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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● The newest controversy, almost three months after the fact, is whether Canadian superstar Celine Dion sang “Hymne a la’Amour” or had her performance pre-recorded during the Olympic opening on 26 July in Paris.
A single of the performance was released on Friday (11 October) and the French newspaper Liberation quoted a composer and a sound engineer that the performance heard worldwide was pre-recorded and not live.
The French ceremony organizers said previously that Dion sang live, but ignored new requests to talk about it. Dion’s fans trashed the story on social media, but, in fact, both could be true.
Performers at prior Olympic openings have sung live, but the version heard on television was pre-recorded. So, maybe, it was both?
In either case (or both), it was great.
¶
The International Olympic Committee and the Paris 2024 organizers made sustainability a major focus and a post-event process is now underway to re-use as much equipment as possible. According to the IOC:
“[O]rganisers had rented about 900,000 (75%) of the 1.2 million pieces of sports equipment used overall. The remaining 300,000 pieces, which were purchased, are now being donated to the French sports movement in order to benefit local communities, promote physical activity, and enhance sports infrastructure across France.”
About 90% of all of the equipment used is being donated – as if often done – to local schools, sports facilities, parks and similar uses:
● “The sand from the Eiffel Tower stadium, used for beach volleyball events, will be repurposed to create three new courts at the Marville departmental park in Seine-Saint-Denis, with an additional court planned for nearby Taverny in Val d’Oise.”
● “Partnerships with organisations such as Emmaus, the Red Cross, and the French Popular Relief will ensure that the positive impact of the Games reaches those who need it most. For example, some 50,000 furniture items from the Olympic and Paralympic Village, including 9,000 mattresses and 11,000 pillows, have been donated to Emmaus.”
And the ever-popular post-Games leftovers sale – called “Big Sales of the Games” – are being held all over France with all kinds of items sold as souvenirs, or for commercial use in bulk.
● Ethiopia ● A developing story in Ethiopia has been reported in national media there, with a lawsuit filed by the Ethiopian boxing and tennis federations, plus two-time Olympic men’s 10,000 m champion Haile Gebrselassie and Sydney 2000 men’s marathon winner Gezahegne Abera, against the Ethiopian Olympic Committee and four officers.
The filing, in the Arada Division of the Federal Court of First Instance, alleges human trafficking and election fraud, naming President Ashebir Woldegiorgis, prosecutor Eden Ashenafi, General Secretary Dawit Asfau, and Deputy Secretary Ghezahegn Wolde.
The NOC is also alleged to have refused an audit from the Ministry of Culture & Sports and the Federal Auditor General. The court was reported to issue suspensions of some NOC functions as early as May; these are the kinds of actions which alert the International Olympic Committee to jump in, but this has not been reported as yet.
Ethiopia won four medals at Paris (1-3-0), the same total as at Tokyo in 2021, but half of the number won in 2012 and 2016. All of these medals came in track & field; Ethiopia has never won an Olympic medal in any other sport.
● India ● The continuing battle within the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) over governance and management has reached Lausanne and the International Olympic Committee.
The IOC Executive Board decided last Tuesday (8th) to withhold Olympic Solidarity funding from the IOA in view of its inability to hire a new chief executive and financial reporting failures:
“There are obvious ongoing internal disputes and governance issues facing the IOA, including a number of reciprocal allegations which have been raised within the [IOA] Executive Council.
“This situation creates a lot of uncertainty and needs clarification and therefore, until further notice, the IOC and Olympic Solidarity will not make any payments to the IOA, except for direct payments to athletes benefiting from Olympic scholarships.”
The IOA has been receiving about $1.01 million U.S. from the IOC in Olympic Solidarity funding in recent years.
An unsigned IOA news release, apparently from IOC President P.T. Usha, states that a representative of the All India Football Federation has issued an agenda for an upcoming Special General Meeting on 25 October, essentially “impersonating himself as the Acting CEO.”
And this from a country which is trying to assure the IOC that it is the right choice to host the 2036 Olympic Games.
● Athletics ● “The NAIA’s decision is the result of a process between its representatives and the University concerning allegations against a former cross country coach whose employment ended in 2020.”
