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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
● Olympic Winter Games 2026: Milan Cortina ● Olympic super-statistician Dr. Bill Mallon is back from his month in Milan and shared some of the critical numbers from the XXV OWG:
● “There were 2,807 competitors at MiCo26 – those who actually started in any event. Of these there were 1,446 men and 1,361 women.”
● “Only Italy and the United States competed in all 16 disciplines. China and Germany competed in 15 of them.”
● “92 nations competed + AIN (Individual Neutral Athletes by the French acronym). 89 nations had men competitors – only Malaysia, Malta, and Puerto Rico had only women compete. 70 nations + AIN had female competitors.”
● “There were 17 nations with only 1 competitor as follows: Benin, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Eritrea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Malaysia, Malta, Monaco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Puerto Rico, Singapore, San Marino, Uruguay, and Venezuela.”
● “Benin, Giunea-Bissau, and the United Arab Emirates made their Olympic Winter débuts (along with AIN, for what that’s worth).”
Mallon notes that results from the 2026 Games are now fully integrated into the comprehensive Olympedia.org database.
Looking to the future, his prediction is that Nordic Combined will be cut from the Olympic Winter Games program!
● Pan American Games ● Panam Sports announced an agreement for the German SPORTFIVE agency as “the exclusive global media rights partner of Panam Sports for the Pan American Games in Lima [2027] and Asunción [2031].”
As the international sports calendar has become more and more globalized, the Pan American Games have struggled to maintain their once-high profile and relevance. The move for rights to a European-based agency is hoped to expand interest in the Games beyond the Western Hemisphere.
● Memorabilia ● An Athens 1896 first-place winner’s medal – made of silver for the first modern Games – was sold at auction by the Danish house Bruun Rasmussen sold for DKK 900,000 (~$140,945 U.S.) as a single item on Sunday (1st).
The medal, picturing Zeus on the front and the Acropolis on the back, was in what appeared to be excellent condition and in an original presentation box. There were 42 bids.
This was a strong price for this medal, which is often seen in auctions. Recent sales of 1896 Athens first-place medals have included $103,713 by RR Auction in February 2026 and $111,960 by RR Auction in January 2024.
● Alpine Skiing ● Italian hero Federica Brignone, 35, who returned from a bad crash in just 10 months to win Olympic golds in the women’s Super-G and Giant Slalom, said Monday she is finished for the season.
“I asked a lot of my body over these months. I tried to continue the season but now my body is paying the price. So I’m taking advantage of the season being nearly over to give myself a break and then continue with my rehab.”
● Athletics ● Kenyan Rita Jeptoo, now 45 and who served a four-year doping ban from 2014-18, was provisionally suspended by the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya, for whereabouts failures.
The Daily Nation reported Monday that 27 athletes were suspended, mostly for whereabouts failures, dating back to August 2025. Jeptoo won the Boston Marathon in 2006 and 2013 and in Chicago in 2013, was banned from 2014-18 and then began running again in 2022.
● Badminton ● At the BWF World Tour German Open in Mulheim, the all-French men’s final saw Christo Popov sail past older brother Toma Junior Popov, 21-16, 21-15, while the women’s final was all-China as Zhi Yi Wang defeated Qian Xi Han, 21019, 22-20.
China swept the men’s, women’s and Mixed Doubles.
● Basketball ● The U.S. moved to 3-1 in the Americas World Cup qualifying in Group A with a 123-88 win over Mexico in Oceanside, California on Sunday evening (1st).
The Americans were up, 40-14 at the quarter and 71-32 at the half and cruised for the win, and a second-place standing; the top three in the group will advance to the second round of qualifying play. Forward David Roddy scored 20 for the U.S., with forward Malcolm Hill scoring 18.
The third window for qualifying comes on 3 and 6 July, with the U.S. playing on the road at the Dominican Republic and Mexico, respectively.
● Cricket ● The Super-8 stage has been completed at the ICC men’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, with the semifinalists now set.
Defending champion India (4-0), Zimbabwe (3-0), West Indies (4-0) and South Africa (4-0) won the groups and in the Super-8, South Africa went 3-0 in Group 1, ahead of India (2-1).
Group 2 had 2022 winner England at 3-0 and advancing, along with New Zealand at 1-1, with one match rained out.
The remaining matches are all in India. The semis will be played on 4-5 March with South Africa and New Zealand meeting in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) and India vs. England in Mumbai. The final will be on 8 March in Ahmedabad.
Cricket T20 is on the Olympic program for the first time ever for Los Angeles in 2028.
● Equestrian ● The International Equestrian Federation said that any withdrawals from competitions due to the current Middle East conflict, will not be penalized. Two events for this week, in Qatar and the UAE, have been canceled.
● Fencing ● In a message to its national federations, the International Fencing Federation said Monday that it is postponing the 5-8 March men’s and women’s Foil World Cup in Cairo (EGY), and the 6-8 March men’s Sabre World Cup in Padua (ITA), women’s Sabre World Cup in Athens (GRE), as a consequence of the continuing conflict with Iran.
The decision “was taken to ensure, as a top priority, the safety of the entire fencing family and to ensure that delegations are not denied participation for reasons beyond their control.
“Furthermore, the FIE Executive Committee will continue to monitor the situation daily and collaborate with the organizers regarding possible new dates.”
● Football ● FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom (SWE) said Saturday of the U.S. and Israeli intervention in Iran:
“I read the news [about Iran] this morning the same way you did. We had a meeting today and it is premature to comment in detail, but we will monitor developments around all issues around the world.
“We had the Finals draw in Washington in which all teams participated, and our focus is on a safe World Cup with all the teams participating. We will continue to communicate as we always do with three [host] governments as we always do in any case. Everybody will be safe.”
● Judo ● The joint Israel and U.S. attacks on Iran caused the Israeli judo squad to leave the Tashkent Grand Slam in Uzbekistan and fly immediately to a central European location. Instructions from the Shin Bet security agency were to leave Uzbekistan as soon as possible, and 11 Israeli athletes who had already competed on Friday and Saturday left before the final weight classes on Sunday.
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