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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
● Athletics ● The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said Friday that Marvin Bracy-Williams, 32, the 2022 Worlds men’s 100 m silver medalist, has been banned for 12 years for a third doping violation, in this case three “whereabouts” failures over a 12-month period.
The last failure was on 1 April 2026 and on 5 June, “Bracy-Williams notified USADA of his intent to retire.” He was already serving a 45-month suspension from 5 February 2024 for a positive test and tampering with the process.
This is likely the end of Bracy-Williams’ career in World Athletics competitions; he has a best of 9.85 from 2021. He competed in the Enhanced Games in May, running 10.39 in the 100 m.
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The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association induction ceremony for 12 stars to the Collegiate Track & Field/Cross Country Hall of Fame was at a Sunday ceremony at the University of Oregon. The inductees are one of the most impressive groups ever:
“The Class of 2026 includes Arkansas State’s Earl Bell, San Jose State’s John Carlos, UCLA’s Gail Devers, Virginia’s Paul Ereng, UCLA’s John Godina, Houston’s Carol Lewis, Southern California’s Earl McCollouch, Villanova’s Dave Patrick, Florida’s Candice Scott, LSU’s Dawn Sowell, Tennessee’s Delisa Walton, and Oregon’s Leann Warren.”
These stars won 44 national collegiate titles, set 37 collegiate records, won five Olympic and/or World Championships medals, and set seven world records while in college, and Carlos, especially has become an icon of the sport.
● Cycling ● The Management Committee of the Union Cycliste Internationale amended its regulations concerning Belarusian and Russian athletes in line with the International Olympic Committee’s recommendations. Restrictions on Belarusians were lifted altogether.
Russian junior riders are not required to apply to be “neutral” athletes, but must still meet neutrality standards and compete without national symbols, flag or anthem. Russian teams are now allowed to compete as “neutrals.”
● Football ● Newsweek reported that as many as 14,000 tickets to unattractive FIFA World Cup 2026 matches were dumped onto resale sites not affiliated with the federation:
“Reports emerged that there had been an increase in tickets at lower prices across resale platforms like SeatGeek and StubHub, with some speculating that this was a deliberate strategy by the organization to clear unsold inventory for lower-demand games, and to avoid compensation claims from fans who had previously bought tickets from FIFA at face value.
“According to analysis by a source familiar with the figures who spoke to Newsweek, the number of tickets which disappeared in late May closely matches the volume that has since appeared on resale marketplaces, indicating that they were transferred in bulk from FIFA’s official ticketing system.
“The transfer does not confirm that this was an official strategy by FIFA to influence demand or pricing.”
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FIFA amended its policy on water bottles on Friday after changing its rules on Wednesday to not allow “empty, transparent, reusable plastic bottles” of one-liter capacity to be brought into World Cup stadiums. Now:
“All fans will be permitted to bring in one, soft, plastic, 20 ounces (590ml), factory sealed disposable water bottle into any FIFA World Cup 2026 match in the USA and Canada.
“As FIFA World Cup 2026 Chief Operating Officer, Heimo Schirgi [AUT], explains, fans will not be permitted to bring in hard sided, reusable water bottles due to safety and security reasons.”
FIFA has not confirmed that water refill stations will be available at the stadiums.
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It was reported that the U.S. Department of State has refused visas to some members of the Iranian football squad coaching staff and that the Iranian team must enter the U.S. for its matches on the date of the match only and depart within 24 hours. A total of 12 officials were said to have been refused visas.
Iran will play two group-stage matches in Inglewood, California and one in Seattle, Washington; its training base is in Tijuana, Mexico.
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The Unite Here 11 labor union voted to strike against SoFi Stadium concessionaire Legends Global, demanding higher wages and that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement staff will not be involved at the matches.
Discussions are expected to continue on Monday.
● Gymnastics ● American icon Simone Biles wrote on her Instagram page on Saturday (6th):
“I’m not one to normally share things like this because I value privacy in today’s age.
“[B]ut almost dying wasn’t on my bingo card earlier this week.”
She did not specify the nature of the danger but called it “one of, if not the scariest experience of my life,” but said she is resting now.
● Swimming ● Australian sprint ace Bronte Campbell, the 2015 World Champion in the women’s 50 m and 100 m Freestyle, announced her retirement at 32. She competed in four Olympic Games in 2012-16-20-24, winning three golds in the women’s 4×100 m Free and a bronze in the Tokyo 2020 4×100 m Medley relay, usually teaming with older sister Cate Campbell, the 2013 World women’s 100 m Free gold medalist and a four-time Olympic relay gold winner, who retired in 2024.
