has 1,508 points to 999 for second-place Alexis Pinturault (FRA) with just the four races of the World Cup Final next week remaining. Hirscher also wrapped up the seasonal titles in both the Giant Slalom and Slalom, giving him six in each discipline.

Norway’s Henrik Kristoffersen won the Giant Slalom on Saturday for his second win of the season; Swiss Ramon Zenhaeusern won the Slalom on Sunday, with Kristoffersen second and Hirscher third.

Hirscher’s eight titles are the most ever; no one else has more than five. His eight consecutive wins is truly astonishing; no one else had more than three. Hirscher now has 138 World Cup medals in a 12-year career, a sensational average of 11.5 per season. He’s moved up to no. 2 all-time in World Cup wins with 68, still trailing all-time leader Ingemar Stenmark (SWE: 1973-89) by 18; Stenmark retired at age 33.

The World Cup Final is in Andorra starting on the 13th. Summaries:

FIS Alpine World Cup
Kranjska Gora (SLO) ~ 8-10 March 2019
(Full results here)

Men’s Giant Slalom: 1. Henrik Kristoffersen (NOR), 2:26.83; 2. Rasmus Windingstad (NOR), 2:26.87; 3. Marco Odermatt (SUI), 2:27.19; 4. Cedric Noger (SUI), 2:27.49; 5. Alexis Pinturault (FRA), 2:27.50. Also in the top 25: 14. Tommy Ford (USA), 2:28.11; … 18. Ryan Cochran-Siegle (USA), 2:28.31; … 23 . Ted Ligety (USA), 2:28.77.

Men’s Slalom: 1. Ramon Zenhaeusern (SUI), 1:39.54; 2. Kristoffersen (NOR), 1:40.69; 3. Marcel Hirscher (AUT), 1:40.71; 4. Manuel Feller (AUT), 1:40.77; 5. Daniel Yule (SUI), 1:41.06.

SPEED SKATING: Bowe, Sabilkova, Nuis and Kulizhnikov set world records on day one of the World Cup Final!

By
Rich Perelman
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Brittany Bowe (USA) celebrates a World Cup title and a 1,000 m world record! (Photo: ISU)

The Utah Olympic Oval, sitting at 1,380 m altitude, has always been a favorite of speed skaters, but Saturday’s performances were truly record-breaking: four new world records on the first day of the ISU World Cup Final.

The cheers were loudest for American Brittany Bowe, who had to skate a world record to win! Coming into the meet, the 1,000 m world mark was 1:12.09 by Nao Kodaira of Japan. But in the final event of the night, Bowe took to the ice for the next-to-last pair immediately after seeing Japan’s Miho Takagi outlast Kodaira as both went under Kodaira’s record! Takagi skated 1:11.713 and Kodaira, 1:11.776.

But with Austrian star Vanessa Herzog on her inside. Bowe’s time of 1:11.610 claimed the record and won her the 1,000 World Cup title, which she also won back in 2015.

“Going after Miho and Nao, both going 1:11.7, that’s a tough act to follow,” Bowe said. “I knew I had to have a close-to-perfect race. If I had the opener that I’m capable of, and if I could do a 6.3 lap, I had a chance to beat it. I looked up on the scoreboard in my first lap and it was 6.3, and I just wheeled my way to the finish line.”

Czech star Martina Sabilkova, who set world marks in the 3,000 and 5,000 m at the World Allround Championships in Calgary, said she was hurting coming into the 3,000 m. Well, maybe not that much, as she broke last week’s record at 3:52.027, taking more than a second off of the Calgary time of 3:53.31. She also claimed the seasonal title in the 3,000/5,000 m distance.

The men’s competition was no less fierce, with Russian Pavel Kulizhnikov sprinting to a world mark of 33.616 in the first of the two 500 m races. He improved on his own world record of 33.98 from 2015, also set at the Utah Olympic Oval. He’ll have another shot at a new record on Sunday.

Dutch star Kjeld Nuis removed Olympic champ Shani Davis (USA) from the record books in the 1,000 m, finishing in 1:06.183 to eclipse Davis’s 2009 record of 1:06.42. The win was also enough to give Nuis the seasonal title in the 1,000 m.

Patrick Roest won the men’s 5,000 m, but Russian Alexander Rumyantsev ended up the seasonal winner in the 5,000/10,000 m.

The World Cup Final continues on Sunday; summaries so far:

ISU Speed Skating World Cup Final
Kearns, Utah (USA) ~ 9-10 March 2019
(Full results here)

Men

500 m I: 1. Pavel Kulizhnikov (RUS), 33.616 (World Record; old, 33.98, Kulizhnikov, 2015); 2. Tatsuya Shinhama (JPN), 33.835; 3. Yuma Murakami (JPN), 34.113; 4. Min-Kyu Cha (KOR), 34.227; 5. Ryohei Haga (JPN), 34.238.

