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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● The famed Paris 2024 electric cauldron will return to the Tuileries Gardens once again for its summer residence, from 21 June – Olympic and Paralympic Day in France – through 14 September.
It will be available to view without reservations from 10 a.m. daily, weather permitting, and open until a variable closing depending on date, from 7:30 to 9:30 in the evenings. Some 2.5 million visitors came to see the “Anniversary Flame” in 2025.
● Olympic Winter Games 2026: Milan Cortina ● The Kazakhstan Ministry of Tourism and Sports said Thursday:
“The Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan has adopted a resolution on the payment of cash rewards to Mikhail Shaidorov (figure skating), the winner of the XXV Winter Olympic Games 2026, held in the Italian cities of Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, and Nadezhda Morozova (speed skating), who was among the top six athletes.
“In accordance with current legislation, the following cash rewards are provided: Mikhail Shaidorov – $250,000, and Nadezhda Morozova – $5,000. Cash bonuses were also paid to the first place, personal coach, and head coach of the medal-winning athletes.”
Morozova finished sixth in the women’s 3,000 m, in her third Olympic Winter Games. Shaidorov said that he also ha a contract with the Ministry which also provides a monthly stipend.
● Olympic Winter Games 2030: French Alps ● The emblems of the “Alpes 2030” Games were revealed on Thursday, using a stylized peak for the Olympic Winter Games and the same peak in white, formed by rays on both sides for the Winter Paralympic Games.
Albertville 1992 Moguls gold medalist Edgar Grospiron, President of the Alpes 2030 Organising Committee, explained:
“The same mountain will unite the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2030.
“That is why our two emblems were conceived as complementary expressions of the same vision. Together, they embody our ambition: to give Olympism and Paralympism the same place, strength and visibility.”
Yes, merchandise with the new marks is already available.
● Anti-Doping ● The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency posted its 2025 annual report, noting 7,441 samples collected from 2,846 athletes, with special emphasis on the Milan Cortina Winter Games, with 1,021 samples collected in the final five months of 2025, from 1,015 athletes across 22 disciplines. The overall total was slightly down from 7,554 in 2024.
Of the total collections, 5,627 were out-of-competition (75.6%); the most tested sports were athletics (1,949), swimming (809) and weightlifting (573). The most tested winter sport was ski & snowboard at 450.
There were 41 sanctions handed out during 2025, including those from prior years. In terms of 2025 violations, 97 initial violations were detected, 27 cases resulted in a sanction, 42 ended with no violations and 28 cases are still pending.
USADA worked with revenues of $24.92 million in 2025 and spent $22.69 million; it had $14.28 million in reserves at the end of the year.
The educational outreach program reached 43,880 athletes and other “stakeholders.” primarily online, but also face-to-face at events.
● Athletics ● U.S. distance icon Jenny Simpson is apparently improving after being rushed to a hospital in Raleigh, North Carolina following a collapse on the track during a mile event. Her pulse was revived and a Wednesday statement from employer Fleet Feet included:
“While Jenny remains under medical care, she has shown encouraging improvement and continues to exhibit the strength and resilience that have long defined her. True to form, she has already asked about her mile time and whether she won.”
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NBC reported that the 14 June USATF Los Angeles Grand Prix, with about 1,000 fans in attendance at USC’s Loker Stadium in Los Angeles last Sunday, did well on NBC, with a “Total Audience Delivery of 774K across NBC, Peacock, and NBC Sports digital platforms.”
This is consistent with the 6 June USATF Lone Star Grand Prix in College Station, Texas, with maybe 1,000 in attendance but a television audience of 757,000 across all NBC platforms.
Interestingly, the Los Angeles Grand Prix came a day after the four-day NCAA Championships in Eugene, which averaged 291,500 viewers a day on ESPN or ESPN2.
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If you watched the NCAA Track & Field Championships in Eugene last week, you saw loads of empty seats at Hayward Field and whole sections covered with tarpaulins. Continuing scanning of the stands during the meet as shown on ESPN indicated maybe 4,000 in the house at any one time, on any of the days. But ticket sales figures provided by the University of Oregon told a different story:
● 10 June: Capacity 10,830: 8,871 tickets sold
● 11 June: Capacity 10,830: 8,795 tickets sold
● 12 June: Capacity 10,830: 10,956 tickets sold
● 13 June: Capacity 10,830: 9,699 tickets sold
The total is 38,321 or 88.5% of all tickets available, averaging 9,580 daily.
Remarkable. Unexplainable? Optical illusion? What?
● Swimming ● More hot times at the Tyr Pro Swim Series Indianapolis, with Paris Olympic 100 m Back bronzer Katharine Berkoff ripping the fastest time in the world in 2026 with a 27.05 in the women’s 50 m Back preliminaries.
It’s the no. 6 performance in history and just ahead of 100 m Back winner Isabelle Stadden from Wednesday, who swam 27.18 to move to no. 3 on the 2026 world list.
Thursday night finals can be followed on the live-timing site here.
● Table Tennis ● The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) approved the re-entry of Belarusian athletes without restrictions as of 28 July 2026, in line with the International Olympic Committee recommendations.
No change was made in access for Russian senior-level athletes, still required to compete as “neutrals,” as recommended by the IOC.
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