≡ RESULTS ≡
● Archery ● The annual USA Archery Field National Championships were held in Yankton, South Dakota, with Olympic star Brady Ellison winning the men’s Recurve title and ready to defend his 2024 World Archery Field gold – his third – in September. He scored 748 points to win over Matthew Nofel (648).
Olympic medalist Casey Kaufhold won the women’s title at 674 points, ahead of Alexandria Zuleta-Visser (636). In the Compound division, James Lutz won the men’s event (805) and Paige Pearce was the women’s champion (808).
In the World Championships Team Trials round, Ellison won over Nofel by 59-58 and Kaufhold out-shot Nicole Rasor, 62-55. The men’s Compound final was a 69-all tie between Eli Hughes and Gaius Carter, and Pearce won the women’s Trials, 70-68, over Cassidy Cox.
● Athletics ● Ahmed Muhumed won his third national road title at the USA Track & Field 4-Mile Championships in Peoria, Illinois, breaking away from a pack of 10 after three miles and scored a 17:57 to 18:00 win over Reid Buchanan. Graydon Morris was third in 18:05.
The women’s title went to first-time national champion Kasandra Parker, who broke away in the second mile, had a 16-second lead on Allie Ostrander after three miles and won by 20:16 to 20:23 over Rachel Rudel. Ostrander was third in 20:24.
● Badminton ● At the BWF World Tour Indonesia Open in Jakarta, rising Canadian star Victor Lai, 21, got his first World Tour title, defeating home favorite Jonatan Christie (INA), 21-19, 21-8.
Olympic champion Se Young An (KOR) won her 38th career World Tour gold over three-time World Champion Akane Yamaguchi (JPN), 23-21, 21-12.
Malaysia won the men’s Doubles; Japan won in women’s Doubles and Denmark won in Mixed Doubles.
● Basketball ● The U.S. women won their fourth FIBA 3×3 World Cup in Warsaw (POL), with the team of Joyce Edwards, MiLaysia Fulwiley, Mikaylah Williams and Sahara Williams finished 7-0 and edged Australia, 21-20, in the final on a Mikaylah Williams two-pointer as time expired!
The American women had won previously in 2012, 2014 and 2023. Netherlands won the bronze over Azerbaijan, 21-14.
The men’s tournament went to Latvia, a 20-15 winner over Germany. The Latvians lost to the U.S. in group play, but got past New Zealand, Lithuania and Serbia to get to the final. The Serbians won the bronze, 20-19, against France. The U.S. – Henry Caruso, Mitch Hahn, James Parrott, Dylan Travis – was ousted by the French in the quarterfinals, 14-11. It was the first title for the Latvians.
● Canoe-Kayak ● Triple Olympic gold medalist Jessica Fox (AUS) returned to the winner’s circle in a big way at the ICF Slalom World Cup in Prague (CZE). Completing her comeback from kidney tumor surgery in 2025, she won the K-1 women’s final in 108.84 seconds (0 penalties) over Poland’s 2025 World K-1 Champion Klaudia Zwolinska (111.30/0), then took the C-1 gold in 121.01 (4) in front of Martina Satkova (CZE: 121.28/0) and Paris 2024 K-1 bronzer Kimberley Woods (GBR: 123.02/6).
The two victories give Fox a career total – at 31 – 57 career ICF World Cup wins. France’s Worlds silver winner Camille Prigent took the women’s Kayak Cross win, over Zwolinska, with American two-time World Junior champ Evy Leibfarth fourth.
The men’s races saw Czech home favorite – and 2025 Worlds runner-up – Jakub Krejci win the K-1 at 98.10 (0), ahead of Britain’s 2016 Olympic champ Joseph Clarke (99.87/2). World Champion Nicolas Gestin (FRA) took the C-1 final in 107.84 (4) with Marko Mirgorodsky (SVK: 108.64/2) in second. Krejci came back on Sunday to win the men’s Kayak Cross in a 1-2 Czech finish with Vit Prindis, the 2022 World K-1 champ.
● Cycling ● At the 37th women’s Giro d’Italia, Italian sprinter Elisa Balsamo won the first three stages, but Dutch veteran Anna van der Breggen– a four-time winner of this race – won the fourth-stage Individual Time Trial and took the race lead. Dutch star Demi Vollering won the fifth and eighth stages and Balsamo took the sixth. But van der Breggen stayed close – second in stage 5 and fourth in the eighth – and entered the final day with a 49-second lead on Vollering.