1,000 m: 1. Kjeld Nuis (NED), 1:06.183 (World Record; old, 1:06.42, Shani Davis (USA), 2009); 2. Thomas Krol (NED, 1:06.255; 3. Kai Verbij (NED), 1:06.347; 4. Kulizhnikov (RUS), 1:06.476; 5. Havard Lorentzen (NOR), 1:06.513. Also: 9. Joey Mantia (USA), 1:07.348.

1,000 m World Cup Final Standings: 1. Kjeld Nuis (NED), 342; 2. Kai Verbij (NED), 304; 3. Pavel Kulizhnikov (RUS), 303; 4. Thomas Krol (NED), 298; 5. Havard Lorentzen (NOR), 297. Also: 10. Joey Mantia (USA), 219.

5,000 m: 1. Patrick Roest (NED), 6:03.706; 2. Marcel Bosker (NED), 6:08.904; 3. Ted-Jan Bloemen (CAN), 6:09.645; 4. Alexander Rumyantsev (RUS), 6:10.785; 5. Sverre Lunde Pedersen (NOR), 6:10.982.

5,000/10,000 m World Cup Final Standings: 1. Alexander Rumyantsev (RUS), 322; 2. Marcel Bosker (NED), 320; 3. Sverre Lunde Pedersen (NOR), 317; 4. Patrick Roest (NED), 282; 5. Patrick Beckert (GER), 270.

Women

500 m I: 1. Nao Kodaira (JPN), 36.474; 2. Vanessa Herzog (AUT), 36.850; 3. Angelika Golikova (RUS), 36.9032; 4. Brittany Bowe (USA), 37.168; 5. Konami Soga (JPN), 37.190.

1,000 m: 1. Bowe (USA), 1:11.610 (World Record; old, 1:11.713, Miho Takagi (JPN) in prior pair; pre-meet world record: 1:12.09, Nao Kodaira (JPN), 2017); 2. Miho Takagi (JPN), 1:11.713; 3. Kodaira (JPN), 1:11.776; 4. Yekaterina Shikhova (RUS), 1:12.469; 5. Olga Fatkulina (RUS), 1:12.986.

1,000 m World Cup Final Standings: 1. Brittany Bowe (USA), 397; 2. Miho Takagi (JPN), 310; 3. Nao Kodaira (JPN), 298; 4. Vanessa Herzog (AUT), 277; 5. Daria Kachanova (RUS), 256.

3,000 m: 1. Martina Sabilkova (CZE), 3:52.027 (World Record; old, 3:53.31, Sabilkova, 2019); 2. Esmee Visser (NED), 3:54.023; 3. Natalia Voronina (RUS), 3:54.064; 4. Isabelle Weidemann (CAN), 3:55.582; 5. Maryna Zuyeva (BLR), 3:55.731. Also: 10. Cariljn Schoutens (USA), 4:07.050.

3,000/5,000 m World Cup Final Standings: 1. Martina Sabilkova (CZE), 370; 2. Esmee Visser (NED), 343; 3. Natalia Voronina (RUS), 335; 4. Isabelle Weidemann (CAN), 322; 5. Ivanie Blondin (CAN), 272.

DIVING: Second straight sweep for China in Beijing World Series at the Water Cube

By
Rich Perelman
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Chinese diving star Yuan Cao

Ten up and ten golds, two weeks in a row. That’s the story of the first two meets in the FINA Diving World Series, both swept by Chinese divers.

This week’s competition was in Beijing (CHN) at the famed Water Cube, home of the 2008 Olympic Games. Some of China’s medalists from the 2016 Games continued their winning ways, including Yuan Cao with a gold in the 3 m Springboard, and silver medals for 2016 champs Aisen Chen (men’s 10 m Platform) and Tingmao Shi (women’s 3 m Springboard).

None of the events were close and the Chinese went 1-2 in all four individual events. This is the seventh time in the last nine years that China has swept all of the events at the Beijing stop of the World Series (it won nine of 10 in the other two!).

Prize money was $5,000-4,000-3,000 for the top three finishers. Summaries:

FINA Diving World Series
Beijing (CHN) ~ 7-9 March 2019
(Full results here)

Men

3 m Springboard: 1. Yuan Cao (CHN), 541.95; 2. Siyi Xie (CHN), 527.90; 3. Jack Laugher (GBR), 457.55.