That’s from a statement from Huntington University concerning sanctions from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) following the September conviction of former track and cross country coach Nick Johnson on sexual battery charges.
The NAIA suspended the powerhouse Huntington men’s and women’s cross country programs from the 2024 NAIA Championships in the sport; the Huntington women’s team was ranked 17th nationally on the 3 October USTFCCCA poll. The penalty was for violations of the NAIA Code of Ethics.
The entire athletic department is on probation through the 2026-27 academic year. Huntington Athletic Director Lori Culler was also placed on one year’s probation for the 2024-25 academic year.
● Badminton ● Three wins for China at the Arctic Open in Vantaa (FIN), with Yue Han taking the women’s Singles, Olympic silver winners Sheng Shu Liu and Ning Tan winning the women’s Doubles, and Yan Zhe Feng and Dong Ping Huang winning the Mixed Doubles.
Tien Chen Chou (TPE) won the men’s Singles and Malaysia’s Sze Fei Goh and Nur Izzuddin came from behind to win the men’s Doubles.
● Boxing ● The Irish Athletic Boxing Association’s clubs passed a motion at an Emergency General Meeting on Thursday (10th) “To remove any references to IBA (AIBA) from all relevant Objects in the IABA Constitution whether contained in the Memorandum or the Articles of Association.”
The meeting was called by 44 clubs and of the 140 club reps who attended, the motion passed by 73-40, with 27 votes declared invalid. IABA Board Chair, Niall O’Carroll, said
“Today was an important day for Irish boxing. Clubs have called their own EGM and have decided they want to remove IBA from our constitution. This will, when those changes are voted on, mean that clubs have the freedom to work with clubs in any federation they want, including the USA, England, Germany, and others.
“This is vital for the development of our clubs and our boxers. Its equally important that we acknowledge our status as Ireland’s most successful Olympic Sport, and the heritage that stems from that incredible status. I know some club members have stated on social media that the Olympics is just a two week tournament every four years – but it’s much more than that.
“It’s the dream of kids when they first walk in club house doors. They want to be Kellie Harrington. We want them to have that opportunity and today, we moved a step closer to making sure they can still hold that dream close.”
This paves the way for the IABA to join World Boxing in an effort to retain the sport on the program of 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The IABA notice noted:
“In order for the changes requested by clubs today to take effect, clubs will be asked to vote on a special resolution. This vote is likely to take place at IABA’s [Annual General Meeting], scheduled for November 24th.”
● Canoe-Kayak ● The ICF Super Cup in Hangzhou (CHN) put together four disciplines in one event – Marathon, Polo, Slalom and Sprint – for a mega-event which more and more federations are adopting.
The result was a major festival of canoeing, with significant attendance from the summer’s Olympic stars.
In the men’s Slalom events, the K-1 final saw Olympic gold medalist Giovanni de Gennaro (ITA: 79.43) repeat his win over Titouan Castryck (FRA: 81.48), while Britain’s Ryan Westley won the men’s C-1 in 84.43 over Paris winner Nicolas Gestin (FRA: 85.30).
France’s Camile Prigent won the women’s K-1 in 89.51 from Poland’s Olympic silver winner Klaudia Zwolinska (90.54), with C-1 bronzer Evy Leibfarth of the U.S. fifth (94.75). Czech Gabriela Satkova won the women’s C-1 in 93.86, just ahead of Kayak Cross bronzer Kimberley Woods (GBR: 94.26). Liebfarth was sixth in 98.82.
Czech Tereza Kneblova won the women’s Kayak Cross over Stefanie Horn (ITA), with Leibfarth fourth. Swiss Gelindo Chiarello pulled an upset in the men’s Kayak Cross, winning with Czech Vit Prindis, the 2022 World K-1 champ, second.
In the Olympic men’s Sprint events, Olympic bronze winner Serghei Tarnovschi (MDA) took the C-1 500 m in 1:58.120 and Agustin Vernice (ARG: 1:47.856) took the men’s K-1. The men’s C-2 500 m was won by Italy’s Nicolae Craciun and Dawid Szela (1:46.174), and teammates Samuele Burgo and Tommaso Freschi won the K-2 500 m in 1:33.102.
