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BADMINTON: Tzu Ying Tai claims sixth World Tour win in Denmark

By
Rich Perelman
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No. 1-ranked Tzu Ying Tai of Chinese Taipei (Photo: BWF)

Perhaps the hottest spot for badminton in Europe is Denmark and many of the leading stars of the sport came to Odense for the 67th Danisa Denmark Open, but it was a showcase for Asian stars in 2018.

Perhaps the biggest star right now is Chinese Taipei’s Tzu Ying Tai, who won her first Denmark Open, but scored her sixth individual win of the year on the BWF World Tour. She passed the $1 million mark in career earnings with a home win in the Chinese Taipei Open earlier in the month, but has now also won the Indonesia Masters, Malaysia Open, Indonesia Open and All England Open in addition to Denmark.

While Tai was strengthening her grip on the no. 1 world ranking, Japan’s Kento Momota was doing the same in the men’s final, with a 22-20, 16-21, 21-15 win over Tien Chen Chou (TPE). And all three Doubles winners are also the no. 1-ranked teams in the BWF World Rankings: Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo (INA) in men’s Doubles, Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota in women’s Doubles and China’s Siwei Zheng and Yaqiong Huang in Mixed Doubles. All won in straight sets.

Momota became the first Japanese winner in the men’s Singles in this tournament since 1970 and Tai is the first-ever winner from Chinese Taipei. That’s especially impressive since the Denmark Open dates all the way back to 1935! Summaries:

BWF World Tour/Danisa Denmark Open
Odense (DEN) ~ 16-21 October 2018
(Full results here)

Men’s Singles: 1. Kento Momota (JPN); 2. Tien Chen Chou (TPE); 3. Srikanth Kidambi (IND) and Anders Antonsen (DEN). Semis: Momota d. Kidambi, 21-16, 21-12; Chour d. Antonsen, 19-21, 21-11, 21-12. Final: Momota d. Chou, 22-20, 16-21, 21-15.

Men’s Doubles: 1. Marcus Fernaldi Gideon/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo (INA); 2. Takeshi Kamura/Seigo Sonoda (JPN); 3. Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan (INA) and Marcus Ellis/Chris Langridge (ENG). Semis: Gideon/Sukamuljo d. Ahsan/Setiawan, 21-18, 24-22; Kamura/Setiawan d. Ellis/Langridge, 21-17, 21-19. Final: Gideon/Sukamuljo d. Kamura/Sonoda, 21-15, 21-16.

Women’s Singles: 1. Tzu Ying Tai (TPE); 2. Saina Nehwal (IND); 3. Bingjiao He (CHN) and Gregoria Mariska Tunjung (INA). Semis: Tai d. He, 21-14, 21-12; Nehwal d. Tunjung, 21-11, 21-12. Final: Tai d. Nehwal, 21-13, 13-21, 21-6.

Women’s Doubles: 1. Yuki Fukushima/Sayaka Hirota (JPN); 2. Shihoi Tanaka/Koharu Yonemoto (JPN); 3. Greysia Polii/Apriyani Rahayu (INA) and Hye-Jeong Kim/Hee-Yong Kong (KOR). Semis: Fukushima/Hirota d. Polii/Hirota, 21-13, 21-16; Tanaka/Yonemoto d. Kim/Kong, 21-12, 21-14. Final: Fukushima/Hirota d/ Tanaka/Tonemoto, 21-19, 21-16.

Mixed Doubles: 1. Siwei Zheng/Yaqiong Huang (CHN); 2. Dechapol Puavaranujkroh/Sapsiree Taerattanachai (THA); 3. Seung-Jae Seo/YuJung Chae (KOR) and Tontowi Ahmad/Liliyana Natsir (INA). Semis: Puavaranujkroh/Taerattanachai d. Seo/Chae, 21-16, 17-21, 21-16; Zheng/Huang d. Ahmad/Natsir, 21-11, 19-21, 21-17. Final: Zheng/Huang d. Puavaranujkroh/Taerattanachai, 21-16, 21-13.

WRESTLING: Taylor headlines sensational start for U.S. at UWW Worlds

By
Rich Perelman
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David Taylor: World Champion!

A world championship for David Taylor and bronze medals for Joe Colon, Jordan Burroughs and Nick Gwiazdowski are just the start of a tremendous performance by the United States to open the United World Wrestling World Championships at the Papp Laszlo Budapest Sportarena in Budapest (HUN).

The American squad won the men’s Freestyle team title last year and thus far, the additional two weight classes have worked to the U.S.’s advantage as the squad already has three more medals possibly coming on Monday! The highlights:

• David Taylor’s path to the World Championships was always blocked by another American star, whether Burroughs or Kyle Snyder or someone else. With the new weight classes, he found his place at 86 kg and didn’t miss his opportunity.

No problem that he had to face Iran’s Rio Olympic champ Hassan Yazdani in the first match, winning 11-6, and the went on to win four more matches for the world title. “I’ve wanted this for a long time,” he said. “I’m a World Champion, and it feels really good! I’m excited to be a part of this team and to be a part of this team race. It’s exciting to be able to win this individually and to be contributing to what could be one of the best team races of all time. It’s super exciting.”

• At 74 kg, Jordan Burroughs was going for his fifth world title, but was upset by Russia’s Zaurbek Sidakov, 6-5, in his quarterfinals match. But Burroughs came back to club Bulgaria’s Miroslav Kirov, 9-0, in the repechage and then defeated Italy’s two-time World Champion, Frank Chamizo on criteria after a 4-4 tie. It’s Burroughs’ second Worlds bronze; he also won one in 2014. Sidakov went on to win the title in this class.

• Joe Colon was a replacement for the injured Nahson Garrett at 61 kg, but wrestled brilliantly, losing only to eventual champion Yowlys Bonne Rodriguez (CUB) and then winning the bronze medal with a 13-2 technical fall thrashing of Mohammadbagher Yakhkeshi (IRI).

• Heavyweight Nick Gwiazdowski was the reigning bronze medalist and scored another bronze in the 125 kg division. He lost in the quarterfinals to Zhiwei Deng (CHN), 5-4, who ended up winning the silver medal in the class. Gwiazdowski dispensed with Amar Dheshi of Canada (9-0) and went on to claim bronze by defeating Sumit Sumit (IND) by a 7-2 score.

In addition, the U.S. has more medals coming:

• The 2017 World silver medalist, Tom Gilman, will wrestle for bronze at 57 kg;

• Kyle Dake goes for the gold medal at 79 kg – another new weight class – against Jabrayil Hasanov (AZE);

• J’Den Cox will also wrestle for the world title against Ivan Yankouski (BLR) at 92 kg.

Still to come is the 97 kg class, in which American Kyle Snyder is the reigning Olympic and World Champion. The U.S. has the lead, 70-65, over Russia in the team race, but the situation is far from decided. Georgia is third at 55 and Iran has 40.

It’s also worth noting that so far, only Georgia’s Geno Petriashvili has repeated his world title from 2017. The remaining schedule:

• Men’s Freestyle: 22-23 October
• Women’s Freestyle: 22-23-24-25 October
• Men’s Greco-Roman: 25-26-27-28 October

NBC’s Olympic Channel has coverage scheduled daily of the UWW Worlds; summaries so far:

UWW World Championships
Budapest (HUN) ~ 20-28 October 2018
(Full results here)

Men/Freestyle

-61 kg: 1. Yowlys Bonne Rodriguez (CUB); 2. Gadzhimurad Rashidov (RUS); 3. Tuvshintulga Tumenbileg (MGL) and Joe Colon (USA). Final: Rodriguez d. Rashidov, 6-5; Third: Tumenbileg d. Beka Lomtadze (GEO), 6-3; Colon d. Mohammadbagher Esmaeil Yakhkeshi (IRI), 13-2.

-74 kg: 1. Zaurbek Sidakov (RUS); 2. Avtandil Kentchadze (GEO); 3. Jordan Burroughs (USA) and Bekzod Abdurakhmonov (UZB). Final: Sidakov d. Kentchadze, 2-2 (criteria); Third: Burroughs d. Chamizo, 4-4 (criteria); Abdurakhmonov d. Soner Demirtas (TUR), 3-2.

-86 kg: 1. David Taylor (USA); 2. Fatih Erdin (TUR); 3. Hassan Aliazam Yazdanicharati (IRI) and Taimuraz Friev Naskidaeva (ESP). Final: Taylor d. Erdin, 12-2; Third: Yazdanicharati d. Dauren Kurugliev (RUS), 11-5; Friev Naskidaeva (ESP) d. Gwanuk Kim (KOR), 7-2.

-125 kg: 1. Geno Petriashvili (GEO); 2. Zhiwei Deng (CHN); 3. Parviz Khodavirdi Hadibasmanj (IRI) and Nick Gwiazdowski (USA). Final: Petriashvili d. Zhiwei Deng (CHN), 6-0; Third: Hadibasmanj (IRI) d. Anzor Ruslanovitch Khizriev (RUS), 11-2; Gwiazdowski (USA) d. Sumit Sumit (IND), 7-2.

THE BIG PICTURE: Now the leading candidate for the boxing presidency might resign if he wins?

By
Rich Perelman
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“Should I be given the trust by AIBA members and be elected AIBA President, then also details about my position, background etc. will be included in the report to the IOC.

“I’m convinced that we will then establish a good cooperation between the IOC and AIBA – something which we have already seen this week with the positive feedback from the IOC regarding the excellent boxing competition at the Youth Olympic Games.

“However, should that not be the case because of some temporary issues, then I will, of course, never stand in the way of an Olympic future for boxing, and our new regulations provide a solid process on how to handle such a temporary situation.

“AIBA and Olympic boxing are more important than any candidate, and that includes me, of course.”

That’s Gafur Rakhimov (UZB), the interim president of the International Boxing Federation (AIBA), speaking to the InsideTheGames.biz Web site about his controversial candidacy to be the AIBA president at its Congress coming up on 3 November.

So Rakhimov, at present the only confirmed candidate for the federation’s presidency, could win and then step down to ensure that boxing will continue on the Olympic program for 2020 and beyond?

This is only the latest twist in the drama over boxing, which now includes two actions before the Court of Arbitration for Sport: (1) the previously-reported motion by Serik Konakbayev (AZE) to allow him on the ballot, to be decided by 30 October, and (2) a new request by the Azerbaijani Boxing Federation to have the AIBA election postponed to a future date to allow for a correct campaign to be conducted.

In the meantime, the IOC is waiting … impatiently.

LANE ONE: As the 2020 Olympic Games draw near, Tokyo is suddenly the problem

By
Rich Perelman
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No one will say it, even in a whisper.

No one in the Olympic Movement even wants to think about it.

But the Olympic Games in Tokyo, coming in less than two years, is a problem.

For the International Olympic Committee and its affiliated organizations, what has happened in the planning for the Games of the XXXII Olympiad is causing collateral damage everywhere else.

This will come to light once again in the next two weeks as the citizens of Calgary (CAN) will vote in an increasingly heated citywide referendum on whether to bid for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games. And it’s all about money, again.

The cost of the 2008 Games in Beijing has been estimated at $30 billion U.S., a figure which could not be surpassed, right? Then came the renovation of Sochi (RUS) in time for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games and that was reported to cost $51 billion, but who will ever really know?

Of course, those estimates – and that’s what they are – include items which were only indirectly associated with the operation of an Olympic Games, and in both instances, included infrastructure items like roads, bridges and other projects to get the area ready for its future … both for the Games and well beyond.

These expenditures were not part of Tokyo’s bid for the 2020 Games back in 2013, projected to cost – at the time – the equivalent of $7.3 billion U.S. Naturally the figure shot up monstrously, and the projection from Tokyo’s municipal accountants got as high as $30 billion before a revision brought the figure down to $12 million (~ ¥1.35 trillion).

The IOC was right in the middle of this and insisted on savings because even though it was not paying these bills, they were making it harder for cities to get interested in bidding for future Games. Of late, the IOC has trumpeted its “Agenda 2020″ and “The New Norm” programs as saving as much as $4.3 billion U.S. for Tokyo. That would be great if that reduction came from the $7.3 billion figure, but it’s not; it took that much to get down to the $12 billion level.

But a couple of weeks ago, new estimates from the Board of Audit of Japan were released that showed projections of costs related to the Games could be at $26.3 billion U.S. (or ¥3 trillion).

Per the Japan Times: “It is necessary to sort out the detailed relations between the Tokyo Games and the projects, the audit board said, urging the Headquarters for the Promotion of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games to figure out and disclose the whole spending picture.

“The audit showed that some of the projects seem to have little relation with the Olympics, including one involving the storage of smallpox vaccine.”

So now the IOC is saying one thing to prospective bidders like Calgary and Stockholm – whose new municipal government says it will contribute nothing to a 2026 Games there – and government offices in Tokyo are saying something different.

And that’s not all.

The growth of the Games remains unchecked, as Tokyo agreed to add new sports and new events including surfing, sport climbing, skateboarding, karate and baseball (men) and softball (women). These 18 events and 474 athletes (plus coaches and others) are on top of the 10,500+ already scheduled to compete in 2020. They all cost the organizing committee money.

And it’s no surprise that almost all of these sports are now publicly campaigning to be on the permanent program of the Games for 2024, 2028 and beyond. Once added, it becomes very difficult to tell these “deserving athletes” that the Olympic dreams of their younger generation of competitors will be “dashed” and their sports not continued in future Games.

True, the IOC approved all of this and it bears the responsibility of shrinking the Games to make it more affordable. But now that the next Games will be in Tokyo, the focus on what is happening there and how the finances could go so terribly wrong in a country where competence and planning are revered, is going to increase exponentially.

Asked about these issues, IOC officials are polite but firm that their view of the expenses attendant directly to the Games are quite different than those of municipal “accountants” who have their own ideas, unrelated to the Olympic experience.

But it will be better for the IOC, perhaps through the Tokyo organizing committee, to work much more closely with the Board of Audit so that everyone knows who is spending what for the Games, or for something else.

If the (1) IOC, (2) the Tokyo organizers and (3) Japanese government officials could actually get the financial picture truly clarified and present an agreed, united concept of what the cost elements of an Olympic Games in a world-class metropolis actually are, that would be a legacy which would pay dividends for the Olympic Movement and for bid cities for decades to come.

Rich Perelman
Editor

FOOTBALL: U.S. skips past Canada for CONCACAF Women’s title, 2-0

By
Rich Perelman
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Rose Lavelle celebrates with Julie Ertz after scoring in the CONCACAF women's final (Photo: Mexsport)

The United States won, as it was favored to do, the CONCACAF Women’s Championship over Canada, 2-0, before 6.996 spectators at a cold and rainy Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.

Midfielder Rose Lavelle got the American squad off to a flying start, rocketing a left-footed shot from the top of the box into the upper right corner of the Canadian net just 78 seconds into the game!

But although the U.S. had 62% of the possession in the half and outshot the defense-minded Canadians by 7-2, the score stayed at 1-0.

The second half had more action and more Canadian offense. There were some tense moments for U.S. keeper Alyssa Naeher, but neither side could score and the game looked like it might end without another score.

But off of a Tobin Heath corner kick, a poor Canadian clearance placed the ball at the feet of Crystal Dunn at the top of the box and her pass to Lindsey Horan at the left of goal drew the defense to stop a possible shot. Horan then made an on-target pass to a streaking Alex Morgan, who knocked the ball in and then crashed into Canadian keeper Stephanie Labbe for a 2-0 U.S. lead.

That’s how it ended, as Morgan scored her 97th international goal for the U.S. The Americans outshot Canada, 12-3 for the game and ended with 57% of the possession time.

The U.S. dominated the tournament, ending with a perfect 5-0 record and a 26-0 goals-against scoreline. Canada won its first four games and also qualified for the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France, outscoring its opponents, 24-3.

In the third-place game, Jamaica also earned a berth in France, winning a thriller from Panama on penalty kicks, 4-2, after a 1-1 tie in regulation time and 2-2 after extra time. The young Panamanians still have a chance to qualify for the World Cup, with a two-leg playoff coming up against Argentina.

U.S. midfielder Julie Ertz was named the Golden Ball winner as the top player in the tournament, with Jamaican forward Jody Brown as the best young player and Panama’s 17-year-old goalkeeper Yenith Bailey as the Golden Glove winner.

The “Best XI” all-star team included defenders Kelley O’Hara, Abby Dahlkemper and Crystal Dunn, midfielders Lindsey Horan and Ertz and forwards Tobin Heath, Megan Rapinoe and Morgan. Also selected were Bailey as the goalkeeper, Canadian defender Rebecca Quinn and Canadian midfielder Jessie Fleming.