3 m Synchro: 1. Yuan Cao/Siyi Xie (CHN), 469.08; 2. Jahir Ocampo Marroquin/Rommel Pacheco (MEX), 413.61; 3. Philippe Gagne/Francois Imbeau-Dulac (CAN), 399.48. Also: 6. Tyler Downs/Mark Anderson (USA), 350.85.

10 m Platform: 1. Jian Yang (CHN), 573.60; 2. Aisen Chen (CHN), 527.65; 3. Aleksandr Bondar (RUS), 509.95.

10 m Synchro: 1. Aisen Chen/Yuan Cao (CHN), 494.55; 2. Aleksandr Bondar/Victor Minibaev (RUS), 425.67; 3. Domonic Bedggood/Declan Stacey (AUS), 411.00. Also: 7. Tyler Downs/Jordan Rzepka (USA), 376.44.

Women

3 m Springboard: 1. Han Wang (CHN), 377.40; 2. Tingmao Shi (CHN), 367.00; 3. Jennifer Abel (CAN), 332.70.

3 m Synchro: 1. Han Wang/Tingmao Shi (CHN), 339.30; 2. Annabelle Smith/Maddison Keeney (AUS), 300.93; 3. Grace Reid/Katherine Torrance (GBR), 292.47. Also: 7. Maria Coburn/Krysta Palmer (USA), 252.45.

10 m Platform: 1. Jiaqi Zhang (CHN), 400.05; 2. Qian Ren (CHN), 371.20; 3. Meaghan Benfeito (CAN), 336.40.

10 m Synchro: 1. Wei Lu/Jiaqi Zhang (CHN), 354.06; 2. A Rim Kim/Mi-Rae Kim (PRK), 325.80; 3. Meaghan Benfeito/Caeli McKay (CAN), 313.14. Also: 5. Tarrin Gilliland/Katrina Young (USA), 291.72.

Mixed

3 m Synchro: 1. Hao Yang/Yani Chang (CHN), 315.21; 2. Francois Imbeau-Dulac/Jennifer Abel (CAN), 304.08; 3. Grace Reid/Tom Daley (GBR), 294.39.

10 m Synchro: 1. Yajie Si/Junjie Lian (CHN), 346.38; 2. Nikita Shleikher/Iuliia Timoshinina (RUS), 301.26; 3. Meagen Benfeito/Nathan Zsombor-Murray (CAN), 300.96. Also: 6. Tyler Downs/Katrina Young (USA), 280.47.

SNOWBOARD: Gerard wins weather-challenged Mammoth Slopestyle, but Corning takes the seasonal title

By
Rich Perelman
-
American Olympic Snowboarder Chris Corning

The final FIS World Cup competition in Halfpipe and Slopestyle at Mammoth Mountain in California was plagued by heavy weather, but there was just enough of a break to settle three of the four season titles at stake in Halfpipe and Slopestyle.

American Red Gerard hadn’t competed in a World Cup all season, after winning the Olympic title in PyeongChang last year. But both of his runs were medal-worthy: he was second after a first run of 81.10, then overcame teammate Judd Henkes (83.95) with his second ride of 85.10 that proved to be the winner.

“We’ve had some pretty bad weather here in Mammoth so I’m just really psyched we got the contest done and people got to ride and they didn’t have to cancel the finals,” said Gerard “It was awesome for me. The last couple weeks have been insane and I couldn’t ask for any better. I’m psyched up for sure. It’s been fun.”

Chris Corning of the U.S. finished fifth, but that was enough to give him the season title, 2,250-1,700 over Henkes.

“It was definitely one of the goals today, to come here and walk away with the globe, so that’s pretty sweet,” said Corning. “These guys all rode really well today, the course was probably the best it’s been all week, so it was fun to ride today.”

In the Halfpipe events, Yuko Totsuka (JPN) and Xuetong Cai (CHN) both won and took the season titles.

The women’s Slopestyle was canceled due to the weather in Mammoth, so Miyabi Onitsuka (JPN) was declared the seasonal winner.

In Scuol (SUI), the final Parallel Giant Slalom of the season was held, with Russian Andrey Sobolov defeating teammate Dmitry Loginov in the men’s final and Milena Bykova (RUS) edging Czech star Ester Ledecka in the women’s final.

Even though she spent much of the season on the Alpine World Cup, Ledecka re-engaged and won the season title. “For sure this year has been tough, because I decided to go to the Alpine Ski world championships and so I had to miss some races at the start of the year,” Ledecka said. “But in the end it paid off. I’m happy that I was able to make podiums at every race this season and I think I showed that I’m one of the best snowboarders in the world.”