China went 1-2 in the women’s C-1 500 m with Xina Jiang and Shuqi Li in 2:19.278 and 2:20.943. China’s Nan Wang (2:03.549) won the K-1 over Paris bronzer Emma Jorgensen (DEN: 2:04.503). In the women’s C-2 500 m, China’s Anshuo Teng and Jiang won in 2:01.585, and Shimeng Yu and Yule Chen took the K-2 500 m in 1:49.070.
● Cycling ● The last of the five annual “Monument” races – all inaugurated before World War I – Il Lombardia in Italy, was held for the 118th time on Sunday, with 2024 superman Tadej Pogacar (SLO) adding another trophy.
He rode to a 3:16 victory in 6:04:58 over the long, 255 km course from Bergamo to Como with six significant climbs, taking over on the last climb, the Colma de Sormano and soloed to victory with about 42 km left.
It’s his fourth Lombardia win in a row, now tied with the legendary Alfredo Binda (ITA: 1925-31) for the second-most wins ever at four. Only Fausto Coppi (ITA: 1946-54) has won five; he also won four in a row from 1946-49.
Double Olympic champ Remco Evenepoel (BEL) was second at +3:16, with Giulio Ciccone (ITA: +4:31) in third. Neilson Powless was the top American, in eighth (+4:58).
¶
The 26th Simac Ladies Tour, a six-stage race in the Netherlands this year, saw Belgium’s two-time World Road Champion Lotte Kopecky win Sunday’s sixth and final stage and win the overall title with a two-second victory over Franziska Koch (GER).
Kopecky, the defending champion, was eight seconds behind leader Koch entering the final day, but won the final, 145.8 km stage in and around Arnheim with a final sprint in 3:44:49, with the top 49 riders receiving the same time. Koch was close, in eighth, but Kopecky’s 10-second time bonus for winning vaulted her to the overall title!
● Football ● The U.S. men opened the Mauricio Pochettino (ARG) era with a 2-0 win over Panama on Saturday in Austin, Texas.
After a scoreless first half, U.S. midfield star Christian Pulisic executed a give-and-go with forward Brenden Aaronson, then centered a pass for the oncoming midfielder Yunus Musah, who scored his first goal for the U.S. in the 49th for a 1-0 lead.
The U.S. held the lead, sometimes shakily, but in stoppage time, substitute forward Haji Wright made a perfect entry pass from the left side of the Panama goal to find a charging striker Ricardo Pepi, who scored at 90+4 for the 2-0 final. Matt Turner earned the shutout in goal.
The U.S. had 55% of possession, but Panama led on shots, 13-11, in a physical game with 17 fouls. It was the first U.S. win since June and improved its 2024 record to 4-5-2.
The win ended a four-match winless streak and a two-loss streak against Panama from the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup and the 2024 Copa America. A sterner test is expected Tuesday as the Americans face Mexico in Guadalajara a 7:30 p.m. Pacific time.
● Judo ● Russian judoka, now able to compete as “International Judo Federation” athletes and not as neutrals, won five classes at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam. No recognized nation won more than two classes: the Netherlands, France, Germany and the UAE.
● Swimming ● Italy surprised with a sweep of the men’s 10 km race at the World Aquatics Open-Water World Cup in Setubal (POR), with Marcello Guidi taking the lead on the final lap to touch in 2:08:31.2, ahead of countrymen Andrea Filadelli (2:08:56.8) and Dario Verani (2:08:57.0). France’s Marc-Antoine Olivier, the 2024 Worlds 10 km runner-up, was fourth at 2:09:02.5.
German Lea Boy won her first Open-Water World Cup gold in the women’s race, finishing in 2:18:30.7, getting to the front for good only in the final 200 m. Just behind were Brazil’s Tokyo 2020 gold medalist Ana Marcela Cunha (2:18:33.8) and Viviane Jungblut (2:18:34.5).
● Water Polo ● Terrible news, as Pat Woepse, the husband of two-time Olympic women’s gold medalist, Maddie Musselman, passed away from lung cancer last Thursday (10th). Woepse was diagnosed with NUT carcinoma, a very rare form of lung cancer, in September 2023.
Both were UCLA water polo stars, and Woepse, 31, made it his goal to be in Paris to watch his wife play this summer, and he did, as the U.S. finished fourth.
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