Morgan won the Golden Boot award as the top scorer with seven goals. Naeher claimed her 20th shutout as a U.S. keeper, in 37 starts.

The U.S. won the CONCACAF women’s tournament for the eighth time in its 10 editions, with a 32-1-0 record (and 184-5 on goals scored). The U.S. all-time record against Canada improved to 49-3-7.

The U.S. now has an unbeaten streak of 26 (23-0-3) games since a loss to Australia in mid-2017. In 2018, the U.S. women are 16-0-2 and have outscored their opponents, 62-10. The U.S. also is now unscored on for 704 minutes, dating back to the 2 August game vs. Brazil in the Tournament of Nations and for seven games since.

CYCLING: Jakobsen leads Tour of Guangxi at the half

By
Rich Perelman
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The final stop on the 2018 UCI men’s World Tour, the GREE-Tour of Guangxi in southeastern China, is at the halfway point with 22-year-old Fabio Jakobsen (NED) in the lead.

The first three stages were all fairly flat, giving the advantage to the sprinters and Dylan Groenewegen (NED), Germany’s Pascal Ackermann and Jakobsen have not only won these stages, but all three have been in the top five in each stage!

The hilly stages will start on Friday, but for now, Jakobsen has a 0:04 lead over Ackermann, six seconds over Groenewegen and 10 seconds over Max Walscheid (GER). But there are 100 riders within a half-minute of the lead! Summaries so far:

UCI World Tour/GREE Tour of Guangxi
Guangxi (CHN) ~ 16-21 October 2018
(Full results here)

Stage 1 (107.4 km): 1. Dylan Gronewegen (NED), 2:21:45; 2. Max Walscheid (GER), 2:21:45; 3. Fabio Jakobsen (NED), 2:21:45; 4. Pascal Ackermann (GER), 2:21:45; 5. Matteo Trentin (ITA), 2:21:45.

Stage 2 (145.2 km): 1. Ackermann (GER), 3:18:58; 2. Jakobsen (NED), 3:18:58; 3. Groenewegen (NED), 3:18:58; 4. Lawrence Naesen (BEL), 3:18:58; 5. Clement Venturini (FRA), 3:18:58.

Stage 3 (125.4 km): 1. Jakobsen (NED), 2:43:54; 2. Ackermann (GER), 2:43:54; 3. Walscheid (GER), 2:43:54; 4. Groenewegen (NED), 2:43:54; 5. Arnaud Demare (FRA), 2:43:54. Also in the top 50: 43. Sepp Kuss (USA), 2:43:54.

Stage 4: 19 October ~ 152.2 km: Nanning to Mashan Nongla Scenic Spot (uphill finish)
Stage 5: 20 October ~ 212.2 km: Liuzhou to Guilin (hilly)
Stage 6: 21 October ~ 169.0 km: Guilin to Guilin (hilly)

VOLLEYBALL Preview: Women’s Worlds semifinals set for Friday

By
Rich Perelman
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The FIVB Women’s World Championships are set for the medal-deciding rounds today and tomorrow at the 12,000-seat Yokohama Arena, in Yokohama (JPN):

∙ 19 October: Semifinals:
Serbia (9-2) vs. Netherlands (9-2)
China (10-1) vs. Italy (10-1)

∙ 20 October:
5th place: Japan (7-4) vs. United States (7-4)
3rd place: Semifinal losers
1st place: Semifinal winners

Of the semifinalists, China won in 1982 and 1986 and was second to the U.S. in 2014; Italy won in 2002; Serbia (as Serbia and Montenegro) won bronze in 2006, and the Dutch have never played for a medal in the women’s Worlds. It’s the first time since 2006 that the American women will not play for a medal.

The top scorers in the tournament are, of course, all part of the third round. Almost assured of being the top three in the final tally as scoring leader Paola Ogechi Egonu (ITA), who has 246 total points, followed by Lonneke Sloetjes (NED: 238) and Chinese captain Ting Zhu, with 191.

Look for scores and final standings here.

TENNIS Preview: Wozniacki starts WTA Finals title defense in Singapore

By
Rich Perelman
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The BNP Paribas WTA Finals in Singapore starts on Sunday and runs for a week, showcasing most of the top names in women’s tennis for a $7 million prize purse.

The singles entries do not include the injured Simona Halep (ROU), currently ranked first, but out with a back injury; the line-up:

2. Carolina Wozniacki (DEN) ~ 2018 Australian Open & China Open Champion
3. Angelique Kerber (GER) ~ 2018 Wimbledon Champion
4. Naomi Osaka (JPN) ~ 2018 U.S. Open Champion
5. Karolina Pliskova (CZE) ~ 2018 Stuttgart Open and Pan Pacific Open Champion
6. Elina Svitolina (UKR) ~ 2018 Italian Open Champion
7. Petra Kvitova (CZE) ~ 2018 Madrid Open Champion
8. Sloane Stephens (USA) ~ 2018 French Open runner-up
10. Kiki Bertens (NED) ~ 2018 Cincinnati Open Champion

Wozniacki won last year and Kerber (2016) and Kvitova (2015) have been recent runners-up.

The Singles event has the players drawn into groups and play a round-robin in each group. The top two in each will advance to the semis.

The Doubles field is also limited to eight, but will play a single-elimination format tournament. The qualifers in seed order:

1. Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova (CZE)
2. Timea Babos (HUN)/Kristina Mladenovic (FRA)
3. Andrea Sestini Hlavackova/Barbora Strykova (CZE)
4. Gabriela Drabowski (CAN)/Yifan Xu (CHN)
5. Elise Mertens (ROU)/Demi Schuurs (NED)
6. Nicole Melichar (USA)/Kveta Peschke (CZE)
7. Andreja Klepac (SLO)/Maria Martinez Sanchez (ESP)
8. Ashleigh Barty (AUS)/CoCo Vandeweghe (USA)

Babos and Hlavackova were the champions last season, and while both are back, they’re with different partners for 2018. Hlanackova was also a runner-up in 2012 (with Czech Lucie Hradrecka) and Martinez Sanchez was half of the winner pair in 2012, with fellow Spaniard Nuria Llagostera Vives.

This is the 48th edition of the WTA Finals, beginning back in 1972, and the last to be held in Singapore, at least for a while. In January, it was announced that the event will be played in Shenzhen (CHN) from 2019-28. Look for results of this year’s Finals here.

SPORT CLIMBING Preview: Climax of 2018 season starts in Wujiang

By
Rich Perelman
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The first of two straight weeks of competitions in Lead and Speed in China will start in Wujiang on Friday and Saturday, as the Sport Climbing season closes out for 2018. The current standings:

Lead/Men:
1. 415 Jakob Schubert (AUT)
2. 386 Stefano Ghisolfi (ITA)
3. 256 Domen Skofic (SLO)
4. 230 Alexander Megos (GER)
5. 213 Romain Desgranges (FRA)

Lead/Women:
1. 460 Janja Garnbret (SLO)
2. 395 Jessica Pilz (AUT)
3. 230 Jain Kim (KOR)
4. 198 Manon Hily (FRA)
5. 181 Anak Verhoeven (BEL)

Schubert has been tremendous in the men’s Lead category, winning two events and finishing second twice in five events. With scoring at 100-80-65-55-51 for the top five places, he might be able to clinch the seasonal title this weekend, but Ghisolfi – with two wins and a second – could close the gap. Besides the top two, only Megos has won a Lead competition this season.

Olympic favorite Garnbret is looking for her third straight World Cup title in Lead, despite still being just 19. She and Pilz have dominated the event this season, going 1-2 (or 2-1) in the first four events of the year. Garnbret has won three times, Pilz once and two-time World Cup champ Kim, once.

Speed/Men:
1. 373 Danyil Boldyrev (UKR)
2. 353 Dmitrii Timofeev (RUS)
3. 311 Bassa Mawem (FRA)
4. 285 Reza Alipour (IRI)
5. 277 Alexander Shilkov (RUS)

Speed/Women:
1. 436 Anouck Jaubert (FRA)
2. 341 Mariia Krasavina (RUS)
3. 289 Iullia Kaplina (RUS)
4. 247 Elena Timofeeva (RUS)
5. 225 Anna Tsyganova (RUS)

The men’s competition is too close to call, as 2014 champ Boldyrev has been on fire, finishing 3-7-3-1-1 in his last five events to storm into the lead. Alipour, the runner-up in the last two seasons, won the season opener in Moscow; Timofeev and Mawem have each won once and Aleksandr Shikov (RUS) has won once. But Boldyrev’s consistency is what will earn him another title if he can maintain his current pace.

Jaubert has essentially won the seasonal series, but hasn’t mathematically clinched yet. She’s won three of the six events held so far and was third in the last climb at Arco (ITA). Indonesia’s Aries Susanti Rahayu, Poland’s Aleksandra Rudzinska and Kaplina have won the other events on tour. Krasavina has medals in the last three events to move into second overall.

Look for results here.

RUGBY Preview: Women’s Sevens Series starts in Colorado

By
Rich Perelman
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The 2018-19 season in the HSBC Women’s Sevens Series will start with a new tournament at Infinity Park in Glendale, Colorado (pictured), a small city southwest of Denver, on Saturday.

It’s not only the first stop for this season, but also the beginning of the qualification process for the Sevens competition at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. The top four teams in both the men’s and women’s tour for 2018-19 will qualify for the Games.

In terms of the Sevens Series for women, there will be six tournaments this season, an increase of one. The 12 teams will, as always, start in pools (with final placings from last season):

∙ Pool A: Australia (1), Mexico (dnc), Russia (6), Spain (7)
∙ Pool B: China (12), England (8), New Zealand (2), United States (5)
∙ Pool C: Canada (4), Fiji (9), France (3), Ireland (10)

This is the seventh year of the women’s Sevens Series, with Australia winning for the second time in three years in 2017-18. Only two teams – New Zealand and Australia – have won, with the Kiwis taking the first three titles and the 2016-17 title. Last season was the first that Canada did not place in the top three; the best-ever U.S. finish was fourth in the 2012-13 campaign (and fifth or sixth the last four years).

Australia piled up 92 points to win last season, ahead of New Zealand (90), France (68), Canada (60) and the U.S. (56). The U.S. did not host a Sevens Series event last season, but had hosted in four of the prior five years; the last U.S.-based women’s Sevens event was in Las Vegas in the 2016-17 season.

Look for results here.

FIGURE SKATING Preview: Is it skating season already? Skate America starts today!

By
Rich Perelman
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It seems too soon for the ISU Figure Skating Grand Prix season to be underway, but the first of the six Grand Prix events opens with Skate America, at the 10,000-seat Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett, Washington (USA).

The Grand Prix series is the ISU’s highest level of “regular season” competition, with the top skaters invited and pre-assigned to not more than two of the competitions (see the assignments here).

In this post-Olympic year, many of the top stars are taking time off, or skating a light schedule, so the top stars expected in Everett include:

Men:
∙ Nathan Chen (USA) ~ 2018 World Champion; fifth at PyeongChang ‘18
∙ Vincent Zhou (USA) ~ 2017 World Junior Champion; sixth at PyeongChang ‘18
∙ Alexei Bychenko (ISR) ~ Fourth at the 2018 World Champs; 11th at PyeongChang ‘18

Women:
∙ Bradie Tennell (USA) ~ 2018 U.S. Champion; ninth at PyeongChang ‘18
∙ Satoko Miyahara (JPN) ~ 2018 Worlds bronze medalist; fourth at PyeongChang ‘18
∙ Marin Honda (JPN) ~ 2016 World Junior Champion
∙ Kaori Sakamoto (JPN) ~ 2018 Four Continents Champion; sixth at PyeongChang ‘18

Pairs:
∙ Evgenia Tarasova/Vladimir Morozov (RUS) ~ 2018 World Champs silvers; 4th at OWG ‘18
∙ Alexa Scimera Knierem/Chris Knierim (USA) ~ 2018 U.S. Champions
∙ Ashley Cain/Timothy Leduc (USA) ~ Two wins in the 2018 ISU Challenger Series

Ice Dance:
∙ Madison Hubbell/Zachary Donohue (USA) ~ 2018 Worlds silvers; 4th at OWG ‘18
∙ Lorraine McNamara/Quinn Carpenter (USA) ~ 2016 World Junior Champions
∙ Charlene Guignard/Marco Fabbri (ITA) ~ 10th at PyeongChang ‘18

Two of the four winners from 2017 return: Chen won the men’s Singles event by nine points at 275.88, and Miyahara won both the Short Program and Free Skate to win ahead of Sakamoto, Tennell and Russia’s Polina Tsurskaya in the women’s competition.

There is good prize money at this event: $18,000-13,000-9,000-3,000-2,000 for the top five placers in both the individual and pairs/dance events.

NBCSN has coverage of Skate America at 6 p.m. Eastern on Saturday, on NBC on Sunday at 12:30 Eastern and the Ladies’ Free Skate on NBCSN at 4 p.m. Eastern on Sunday. Look for results here.

CYCLING Preview: Track World Cup starts, but with a touch of sadness

By
Rich Perelman
-

The 27th edition of the UCI Track World Cup will start this weekend in Saint-Quentin (FRA), but with the knowledge that one of the brightest stars in the sport will not be riding.

Germany’s 11-time World Champion and Rio 2016 Olympic Sprint gold medalist Kristina Vogel suffered a severed spinal cord after a crash in a training session last June and cannot walk, let alone ride again. She dominated the sprints at last year’s World Cup, but did not enter the final events of the circuit and finished second in the Sprint standings.

Despite the loss of Vogel, the World Cup goes on, with Saint Quentin the first of six events:

∙ 19-21 October: Saint Quentin (FRA)
∙ 26-28 October: Milton (CAN)
∙ 30 November-2 December: Berlin (GER)
∙ 14-16 December: London (GBR)
∙ 18-20 January: Cambridge (NZL)
∙ 25-27 January: Hong Kong (HKG)

The defending individual champions and runners-up from the 2017-18 World Cup circuit include:

Men:
∙ Sprint:
1. Mateusz Rudyk (POL)
2. Andriy Vynokurov (UKR)

∙ Pursuit:
1. Charlie Tanfield (GBR)
2. Ivo Oliveira (POR)

∙ Time Trial:
1. Matthew Glaetzer (AUS)
2. Eric Engler (GER)

∙ Keirin:
1. Andriy Vynokurov (UKR)
2. Matthijs Buchli (NED)

∙ Points:
1. Ivo Oliveira (POR)
2. Christos Volikakis (GRE)

∙ Scratch:
1. Jon Mould (GBR)
2. Adrian Teklinki (POL)

∙ Omnium:
1. Niklas Larsen (DEN)
2. Maximilian Beyer (GER)

Women:
∙ Sprint:
1. Laurine van Riessen (NED)
2. Kristina Vogel (GER)

∙ Pursuit:
1. Justyna Kaczkowska (POL)
2. Annemiek van Vleuten (NED)

∙ Time Trial:
1. Daria Shmeleva (RUS)
2. Miriam Welte (GER)

∙ Keirin:
1. Kristina Vogel (GER)
2. Shanne Braspennincx (NED)

∙ Points:
1. Anita Stenberg (NOR)
2. Kirsten Wild (NED)

∙ Scratch:
1. Rachele Barbieri (ITA)
2. Alzbieta Bacikova (ITA)

∙ Omnium:
1. Jennifer Valente (USA)
2. Yumi Kajihara (JPN)

Look for results here.

WRESTLING Preview: Another men’s Freestyle title for U.S. at UWW Worlds?

By
Rich Perelman
-

The 15th edition of the combined United World Wresting World Championships – men and women together – starts Saturday at Hungary’s Papp Laszlo Budapest Sportarena with 30 weight classes to be decided in men’s Freestyle, women’s Freestyle and men’s Greco-Roman classes.

This is the first time that the expanded divisions are being used, so 10 different weight categories will be contested in all three disciplines. The schedule:

• Men’s Freestyle: 20-21-22-23 October
• Women’s Freestyle: 22-23-24-25 October
• Men’s Greco-Roman: 25-26-27-28 October

In addition to the individual bouts, team scoring is kept in each division, with the U.S., Japan and Russia defending their crowds from 2017:

• Men’s Freestyle:
1. United States, 54; 2. Russia, 53; 3. Georgia, 40.

• Women’s Freestyle:
1. Japan, 60, 2. tie, Belarus and United States, 38.

• Men’s Greco-Roman:
1. Russia, 37. 2. Turkey, 36; 3. Iran, 36.