It’s Ledecka’s third seasonal title in the Parallel Giant Slalom. Summaries:

FIS Snowboard World Cup
Mammoth Mountain, California (USA) ~ 6-9 March 2019
(Full results here)

Men’s Halfpipe: 1. Yuko Totsuka (JPN), 95.75; 2. Patrick Burgener (SUI), 91.75; 3. Derek Livingston (CAN), 86.00; 4. Chase Josey (USA), 83.75; 5. Ryan Wachendorfer (USA), 83.50. Also: 9. Jason Wolle (USA), 67.35; 10. Louie Vito (USA), 63.50; … 14. Taylor Gold (USA), 28.50; 15. Lucas Foster (USA), 25.75; 16. Chase Blackwell (USA), 18.75.

Men’s Halfpipe Final Standings: 1. Yuto Totsuka (JPN), 3,760; 2. Ruka Hirano (JPN), 2.410; 3. Jan Scherrer (SUI), 2,240; 4. Patrick Burgener (SUI), 2,020; 5. Scotty James (AUS), 2,000.

Men’s Slopestyle: 1. Red Gerard (USA), 85.10; 2. Judd Henkes (USA), 83.95; 3. Ruki Tobita (JPN), 80.50; 4. Niek van den Velden (NED), 79.90; 5. Chris Corning (USA), 78.60. Also: 6. Charles Guldemond (USA), 76.45; … 9. Ryan Stassel (USA), 73.55.

Men’s Slopestyle Final Standings: 1. Chris Corning (USA), 2.250; 2. Judd Henkes (USA), 1,700; 3. Lyon Farrell (USA), 1,627; 4. Ryan Stassel (USA), 1,590; 5. Takeru Oysuka (JPN), 1,500.

Women’s Halfpipe: 1. Xuetong Cai (CHN), 89.25; 2. Sena Tomita (JPN), 85.25; 3. Verena Rohrer (SUI), 77.00; 4. Mirabelle Thovex (FRA), 66.75; 5. Elizabeth Hosking (CAN), 62.00.

Women’s Halfpipe Final Standings: 1. Xuetong Cai (CHN), 3,900; 2. Queralt Castellet (ESP), 2,520; 3. Verena Rohrer (SUI), 2,410; 4. Chloe Kim (USA), 2,000; 5. Kurumi Imai (JPN), 19.60.

Women’s Slopestyle: Canceled.

Women’s Slopestyle Final Standings: 1. Miyabi Onitsuka (JPN), 2,000; 2. Reira Iwabuchi (JPN), 1,700; 3. Isabel Derungs (SUI), 1,680; 4. Silje Norendal (NOR), 1,600; 5. Sina Candrian (SUI), 1,600.

FIS Snowboard World Cup
Scuol (SUI) ~ 9 March 2019
(Full results here)

Men’s Parallel Giant Slalom/ Big Final: 1. Andrey Sobolev (RUS); 2. Dmitry Loginov (RUS). Small Final: 3. Dario Caviezel (SUI); 4. Dmitry Sarsembaev (BLR).

Men’s Parallel Giant Slalom Final Standings: 1. Tim Matsnak (SLO), 3,336; 2. Andreas Prommegger (AUT), 3,070; 3. Ronald Fischnaller (ITA), 2,709.4; 4. Andrey Sobolev (RUS), 2,635; 5. Edwin Coratti (ITA), 2,350.

Women’s Parallel Giant Slalom/ Big Final: 1. Milena Bykova (RUS); 2. Ester Ledecka (CZE); Small Final: 3. Cheyenne Loch (GER); 4. Natalia Soboleva (RUS).

Women’s Parallel Giant Slalom Final Standings: 1. Ester Ledecka (CZE), 5,000; 2. Selina Joerg (GER), 3,419.7; 3. Ramona Hofmeister (GER), 3,258.2; 4. Nadya Ochner (ITA), 3,230; 5. Sabine Schoeffmann (AUT), 3,190.

SWIMMING: Five wins for Andrew and 11 world-leading marks in excellent Tyr Pro Swim debut in Des Moines

By
Rich Perelman
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Two American Records on the first day of the U.S. Olympic Trials for Michael Andrew

The first Tyr Pro Swim Series meet held in Des Moines, Iowa probably shouldn’t be the last.