Sunday’s 145 km route in and around Saluzzo had a major early climb but finished downhill. Vollering and van der Breggen were caught two minutes down after the climb, but Vollering worked her way back to the three leaders and was fourth, just three seconds back of stage winner – and two-time defending champ – Elisa Longo Borghini (ITA: 3:45:09).
Van der Breggen was sixth, but 2:23 behind the leader, so Vollering won the overall title at 29:54:19 with German Antonia Niedermaier passing van der Breggen for second, +0:30 to +1:37. Longo Borghini moved up to fourth (+2:44).
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The UCI BMX World Cup series opened in Sarrians (FRA), with Dutch rider Jaymio Brink winning the first men’s race in 31.707, just ahead of five-time Pan Am champ Diego Arboleda (COL: 31.745), Sylvain Andre (FRA: 32.111) and American Cameron Wood, the 2022 seasonal runner-up. Arboleda won on Sunday in 31.310, beating Eddy Clerte (FRA: 31.563) and Wood (31.671).
Canada’s 2023 Pan Am silver medalist Molly Simpson took the first women’s race in 34.363 over Malene Kejlstrup (DEN: 34.471) and Paris Olympic champ Saya Sakakibara (AUS: 34.677). Sakakibara came back to win on Sunday, 33.770 to 34.607 for Simpson.
● Gymnastics ● At the Pan American Rhythmic Championships in Rio de Janeiro (BRA), home favorite Barbara Domingos, the 2023 All-Around winner, took home a second title, scoring 111.700 points to top Americans Megan Chu (110.350) and Natalie de la Rosa (109.900).
On Hoop, Geovanna Santos (BRA: 28.950) won over Domingos (28.600) with Cho and de la Rosa 3-4. Chu won the Ball final, scoring 27.500; Domingos won on Clubs (29.000) with Chu third, and Santos and Chu were 1-2 on Ribbon, 28.400 to 28.350.
Brazil won a close team title battle over the U.S., 220.400 to 220.250.
● Rugby Sevens ● The third and final stage of the HSBC Sevens Series World Championships was in Bordeaux (FRA), with the U.S., New Zealand and Australia all perfect in pool play at 3-0.
On Sunday, Australia got past the Americans, 21-7, in their semi and the Aussies won the final, 26-19 over New Zealand, The U.S. lost to Canada, 21-19, in the bronze-medal match. Australia edged New Zealand for the overall seasonal title, 58-54, with Canada third (44) and the U.S. in fourth (also 44).
The men’s pools had Fiji, the U.S. and New Zealand as the 3-0 pool winners. But in the final were France and the Kiwis, with the French winning a defensive battle, 14-5. Spain romped past South Africa, 40-14, for the bronze. The Americans ended up fifth, beating Fiji.
All together, South Africa won the seasonal title across the three-stage finals, with 52 total points to 44 for New Zealand and 42 for Spain. The U.S. was eighth with 17.
● Sport Climbing ● Japanese World Champion Sorato Anrako continued his dominance at the World Climbing Series in Prague (CZE), scoring his fourth win in a row in the men’s Boulder final at 55.0, just ahead of two-time Worlds boulder medalist Do-hyun Lee (KOR: 54.8) and France’s two-time Worlds silver winner Mejdi Schalck (54.7).
Indonesia’s Putra Tri Ramadani won the Lead final, 43-39, over Neo Suzuki (JPN) with Austria’s four-time World Champion Jakob Schubert third (37).
The women’s Boulder final saw American Annie Sanders with the gold, scoring 84.3 to edge Britain’s Erin McNeice (84.1). It’s the fifth career World Cup title for Sanders.
In Lead, Sanders won again, scoring 37 in the final against 35 for 2021 World Champion Chae-hyun Seo (KOR) and 31+ for Zelia Avezou (FRA).
● Taekwondo ● Brazil and Russia scored two wins each at the World Taekwondo Grand Prix in Rome (ITA), which celebrated a popular victory by home favorite – and Tokyo 2020 men’s 58 kg gold medalist – Vito Dell’Aquila.
Brazilian wins came from 2025 World Champion Henrique Marques Fernandes in the men’s 80 kg final and from World Champion Maria Pacheco in the women’s 57 kg class. Russia’s Rafail Aiukaev won the men’s +80 kg class and Alisa Angelova won the women’s 49 kg final.
Turkey’s Berkay Erer won the men’s 68 kg final and 2024 Olympic champ Viviana Marton (HUN) was supreme in the women’s 58 kg category. Worlds silver medalist Kimi Ossin (CIV) took the win in the women’s +67 kg final.
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