United World Wrestling has announced four seeds for each division, based on placings in its world-ranking tournaments, a forerunner to a World Cup circuit which the UWW is expected to announce soon. These don’t mean too much since many wrestlers didn’t participate in these tournaments, but here they are, along with a better indicator: last year’s medal winners. Please note how some 2017 medal winners have moved up or down in weight classes:

Men’s Freestyle

57 kg seeds:
1. Zavur Uguev (RUS)
2. Thomas Gilman (USA)
3. Armen Arakelian (UKR)
4. Uladizslau Andreyeu (BLR)

2017 medalists:
1. Yuki Takahashi (JPN)
2. Tom Gilman (USA)
3. Andriy Yatsenko (UKR) and Erden. Bakhbayar (MGL)

61 kg seeds:
1. Abbos Rakhmonov (MGL)
2. Gadzhimurad Rashidov (RUS)
3. Beka Lomtadze (GEO)
4. Joe Colon (USA)

2017 medalists:
1. Haji Aliyev (AZE)
2. Gadzhimurad rashidov (RUS)
3. Vladimer Khinchegashvili (GEO) and Yowlys Bonne (CUB)

65 kg seeds:
1. Selahattin Kilicsallyan (TUR)
2. Ilias Bekbulatov (RUS)
3. Bajrang (IND)
4. Haji Aliyev (AZE)

2017 medalists:
1. Zurabi Iakobishvili (GEO)
2. Magomedmurad Gadzhiev (POL)
3. Alan Gogayev (RUS) and Alejandro Valdes (CUB)

70 kg seeds:
1. Andriy Kvyatkovskyy (UKR)
2. Magomed Kurbanaliev (RUS)
3. Zurabi Iakobishvili (GEO)
4. Murtazali Muslimov (AZE)

2017 Medalists:
1. Frank Chamizo (ITA)
2. James Green (USA)
3. Yuhi Fujinami (JPN) and Akzhurek Tanatarov (KAZ)

74 kg seeds:
1. Frank Chamizo (ITA)
2. Bekzod Abdurakhmanov (UAZ)
3. Daniyar Kaisanov (KAZ)
4. Akhsarbek Gulaev (SVK)

2017 medalists:
1. Jordan Burroughs (USA)
2. Khetag Tsabolov (RUS)
3. Soner Demirtas (TUR) and Ali Shabanau (BLR)

79 kg seeds:
1. Akhmed Gadzhimagomedov (RUS)
2. Jabrayil Hasanov (AZE)
3. Rashid Kurbanov (UZB)
4. Kyle Dake (USA)

2017 medalists:
None: new weight class

86 kg seeds:
1. Fatih Erdin (TUR)
2. David Taylor (USA)
3. Artur Naifonov (RUS)
4. Sandro Aminashvili (GEO)

2017 medalists:
1. Hassan Yazdani (IRI)
2. Boris Makojev (SVK)
3. Vladislav Valiev (RUS) and J’den Cox (USA)

92 kg seeds:
1. Moha. Moha.Ebrahimzivlaei (IRI)
2. Abdulrashid Sadulaev (RUS)
3. Serdar Boke (TUR)
4. Sharif Sharifov (AZE)

2017 medalists:
None: new weight class

97 kg seeds:
1. Murazi Mchedlidze (UKR)
2. Aliaksandr Hushtyn (BLR)
3. Vladislav Baitcaev (RUS)
4. Elizbar Odikadze (GEO)

2017 medalists:
1. Kyle Snyder (USA)
2. Abdulrashid Sadulaev (RUS)
3. Aslanbeck Alborov (AZE) and Georgy Ketoyev (ARM)

125 kg seeds:
1. Nick Gwiazdowski (USA)
2. Danylo Kartavyi (UKR)
3. Oleksandr Khotsianivskyi (UKR)
4. Geno Petriashvili (GEO)

2017 medalists:
1. Geno Petriashvili (GEO)
2. Taha Akgul (TUR)
3. Nick Gwiazdowski (USA) and Levan Berianidze (ARM)

The U.S. men bring seven World Championships medal winners to the defense of the team title from 2017. Burroughs won the 2012 Olympic gold at 74 kg and owns World titles from 2011-13-15-17 and Snyder has overpowered everyone at 97 kg to win the 2016 Rio title at 97 kg and has world titles from 2015-17.

Gilman won the Worlds silver in 2017 at 57 kg; Logan Stieber was World Champion in 2016 at 61 kg, but will wrestle at 65 kg; Green owns an Olympic bronze and Worlds silver from 2016 and 2017 at 70 kg; Cox won a 2017 Worlds bronze at 86 kg (he will wrestle at 92 kg) and Gwiazdowski took a Worlds bronze last year at 125 kg.

The new weight classes now make room for two wrestlers who couldn’t get past Burroughs or Snyder domestically: Dake at 79 kg and Taylor at 86 kg, both medal contenders. With the added classes, it’s possible the U.S. might be better this year than in 2017.

Women’s Freestyle

50 kg seeds:
1. Emilia Alina Vuc (ROM)
2. Mariya Stadnik (AZE)
3. Whitney Conder (USA)
4. Chun Lei (CHN)

2017 medalists:
1. Yui Susaki (JPN)
2. Alina Vuc (ROU)
3. Son-Hyang Kim (PRK) and Evin Demirhan (TUR)

53 kg seeds:
1. Sarah Ann Hildebrandt (USA)
2. Katarzyna Krawczyk (POL)
3. Nanami Irie (JPN)
4. Maria Prevolaraki (GRE)

2017 medalists:
1. Vanesa Kaladzinskaya (BLR)
2. Mayu Mukaida (JPN)
3. Maria Prevolaraki (GRE) and Roksana Zasina (POL)

55 kg seeds:
1. Roksana Zasina (POL)
2. Bediha Gun (TUR)
3. Davaachimeg Erkhembayar (MGL)
4. Hyemin Oh (KOR)

2017 medalists:
1. Haruna Okuno (JPN)
2. Odunayo Adekuoroye (NGR)
3. Becka Leathers (USA) and Iryna Kurachkina (BLR)

57 kg seeds:
1. Irina Ologonova (RUS)
2. Bilyana Zhivkova Dudova (BUL)
3. Ningning Rong (CHN)
4. Grace Jacob Bullen (NOR)

2017 medalists (at 58 kg):
1. Helen Maroulis (USA)
2. Marwa Amri (TUN)
3. Michelle Fazzari (CAN) and Aisuluu Tynybekova (KGZ)

59 kg seeds:
1. Svetlana Lipatova (RUS)
2. Elif Jale Yesilirmak (TUR)
3. Shoovdor Baatarjav (MGL)
4. Yuzuru Kumano (JPN)

2017 medalists (at 60 kg):
1. Risako Kawai (JPN)
2. Alli Ragan (USA)
3. Anastasija Grigorjeva (LAT) and Johanna Mattsson (SWE)

62 kg seeds:
1. Yuliia Tkach Ostapchuk (UKR)
2. Kayla Miracle (USA)
3. Lais Nunes de Oliveira (BRA)
4. Orkhon Purevdorj (MGL)

2017 medalists (at 63 kg):
1. Purevdorjiin Orkhon (MGL)
2. Yuliya Tkach (UKR)
3. Valeria Lazinskaya (RUS) and Jackeline Renteria (COL)

65 kg seeds:
1. Petra Olli (FIN)
2. Forrest Molinari (USA)
3. Henna Katarina Johansson (SWE)
4. Adela Hanzlickova (CZE)

2017 medalists:
None: new weight class.

68 kg seeds:
1. Alla Cherkasova (UKR)
2. Tamyra Mensah (USA)
3. Laura Skujina (LAT)
4. Tumentsetseg Sharkhuu (MGL)

2017 medalists (from 69 kg):
1. Sara Dosho (JPN)
2. Aline Focken (GER)
3. Koumba Larroque (FRA) and Yue Han (CHN)

72 kg seeds:
1. Alexandra Anghel (ROM)
2. Anna Jenny Fransson (SWE)
3. Tatiana Kolesnikova Morozova (RUS)
4. Agnieszka Wieszczek-Kordus (POL)

2017 medalists:
None: new weight class.

76 kg seeds:
1. Yasemin Adar (TUR)
2. Adeline Gray (USA)
3. Erica Wiebe (CAN)
4. Vasilisa Marzaliuk (BLR)

2017 medalists (from 75 kg):
1. Yasemin Adar (TUR)
2. Vasilisa Marzaliuk (BLR)
3. Hiroe Suzuki (JPN) and Justina di Stasio (CAN)

The women’s Freestyle squad is headlined by the incomparable Maroulis, the 2016 Olympic gold medalist and World Champion in 2015-17, and Gray, seeking her fourth world title after winning in 2012-14-15. Six U.S. women are seeded, not including Maroulis, who was recovering from injuries earlier in the year.

Can the U.S. challenge Japan for the women’s team title? The Japanese have won six straight women’s title in full-championships years, including 2010-11-13-14-15-17. No one has been especially close, but U.S. coach Terry Steiner sees the potential.

“We are there,” he said. “We just have to perform. Last year, as a second-place team, I don’t think we had a great performance. Who’s going to step up and perform on the days of the World Championships? We have a team right now that is capable of that. But we are going to have to do it. We have to get in there and do the things we need to do to be successful. We need to get to the World Championships and let it fly.”

Men’s Greco-Roman

55 kg seeds:
1. Ekrem Ozturk (TUR)
2. Khorlan Zhakansha (KAZ)
3. Shota Tanokura (JPN)
4. Abdelkarim Fergat (ALG)

2017 medalists:
None: new weight class

60 kg seeds:
1. Kanybek Zholchubekov (KGZ)
2. Luis Alberto Orta Sanchez (CUB)
3. Aidos Sultangali (KAZ)
4. Sergey Emelin (RUS)

2017 medalists (from 59 kg):
1. Kenichiro Fumita (JPN)
2. Mirambek Ainagulov (KAZ)
3. Stepan Maryanyan (RUS) and Seung-Hak Kim (KOR)

63 kg seeds:
1. Urmatbek Amatov (KGZ)
2. Hassan Hassan Ahmed Mohamed (EGY)
3. Kaly Suliamanov (KGZ)
4. Mihai Radu Mihut (ROM)

2017 medalists:
None: new weight class

67 kg seeds:
1. Almat Kebispayev (KAZ)
2. Ismael Borrero Molina (CUB)
3. Tsuchika Shimoyamada (JPN)
4. Murat Firat (TUR)

2017 medalists (from 66 kg):
1. Han-Su Ryu (KOR)
2. Mateusz Bernatek (POL)
3. Artem Surkov (RUS) and Atakan Yuksei (TUR)

72 kg seeds:
1. Balint Korpasi (HUN)
2. Demeu Zhadrayev (KAZ)
3. Adam Kurak (RUS)
4. Rasul Chunayev (AZE)

2017 medalists (from 71 kg):
1. Frank Staebler (GER)
2. Demeu Zhadrayev (KAZ)
3. Balint Korpasi (HUN) and Mohammad Ali Geraei (IRI)

77 kg seeds:
1. Kazbek Kilou (BLR)
2. Mohammadali Abdolhamid Geraei (IRI)
3. Ariel Fis Batista (CUB)
4. Roman Vlasov (RUS)

2017 medalists (from 75 kg):
1. Viktor Nemes (SRB)
2. Tamas Lorincz (HUN)
3. Fatih Cengiz (TUR) and Saeid Abdevali (IRI)

82 kg seeds:
1. Daniel Tihomirov Aleksandrov (BUL)
2. Atabek Azisbekov (KGZ)
3. Viktar Sasunouski (BLR)
4. Emrah Kus (TUR)

2017 medalists (from 80 kg):
1. Maksim Manukyan (ARM)
2. Radzik Kuliyeu (BLR)
3. Pascal Eisele (GER) and Elvin Musaliyev (AZE)

87 kg seeds:
1. Islam Abbasov (AZE)
2. Khussein Mutsolgov (KAZ)
3. Masato Sumi (JPN)
4. Roberti Kobliashvili (GEO)

2017 medalists (from 85 kg):
1. Metehan Basar (TUR)
2. Denis Kudla (GER)
3. Hossein Nouri (IRI) and Robert Nadareishvili (GEO)

97 kg seeds:
1. Balazs Kiss (HUN)
2. Orkhan Nuriyev (AZE)
3. Cenk Ildem (TUR)
4. Luillys Jose Perez Mora (VEN)

2017 medalists (from 98 kg):
1. Artur Aleksanyan (ARM)
2. Musa Evloev (RUS)
3. Revaz Nadareishvii (GEO) and Balazs Kiss (HUN)

130 kg seeds:
1. Riza Kayaalp (TUR)
2. Balint Lam (HUN)
3. Alin Alexuc Ciurariu (ROM)
4. Oscar Pino Hinds (CUB)

2017 medalists:
1. Riza Kayaaip (TUR)
2. Heiki Nabi (EST)
3. Oscar Pino (CUB) and Yasmani Acosta (CHI)

The U.S. has not been a significant factor in Greco-Roman for some time and will be showcasing many younger wrestlers. Half the squad will be in their first UWW Worlds: Dalton Roberts at 60 kg, RaVaughn Perkins at 72 kg, Kamal Bey at 77 kg, Geordan Speiller at 82 kg and Adam Coon at 130 kg. The most experienced members are Ellis Coleman at 67 kg (2012 Olympian), Jesse Thielke at 63 kg (2016 Olympian) and Sam Hazewinkel at 55 kg (2012 Olympian in Freestyle).

In all, the American squad of 30 includes 19 with prior Worlds experience and 11 who are new to the competition.

This is the seventh time that Hungary has hosted the Worlds, previously in 1958 and 1986 for Greco-Roman, 1985 and 1986 for men’s Freestyle and in 2005 and 2013 for the combined Worlds.

NBC’s Olympic Channel has coverage schedule daily of the UWW Worlds; look for results here.

THE BIG PICTURE: Ex-USA Gymnastics chief Steve Penny indicted

By
Rich Perelman
-

When former USA Gymnastics chief executive Steve Penny (pictured) declined to answer any questions last June from the U.S. Senate Commerce Sub-committee that was investigating the Larry Nassar sex-abuse scandal on self-incrimination grounds, he received some good advice.

Penny was indicted on 28 September by a Grand Jury in Walker County, Texas over the removal of documents from the Karolyi Ranch training facility in Huntsville. From the news release from District Attorney David Woods:

“According to the indictment, Steve Penny, the former president of USA Gymnastics, is alleged to have tampered with evidence during the investigation of sexual assault allegations against Dr. Larry Nassar. The indictment alleges that Penny ordered the removal of documents from the Karolyi Ranch in Walker County, Texas that were related to the activities of Nassar at the ranch. The indictment further alleges that the removal of the documents was done for the purpose of impairing the ongoing investigation by destroying or hiding the documents.

“During the investigation by the Texas Rangers and the Walker County Sheriff’s Office, several sources reported that Penny ordered the removal of the documents from the ranch after learning that an investigation was underway. The investigation revealed that the documents were delivered to Penny at the USAG Headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana. To date, those records have not been recovered and the location of the records is unknown. The Texas Rangers and the detectives believe that those records are material to their investigation and that the removal of the records by Penny prevented them from reviewing documents that would have helped in their investigation of Nassar as well as assisted with the investigation of other offenses that may have occurred at the Karolyi Ranch.”

The charge is a third-degree felony in Texas, punishable by 2-10 years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000. Penny was arrested by U.S. Marshals while on vacation with his family in Tennessee on Wednesday.

LANE ONE: Bach calls Buenos Aires Youth Olympic Games “superb” in his closing remarks

By
Rich Perelman
-

The third Youth Olympic Games closed in Buenos Aires (ARG) on Thursday evening and the nearly 4,000 athletes will now head back to their own countries with a lot of stories, experiences and pins.

The event was a clear success on the ground for the organizers and the National Olympic Committee of Argentina, both headed by Gerardo Werthein, and for the International Olympic Committee.

IOC President Thomas Bach and Werthein gave a joint news conference on Thursday morning, prior to the end of the competitions and the Closing Ceremony. While Bach was introduced to give a few comments, he went on for more than 15 minutes, explaining why the YOG was such a success from the IOC’s view. Some highlights:

“I can only say congratulations to the Portenos and to the people of Argentina for the really fantastic and superb Youth Olympic Games, Buenos Aires 2018.

“These were truly Youth Olympic Games of a new era. These Youth Olympic Games were more urban. There were more females and there was more inclusive than at any edition of an Olympic Games before, not only Youth Games.

“These Youth Games were Youth Games of on and off the field. We have seen so many young spectators, young families enjoying sport, enjoying the initiation programs and enjoying and creating at the same time this great atmosphere every day of the competitions.