Over four days in what is normally a heavy training period, eight U.S. swimmers and Anton Ipsen from Denmark produced 11 world-leading marks (including one equaled):

● Men’s 800 m Free: 7:54.28, Zane Grothe (USA)
● Men’s 1,500 m Free: 15:05.39, Anton Ipsen (DEN)
● Men’s 50 m Fly: 23.36, Michael Andrew (USA)
● Men’s 100 m Fly: 51.51, Caeleb Dressel (USA)

● Women’s 800 m Free: 8:29.12, Leah Smith (USA)
● Women’s 50 m Back: 27.76, Kathleen Baker (USA)
● Women’s 100 m Back: 59.17, Kathleen Baker (USA)
● Women’s 100 m Breast: 1:06.66, Annie Lazor (USA)
● Women’s 200 m Breast: 2:22.99, Annie Lazor (USA)
● Women’s 100 m Fly: 57.86 (equals), Kelsi Dahlia (USA)
● Women’s 200 m Fly: 2:07.10, Hali Flickinger (USA)

Dahlia equaled her own time from the first Tyr Pro Swim meet in Knoxville in January, and Lazor’s mark replaced her earlier Knoxville performance.

Andrew was everywhere, winning the 50 m Free – in a great duel with Dressel – the 50 and 100 m backstrokes, the 100 m breaststroke, the 50 m butterfly and taking second in the 50 m breast for a total of six medals. In addition to his world-leader in the 50 m Fly, his 50 m Free time ranks second in 2019.

However, Backstroke world-record holder Baker was no less impressive, sweeping the 50-100-200 distances and claiming two world leaders in the 50 m and 100 m events; her time in the 200 m Back was no. 2 on the world list! She also picked up a third in the 200 m Medley on the final day of the meet.

There were three double winners: Zane Grothe in the 400 m and 800 m Freestyles (and a third in the 1,500 m Free), Lazor in the 100-200 m Breaststrokes, both by convincing margins, and Hali Flickinger in the 200 m Fly and 400 Medley (plus a third in the 800 m Free).

The meet showed some impressive performances, considering that this really is the early season and that the U.S. teams for the 2019 World Championships and other major events were selected off the 2018 U.S. Nationals. The preparation is focused on the summer.

The Tyr Pro Swim Series is now off for a month, before the third leg starts in Richmond, Virginia on 10 April. Summaries from Des Moines:

Tyr Pro Swim Series
Des Moines, Iowa (USA) ~ 6-9 March 2019
(Full results here; all U.S. unless indicated)

Men

50 m Freestyle: 1. Michael Andrew, 21.94; 2. Caeleb Dressel, 22.08; 3. Ali Khalafalla, 22.33.

100 m Free: 1. Blake Pieroni, 48.91; 2. Breno Correia (BRA), 48.99; 3. tie, Marcelo Chierigini (BRA) and Marius Kusch (GER), 49.19. (B final: 1. Caeleb Dressel, 48.71).

200 m Free: 1. Correia (BRA), 1:47.83; 2. Pieroni, 1:47.92; 3. Alex Kunert (GER), 1:47.93.

400 m Free: 1. Zane Grothe, 3:49.29; 2. Anton Ipsen (DEN), 3:49.83; 3. Mitch D’Arrigo, 3:53.46.

800 m Free: 1. Grothe, 7:54.28; 2. Jordan Wilimovsky, 7:55.71; 3. Ipsen (DEN), 7:58.23.

1,500 m Free: 1. Ipsen (DEN), 15:05.39; 2. Wilimovsky, 15:05.44; 3. Grothe, 15:13.29.

50 m Backstroke: 1. Michael Andrew, 24.94; 2. Grigory Tarasevich (RUS), 25.16; 3. Jacob Pebley, 25.30.

100 m Back: 1. Andrew, 53.98; 2. Ryosuke Irie (JPN), 54.03; 3. Tarasevich (RUS), 54.17.

200 m Back: 1. Pebley, 1:57.12; 2. Irie (JPN), 1:57.26; 3. Tarasevich (RUS), 1:58.45.

50 m Breaststroke: 1. Felipe Lima (BRA), 27.18; 2. Andrew, 27.22; 3. Nic Fink, 27.45.

100 m Breaststroke: 1. Andrew, 59.70; 2. James Wilby (GBR), 59.91; 3. Cody Miller, 1:00.22.

200 m Breast: 1. Will Licon, 2:09.90; 2. Fink, 2:09.93; 3. Wilby (GBR), 2:10.78.

50 m Butterfly: 1. Andrew, 23.36; 2. Kusch (GER), 23.38; 3. Luis Martinez (GUA), 23.79.

100 m Fly: 1. Dressel, 51.51; 2. Kusch (GER), 51.58; 3. Martinez (GUA), 52.17.

200 m Fly: 1. Kunert (GER), 1:57.80; 2. Mack Darragh (CAN), 1:58.64; 43. Luiz
Melo (BRA), 1:58.98.

