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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
● Pan American Games ● Panam Sports happily confirmed two candidates for the 2031 Pan American Games: Asuncion (PAR) and Rio de Janeiro-Nitroi in Brazil.
Paraguay has been on a mission to land important continental events and lost a close, 28-24 vote last year to Lima (PER) to host the re-awarded 2027 Pan American Games. Rio, of course, was the 2007 Pan American Games site, hosted the 2016 Olympic Games, and is now partnering with Nitroi for a third major multi-sport event in 24 years!
Asuncion will host the II Junior Pan American Games — 333 events, 4,000 athletes – in August of this year.
Panam Sports has yet to form an evaluation committee or specify the dates in the process to select a host, but is expected to do both quickly.
● Curling ● At the World Curling Mixed Doubles World Championship in Fredericton, Canada, Italy and Australia led the groups through the round-robin pools, heading into the playoffs on Friday.
In Group A, Italy’s Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner finished a perfect 9-0 by a combined score of 73-35! Scotland (7-2) and Canada (7-2) followed and qualified for the playoffs.
In Group B, Australia’s Tahli Gill and Dean Hewitt won at 8-1, ahead of Estonia (6-3) and the U.S. team of Corey Thiesse and Korey Dropkin (also 6-3). The Americans needed to beat Spain in their final pool match to qualify, and did, 10-2.
In the playoffs, Canada and Estonia will face off for the right to meet Italy in the semis, while the U.S. and Scotland will play, with the winner to play Australia. Thiesse and Dropkin won this title in 2023.
● Fencing ● The International Fencing Federation (FIE) posted minutes of its Executive Committee meeting of 30 April, including the leadership change:
“In accordance with article 5.1 of the FIE Statutes, under which the management of the FIE is entrusted to the Executive Committee between Congresses, and in order to ensure the smooth running of the FIE, the Executive Committee has appointed Mr Abdel Moneim El Husseiny (EGY) as interim President.
“Mr El Husseiny has accepted and will therefore assume all the functions of the President of the FIE as provided for in the Statutes of the FIE and other regulations.
“The Executive Committee’s decision will be submitted to the FIE Congress for ratification at its next meeting.”
A banker by trade, El Husseiny, 58, is a former Foil fencer who represented Egypt at the 1984 and 1988 Olympic Games and became a referee following his competitive career.
He joined the FIE marketing commission in 2004 and was elected to the Executive Committee in 2021 and re-elected in 2024. The question now is how much leeway he will be given by the elected – but silent – FIE President, Russian Alisher Usmanov. The FIE Congress is not until November.
● Figure Skating ● The brilliant U.S. Ice Dance siblings Maia and Alex Shibutani announced their return to competitive skating.
She’s 30 and he’s 34 now, but are coming back for the Olympic season, to be coached by Russian Marina Zoueva and Italian Massimo Scali.
The Shibutanis last competed in 2018 and have twice been Olympic bronze medalists in 2014 and 2018 and three-time Worlds medal winners, in 2011 (bronze), 2016 (silver) and 2017 (bronze). They won eight straight medals in the senior division of the U.S. championships, with victories in 2016 and 2017 and four more silvers and two bronzes.
They haven’t been off the ice entirely, busy with ice shows and exhibitions. They will have to compete with World Champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates, but can certainly contend for a second U.S. spot in Milan Cortina vs. Caroline Green and Michael Parsons, Christina Carrera and Anthony Ponomarenko and Emily Bratti and Michael Somerville.
● Football ● FIFA announced a fund-raising program with the anti-poverty Global Citizen group, to collect $100 million over four years for the new FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, with the goal of providing access to education and football for children.
For openers, FIFA has pledged $1 from every ticket sold for the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup, to kick off on 14 June and including 63 matches in the U.S. over the following month. Global Citizen was founded in Australia in 2008 and is now headquartered in New York. According to the announcement:
“The new fund, announced by FIFA President, Gianni Infantino [SUI] and Global Citizen CEO, Hugh Evans [AUS], will provide targeted support to organisations across the globe dedicated to improving education for children.”
● Swimming ● More star performances on the second day of the Tyr Pro Swim Series in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, with two world-leading swims on Thursday:
● Women/100 m Free: 52.90, Gretchen Walsh (USA)
● Women/400 m Free: 3:56.81, Katie Ledecky (USA)
Walsh, who won seven golds at the World Aquatics 25 m Championships late last year, started off strong with a world-leading 52.90 in the women’s 100 m, barely holding on from a late charge by five-time Olympic medal winner Torri Huske (52.95), now world no. 2.
Ledecky, coming off the no. 2 performance in history in the women’s 1,500 m Free, out-dueled Canadian star Summer McIntosh, 3:56.81 to 3:58.28 in the 400 m Free, the top two performances of 2025. Unusually, it was McIntosh who led for most of the race with Ledecky turning in a 29.50 last lap to 31.15 for McIntosh for the win.
It’s the no. 7 performance in history for Ledecky, and no. 14 for McIntosh; Ledecky now has three of the top nine ever. Claire Weinstein of the U.S. got a lifetime best of 4:01.26 in third, now no. 3 performer in 2025 and no. 12 all-time.
Olympic relay gold medalist Emma Weber took the women’s 100 m Breast, out-fighting star Lilly King, 1:06.63 to 1:06.67, with Olympic 200 m Breast gold medalist Kate Douglass third in 1:06.76.
Canada’s four-time Olympic Backstroke medalist Kylie Masse was fastest in the heats of the women’s 50 m Backstroke, moving to no. 3 in the world for 2025 at 27.13, but was only third in the final at 27.53. Instead, it was American Katharine Berkoff who won at 27.38, after moving up to world no. 4 in the morning heats at 27.34. Regan Smith of the U.S., the two-time Backstroke silver winner in Paris, was second in the final at 27.43, now world no. 5.
Smith came back quickly to win the 200 m Butterfly in 2:05.38, now no. 2 in 2025, easily ahead of fellow U.S. Olympian Alex Shackell (2:06.13).
In the men’s 100 m Free, Shaine Casas led from wire-to-wire in 48.47, just ahead of Olympic relay gold medalist Chris Giuliano (48.49), and came back to win the 50 m Back in 24.41, just behind his world-leading 24.23 in March. Hungary’s 200 m Back Olympic champ Hubert Kos was third at 24.81.
Tokyo Olympic 400 m Free bronze medalist Kieran Smith won that event in 3:47.01, ahead of Florida prep Ryan Erisman (3:48.57). Triple Olympic champ Leon Marchand of France (3:48.97) and Tokyo 800-1,500 m Free champion Bobby Finke (USA: 3:49.01), not swimming their primary events, finished 3-4.
Kyrgyzstan’s three-time Olympian Denis Petrashov won the men’s 100 m Breaststroke in 59.23, moving to no. 5 in the world for 2025. Lithuanian Aleksas Savickas was a close second at 59.72, now 14th in 2025. Austria’s Martin Espernberger – who swims at Tennessee – the 2024 Worlds bronze winner in 200 m Fly, won that event in 1:55.71, now no. 10 worldwide this year. Two-time Olympic medalist Carson Foster of the U.S. was second in 1:55.84.
The meet continues through Saturday.
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