“These Youth Olympic Games were extremely innovative, from the beginning to the end, beginning with the Opening Ceremony in the center of the city, and sharing this Opening Ceremony with the Portenos who showed up in hundreds of thousands for the young athletes and these Youth Olympic Games.

“And it is ending with full stadia. Today, I hope we can reach the one million spectators, and we are already very close … 974 [,000] now, I think we can say we are there, and this is another Olympic record there, being established by these Youth Olympic Games.

“The park concept, making the Games more urban; this park concept was a massive success, because it realized what it was meant to be: bringing the sport to the people. Sport nowadays in competition with so many other options for leisure activities of the population that we cannot only go to the stadia any more and making the people coming to us, traveling, buying tickets, looking for parking lots and whatever … they may have some better options from their point of view, so we have to go where they are and they have to pick them up where they are and in this way bringing them to sport.”

Bach’s opening remarks above underlined the themes he had been driving home for months about not only the YOG, but the future of the Olympic Games and Winter Games. His formula for the future – a political as well as a sports future – includes gender equity in participation, full stadiums, displays to get children interested in the sports that they see in the Games and events placed in public locations where they will become part of the fabric of everyday life. Expect to see these points hammered home again and again, especially for Paris in 2024.

He also was effusive in his praise for the organizing effort and the volunteer staff, comments that will resonate favorably in Argentina for many years to come:

“I think I do not need to speak a lot about the superbly-organized and run facilities at the venues. You have experienced them yourself. But what I definitely need to mention are the volunteers. They were great and wonderful ambassadors of Argentina and the Olympic values. Seeing these guys with their smiles, even in the heat and even being under pressure from the many spectators waiting to get in – who were by the way, extremely disciplined – you could get a feeling therefore, for the dedication, the commitment of these volunteers and showing in these circumstances so much friendliness and hospitality, and also pride of being part of these Youth Olympic Games. This was really a great and very emotional experience. I think there, all the Argentinians can be proud of these volunteers and how they represented them in these Games.

“So, all together, we have seen the best of the Olympic spirit here at these Youth Olympic Games Buenos Aires 2018, with a truly amazing atmosphere at every venue, starting from the Olympic Village to the sporting venues. So I would like to say that the stars of these Youth Olympic Games are the Argentinians. They have really made all this possible, what you [can] organize, coming from the heart. This commitment to the Games was really very impressive and touching.”

Bach had his talking points ready and spoke about the athlete experience, the legacies of the Games and the media exposure on the Olympic Channel site and individual national broadcasters. But he came back again and again to what happened on the ground in Buenos Aires. And his comments are a pathfinder for success in the organization of an Olympic-type event as far as Bach is concerned:

“All this was only possible because of a great partnership of all those concerned with the organization and this, in particular here in Argentina is the municipality, with their Jefe del Gobiano de la Cuidad de Buenos Aires, our friend Horacio Rodriguez Larreta at the top and the NOC and the organizing committee with [chair] Gerardo Werthein and Leandro Larrosa and all their team, who were working extremely close together and were helping out each other there all the time when a problem arose.

“I must say on the long run, I have never seen an organization which worked over all these five years so seamlessly and were you could always see that the vision which was created for this Youth Olympic Games took shape and became reality, step-by-step and was finally fully implemented and was made a reality in every detail.

“So there I would like to thank you, Gerardo, again and congratulate you for a really outstanding job. I don’t know that in my poor English, I can find the right word; this morning, I learned ‘superb’ in English, would be a great adjective, so I hope this is right. For all the superlatives there we would like to express there on this occasion.”

Bach was in such a good mood that he even had a few words for the media present, to whom he apologized, saying “I’m sorry for you that it may be a little bit boring because usually you don’t look so much for good news and I have only to tell you good news today, but I hope that for once you accept this because I am sure you also, in your experience, you have the same feelings and you share this judgement about really a great, great Youth Olympic Games. So thank you very much so far.”

Bach’s comments are important because they are instructive. The cost of the first Youth Olympic Games in 2010 was about $289 million U.S., after then-IOC president Jacques Rogge originally thought the YOG in concept would cost about $35 million to operate. The talk in Buenos Aires is that the budget – originally projected at $104.3 million – ballooned as high as $200 million, but the actual cost was around $140 million. So the costs were less.

The organizing committee and the National Olympic Committee – Werthein is the head of both – not only worked well together, but very well with the Argentine government on the local, regional and national level. After the well-remembered problems in Atlanta in 1996, this is still a critical point for the IOC.

This edition of the Youth Olympic Games also pointed out some enduring truths about the Olympic Games and the Olympic Movement:

• There’s still plenty of magic in the Olympic Rings. People flocked to the Opening Ceremony and to the venues – admittedly for free – to see teenagers compete in a junior competition that had Olympic trappings.

• For a city or region, hosting an event like the Youth Olympic Games is aspirational and inspirational. This YOG had about 4,000 athletes and the chatter is about the next event to bid on. Indonesia pulled off a successful Asian Games in August, with 11,720 athletes, and almost immediately sent Bach a letter asking to bid for the 2032 Olympic Games.

With all of its challenges, these are good developments for the IOC and demonstrate the enduring appeal of the Games and the possibilities for continued success. And Bach, a fencer in his day, is quickly picking up not just his proficiency in English, but its use as a diplomatic weapon.

Rich Perelman
Editor

VOLLEYBALL: China, Netherlands, Italy and Serbia play for women’s Worlds medals

By
Rich Perelman
-

The FIVB Women’s World Championships in Yokohama (JPN) are set for the championship semifinals, which will pit Serbia against the Netherlands and China against Italy on Friday (19th), with the medal matches on Saturday (20th).

In the third-round pool:

∙ Pool G:
14 October: Serbia 3, Japan 0
15 October: Italy 3, Japan 2
16 October: Serbia 3, Italy 1

∙ Pool H:
14 October: China 3, United States 2
15 October: Netherlands 3, United States 2
16 October: China 3, Netherlands 1

The U.S. lost two heart-breaking matches, falling to China after taking a 2-1 seats lead and then had a 2-0 sets lead over the Dutch before losing, 30-32, 15-25, 25-22, 25-15, 15-9. In the U.S.-Netherlands match, both teams hit well, with the Dutch at .394 (63/160) and the U.S. at .397 (62/156). But Dutch Opposite Lonneke Sloetjes went wild, scoring 38 points on 32/69 hitting (46.4%) to turn the match in her team’s favor. Michelle Bartsch-Hackley led the U.S. with 17 points.

U.S. Women’s head coach Karch Kiraly said, “Ultimately the result is very disappointing. They made some changes and we wasted chances in the third set. You have to be good at converting those chances against a team like the Netherlands.”

The U.S. and Japan will also play in the match for fifth place on the 20th. It’s the first time since 2006 that the American women will not play for a medal.

Of the semifinalists, China won in 1982 and 1986 and was second to the U.S. in 2014; Italy won in 2002; Serbia (as Serbia and Montenegro) won bronze in 2006, and the Dutch have never played for a medal in the women’s Worlds.

Look for scores and final standings here.

FOOTBALL: Sargent scores, but Peru equalizes late for 1-1 tie

By
Rich Perelman
-
U.S. striker Josh Sargent

The U.S. men’s National Team got within five minutes of a surprise victory over Peru at Pratt & Whitney Stadium in East Hartford, Connecticut, but settled for a 1-1 tie on Tuesday evening in front of 24,959 mostly pro-Peru fans.

Peru, a 2018 World Cup participant, dominated possession and the chances in the first half, but it ended scoreless.

The American squad was much better organized, offensively and defensively, to start the second half and in the 49th minute, a Kellyn Acosta free kick from the right side skipped into the middle of the field and right onto the foot of a waiting Josh Sargent, who ripped a shot that glanced off a Peruvian defender Renato Tapia and flew into the net for a 1-0 lead.

Sargent, still just 18, has been a goal scorer at every level and his second-half performance was highly encouraging for the future.

Facing a potential 1-0 loss, Peru upped the pressure after about 75 minutes and finally produced a goal. In the 86th minute, Andy Polo’s seeing-eye cross from the right side went all the way across the face of goal to a perfectly-placed Edison Flores, who finished from the left side for an easy score and a 1-1 tie.

Peru continued to pour on the pressure in the final minutes, but was unable to score again and had to settle for the tie. A couple of shots from distance hit the crossbar above U.S. keeper Brad Guzan – one in each half – or Peru could have had a 3-1 win. Peru outshot the U.S., 14-5 for the game.

This was the seventh game all-time between the sides, and the U.S. now holds a 3-2-2 lead in the series that began in 1989.

The American squad has two other 2018 matches scheduled: vs. England on 15 November at Wembley Stadium in London (GBR) and against Italy on 20 November in Genk (BEL).

TAEKWONDO Preview: Star-studded Grand Prix set for Manchester

By
Rich Perelman
-

The final “regular season” Grand Prix tournament is ready to start in Manchester (GBR), with all eight of the top-ranked fighters in the Olympic categories on the entry lists. The top seeds and their current world rankings:

Men:
-58 kg:
1. Tae-Hun Kim (KOR: 1)
2. Mikhail Artamonov (RUS: 3)

-68 kg:
1. Dae-Hoon Lee (KOR: 1)
2. Jaouad Achab (BEL: 2)

-80 kg:
1. Cheick Sallah Cisse (CIV: 2)
2. Maksim Khramtcov (RUS: 1)

+80 kg:
1. Vladislav Larin (RUS: 1)
2. Kyo-Don In (KOR: 2)

Women:
-49 kg:
1. Panipak Wongpattanakit (THA: 1)
2. So-Hui Kim (KOR: 2)

-57 kg:
1. Jade Jones (GBR: 1)
2. Tatiana Kudashova (RUS: 3)

-67 kg:
1. Hyeri Oh (KOR: 1)
2. Nur Tatar Askari (TUR: 2)

+67 kg:
1. Bianca Walkden (GBR: 1)
2. Shuyin Zheng (CHN: 2)

The U.S. has two entries who are also ranked in the top 10 in their divisions: Paige McPherson, no. 4 in the women’s -67 kg class, and Jackie Galloway, ranked no. 6 in the +67 kg group.

The Grand Prix Final comes 22-23 November in Fujairah (UAE), so this final tune-up is an excellent preview of the season-ender. Prize money in Manchester is $5,000-3,000-1,000 for the top three places. Look for results here.

TABLE TENNIS Preview: Men’s World Cup starts in Paris

By
Rich Perelman
-

The Liebherr ITTF Men’s World Cup comes to the Disney Event Arena in Paris (FRA) with 20 players, including the top four in the current ITTF World Rankings and eight of the top 10:

1. Zhendong Fan (CHN) ~ 2017 World Championships silver medalist
2. Timo Boll (GER) ~ 2002-05 World Cup winner; 2011 World Champs bronze medalist
3. Gaoyuan Lin (CHN)
4. Dmitrij Ovtcharov (GER) ~ 2017 World Cup winner
7. Sang-su Lee (KOR) ~ 2017 World Championships bronze medalist
8. Tomokazu Harimoto (JPN)
9. Chun Ting Wong (TPE) ~ 2016 World Cup bronze medalist
10. Hugo Calderano (BRA)

These top eight players will be seeded directly into the quarterfinals and those seeded 11-20 will play in groups to determine their seeding in the quarters. Look for results here.

The prize money is strong – $250,000 in total – with $60,000-40,000-20,000-14,000 for the top four, $10,000 for the quarterfinal losers and then $7,000 and $5,000 for the Round of 16 and Round of 32 losers.

FOOTBALL Preview: U.S. meets Canada for CONCACAF Women’s title Wednesday

By
Rich Perelman
-

The final of the CONCACAF Women’s Championship comes Wednesday with the two expected teams meeting once again – the no. 1-ranked U.S. and Canada, ranked no. 5 in the FIFA Women’s World Rankings – at Toyota Stadium in the northern Dallas suburb of Frisco, Texas.

The two are old foes, with the U.S. leading the all-time series, 48-3-7, but with recent games a distinct struggle for the American women. The last two games, in November of 2017, saw a 1-1 tie in Vancouver (CAN) in which the U.S. was outplayed and then a 3-1 U.S. win in San Jose, California where a strong second half determined the final outcome for the Americans.

In truth, the game means nothing, since both teams are qualified for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France next summer. And neither team has been tested; through the four games played so far, Canada has a 24-1 goals-against total, while the U.S. has a clean scoresheet at 24-0. The schedule:

∙ Third: Jamaica vs. Panama 17 October at 5 p.m. Eastern (FS2 & UDN)
∙ Final: Canada vs. United States 17 October at 8 p.m. Eastern (FS1 & UDN)

Panama and Jamaica will also play for a spot in the 2019 Women’s World Cup, with the loser moving to a two-leg playoff against Argentina for a final opportunity for a berth in France next summer.

The U.S. now has an unbeaten streak of 25 (22-0-3) games since a loss to Australia in mid-2017. In 2018, the U.S. women are 15-0-2 and have outscored their opponents, 60-10. The U.S. also is unscored on for 614 minutes, dating back to the 2 August game vs. Brazil in the Tournament of Nations and for six games since.

This is the 10th edition of the CONCACAF Women’s Championship, first held in 1991. The U.S. has dominated the event, winning in 1991-93-94-2000-02-06-14 and taking the bronze medal in 2010. All-time, the American women have now compiled a 31-1-0 record in this tournament (182-5 on goals scored!), losing only in 2010 and did not compete in 1999 as an automatic qualifier for the World Cup as the host country. Canada won the 1998 and 2010 tournaments.

Look for the scores and match stats here.

CYCLING Preview: UCI World Tours finish in Guangxi

By
Rich Perelman
-

The 2018 UCI men’s World Tour will reach its anti-climatic end with this week’s GREE-Tour of Guangxi in southeastern China, which began on Tuesday.

The top-ranked riders from the World Tour standings in the field are no. 20 Jasper Stuyven (BEL) and no. 21 Arnaud Demare (FRA), so the seasonal title belongs to Simon Yates (GBR), the winner of the Vuelta a Espana, who out-pointed Slovakian sprint star Peter Sagan, 3,072-2,992.

The stages:

Stage 1: 16 October ~ 107.4 km: Beihai to Beihai (flat)
1. Dylan Gronewegen (NED), 2:21:45; 2. Max Walscheid (GER), 2:21:45; 3. Fabio Jakobsen (NED), 2:21:45; 4. Pascal Ackermann (GER), 2:21:45; 5. Matteo Trentin (ITA), 2:21:45.

Stage 2: 17 October ~ 145.2 km: Beihai to Qinzhou (flat)
Stage 3: 18 October ~ 125.4 km: Nanning to Nanning (flat)
Stage 4: 19 October ~ 152.2 km: Nanning to Mashan Nongla Scenic Spot (uphill finish)
Stage 5: 20 October ~ 212.2 km: Liuzhou to Guilin (hilly)
Stage 6: 21 October ~ 169.0 km: Guilin to Guilin (hilly)

This is the second year for this race; look for results here.

The Women’s World Tour will also end with a one-day Tour of Guangxi on Sunday on a 146.2 km, loop course starting and finishing in Guilin. The startlist is not available, but the seasonal title would be on the line if the season’s three Dutch stars show up! The current standings:

1. 1,421 Annemiek van Vleuten (NED)
2. 1,346 Marianne Vos (NED)
3. 1,323 Anna van der Breggen (NED)
4. 1,189 Amanda Spratt (AUS)
5. 1,003 Coryn Rivera (USA)

And, no, this Guangxi has nothing to do with the 1969 dinosaur/western fantasy mash-up, The Valley of Gwangi, animated by Ray Harryhausen and starring James Franciscus … which was set in Mexico!

BEACH VOLLEYBALL Preview: FIVB World Tour lands in Las Vegas!

By
Rich Perelman
-

The continuing expansion of the FIVB World Tour for 2018-19 brings a 4-star event to the Las Vegas Festival Grounds at MGM Resorts in a co-promotion with the p1440 project headed by Kerri Walsh Jennings and Casey Jennings.

This is the first of five World Tour events on the 2018-19 calendar to be held in the U.S., also including the 5-star Fort Lauderdale (5-10 February 2019), and tournaments in Florida (3-star: 13-17 February), Texas (3-star: 20-24 March) and the Los Angeles area (4-star: 8-12 May).