200 m Medley: 1. Gunnar Bentz, 2:01.45; 2. Jay Litherland, 2:02.29; 3. Leonardo Coehlo (BRA), 2:02.73.

400 m Medley: 1. Litherland, 4:17.28; 2. Brandon Cruz (BRA), 4:17.65; 3. Gunnar Bentz, 4:20.37.

Women

50 m Freestyle: 1. Natalie Hinds, 25.26; 2. Margo Geer, 25.29; 3. Kayla Sanchez (CAN), 25.31.

100 m Free: 1. Geer, 54.59; 2. Olivia Smoliga, 55.05; 3. Hinds, 55.26.

200 m Free: 1. Allison Schmidt, 1:57.70; 2. Melanie Margalis, 1:58.02; 3. Leah Smith, 1:58.47.

400 m Free: 1. Bingjie Li (CHN), 4:03.29; 2. Jianjiahe Wang (CHN), 4:05.28; 3. L. Smith, 4:08.41.

800 m Free: 1. L. Smith, 8:29.12; 2. Hali Flickinger, 8:29.96; 3. Kaersten Meitz, 8:38.98.

1,500 m Free: 1. J. Wang (CHN), 15:46.01; 2. Kristel Kobrich (CHI), 16:17.92; 3. B. Li (CHN), 16:19.71.

50 m Backstroke: 1. Kathleen Baker, 27.76; 2. Smoliga, 28.25; 3. Ali DeLoof, 28.51.

100 m Back: 1. Baker, 59.17; 2. Smoliga, 59.35; 3. DeLoof, 1:00.10.

200 m Back: 1. Baker, 2:08.08; 2. Hali Flickinger, 2:10.24; 3. Smoliga, 2:11.18.

50 m Breaststroke: 1. Jhennifer Conceicao (BRA), 30.90; 2. Imogen Clark (GBR), 30.91; 3. Lazor, 30.96.

100 m Breaststroke: 1. Annie Lazor, 1:06.66; 2. Bethany Galat, 1:07.13; 3. Margalis, 1:07.20.

200 m Breast: 1. Lazor, 2:22.99; 2. Kierra Smith (CAN), 2:24.41; 3. Galat, 2:25.66.

50 m Butterfly: 1. Farida Osman (EGY), 25.79; 2. Kelsi Dahlia, 25.87; 3. Kendyl Stewart, 26.37.

100 m Fly: 1. Kelsi Dahlia, 57.86; 2. Amanda Kendall, 58.66; 3. Osman (EGY), 59.13.

200 m Fly: 1. H. Flickinger, 2:07.10; 2. Megan Kingsley, 2:10.91; 3. Charlotte Atkinson (GBR), 2:11.34.

200 m Medley: 1. Margalis, 2:10.88; 2. Sanchez (CAN), 2:12.93; 3. Baker, 2:13.27.

400 m Medley: 1. H. Flickinger, 4:38.84; 2. Galat, 4:43.64; 3. Calypso Sheridan (AUS), 4:44.04.

CYCLING: Defending champ Van Vleuten starts 2019 with victory at Strade Bianche

By
Rich Perelman
-
France's Julian Alaphilippe wins the Strade Bianche

Dutch star Annemiek van Vleuten won her first Women’s World Tour seasonal title in 2018 by coming on strong in the last third of the season, winning three of the final nine individual races of the season. She didn’t wait to get a win in 2019, taking the season-opening Strade Bianche in Siena (ITA).

With 15 km to go, Van Vleuten was part of a group of 11 riders who broke away, but then kept going and separated herself from the pack, building a 35-second lead with 10 km left and she cruised in for a 37-second victory over Denmark’s Annika Langvad. Her devastating move strung out the pack left Langvad second and Poland’s Kasia Niewiadoma third.

It was van Vleuten’s 17th win in a World Tour event, not counting her two World Championship wins in the Individual Time Trial.

In the men’s race, Julian Alaphilippe (FRA), Wout van Aert (DEN) and Jakob Fuglsang (DEN) took off at the 160 km mark, with van Aert dropping back by the 167 km mark and Alaphilippe and Fuglsang battling to the finish. The French star had the most power left over the final climb and got to the line first by a couple of seconds.

Although a veteran presence on the World Tour, Alaphilippe is only 26 and owns 22 career wins, of which 10 have been in World Tour events. Could this be his year? Summaries:

UCI World Tour/Strade Bianche
Siena (ITA) ~ 9 March 2019
(Full results here)

Men (184 km): 1. Julian Alaphilippe (FRA), 4:47:14; 2. Jakob Fulsang (DEN), 4:47:16; 3. Wout van Aert (BEL), 4:47:41; 4. Zdenek Stybar (CZE), 4:48:14; 5. Tiesj Benoot (BEL), 4:48:14; 6. Greg van Avermaet (BEL), 4:48:15; 7. Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ), 4:18:18; 8. Simon Clarke (AUS), 4:48:22; 9. Toms Skujins (LAT), 4:48:26; 10. Tim Wellens (BEL), 4:48:35. Also in the top 50: 21. Brent Bookwalter (USA), +2:48; … 36. Ben King (USA), +9:17.

