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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
● Olympic Games 2020: Tokyo ● Another company in the Tokyo 2020 bid-rigging scandal has been found guilty and a senior executive handed a suspended sentence.
Event-management firm Cerespo was found to have participated in a six-party bid-rigging scheme to award about $4 million in Tokyo 2020 contracts to stage test events prior to the 2020 Olympic Games, and then to obtain much more lucrative contracts for venue management – about $294 million – during the Olympic Games, which were eventually moved to 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
High-profile Japanese ad agencies Dentsu, Hakuhodo and the Tokyu Agency, and event-management companies Cerespo, Fuji Creative Corp., and Same Two, Inc., were involved, coordinating the program between February and July 2018 with Yasuo Mori of the organizing committee’s Operations Bureau.
The Tokyo District Court fined Cerespo ¥280 million (about $1.78 million U.S.) and sentenced Yoshiji Kamata to 22 months in prison, with the sentence suspended for four years. All of the individuals sentenced in this scandal have received suspended sentenced. Kamata, 61, said he will appeal the conviction.
● Alpine Skiing ● Norway’s Timon Haugen grabbed his third career FIS World Cup victory in the Slalom in Alta Badia (ITA) on Monday, holding on to his first-run lead and winning in 1:45.40. That was comfortably ahead of Swiss Loic Meillard (1:46.53) and Norwegian teammate Atle Lie McGrath (1:46.66).
Jett Seymour was the top American, in 13th, at 1:48.31. The men’s tour heads to Bormio (ITA) for a Downhill and Super-G this weekend.
● Aquatics ● World Aquatics completed its rules revisions for 2025 and beyond and included an important change for women’s swimsuits:
“Updated regulations now permit the use of specially designed swimwear for women during their menstrual periods. These swimsuits prioritise functionality and discretion while adhering to performance standards.”
A significant change was made for water polo, standardizing the field of play for both men and women at 25.60 m by 20.00 m, or 84-0 by 65-7 1/2 in feet and inches. Pool depth remains at not less than 1.80 m (5-10 3/4).
● Athletics ● Paris women’s 400 m Olympic champion Marileidy Paulino (DOM) has East German Marita Koch’s astounding world record of 47.60 in her sights for 2025.
Speaking with Panam Sports, she reflected on her 48.17 win in Paris – she’s now no. 4 all-time – and looked ahead:
“I’m betting on the work my team and I have done on my legs, and I know that if God allows it, I will be able to break the world record, which is my greatest desire.
“I just have to wait for the perfect moment, the perfect day and the perfect track. I know it can be done. The results of the Paris Olympic Games showed me that it can be done.
“I know that I’m going to work on the small details I have [to fix] to be able to break the world record, although I’m happy with breaking 47.99 seconds.”
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