The top seeds:

Men:
1. Christian Sorum/Anders Mol (NOR) ~ 2018 World Tour Final winners
2. Pablo Herrera/Adrian Gavira (ESP) ~ 2018 Ostrava Open winners
3. Grzegorz Fijalek/Michal Bryl (POL) ~ 2018 World Tour Final runners-up
4. Alexander Brouwer/Robert Meeuwsen (NED) ~ 2013 World Champions
5. Pedro Solberg/Bruno Oscar Schmidt (BRA) ~ Schmidt: 2016 Olympic Champion; Solberg: 2015 World Championships bronze

Two interesting teams who will try to make it to the Main Draw are American pairs Sean Rosenthal and Chase Budinger, and Tri Bourne and Trevor Crabb. Rosenthal teamed with Jake Gibb for the U.S. at the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games, while Budinger, now 30, played seven seasons in the NBA for Houston, Minnesota, Indiana and Phoenix from 2009-16.

Bourne, 29, was sidelined for two years due to a chronic inflammatory muscle disease, but teamed with Crabb to win the first 3-star tournament of the season, in Qinzhou (CHN), two weeks ago.

Women:
1. Heather Bansley/Brandie Wilkerson (CAN) ~ 2018 Poland Open winners
2. Summer Ross/Sara Hughes (USA) ~ 2018 Yangzhou Open bronze medalists
3. Alix Klineman/April Ross (USA) ~ 2018 Yangzhou Open gold medalists
4. Maria Antonelli/Carol Solberg (BRA) ~ Fourth in 2018 World Tour Final
5. Sarah Pavan/Melissa Humana-Paredes (CAN) ~ 2018 Commonwealth Games winners

Walsh Jennings is going to be busy this weekend; not only are she and her husband part of the management team for the event, but she and Brooke Sweat will debut as new on-court partners, and are seeded 10th as wild-card entrants.

Look for the match results here.

BADMINTON Preview: Danisa Denmark Open showcases 1s vs. 2s in World Rankings

By
Rich Perelman
-

The Odense Sports Park will be stop no. 20 (out of 27) on the 2018 BWF World Tour, for the Danisa Denmark Open, which started with qualifying on Tuesday.

This is an ancient tournament, dating back to 1938 and an important stop for many of the world’s great players. How good is this year’s tournament? The nos. 1 and 2-ranked players or teams in the BWF World Rankings are all entered! The top seeds (with world rankings):

∙ Men’s Singles:
1. Viktor Axelsen (DEN: 2)
2. Kento Momota (JPN: 1)

∙ Men’s Doubles:
1. Marcus Fernaldi Gideon/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo (INA: 1)
2. Junhui Li/Yuchen Liu (CHN: 2)

∙ Women’s Singles:
1. Tzu Ying Tai (TPE: 1)
2. Akane Yamaguchi (JPN: 2)

∙ Women’s Doubles:
1. Yuki Fukushima/Sayaka Hirota (JPN: 1)
2. Qingchen Chen/Yifan Jia (CHN: 3)

∙ Mixed Doubles:
1. Siwei Zheng/Yaqiong Huang (CHN: 1)
2. Yilyu Wang/Dongping Huang (CHN: 2)

Also back for 2018 are all of the defending champions from 2018, none of whom are in the top-two seedings: Srikanth Kidambi (IND: men’s Singles), Ratchanok Intanon (THA: women’s Singles), Cheng Liu/Nan Zhang (CHN: men’s Doubles), So-Hee Lee/Seung Chan Shin (KOR: women’s Doubles) and Chun Man Tang/Ying Suet Tse (HKG: Mixed Doubles).

Multiple other former champions are in the field, including two Olympic men’s Singles winners, Long Chen (CHN) and Dan Lin (CHN); Chen has won this tournament in 2011-13-14-15 and Lin won in 2004-05-07. In the women’s Singles, Yamaguchi won in 2016.

The tournament offers $775,000 in total prize money, with semifinals on Saturday and the finals on Sunday. Look for the scores and schedules here.

THE BIG PICTURE: IAAF stays femininity regs until Court review is completed

By
Rich Perelman
-

The International Assn. of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and Athletics South Africa have agreed that the implementation of the IAAF’s new Eligibility Regulations for the Female Classification will be delayed from 1 November of this year until at least 26 March 2019 to allow for an expedited ruling from the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

After the IAAF introduced these new regulations back in April, Athletics South Africa filed an appeal against them on behalf of its 400-800-1,500 m star Caster Semenya, who would be impacted directly. The new regulations, according to the IAAF, “require athletes with [differences of sex development, “DSD”] to maintain their serum testosterone levels below 5 nmol/L for at least six months prior to competing in Restricted Events (races over distances from 400m to one mile, inclusive) in International Competitions.”

Both sides have agreed to be bound by the CAS ruling, and the hearing is anticipated to be held next February and a ruling to be issued in March.

If the regulations are upheld, the delay would prelude affected athletes from competing in the IAAF Diamond League meets next spring and summer and could make it difficult for such athletes to receive the necessary treatments in time to be eligible for the 2019 World Championships, to be held in Doha (QAT) starting on 28 September.

The IAAF statement noted that it “remains very confident of the legal, scientific, and ethical bases for the Regulations, and therefore fully expects the Court of Arbitration for Sport to reject these challenges.”

IAAF chief Sebastian Coe noted further that “Prolonging the uncertainty for athletes looking to compete in these distances next year and beyond is unfair and so we have reached a compromise with the claimants. We have agreed not to enforce the regulations against any athlete until the contested regulations are upheld. In exchange, they have agreed not to prolong the process.”

LANE ONE: Mary Bono resigns from USA Gymnastics; Translation: “Who needs this !@#$ ?”

By
Rich Perelman
-

The world’s no. 1 women’s gymnastics team is now part of a worldwide laughing stock as Mary Bono, hired as the interim Chief Executive of USA Gymnastics last Friday (12th), resigned on Tuesday.

The seven-term California representative was herself a gymnast in her youth, but her appointment by the USA Gymnastics Board was met with immediate criticism by Olympic gold medalists Simone Biles and Aly Raisman (more here) for her criticism of former NFL quarterback and now social activist Colin Kaepernick in a tweet, and for her association with the Faegre Baker Daniels law firm that is blamed in part for not acting properly after being notified of the sexual abuse being perpetrated by team medical director Larry Nassar.

“My withdrawal comes in the wake of personal attacks that, left undefended, would have made leading USAG a liability for the organization,” wrote Bono in a statement that appeared on Twitter.

For its part, the USA Gymnastics Board released its own statement, noting “The USA Gymnastics Board of Directors accepted the resignation of Mary Bono as interim president and CEO. Despite her commitment to the sport of gymnastics and helping the organization move forward, we believe this is in the best interest of the organization. We, as a Board, are committed to taking action when we believe a change of course is necessary and to being responsive to our gymnastics community.”

Who in their right mind would take this job now? After all, the last three staff heads of the federation were:

∙ Steve Penny, from 2005-17, a time of great success for the women’s Artistic team, who won 23 Olympic medals in 2008-12-16 and of some success for the men, who won six in the same three Games.

He resigned in March 2017 as the Nassar scandal exploded and was excused from a U.S. Senate Commerce sub-committee hearing in June of this year, after exercising his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

∙ Kerry Perry, with a long background in marketing, was hired to start 1 December 2017, but resigned on 4 September after a bad hire for the federation’s head of elite development and a general feeling that she was not taking enough action quickly enough.

∙ Mary Bono, in and out after four days.

The federation’s situation hasn’t changed a lot over the past year. It still faces a raft of lawsuits from survivors of the Nassar abuse and increased scrutiny from the U.S. Congress, now considering changes in the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act which created the current structure of Olympic sport in the United States.

Perry indicated in her Congressional testimony that the ongoing mediation regarding the litigation between the survivors and the federation was progressing. While the competitions continue – not just in Artistic Gymnastics, but also in Rhythmic, Trampoline, Tumbling and Acrobatic Gymnastics – so does the litigation, as well as a commissioned investigation by an outside law firm, Ropes & Gray, into the activity (or lack thereof) of the federation as well as the United States Olympic Committee.

Sponsors AT&T, Kellogg, Under Armour, Hershey’s and Proctor & Gamble have either suspended or ended their affiliations with USA Gymnastics as well.

The job is unattractive at best and the right fit is a temporary hire with a legal background who can settle the litigation, show progress in process and procedure to the gymnastics community, the USOC and the Congress and then hand off a more normal environment for a talented leader and marketer.

But that is not going to satisfy the star survivors like Biles, Raisman and the hundreds of others. That brings to mind the classic, revered comments of then-former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt in his famed, “Citizenship in a Republic” speech at the Sorbonne in Paris in April 1910:

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.

The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

Roosevelt’s comments about men 108 years ago apply just as much to women in 2018. And that is the start of the short-term answer for USA Gymnastics.

Two-time U.S. Olympian and six-time Olympic medalist Aly Raisman has been the highest-profile and most voluble critic of USA Gymnastics. She filed suit last March against the federation and the USOC. At 24, she’s not currently active as a competitor, but she’s an adult and appears to have the confidence of other survivors. If she loves the sport as much as she insists, she should drop her lawsuits and demand to be appointed as the interim chief executive of USA Gymnastics.

Rich Perelman
Editor

5-RING CIRCUS: Beckie Scott “bullied” at WADA ExCo meeting?

By
Rich Perelman
-

The latest headlines from the reinstatement of Russia by the World Anti-Doping Agency came from former Canadian cross-country skier Beckie Scott, a member of the WADA Compliance Review Committee, from which she resigned after its recommendation for reinstatement.

She told the BBC’s Dan Roan that “the treatment she faced was ‘indicative of a general attitude of dismissal and belittling of the athlete voice.’”

She said that the CRC’s decision “was a compromise. I don’t think it was acceptable to clean athletes, especially in light of the affront to clean sport that had taken place.”

At the WADA Executive Committee meeting, Scott made a presentation that was met with what she called comments that dismissed her position and were intended “to bully” her.

She added, “Would we be having this conversation if it was a nation with far smaller resources or far smaller teams participating in Olympic Games? We are talking about a superpower in sport and the influence and pressure that they are able to exert, even within Wada, has been remarkable.”

U.S. Anti-Doping Agency chief executive Travis Tygart posted a statement that included, “Beckie could not be more in tune with the strong pulse of all those who value clean sport – and outside of the Olympic bubble – when she states that WADA Leadership has now become fully aligned with the Olympic Movement. As many others have said before, and as the evidence now clearly shows, the World Anti-Doping Agency has morphed into the International Olympic Committee in all but name. It is worth repeating loud and clear that it simply defies logic to have the very individuals whose role it is to promote sport, police it too. These sports administrators don’t want to witness the controversy in their sports that often comes with the exposure of doping. Simply put, now is the time for change.”

Also, the WADA Compliance Review Committee met earlier this month in Montreal (CAN). In the posted summary was an ominous note that the meeting included “Discussions regarding a number of Code Signatories that the CRC may recommend for non-compliance at the November meeting of the [WADA Executive Committee] unless they correct their outstanding non-conformities by then.”

As to the Russian situation, the 31 December deadline for the provision of the Moscow lab data in full remains, but also that “WADA will conduct a follow-up compliance audit of RUSADA, as per the RUSADA Roadmap to Compliance, on 11-12 December 2018.” Mark the dates …

5-RING CIRCUS: It’s getting louder in Calgary

By
Rich Perelman
-

The decibel level in Calgary about its potential bid for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games is getting higher.

In the aftermath of the Province of Alberta announcing that it would contribute not more than C$700 million, instead of the C$1 billion hoped for in the Calgary 2026 Draft Hosting Plan Concept, Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi said last Monday that “I think if you’re looking at the city putting in $800 million, more than the province, that is not a good deal.” (C$1 = $0.77 U.S.)

Alberta Finance Minister Joe Ceci’s letter committing C$700 million in support “is the absolute limit and ‘we will not be providing any form of guarantee for additional costs arising from any source.’”

With a C$300 million shortfall, the city of Calgary’s funding responsibility would rise from C$500 million to C$800 million.

The Draft Hosting Plan Concept financing projection envisioned a C$5.23 billion project, with C$2.23 billion financed by private-sector funds (including contributions from the International Olympic Committee) and C$3.0 billion from taxpayers from local, provincial and the federal government.

A Canadian Press story on Monday noted that “The federal government’s policy for hosting international sports events allows for funding up to 50 per cent of public sector investment – $1.5 billion in this case – and states ‘at no time will the Government of Canada undertake to guarantee deficit funding of a bidding or hosting project.’” So, who’s on the hook at the end?

Moreover, the federal commitment has not yet been confirmed, although Nenshi expected it to be shared in the coming days. The vote faces a yes-or-no public referendum in Calgary on 13 November.

At the same time, the City Council is now revisiting discussions with the NHL’s Calgary Flames on a new, C$555 million arena, which could have a significant impact on a 2026 Games budget, possibly eliminating a new, mid-sized arena which is slated to cost C$100 million.

VOLLEYBALL: China and Serbia strike first at final round in women’s Worlds

By
Rich Perelman
-
Captain Ting Zhu leads China into the medal round.

Serbia and China made major steps toward a medal by winning their first matches in the final pools of the FIVB Women’s World Championships in Nagoya (JPN).

The host country was shut out by Serbia, 3-0, and only one set was close, as the 2006 bronze medalists won, 25-19, 25-18 and 25-23.

China barely squeaked by the United States in five sets – 25-22, 19-25, 20-25, 25-23, 15-9 – just four days after sweeping the Americans in straight sets.

Outside hitter Kim Hill led the U.S. with 24 points (22 kills), followed by Middle Blocker Foluke Akinradewo, who had 18 points (16 kills), and Outside Hitter Jordan Larson, who had 17 points (and 16 kills). Outside Hitter Ting Zhu led China with 25 points (23 kills) and Middle Blocker Ni Yan had 13 (8 kills, 5 blocks).

Losing 3-2 did give the U.S. one point, so if it can defeat the Netherlands on Monday, it can move on to the medal matches. The Nagoya schedule:

∙ Pool G:
14 October: Serbia 3, Japan 0
15 October: Italy vs. Japan
16 October: Italy vs. Serbia

∙ Pool H:
14 October: China 3, United States 2
15 October: Netherlands vs. United States
16 October: Netherlands vs. China

The semis are scheduled for the 19th and the finals for the 20th, in Yokohama.

The U.S. is the defending champion, having beaten China in the final four years ago. Of the other final-round teams, Italy won in in 2002 and Japan won in 1962 and 1967. Serbia (as Serbia and Montenegro) won bronze in 2006; the Dutch have never won a medal in the women’s Worlds.

Look for scores and standings here.

TRIATHLON: Tomlin wins women’s and CAMTRI Relay title in Sarasota

By
Rich Perelman
-

Although Hurricane Michael did not threaten the Sarasota-Bradenton Triathlon Festival in Florida, algae levels in the water eliminated the swimming phase and changed the event to a duathlon with a 2.5 km run, 18.3 km bike ride and 5.0 km run.

No matter for 29-year-old Renee Tomlin, who missed much of this year with injury, claiming her fourth ITU World Cup victory that also made her he 2018 USA Triathlon National Champion.

“I had no idea where I was at, to be honest,” Tomlin said. “I’ve made a ton of changes, so I really had no idea. I just wanted to come out and compete and see what the day brought. I actually felt really comfortable the whole race, so it was really just staying composed and waiting until the last bit to turn it on.”

She got to the line first, just ahead of Kirsten Kasper, her track & field teammate at Georgetown University and Vendula Frintova (CZE), 54:34-54:35. It was Tomlin’s fourth career ITU World Cup win.

Tomlin then teamed with Jason West, Taylor Spivey and Morgan Pearson to earn the CAMTRI Mixed Relay title for the Pan American region with a comfy 5 1/2-second win over Canada.

Pearson finished fourth in the men’s race, won by Vincent Luis (FRA) in 48:18, with Belgium’s Jelle Geens and Portugal’s Joao Pereira second and third in 48:25.

“I made mistakes that cost me,” said Pearson afterwards. “I got off the bike in last, so that shows that I’m new and I need to keep working.

“This is my first year in the sport, and biking in a pack is hard to learn. These guys have been doing it for years, and it’s a really key part of the race. I’m not super happy with how I biked, but I definitely was solid for the first two laps. I know I have a long way to go and this year has been up and down, but I’m hungry, and I believe in myself more than I did when I started this year.”

Summaries:

USA Triathlon National Championships
Sarasota, Florida (USA) ~ 13-14 October 2018
(Full results here)

Men: 1. (4th overall) Morgan Pearson, 48:27; 2. (6) Jason West, 48:33; 3. (8) William Huffman, 48:40; 4. (16) Eli Hemming, 49:08; 5. (18) Tony Smoragiewicz, 49:11.

Women: 1. (1st overall) Renee Tomlin, 54:34; 2. (2) Kirsten Kasper, 54:35; 3. (3) Taylor Spivey, 54:45; 4. (29) Sarah Alexander, 56:49; 5. (41) Tamara Gorman, 58:25.