Women (133 km): 1. Annemiek van Vleuten (NED), 3:48:49; 2. Annika Langvad (DEN), 3:49:26; 3. Kasia Niewiadoma (POL), 3:49:29; 4. Marta Bastianelli (ITA), 3:49:33; 5. Cecile Ludwig Uttrup (DEN), 3:49:33; 6. Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (RSA), 3:49:40; 7. Marianne Vos (NED), 3:49:41; 8. Janneke Ensing (NED), 3:49:43; 9. Anna van der Breggen (NED), 3:50:17; 10. Chantal Blaak (NED), 3:50:39. Also in the top 50: 11. Ruth Winder (USA), +2:50; … 17. Leah Thomas (USA)_, +3:38; … 37. Tayler Wiles (USA), +5:22.

ALPINE SKIING: Shiffrin wins record 15th World Cup race, closes in on Giant Slalom globe

By
Rich Perelman
-
American skiing star Mikaela Shiffrin (Photo: Reese Brown/U.S. Ski & Snowboard)

An almost-perfect weekend of skiing for Mikaela Shiffrin saw her just about close the books on her goals for the 2018-19 Alpine World Cup season.

In the Giant Slalom held on Friday in Splinderluv Myln (CZE), Shiffrin ended up third behind Petra Vlhova (SVK) and Viktoria Rebensburg (GER), but increased her lead in the Giant Slalom standings to 515-418 over Vlhova with one race remaining. With 100 points to the winner and a 97-point lead, Shiffrin only has to score four points to win her first Giant Slalom seasonal title.

Not in the bag, but almost.

On Saturday, she flew down the Slalom course and forged a big 0.37-second lead over Swiss Wendy Holdener and then confirmed her victory with the second-fastest time on the second run, finishing 0.85 seconds ahead of Holdener for a record 15th win on the World Cup tour this season.

“That was a really cool day,” said Shiffrin. “I felt no pressure with globes, standings, or that kind of thing … just that I really wanted to ski two really aggressive runs and I knew it was going to be bumpy in the second run. It was really important for me to be tough enough – in my mind – ‘I could still go really hard in the second run and be athletic and handle the bumps, and do my very best. I was thinking that if I take this risk maybe I will not be able to finish, but I want to try that – because I have nothing to lose. I was able to get to the finish, and it was a super cool day.”

Shiffrin had been tied with Swiss Vreni Schneider, who had 14 wins in the 1988-89 season, but now owns the record alone. The Slalom has been the key to her success, as she has won nine of the 11 Slalom races held this season.

“If you told me eight years ago at this race – my first race in World Cup – that I would be in this position right now, I wouldn’t believe it.” Shiffrin added. “It’s really, really special. My whole team – we’re celebrating it a lot – because it’s been an amazing year, it’s been an amazing career so far. But, at the same time, records are meant to be broken, and maybe me achieving this one will inspire a little girl who could beat my record someday. That’s what’s really important to me.”

Heading into the World Cup Final in Andorra next week, Shiffrin has clinched the overall title, the Slalom title, has the Giant Slalom title in her grasp and leads in the Super-G race with 300 points to 268 for Tina Wierather (LIE), so she still has work to go on that one.

Those Crystal Globes are pretty big; she’s going to start a museum. Summaries:

FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup
Spindleruv Mlyn (CZE) ~ 8-9 March 2019
(Full results here)

Women’s Giant Slalom: 1. Petra Vlhova (SVK), 2:24.69; 2. Viktlria Rebensburg (GER), 2:24.80; 3. Mikaela Shiffrin (USA), 2:25.29; 4. Federica Brignone (ITA), 2:26.18; 5. Meta Hrovat (SLO), 2:26.52.

Women’s Slalom: 1. Shiffrin, 1:38.98; 2. Wendy Holdener (SUI), 1:39.83; 3. Vlhova (SVK), 1:41.01; 4. Katharina Truppe (AUT), 1:41.61; 5. Kristin Lysdahl (SWE), 1:41.71.

