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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
● World Anti-Doping Agency ● As expected, the World Anti-Doping Agency announced Monday that no candidates lined up to run against incumbents Witold Banka (POL) for President or Yang Yang (CHN) for Vice President.
They will thus be elected for a third and final three-year term – 2026 to 2028 – on 29 May 2025 at an online meeting of the WADA Foundation Board meeting.
● Russia ● Interesting move by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) on Saturday (29th), at its Congress, delaying any consideration of whether to return Russian and Belarusian athletes to competition in time for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan Cortina (ITA).
Instead, a decision will not be taken until September, timing which suggests strongly that the federation wants to see what new IOC President Kirsty Coventry (ZIM) will do, after she takes over on 24 June.
Russian national Skeleton coach Denis Alimov told the TASS news agency:
“Nevertheless, everyone will train to the fullest, we have a clear plan for preparing for the Olympic season, which will be fully implemented. But, of course, we would like to have a better understanding of what to prepare for. It will be quite difficult to train all summer and not know what competitions await us in the winter.”
The IBSF will be among many IFs who will wait for the new IOC President to declare her stance.
● Athletics ● Some more world-leading performances over the weekend, starting with a startling 48.94 women’s 400 m win for Bahrain’s 2019 World Champion and Paris Olympic runner-up, Salwa Eid Naser, at a meet in Bayaguana (DOM). It’s her third-fastest time ever, and only 14 others have ever run as fast! The time is the only women’s sub-49 ever run in March, or anytime before 27 May, essentially a “world record” for January through May.
Also at the top of the world lists now is American Curtis Thompson, who got a lifetime best of 87.76 m (287-11) to win the men’s javelin, moving him to no. 3 all-time U.S.! Equaling the world lead in the women’s 400 m hurdles was the amazing Rachel Glenn – in 54.86 – who finished fifth at the Olympic Trials in this event, as well as making the Paris team in the high jump, placing second at the Trials.
Brynn King of Roberts Wesleyan won the women’s vault with an outdoor world leader of 4.75 m (15-7); that moves her into a tie for ninth all-time U.S.
U.S. teams got world leads in the men’s 4×400 m in 3:02.53, with Jevon O’Bryant, Lance Lang, Kennedy Lightner, and Bryce Deadmon on anchor and the women’s 4×100 m in 41.74, with Tamari Davis, Gabby Thomas, Jenna Prandini and Anavia Battle.
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Shawnti Jackson, the Arkansas junior who won the 2022 World Junior women’s 100 m bronze, was given a public warning by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency “for failing to obtain a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) prior to her use of an iron (ferumoxytol) infusion she received under the care of a physician for a diagnosed medical condition.”
She had four such infusions over the course of a year from September 2023 to September 2024; the USADA noted:
“Although no prohibited substances were administered, the treatment constituted a violation because it was over the permitted volume threshold and was not received during a hospital treatment, surgical procedure, or clinical diagnostic investigation. Jackson has since applied for and been granted a TUE to authorize future use of this treatment in sport.”
● Figure Skating ● The U.S. continued its winning ways at the ISU World Championships in Boston with two more “Skater of the Year” awards at the ISU Figure Skating Awards that followed on Sunday evening.
Two U.S. World Champions – Ilia Malinin (men’s Singles) and Madison Chock and Evan Bates (Ice Dance) – were honored as Skater and Skaters of the Year, respectively.
Malinin also won for Most Entertaining Program; Spain’s Olivia Smart and Tim Dieck (Ice Dance) won for Best Costume and Ekaterina Geynish and Dmitri Chigirev (UZB: Pairs) won for Best Newcomers.
Canadian Shae-Lynn Bourne was saluted as Best Choreographer, and Russian-born Tatiana Malinina and Roman Skorniakov – who both competed for Uzbekistan before moving to Virginia – received the Best Coach award. They are the parents of Ilia Malinin.
The Lifetime Achievement Award was given to 1984 Olympic champion Scott Hamilton (USA).
● Freestyle Skiing ● At the U.S. national championships for Moguls and Dual Moguls at Palisades Tahoe, California, Dylan Marcellini took the men’s Moguls title on Saturday at 86.20 over Riley Hughes (80.14), and then won the Dual Moguls on Sunday, defeating Gavin Tobey in the final, 25-18.
Kylie Kariotis took the women’s Moguls win, scoring 79.28 to 78.80 for Alli Macuga, but Macuga returned the favor with the Dual Moguls win, 25-10.
● Swimming ● American swim star Bella Sims, 19, a Tokyo Olympic 4×200 m Freestyle silver medalist, received and “agreed to a finding of No Fault after testing positive for the prohibited substance hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ).”
The International Testing Agency explained that she tested positive from an out-of-competition sample from 29 September 2024. However:
“the athlete was able to establish that the presence of HCTZ in her sample was caused by the intake of an anti-inflammatory prescription medication, which was confirmed to be contaminated with the banned diuretic. This permitted medication did not list HCTZ on its label, or any other prohibited substances.”
Thus, the finding of no fault or negligence, and no sanction.
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Hungarian star Hubert Kos, a junior at Texas, was the star of last week’s NCAA men’s Division I Swimming & Diving Championships at Federal Way, Washington.
Kos was the Olympic 200 m Backstroke gold medalist in Paris, but stormed to three NCAA wins, taking the 100-yard Back in a collegiate record 43.20, then the 200-yard Back in another collegiate record of 1:34.21. He also picked up a third individual win, in the 200-yard Medley.
Canadian Josh Liendo, the Paris 100 m Butterfly runner-up, was a double winner for Florida, taking the 100-yard Freestyle in 39.99 and winning the 100-yard Fly. The other double winner in individual events was Texas’ Rex Maurer (USA), who won the 500-yard Free and the 500-yard Medley, plus second in the 1,650-yard Free.
Georgia’s Luca Urlando, a Paris Olympian for the U.S., got the collegiate record in the 200-yard Fly, in 1:36.43, and Texas’ Luke Hobson (USA) won the 200-yard Free in a collegiate record of 1:28.33.
Texas took the team title, scoring 490 points for coach Bob Bowman – who won at Arizona State the year before – over California (471) and Indiana (459).
● Volleyball ● A significant move for Volleyball World, the commercial arm of the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) and its financial investor, CVC Capital Partners, as Canadian Finn Taylor – the enterprise’s first chief executive – has decided to leave after four highly-successful years at the head of the new entity.
Taylor will leave on 25 April, and said, “This decision comes with a mix of emotions, but I firmly believe that we have built something extraordinary – something far beyond what was initially envisioned. Having successfully delivered on my mandate, I feel the time is right to pass the baton to a new leader who will continue to drive the vision forward and take Volleyball World to even greater heights.”
Under his leadership, the Volleyball Nations League jumped in popularity and revenue, and the direct-to-consumer Volleyball TV (VBTV) project brought in more than 1.8 million registered fans worldwide.
Martyn Phillips, Vice Chairman of the Board of Volleyball World, will be the Interim CEO during the search for a new chief executive.
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