CAMTRI Mixed Relay Championships
Sarasota, Florida (USA) ~ 14 October 2018
(Full results here)

Final: 1. United States (Renee Tomlin, Jason West, Taylor Spivey, Morgan Pearson), 1:07:40.2; 2. Canada, 1:07:45.7; 3. Brazil, 1:08:00.9; 4. Mexico, 1:08:503; 5. United States II (Chelsea Burns, Seth Rider, Tamara Gorman, Tony Smoragiewicz), 1:09:19.8; 6. Mexico II, 1:09.32.2; 7. Argentina, 1:10:01.9; 8. Canada II, 1:10:22.0.

KARATE: Japan wins seven at Premier League finale in Tokyo

By
Rich Perelman
-

The final Karate1 Premier League tournament for 2018 was held in the famed Bodokhan Hall in Tokyo (JPN), with dominating results for the host country.

In a huge field of 598 fighters from 69 countries, Japan won seven of the 14 events and piled up 12 men’s medals and 11 in the women’s division for 23 overall. Next best was France, with three wins and six total medals; Turkey had three wins, and Italy had four total medals (one win).

As the Tokyo tournament marked the end of the 2018 Premier League, the overall seasonal champions were decided:

Men:
∙ Kata: Ryo Kiyuna (JPN)
∙ Kumite -60 kg: Eray Samdan (TUR)
∙ Kumite -67 kg: Burak Uygur (TUR)
∙ Kumite -75 kg: Rafael Aghayev (AZE)
∙ Kumite -84 kg: Ugur Aktas (TUR)
∙ Kumite +84 kg: Jonathan Horne (GER)

Women:
∙ Kata: Sandra Sanchez (ESP)
∙ Kumite -50 kg: Serap Ozcelik (TUR)
∙ Kumite -55 kg: Sara Cardin (ITA)
∙ Kumite -61 kg: Gwen Philippe (FRA)
∙ Kumite -68 kg: Alizee Agier (FRA)
∙ Kumite +68 kg: Ayumi Uekusa (JPN)

Summaries from Tokyo:

Karate1 Premier League
Tokyo (JPN) ~ 12-14 October 2018
(Full results here)

Men

Kata: 1. Ryo Kiyuna (JPN); 2. Kazumasa Moto (JPN); 3. Issei Shimbaba (JPN) and Yuhei Horiba (JPN).

Team Kata: 1. Japan; 2. Japan; 3. Japan.

Kumite -60 kg: 1. Eray Samdan (TUR); 2. Kajith Kanagasimgan (FRA); 3. Mattia Pampaloni (ITA) and Ihor Uhnich (UKR).

Kumite -67 kg: 1. Burak Uygur (TUR); 2. Hiroto Shinohara (JPN); 3. Yves Martial Tadissi (HUN) and Ikboljon Uzakov (UZB).

Kumite -75 kg: 1. Luigi Busa (ITA); 2. Yuta Mori (JPN); 3. Gabor Harspataki (HUN) and Ken Nishimura (JPN).

Kumite -84 kg: 1. Ugur Aktas (TUR); 2. Rikito Shimada (JPN); 3. Ivan Kvesic (CRO) and Igor Chikhmarev (KAZ).

Kumite +84 kg: 1. Hideyoshi Kagawa (JPN); 2. Gogita Arkania (GEO); 3. Ilyes Klouz (FRA) and Daniel Molnar (HUN).

Women

Kata: 1. Kiyou Shimizu (JPN); 2. Sandra Sanchez (ESP); 3. Mizuki Ugai (JPN) and Mirisa Ohuchi (JPN).

Team Kata: 1. Japan; 2. Japan; 3, Italy.

Kumite -50 kg: 1. Miho Miyahara (JPN); 2. Ozuna Gema Morales (ESP); 3. Ayaka Tadano (JPN) and Shara Hubrich (GER).

Kumite -55 kg: 1. Shiori Nakamura (JPN); 2. Sabina Zakharova (KAZ); 3. Jana Bitsch (GER) and Sabrina Ouihaddadene (FRA).

Kumite -61 kg: 1. Gwen Philippe (FRA); 2. Alexandra Grande (PER); 3. Jovana Prekovic (SRB) and Mayumi Someya (JPN).

Kumite -68 kg: 1. Alizee Agier (FRA); 2. Elena Guirci (SUI); 3. Silvia Semeraro (ITA) and Halyna Melnyk (UKR).

Kumite +68 kg: 1. Nancy Garcia (FRA); 2. Ayumi Uekusa (JPN); 3. Clio Ferracuti (ITA) and Natsumi Kawamura (JPN).

JUDO: Pareto still on fire at Cancun Grand Prix

By
Rich Perelman
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Argentina's Olympic 48 kg gold medalist Paula Pareto

Traveling north just a couple of day after co-lighting the Olympic flame at the Opening Ceremony of the Youth Olympic Games last weekend, she won her third career IJF Grand Prix gold in the -48 kg division at the Cancun (MEX) Grand Prix.

Already the 2015 World Champion and 2016 Olympic Champion, she shows no signs of slowing down at age 32, having won the bronze medal in the 2018 Worlds.

It made sense that with only a light representation from Japan, Western Hemisphere teams would do well in Cancun, and Brazil underlined its place as the top judo nation in the West with 11 medals. Russia (six medals total), Austria (five) and Cuba (four) each won two classes. Summaries from Cancun:

IJF World Tour Grand Prix
Cancun (MEX) ~ 12-14 October 2018
(Full results here)

Men

-60 kg: 1. Tornike Tsjakadoea (NED); 2. Luka Mkheidze (FRA); 3. Lenin Preciado (ECU) and David Pulkrabek (CZE).

-66 kg: 1. Aram Grigoryan (RUS); 2. Mikhail Pulyaev (RUS); 3. Elios Manzi (ITA) and Charles Chibana (BRA).

-73 kg: 1. Tommy Macias (SWE); 2. Denis Iartcev (SWE); 3. Marcelo Contini (BRA) and Arthur Margelidon (CAN).

-81 kg: 1. Sami Chouchi (BEL); 2. Victor Penalber (BRA); 3. Frank de Wit (NED) and Tim Gramkow (GER).

-90 kg: 1. Ivan Felipe Silva Morales (CUB); 2. Marc Odenthal (GER); 3. Rafael Macedo (BRA) and Nacif Elias (LBN).

-100 kg: 1. Niiaz Bilalov (RUS); 2. Laurin Boehler (AUT); 3. Rafael Buzacarini (BRA) and Aaron Fara (AUT).

+100 kg: 1. Lukas Krpalek (CZE); 2. Andy Granda (CUB); 3. Daniel Allerstorfer (AUT) and Tamerlan Bashaev (RUS).

Women

-48 kg: 1. Paula Pareto (ARG); 2. Catarina Costa (POR); 3. Julia Figueroa (ESP) and Milica Nikolic (SRB).

-52 kg: 1. Ana Perez Box (ESP); 2. Agata Perenc (POL); 3. Joana Ramos (POR) and Evelyne Tschopp (SUI). -57 kg: 1. Rafaela Silva (BRA); 2. Jessica Klimkait (CAN); 3. Nelson Levy Timna (ISR) and Miryam Roper (PAN).

-63 kg: 1. Magdalena Krssakova (AUT); 3. Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard (CAN); 3. Amy Livesey (GBR) and Alexia Castilhos (BRA).

-70 kg: 1. Michaela Polleres (AUT); 2. Gabriella Willems (BEL); 3. Daria Pogorzelec (POL) and Kelita Zupancic (CAN).

-78 kg: 1. Rika Takayama (JPN); 2. Mayra Aguiar (BRA); 3. Kaliema Antomarchi (CUB) and Samanta Soares (BRA).

+78 kg: 1. Idalys Ortiz (CUB); 2. Maria Suelen Altheman (BRA); 3. Beatriz Souza (BRA) and Kseniia Chibisova (RUS).

GYMNASTICS: Biles and McCusker lead U.S. World Champs team

By
Rich Perelman
-

USA Gymnastics announced that its women’s team for the 2018 World Championships in Doha (WAT) will include Olympic and World Champion Simone Biles and reigning World Champion Morgan Hurd after a one-day Team Selection competition in Sarasota, Florida.

The six athletes named to the team are Biles, Kara Eaker, Hurd, Grace McCallum, Riley McCusker and Ragan Smith, for the competition which will be held from 25 October-4 November. One will be designated as an alternate at a later date.

In the selection event, Biles won the All-Around by 2.35 points over McCusker and won the Vault and Floor events. McCusker was best on the Uneven Bars and Eaker won the Balance Beam.

Summaries:

USA Gymnastics Women’s Team Selection Camp
Sarasota, Florida (USA) ~ 11 October 2018
(Full results here)

All-Around: 1. Simone Biles, 59.700; 2. Riley McCusker, 57.350; 3. Grace McCallum, 55.400; 4. Morgan Hurd, 55.250; 5. Ragan Smith, 55.050; 6. Kara Eaker, 55.000; 7. Jordan Chiles, 54.700; 8. Shilese Jones, 54.000; 9. Alyona Shchennikova, 53.350.

Vault: 1. Biles, 16.000; 2. Jones, 14.750; 3. Chiles, 14.700; 4. Smith, 14.600; 5. tie, Hurd and McCallum, 14.500; 7. McCusker, 14.450; 8. Eaker, 13.950; 9. Shchennikova, 13.900.

Uneven Bars: 1. McCusker, 14.950; 2. Biles, 14.750; 3. Shchennikova, 14.600; 4. Hurd, 14.300; 5. Jones, 13.800; 6. Chiles, 13.600; 7. McCallum, 12.950; 8. Smith, 12.850; 9. Eaker, 12.350.

Balance Beam: 1. Eaker, 15.150; 2. McCusker, 14.100; 3. Smith, 13.950; 4. Biles, 13.850; 5. McCallum, 13.650; 6. Hurd, 13.550; 7. Chiles, 13.200; 8. Shchennikova, 12.900; 9. Jones, 12.650.

Floor: 1. Biles, 15.100; 2 McCallum, 14.300; 3. McCusker, 13.850; 4. Smith, 13.650; 5. Eaker, 13.550; 6. Chiles, 13.200; 7. Hurd, 12.900; 8. Jones, 12.800; 9. Shchennikova, 11.950.

FOOTBALL: U.S. and Canada into World Cup ‘19, to meet CONCACAF final

By
Rich Perelman
-
U.S. striker Tobin Heath

The goal of all eight teams playing in the CONCACAF Women’s Championship is to qualify for the FIFA Women’s World Cup in France in 2019.

Canada and the United States are in.

In Sunday’s semifinals, Canada stomped Panama, 7-0, and the U.S. breezed by Jamaica, 6-0.

That puts the no. 1-ranked American squad and no. 5 Canada into the final at Toyota Stadium in the northern Dallas suburb of Frisco, Texas on Wednesday:

∙ Third: Jamaica vs. Panama 17 October at 5 p.m. Eastern (FS2 & UDN)
∙ Final: Canada vs. United States 17 October at 8 p.m. Eastern (FS1 & UDN)

Through the four games played so far, Canada has a 24-1 goals-against total, while the U.S. has a clean scoresheet at 24-0.

In a light rain before 7,555 spectators, the U.S. rang up a goal in the second minute against Jamaica, when Tobin Heath scored on a rebound of a Lindsey Horan shot for a 1-0 lead. In the 15th minute, Megan Rapinoe brought down a long cross on the left side, dribbled into the box and ripped a left-footed shot into the far upper right corner of the goal past Jamaican keeper Sydney Schneider and the issue appeared decided.

The lead reached 5-0 by halftime, with a third goal by Julie Ertz on a header off a Crystal Dunn cross from the left corner, then another from Heath (off a Horan service in front of goal) in the 29th minute and an Alex Morgan goal in the 33rd. Morgan scored her second in the 83rd minute on a penalty kick after she was taken down in the box to complete the scoring. The U.S. outshot Jamaica, 26-3, for the game.

The U.S. now has an unbeaten streak of 25 (22-0-3) games since a loss to Australia in mid-2017. In 2018, the U.S. women are 15-0-2 and have outscored their opponents, 60-10.

In the first semifinal, Canada outclassed Panama, 7-0. The game was scoreless through almost the entire first half, but Christine Sinclair scored just before the half for a 1-0 lead.

The game completely unraveled as soon as the second half started, thanks to goals from Jessie Fleming in the 47th minute and a header in the 49th minute by Sinclair again, for a 3-0 lead. All together, Canada outshot Panama by 25-1 and had 71% of the possession time and with goals by Janine Beckie (58th minute), Rebecca Quinn (63), and two from Adriana Leon (76 and 78), ended with a 7-0 shutout.

Panama and Jamaica will also play for a spot in the 2019 Women’s World Cup, with the loser moving to a two-leg playoff against Argentina for a final opportunity for a berth in France next summer.

This is the 10th edition of the CONCACAF Women’s Championship, first held in 1991. The U.S. has dominated the event, winning in 1991-93-94-2000-02-06-14 and taking the bronze medal in 2010. All-time, the American women have now compiled a 31-1-0 record in this tournament (182-5 on goals scored!), losing only in 2010 and did not compete in 1999 as an automatic qualifier for the World Cup as the host country. Canada won the 1998 and 2010 tournaments.

Look for the scores here.

CYCLING: Pinot runs away to win Il Lombardia title

By
Rich Perelman
-
A happy Thibaut Pinot (FRA) wins the 2018 Il Lombardia!

Even though it’s one of the last races of the year on the UCI World Tour, do not doubt the prestige of Il Lombardia – first run in 1905 – as one of the most treasured of the five “Monuments” races of the cycling world.

The 112th edition from Bergamo to Como was decided on the next-to-last climb, with two-time winner (and defending champion) Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) and France’s Thibaut Pinot, breaking away and putting a half-minute between them and the chase pack.

Thibaut attacked relentlessly and created a lead which continued to grow. Nibali fell back so far that he was in danger of slipping from second, but regained his composure in the final kilometers to secure his third medal in this race over the last four years.

In the end, Pinot moved up from third in 2015 and won by 32 seconds in 5:53:22 over Nibali, with Belgian Dylan Teuns winning a six-way sprint for third.

“It’s huge, it’s the most beautiful race,” Pinot said afterwards. “I was on a good day, maybe it was the best shape of my life. The key was to get rid of [Spain’s Alejandro] Valverde and Nibali. The key in fact was to attack.” Summaries:

UCI World Tour/Il Lombardia
Bergamo to Como (ITA) ~ 13 October 2018
(Full results here)

Final Standings (241 km): 1. Thibaut Pinot (FRA), 5:53:22; 2. Vincenzo Nibali (ITA), 5:53:54; 3. Dylan Teuns (BEL), 5:54:05; 4. Rigoberto Uran (COL), 5:54:05; 5. Tim Wellens (BEL), 5:54:05; 6. Ion Izagirre (ESP), 5:54:05; 7. Rafal Majka (POL), 5:54:05; 8. Domenico Pizzovivo (ITA), 5:54:05; 9. Dan Martn (IRL), 5:54:10; 10. George Bennett (NZL), 5:55:32.

CYCLING: Prades wins Tour of Turkey on final day

By
Rich Perelman
-

Ireland’s Sam Bennett won his third stage in the 54th Presidential Tour of Turkey on Sunday, but the race for the overall title was decided just behind him.

While Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ) led going into the final day, the race was close with 11 riders within 10 seconds of his lead. Bennett raced away from the field with 1.5 km to go, but there was a mass finish behind him and a late crash hindered Lutsenko and Spain’s Eduard Prades was able to push ahead for second overall.

That gave him a time bonus of six seconds and with Lutsenko finishing well back in 13th, allowed Prades to equal him on overall time and with a better finish, take the overall title. It was his first UCI World Tour win.

The 2018 UCI World Tour will end this week with the GREE-Tour of Guangxi in China. Summaries:

UCI World Tour/Presidential Tour of Turkey
Turkey ~ 9-14 October 2018
(Full results here)

Stage 1 (148.4 km): 1. Maximiliano Richeze (ARG), 3:29:14; 2. Sam Bennett (IRL), 3:29:14; 3. Jempy Drucker (LUX), 3:29:14; 4. Alvaro Jose Hodeg (COL), 3:29:14; 5. Brenton Jones (AUS), 3:29:14.

Stage 2 (149.6 km): 1. Bennett (IRL), 3:24:37; 2. Hodeg (COL), 3:24:37; 3. Simone Consonni (ITA), 3:24:37; 4. Drucker (LUX), 3:24:37; 5. Ivan Garcia (ESP), 3:24:37.