SPEED READ: Headlines from The Sports Examiner for Saturday, 8 March 2019

By
Rich Perelman
-

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

LANE ONE

Wednesday: The International Swimming League filed two suits against FINA, the international governing body of the sport, one in its own name and one as a class-action with three athletes as plaintiffs. FINA hasn’t said much, but did some talking with its reply to both suits, slamming ISL’s case as moot and detailing legal reasons why both suits make no valid case for relief, or even that a U.S. court should host an argument between two European organizations!

Friday: The new heads of the United States Olympic Committee – Board chair Susanne Lyons and chief executive Sarah Hirshland – briefed reporters on Thursday’s Board meeting. The issues of athlete safety, athlete representation, Congressional inquiries and USA Gymnastics were all discussed, and in detail that was shared.

THE BIG PICTURE

Tuesday: The USOC is putting more pressure on its National Governing Bodies for good governance, sending notices to USA Boxing and USA Diving that they need some reforms and quickly.

Friday: Thailand self-imposes penalties for eight doping weightlifting violations and will not compete in the 2019 Worlds or 2020 Olympic Games, but will still host the 2019 World Championships in September!

GLOBETROTTING by Phil Hersh

Monday: In the aftermath of suicide by former Pairs national champion John Coughlin, the U.S. Center for SafeSport noted in a statement that figure skating in the U.S. ha an “unchecked” culture of abuse and must change.

ATHLETICS

Wednesday: British distance star Laura Muir was the headliner of the European Indoor Championships in Glasgow, plus the IAAF unveiled its new World Rankings system, Jamaican distance star Kemoy Campbell is released from the hospital and American distance runner Luke Puskedra retires.

FOOTBALL

Tuesday: Tobin Heath’s first-half goal was enough for the U.S. to claim a 1-0 victory over Brazil in the final game of the SheBelieves Cup in Tampa. England won the tournament, beating Japan, 3-0, in the opener.

SWIMMING

Thursday: Tyr Pro Swim Series in Des Moines opens with two wins for sprint ace Michael Andrew and four world-leading marks!

Friday: More Michael Andrew magic, with two medals in four minutes (!) and second wins for Kathleen Baker and Hali Flickinger.

TABLE TENNIS

Monday: At the U.S. Pan American Games Trials, 16-year-old Nikhil Kumar and veteran Lily Zhang won their divisions to clinch their tickets to Lima later this year.

TAEKWONDO

Monday: Turkey shone brightest at the U.S. Open Championships in Las Vegas, taking five victories.

PREVIEWS

● Alpine Skiing: Marcel Hirscher tries to wrap up the World Cup season title in Slovenia
● Badminton: Top players entered in $1 million All-England Open in Birmingham.
● Beach Volleyball: FIVB World Tour is in Sydney for the three-star Australian Open
● Biathlon: The IBU World Championships get underway in Oestersund
● Diving: China looking for another World Series sweep in Beijing
● Fencing: Four no. 1s in action in Epee Grand Prix and Sabre World Cups
● Freestyle & Snowboard: Seasonal titles on the line at U.S. Grand Prix at Mammoth!
● Judo: World Tour stops in Africa for Marrakesh Grand Prix
● Nordic Skiing: Famed Holmenkollen Ski Fest on this weekend in Oslo
● Rugby: Amazing U.S. men try to stay in first place in Sevens Series Vancouver
● Short Track: Korean supremacy at stake in World Champs in Bulgaria
● Speed Skating: Can Brittany Bowe win two titles at the World Cup Final in Utah?
● Triathlon: ITU World Series opens – as usual – in Abu Dhabi

UPCOMING

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

● Alpine Skiing: The World Cup Final is in Andorra, and still some unfinished business for the amazing Mikaela Shiffrin.

● Basketball: The draw for the 2019 FIBA World Cup will take place on Saturday.

● Wrestling: Can the U.S. men take the Freestyle World Cup, being held in Russia?

And a look at the future of international federations, as seen by the federations themselves, in Lane One on Monday.

RUGBY Preview: Can the U.S. stay on top?

By
Rich Perelman
-

Through the first half of the 2019 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, the U.S. Eagles have been in every final and after losing four in a row, they won on home turf last week in Las Vegas and sit on top of the standings.

This for a team which has never finished higher than fourth in any season.

But the matches keep coming and the tour is at B.C. Stadium in Vancouver (CAN) this week. The pools:

● Pool A: United States, South Africa, Chile, Walkes
● Pool B: Samoa, Fiji, Kenya, Canada
● Pool C: New Zealand, Australia, Spain, France
● Pool D: Argentina, England, Scotland, Japan

The Eagles have 98 points, ahead of New Zealand (93) and Fiji (84). While there is a long way to go, it’s worth noting that the top four teams automatically qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Games!

Look for results here.

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