Stage 3 (132.7 km): 1. Bennett (IRL), 3:16:27; 2. Richeze (ARG), 3:16:27; 3. John Degenkolb (GER), 3:16:27; 4. Patrick Bevan (NZL), 3:16:27; 5. Ahmet Orkan (TUR), 3:16:27.

Stage 4 (205.5 km): 1. Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ), 5:24:22; 2. Diego Ulissi (ITA), 5:24:22; 3. Eduard Prades (ESP), 5:24:22; 4. James Knox (GBR), 5:24:22; 5. Nicolas Roche (IRL), 5:25:22. Also in the top 50: 11. Brent Bookwalter (USA), 5:24:22.

Stage 5 (135.7 km): 1. Hodeg (COL), 3:15:12; 2. Degenkolb (GER), 3:15:12; 3. Nathan Haas (AUS), 3:15:12; 4. Bennett (IRL), 3:15:12; 5. Christophe Noppe (BEL), 3:15:12.

Stage 6 (164.0 km): 1. Bennett (IRL), 3:36:28; 2. Prades (ESP), 3:36:34; 3. Drucker (LUX), 3:36:34; 4. Mike Teunissen (NED), 3:36:34; 5. Szymon Sajnok (POL), 3:36:34. Also in the top 50: 37. Bookwalter (USA), 3:36:34.

Final Standings: 1. Eduard Prades (ESP), 22:26:16; 2. Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ), +0:00; 3. Nathan Haas (AUS), +0:04; 4. Diego Ulissi (ITA), +0:04; 5. Fabio Felline (ITA), +0:09; 6. Ruben Guerreiro (POR), +0:10; 7. Delio Fernandez (ESP), +0:10; 8. Matteo Fabbro (ITA), +0:10; 9. Mauro Finetto (ITA), +0:10; 10. Nicolas Roche (IRL), +0:10. Also in the top 50: 12. Brent Bookwalter (USA), +

BEACH VOLLEYBALL: U.S.’s Klineman and Ross win in Yangzhou 4-star

By
Rich Perelman
-
Winning smiles (and gold medals) for April Ross (left) and Alix Klineman

American April Ross was the “kid” alongside beach volleyball immortal Kerri Walsh Jennings when they won a bronze medal at the Rio Games in 2016 at ages 34 and 39.

Now Ross, at 36, is the senior partner with her newest associate, 28-year-old Alix Klineman and the pair won their second FIVB World Cup 4-star tournament at the Yangzhou Open, defeating Brazil’s Ana Patricia Silva and Rebecca Cavalcanti in straight sets.

“We had to focus on our side,” Ross said. “They served very tough but Alix sided out very well. We just had to figure out to get some points here and there. It was really tough to play against them.”

It was Ross’s 23rd FIVB World Tour victory in her career, which started back in 2006, and the second for Klineman, for whom 2018 was her first year on the Tour. This is a promising pair; since joining together, they have reached the quarterfinals or better in six of the eight World Tour events they have entered. They are currently the top-ranked American team, standing no. 8 worldwide.

In the men’s division, another first-year team, Russians Konstantin Semenov and Ilya Leshukov won their second tournament, 2-1, over fellow Russians Viacheslav Krasilnikov and Oleg Stoyanovskiy. Semenov and Leshukov had also won the 3-star event in Mersin (TUR) earlier in the year.

Next up is the first World Tour 4-star tournament in Las Vegas, starting on Wednesday! Summaries:

FIVB World Tour 4-star
Yangzhou (CHN) ~ 10-14 October 2018
(Full results here)

Men: 1. Konstantin Semenov/Ilya Leshukov (RUS); 2. Viacheslav Krasilnikov/Oleg Stoyanovskiy (RUS); 3. Guto Albrecht/Saymon Barbosa (BRA); 4. Sam Pedlow/Sam Schachter (CAN).

Semis: Semenov/Leshukov d. Pedlow/ Schachter, 2-0; Krasilnikov/Stoyanovskiy d. Guto/Saymon, 2-0. Third: Guto/Saymon d. Pedlow/Schachter, 2-0 (forfeit due to injury to Pedlow). Final: Semenov/Leshukov d. Krailnikov/ Stoyanovskiy, 2-1 (14-21, 21-19, 15-13).

Women: 1. Alix Klineman/April Ross (USA); 2. Ana Patricia Silva/Rebecca Cavalcanti (BRA); 3. Sara Hughes/Summer Ross (USA); 4. Saran Pavan/Melissa Humana-Paredes (CAN).

Semis: Ana Patricia/Rebecca d. Hughes/Summer, 2-0; Klineman/Ross d. Pavan/Humana-Paredes, 2-1. Third: Hughes/Summer d. Pavan/Humana-Paredes, 2-1. Final: Klineman/Ross d. Ana Patricia/Rebecca, 2-0 (21-19, 21-16).

FOOTBALL Preview: U.S. men meet Peru on Tuesday in last home match of 2018

By
Rich Perelman
-

The U.S. men’s National Team will meet Peru on Tuesday, 16 October in East Hartford, Connecticut, at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time, to be shown on ESPN2, UniMas and UDN.

This is the final U.S. match in the fall “Kickoff Series,” which has seen a youth-oriented U.S. squad lose to Brazil (2-0) on 7 September; beat Mexico, 1-0, on 11 September, and lose to Colombia, 4-2, last Thursday. It’s the last men’s National Team game scheduled in the U.S. for 2018.

This will be only the seventh game all-time between the sides, with the U.S. holding a 3-2-1 edge. The last meeting came in 2015, when the U.S. scored a 2-1 win. Peru was a World Cup participant in 2018, but did not make it out of its group.

The American squad has two other 2018 matches scheduled: vs. England on 15 November at Wembley Stadium in London (GBR) and against Italy on 20 November, with the location to be announced.

THE BIG PICTURE: Stockholm’s 2026 bid clouded by lack of government support

By
Rich Perelman
-

Now the issue is Stockholm.

A new, coalition government in the City Council announced last Friday that it would not support funding for a Stockholm bid for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games, and that any bid for the Games would have to be financed from the private sector.

Stockholm’s bid team, however, is hardly backing down. Its statement includes, in pertinent part:

“Our plan is both financially prudent and socially responsible for all stakeholders – starting with our city and nation and including the Olympic Movement. Our bid is strong, our budget is strong, and it is 100% privately financed – no tax payer funds. We believe this approach is tailor-made for the IOC’s new reality going forward. Stockholm 2026 will set new standards in every aspect of sustainability, not only for our Games, but for Winter Games thereafter. …

“The Games themselves are self-funded through IOC contributions and marketing revenues, and we will only build two new venues, the Speed Skating track and the Nordic ski venue. Both of these venues have lasting, sustainable legacies here in our winter sports nation. They are not investments only for the 2026 Games, they are investments in our youth for generations to come.

“Our plan represents something new for Sweden and the IOC. It is a direct investment in Swedish youth through sport. Sweden is one of the most accomplished winter sports nations in Olympic history, yet we’ve never hosted a Winter Games. Our plan is also a fiscally conservative one, which can serve as a new model going forward.”

The clock is running on the bid process, which requires the bid documents to be provided to the IOC – including the financing plan – by 11 January 2019. The vote to selected the host will be taken in late June.

LANE ONE: Being no. 1 today isn’t good enough for USA Swimming, looking to tomorrow

By
Rich Perelman
-

It’s hard to imagine much concern at USA Swimming over the performance of the world’s no. 1 swim team, as the U.S. has been for decades, and showed once again at the Pan-Pacific Championships earlier this year.

But there is.

What is there to worry about? In an off year for the U.S., with no World Championships or Olympic Games, its top international competition was the Pan-Pacs, where the Americans won 45 medals (20-14-11) to 29 for Australia (8-13-8) and 23 for Japan (6-7-10).

But within the USA Swimming family, the view is it could have gone better, and this was discussed openly at the end of last month at a question-and-answer session with the USA Swimming leadership team during the U.S. Aquatics Sports Convention in Jacksonville, Florida.

“It was a great learning experience; the athletes performed wonderfully,” said Lindsay Mintenko, the Managing Director of the USA Swimming National Team.

“They won 45 medals, but should do more, and that’s what we’ve learned from that, that there was an opportunity for us to win more medals. And what I appreciated from the athlete’s perspective was how hard the conditions were.

“You know, we showed up. We really didn’t know what to expect. The conditions were hard. There were situations that were not anticipated and the athletes pulled through. And they swam faster and they got better every time they got into the water and every single session.

“When we came back from that competition, we had a meeting with the Steering Committee and they have already decided to implement some changes as we go forward to 2019 and 2020 as well. So those plans are in place, to help our athletes perform better as we get back to Asia in 2019 and when we go back in 2020, and then again in 2021.”

Wait, hold on. The U.S. dominated the competition, won 20 of the 37 events (including the two Open Water events) and things were bad?

Yes, and it was no secret. Swimming World Magazine reviewed the situation at length after the Pan-Pacs and noted comments from superstar Katie Ledecky, who won the women’s 400 m Freestyle in the no. 6 time in history, but that time wasn’t even a season’s best, let alone a peak performance in the U.S.’s biggest meet of 2018:

Ledecky explained that even though she didn’t swim a season-best time, she was pleased, especially given “the conditions that we’re swimming under.” She was not referring to the hot and humid weather that has gripped Tokyo all week.

“It’s been a pretty rough week, just competing in a different time zone very far from the U.S., 16-hour time difference,” Ledecky said. “It’s been a lot harder than any of us could have anticipated, knowing that we just got here a couple days ago.”

Swimming World’s David Rieder added that “In what has been a below-par performance for Team USA this week, jet lag has been an issue. Swimmers and team officials have admitted that. Undoubtedly, some are affected more than others. Evening swims likely suffer more than morning swims — remember, 7 p.m. Tokyo time is 3 a.m. California time, while 10 a.m. Tokyo time is a more reasonable 6 p.m. California time.”

What was missing is a multi-day training camp in the same time zone as the competition, with pre-arranged meals, pool and weight training and a routine which mimics what the athletes are used to at home … but in a country halfway around the world.

For the Pan-Pacs, it’s not that important. But for the 2019 World Championships in Korea (Gwangju), the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo and the 2021 Worlds, also in Japan (Fukuoka), it’s crucial.

And Mintenko wasn’t through. She pointed out that in the Butterfly events at last year’s Worlds and World Juniors, the U.S. had six finalists out of a possible 16 (two per event for the eight Olympic events between the two meets), while “in breaststroke events, we had 16 and in the mid-distance events, we had 11, so we were just showing that we need to put a little emphasis on butterfly.”

And then there are the relays. “We’re very fortunate in universities that our athletes get to swim a lot of relays, but when you become a professional athlete, you don’t get to do that very much. So we’ve definitely seen on the international stage that our relay starts are the worst, and so we’re working on trying to improve on those as we get ready for the World Championships.”

Mintenko isn’t some bureaucrat, but a three-time Olympic relay medalist (2-1-0) – as Lindsay Benko – in 2000 and 2004. Sure, the U.S. is the gold standard in swimming, but it won’t be without attention to these details. As the legendary UCLA basketball coach, John Wooden, repeatedly stressed, “Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.”

To be great at the Olympic level is to be at the razor’s edge in fitness and preparation. It’s reassuring to see that in swimming, the U.S. governing body is taking nothing for granted, and even better, saying so in a public forum.

Rich Perelman
Editor

ALPINE SKIING: Vonn confirms 2018-19 as her last season

By
Rich Perelman
-
American skiing superstar Lindsey Vonn

American skiing superstar Lindsey Vonn confirmed last week that the upcoming 2018-19 FIS World Cup season will be her last.

Vonn said in an NBC interview that given her many injuries over a 15-year World Cup career that began in 2002, “Physically, I’ve gotten to the point where it doesn’t make sense,” she said.

“I really would like to be active when I’m older, so I have to look to the future and not just be so focused on what’s in front of me.”

Vonn still has goals to reach, as she owns 82 World Cup wins – the most ever among women – and will be racing after the all-time record of 86 held by Swedish star Ingemar Stenmark, who race from 1974-89. She owns three Olympic medals (one win) and seven World Championships medals, with two golds.

5-RING CIRCUS: Stunning loss of key IOC member Patrick Baumann, 51

By
Rich Perelman
-

A stunning and sad moment with the surprise passing of International Basketball Federation Secretary-General Patrick Baumann (SUI), at age 51 from a heat attack suffered at the YOG in Buenos Aires.

His loss is almost unimaginable as he became, essentially, the second most important member of the IOC after its president, Thomas Bach.

Besides being a member of the International Olympic Committee himself, Baumann was the head of the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF), was the head of the IOC’s Coordination Commission for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, the vice-chair of the 2024 Olympic Coordination Commission and one of the drivers for the 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games in Lausanne (SUI), among other offices.

Said Bach in a statement, “This is a great shock, which has hit us all very hard. We can hardly believe this terrible news. Particularly since, even today, we have seen him working hard, as we always knew him, for the sport he loved. We lose a young and sympathetic leader full of hope who was standing for the future of sport. Our thoughts are with his wife, his children and his family.”

Baumann is, for the moment, irreplaceable, especially as a confident and supporter of Bach. His loss will be keenly felt for years.

5-RING CIRCUS: Alberta pledges C$700 million for Calgary 2026, but no more

By
Rich Perelman
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Along with the drama in Stockholm, where the city’s 2026 bid will not have municipal government financial support, there was a significant development in Calgary’s 2026 bid.

The provincial government of Alberta agreed to support the 2026 Games bid and the staging of the Games in Calgary, and will contribute C$700 million (~$538 million U.S.), but no more.

The Calgary bid plan has assumed that Alberta government would supply C$1 billion for the Games, with C$1.5 billion coming from the federal government in Ottawa.

With “only” C$700 million coming from the province, the cost to Calgary itself – and its taxpayers – likely now rises from C$500 million (~ $384 million U.S.) to C$800 million (~ $614 million U.S.) … assuming that the national support of C$1.5 billion (~ $1.15 billion U.S.) comes through. This is not-so-good news for the bid promoters in the face of a 13 November 2018 city-wide referendum on whether the bid should go forward.

The next question is when (and if) Calgary voters will have any assurance of support from the national government prior to the vote next month.

YOUTH OLYMPIC GAMES: IOC ecstatic so far

By
Rich Perelman
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The third edition of the International Olympic Committee’s YOG continues in Buenos Aires, with the Closing Ceremony scheduled for the 18th (Thursday).

The IOC gave a news conference midway through the Games, headlined by Executive Director of the Olympic Games, Christophe Dubi (SUI; pictured). He was nothing short of ecstatic about the event, stating that “If you ask where we are on a scale from one to ten at this point,” Dubi said. “We are at an eleven.

He was asked about unexpectedly long lines at some of the competition parks; his reply was “Managing success is the ultimate achievement from an organizer’s standpoint.”

Asked what features of the YOG can be carried forward to the Olympic Games and Winter Games, he replied that “What we can replicate – and this is why we had half a day of observation with Tokyo 2020 – are some of the urban touches which are working very well here. We will have Olympic ‘corridors’ in which you will have the equivalent of the food trucks, in which you will have the sports initiation, in 3×3 [basketball], we will also have the same concept where you have the warm-up part of the public area.”

The Buenos Aires organizers announced last Friday that all 600,000 entry bracelets had been distributed for the Games. Attendance for the free-admission, open-air Opening Ceremony in the city center was estimated from 200-215,000 and that another 350,000 had attended the Games in total over the first five days of competition (averaging 70,000 daily).

VOLLEYBALL: U.S. loses two, but advances to final round in women’s Worlds

By
Rich Perelman
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FIVB Women's World Championship scoring leader Paola Ogechi Egonu

The hard matches finally came in the FIVB Women’s World Championships and left only Italy as an undefeated team on the way to the final round. Now it will be the Netherlands, Japan, Serbia, Italy, China and the United States to battle for the medals.

The final second-round standings showed:

∙ Pool E:
1. Netherlands (24: 8-1); 3. Japan (22: 7-2); 3. Serbia (21: 7-2); 4. Brazil (20: 7-2); 5. Dominican Republic (16: 5-4); 6. Germany (14: 5-4); 7. Puerto Rico (9: 3-6); 8. Mexico (3: 1-8).

∙ Pool F:
1. Italy (27 points: 9-0): 2. China (24: 8-1); 3. United States (19: 7-2); 3.; 4. Russia (18: 6-3); 5. Turkey (15: 5-4); 6. Bulgaria (11: 4-5); 7. Thailand (11: 3-7); 8. Azerbaijan (6: 2-7).

In Pool E, the key match turned out to be the Netherlands sweeping Serbia, 3-0 and with Japan also beating Serbia, 3-1, it didn’t matter than Brazil beat Japan, 3-2, in the last game of the group. It will be the first time since 2002 that Brazil will not play for a medal and the first time since 1986 that it didn’t make it past the second round.

In Pool F, Italy remained the only unbeaten team in the tournament, beating Russia (3-1) and the U.S. (3-1) in its final two games in pool play. The U.S. was swept by China (3-0) and lost to Italy – 25-16, 25-23, 20-25, 25-16 – after winning its first seven games and squeaked into the final qualifying spot by one point over Russia, which lost to Italy and China in its last two matches.

After the loss to Italy, U.S. head coach Karch Kiraly said, “Compliments to Italy. They have been playing very strong volleyball this tournament. Coach Davide [Mazzanti] has been doing a very nice job with them and I respect his work.

“We are quite disappointed with this loss. Volleyball is played by human beings who are not perfect, thank God for that, and both China and Italy played really nice strong volleyball and put us in difficult positions.” Translation: the U.S. played poorly and knew it.

In the final round – being played in Nagoya – the six qualifiers are split into pools of three, with the two top in each pool advancing to the semifinals:

∙ Pool G:
14 October: Japan vs. Serbia
15 October: Italy vs. Japan
16 October: Italy vs. Serbia

∙ Pool H:
14 October: China vs. United States
15 October: Netherlands vs. United States
16 October: Netherlands vs. China

The semis are scheduled for the 19th and the finals for the 20th, in Yokohama.

Italy’s dominance in the tournament so far is reflected in Paola Ogechi Egonu taking the tournament scoring lead with 182 points, with Miryam Fatime Sylla (2nd: 54.85%) and Egonu (7th: 49.18%) both in the top ten in hitting percentage. Germany’s Louisa Lippmann (GER) is currently second in scoring with 179 points, but will soon be passed by Lonneke Sloetjes (NED, 174).

The U.S. is the defending champion, having beaten China in the final four years ago. Of the other final-round teams, Italy won in in 2002 and Japan won in 1962 and 1967. Serbia (as Serbia and Montenegro) won bronze in 2006; the Dutch have never won a medal in the women’s Worlds.

Look for scores and standings here.

SHOOTING: Vizzi defends her National Shotgun Skeet title in snow!

By
Rich Perelman
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U.S. Skeet champion Dania Vizzi

“It was my first time shooting in snow so that was pretty exciting.”

There you have the highlight of the just-completed women’s Skeet final at the USA Shooting National Shotgun Championships at International Shooting Park at Ft. Carson near Colorado Springs, Colorado.

The 2017 World Skeet Champion, Dania Vizzi, 23, defended her 2017 national title in a shoot-off against 18-year-old Sam Simonton, 4-3, in what can charitably be called “unique” conditions. Besides shooting in snow for the first time, Vizzi noted that “I also broke two of my personal records so that was the biggest accomplishment for me. I thought it was pretty nice to see the target against the all-gray background, but I think the hardest part was my hands getting so cold. I’d be ‘Did I pull the trigger or not?’ The shootoff was fun and a good experience – especially with such a high score.”

In the men’s division, Christian Elliott won the 2017 U.S. Juni0or title and is now the U.S. national champion with a 57-54 win over Dustan Taylor. “I started out with two, 123s so that was really good to start in the top spot,” Elliott said. “Then it got dark, cold and the sun went away at the beginning of the Final, so I had to do a lens change. Missed a couple targets early, did the lens change, but then we were back on track.”

Katie Jacob won her second straight U.S. Junior title in Skeet and Eli Christman moved up from third last year to win with a sterling 58/60 performance in the finals. Summaries:

USA Shooting National Shotgun Championships
Colorado Springs, Colorado (USA) ~ 26 September-7 October 2018
(Full results here)

Men

Skeet/Finals: 1. Christian Elliott, 57; 2. Dustan Taylor, 54; 3. Zachary McBee, 43; 4. Will Thomas, 35; 5. Frank Thompson, 25; 6. Elijah Ellis, 17.
Junior Skeet/Finals: 1. Eli Christman, 58; 2. Nic Moschetti, 56; 3. Alexander Ahlin, 47.

Trap/Finals: 1. Caleb Lindsey, 44; 2. Roe Reynolds, 43; 3. Brian Burrows, 31; 4. Derek Haldeman, 28; 5. Logan Mountain, 22; 6. Logan Lucas, 18.
Junior Trap/Finals: 1. Dale Royer, 48; 2. Roe Reynolds, 46; 3. Logan Lucas, 35.

Women

Skeet/Finals: 1. Dania Vizzi, 57; 2. Sam Simonton, 57 (Vizzi won shoot-off: 4-3); 3. Austen Smith, 43; 4. Ari Montemayor, 32; 5. Caitlin Connor, 25; 6. Gracin Anderson, 15.
Junior Skeet/Finals: 1. Katie Jacob, 50; 2. Gracin Anderson, 47; 3. Karsyn Ross, 27.

Trap/Finals: 1. Aeriel Skinner, 44; 2. Emma Williams, 40; 3. Ashley Carroll, 33; 4. Rachel Tozier, 28; 5. Corey Cogdell-Unrein, 22; 6. Kim Rhode, 18.
Junior Trap/Finals: 1. Victoria Hendrix, 43; 2. Ryann Phillips, 41; 3. Heather Broski, 26.

Mixed

Team/Finals: 1. Brian Burrows/Kayle Browning. 44; 2. Jake Wallace/Corey Cogdell, 41; 3. Ryne Barfield/Rickelle Pimentel, 33; 4. Lance Bade/Kim Rhode, 29; 5. Logan Lucas/Ashley Carroll, 21; 6. Glen Eller/Aeriel Skinner, 17.

Team/Combined: 1. Eller/Skinner, 334 points; 2. Burrows/Browning, 325; 3. Wallace/Cogdell, 319; 4. Grayson Davey/Julia Stallings, 318; 5. Bade/Rhode, 318; 6. Lucas/Carroll, 306.

FOOTBALL: Colombia outclasses U.S. men, 4-2, in Tampa

By
Rich Perelman
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Colombian star striker James Rodriguez

The U.S. men’s national team reversed a halftime deficit and had a 2-1 lead over South American power Colombia at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa before the visitors took the game to another level … and the U.S. couldn’t keep up, losing 4-2.

After a stunning tying goal from Kellyn Acosta in the 50th minute, where he ran from well outside the box onto an Antonee Robinson pass, the pro-Colombian crowd was silenced when Bobby Wood toe-punched the ball into the goal off a Tim Weah pass right in front of the box in the 53rd minute.

The 2-1 U.S. lead didn’t last long, however, as Santiago Arias’s cross in front of the goal was met by Carlos Bacca and he slid it into the goal for a tie in the 56th minute.

Colombia had the better run of play from then on and found the net again in the 74th minute on a counter-attack, as a James Rodriguez clearance was eventually served to Juan Quintero, whose pass into the box was finished with a strike by Radamel Falcao that gave Colombia the lead and sent the majority of the crowd of 38,631 into a frenzy.

The scoring was finished just five minutes later when Miguel Borja twisted his body into the air to get his right foot onto a pinpoint Rodriguez cross from the other side of the box and send a laser past U.S. keeper Zack Steffen for the 4-2 final.

Rodriguez opened the scoring in the 36th minute with a sensational, curling shot from the right side of the box that found the upper left corner of the net, well beyond Steffen’s reach for a 1-0 lead.

Colombia was simply better than the U.S. and it showed, as they dominated possession and had the ability to finish with precision. The gap was obvious and the U.S. fell to 3-13-4 vs. Colombia all-time.

Next up for the U.S. is another friendly, vs. Peru on Tuesday, 16 October in East Hartford, Connecticut, at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time, shown on ESPN2, UniMas and UDN.

The U.S. is still looking for a coach and the indications are that the announcement could come by the end of this month. Dave Sarachan has been the interim coach since the end of October, 2017, after the U.S. failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.

FOOTBALL: U.S. women to face Jamaica in CONCACAF semis

By
Rich Perelman
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The situation wasn’t settled until the very end of the group stage, but the U.S. and Canada both went undefeated and won their groups as expected at the CONCACAF Women’s Championship.

The Canadians defeated Costa Rica, 3-1, to win Group B and send Jamaica into the semis against the U.S. in the final rounds, to be played at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas on Sunday (14th) and on the 17th for the medal matches:

∙ Semis: 14 October at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. Eastern time
∙ Third: 17 October at 5 p.m. Eastern
∙ Final: 17 October at 8 p.m. Eastern

All of the tournament games will be shown on FS1 or FS2, as well as Univision.

The U.S. finished off group play by beating Trinidad & Tobago, 7-0, in a rainy game before 3,996 fans in Cary, North Carolina. After an early goal by Alex Morgan, the U.S. hit the goal posts and crossbar four times before exploring for three goals in the final four minutes of the first half. Rose Lavelle scored twice, in the 41st and 43rd minutes and then Crystal Dunn scored in the 45th minute for a 4-0 halftime lead. Lindsey Horan (49th minute), Morgan (50th) and Tobin Heath (58th) scored in the second half.

Perhaps the most amazing statistic in the game was that the U.S. attempted 59 shots to none for Trinidad & Tobago. Over the three group games, the U.S. outshot its three opponents in the first half, 57-0, and 117-7 in total, on the way to an 18-0 scoreline.

Scores and standings:

∙ Group A:
4 October: Panama 3, Trinidad & Tobago 0 ∙ United States 6, Mexico 0
7 October: United States 5, Panama 0 ∙ Mexico 4, Trinidad & Tobago 1
10 October: Panama 2, Mexico 0 ∙ United States 7, Trinidad & Tobago 0
(Games at Shalen’s Stadium: Cary, North Carolina)

Standings: 1. United States (3-0); 2. Panama (2-1); 3. Mexico (1-2); Trinidad & Tobago (0-3).

∙ Group B:
5 October: Canada 2, Jamaica 0 ∙ Costa Rica 8, Cuba 0
8 October: Jamaica 1, Costa Rica 0 ∙ Canada 12, Cuba 0
11 October: Jamaica 9, Cuba 0 ∙ Canada 3, Costa Rica 1
(Games at H-E-B Park: Edinburg, Texas)

Standings: 1. Canada (3-0); 2. Jamaica (2-1); 3. Costa Rica (1-2); 4. Cuba (0-3).

The stakes in this tournament are high: the top three teams will qualify directly to the 2019 World Cup, with a fourth team moving into a play-off, with that winner to qualify.

The U.S. now has an unbeaten streak of 24 (21-0-3) games since a loss to Australia in mid-2017. In 2018, the U.S. women are 14-0-2 and have outscored their opponents, 54-10. The U.S. women are now 11-0-0 vs. Trinidad & Tobago all-time.

This is the 10th edition of the CONCACAF Women’s Championship, first held in 1991. The U.S. has dominated the event, winning in 1991-93-94-2000-02-06-14 and taking the bronze medal in 2010. All-time, the American women have now compiled a 30-1-0 record in this tournament (176-5 on goals scored!), losing only in 2010 and did not compete in 1999 as an automatic qualifier for the World Cup as the host country. Canada won the 1998 and 2010 tournaments.

Look for the scores here.

CYCLING: Bennett wins two, leads in Tour of Turkey

By
Rich Perelman
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Ireland's Sam Bennett (courtesy BORA-hansgrohe,courtesy Arne Mill/Stiehl Photography)

Ireland’s Sam Bennett likes the Presidential Tour of Turkey, and won his sixth stage in the race over the past two years to claim the lead in the overall standings halfway through the race.

Bennett was third in the first stage, won by Argentina’s Maximiliano Richeze, then won the all-out sprints to the finish of the second and third stages. He won four stages in this race in 2017, but still finished just 52nd overall.

He leads Richese by a modest 10 seconds with three stages to go; there are 71 riders chasing him within a minute of his lead. The route gets rougher now, with the major mountain stage on Friday and hilly stages on Saturday and Sunday, with the finish in Istanbul. While Bennett has been a stage winner in past races, he’s never won (or medaled) in the final standings of a World Tour multi-stage race.

Look for results here. Summaries and stage notes:

UCI World Tour/Presidential Tour of Turkey
Turkey ~ 9-14 October 2018
(Full results here)

Stage 1 (148.4 km): 1. Maximiliano Richeze (ARG), 3:29:14; 2. Sam Bennett (IRL), 3:29:14; 3. Jempy Drucker (LUX), 3:29:14; 4. Alvaro Jose Hodeg (COL), 3:29:14; 5. Brenton Jones (AUS), 3:29:14.

Stage 2 (149.6 km): 1. Bennett (IRL), 3:24:37; 2. Hodeg (COL), 3:24:37; 3. Simone Consonni (ITA), 3:24:37; 4. Drucker (LUX), 3:24:37; 5. Ivan Garcia (ESP), 3:24:37.

Stage 3 (132.7 km): 1. Bennett (IRL), 3:16:27; 2. Richeze (ARG), 3:16:27; 3. John Degenkolb (GER), 3:16:27; 4. Patrick Bevan (NZL), 3:16:27; 5. Ahmet Orkan (TUR), 3:16:27.

Stage 4: 12 October: 205.5 km ~ Marmaris-Selcuk (mountains)
Stage 5: 13 October: 135.7 km ~ Selcuk-Manisa (hilly)
Stage 6: 14 October: 164.0 km ~ Bursa-Istanbul (hilly)

TRIATHLON Preview: CAMTRI Mixed Relay title up for grabs in Sarasota

By
Rich Perelman
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A total of 20 teams, including seven from the United States, are expected to start in the CAMTRI Pan American Mixed Relay Championships at Sarasota’s Nathan Benderson Park on Sunday.

Forecasters do not see any interference from Hurricane Michael on the event, so it’s expected to go on as scheduled.

The Mixed Relay includes a 350 m swim (one lap), followed by a one-lap, 6.1 km bike phase, and a single-lap, 1.5 km run.

The weekend program includes an ITU World Cup – the secondary series below the World Series – race and the U.S. Elite National Championships (on Saturday).

The individual races will be on a sprint course: 750 m swim, 20 km bike phase and 5 km run. Several of the world’s top triathletes are entered in the World Cup race, including Vincent Luis (FRA: no. 3 in the ITU world rankings) and Tyler Mislawchuk (CAN: 11th) among the men and Kirsten Kasper (USA: 3), Taylor Spivey (USA: 6) and Joanna Brown (CAN: 14) among the women.

In terms of the U.S. nationals, the top American entries by their current ITU world ranking include:

Men:
34. Eli Hemming
38. Matthew McElroy
48. Kevin McDowell
69. Morgan Pearson
70. Tony Smoragiewicz

Women:
3. Kirsten Kasper
6. Taylor Spivey
24. Chelsea Burns
43. Tamara Gorman
60. Sophie Chase

At the 2017 Nationals, also held in Sarasota, McDowell and Smoragiewicz were the top two Americans in the race, with Rodrigo Gonzalez (MEX) the overall winner.

The women’s World Cup race was win by Juri Ide (JPN), with Chelsea Sodaro (USA) second and Spivey and Burns fifth and sixth overall and 2-3 in the U.S. Nationals.

Both Gonzalez and Ide return for 2018. Look for results here.

CURLING Preview: World Mixed Curling Champs start in Canada

By
Rich Perelman
-

Held for the first time outside of Europe, the World Mixed Curling Championships start on Saturday on Kelowna, British Columbia (CAN), with 35 teams entered.

This is an open-entry event (no qualification) for four-person teams with two men and two women. There are four pools, with the winner to advance to the quarterfinals and the second- and third-place teams in play-in games to reach the quarters:

∙ Group A: Belarus, England, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Kazakhstan, Scotland, Turkey and Wales.

∙ Group B: Australia, Brazil, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Netherlands, Russia, Switzerland and United States.

∙ Group C: Croatia, Czech Republic, Spain, Estonia, France, Latvia, Poland, Sweden and Chinese Taipei.

∙ Group D: Austria, Canada, Hungary, Japan, Norway, New Zealand, Slovenia and Slovakia.

Round-robin play in each group will continue through the 18th, with the playoffs on the 19th and 20th.

The U.S. team has Evan Workin (Skip), Rachel Workin (Vice-skip), Jordan Brown and Christina Lammers.

This is the fourth edition of the event, with Scotland as defending champions, defeating Canada, 8-5, to win last year, with the Czech Republic third. Russia and Sweden went 1-2 in 2016 and Norway won the inaugural tournament, 5-3, over Sweden in 2015.

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