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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
● Olympic Games 2028: Los Angeles ● Apparently routine, but another signal that the U.S. State Department’s visa review program for admitting athletes to sporting events is working, as six lugers were approved to enter, for the FIL World Cup in Park City, Utah this weekend.
Russian Luge Federation President Natalia Gart told the Russian news agency TASS:
“The athletes have now trained in Italy and competed in international competitions. So far, our results are far from our competitors, but we haven’t competed in four years. Today, our team is in Kazakhstan, and the team members have been approved for U.S. visas to participate in the World Cup.”
● Olympic Winter Games 2026: Milan Cortina ● The International Ski & Snowboard Federation (FIS) announced Wednesday that nine skiers from Belarus (6) and Russia (3) have been approved to compete in the FIS World Cup and earn points toward Olympic qualification.
The nine approved as “neutrals” including one Alpine skier (Belarusian), two in Cross Country (Russian) and six in Freestyle events (five Belarus, one Russia). Among the approved is Hanna Huskova (BLR), the 2018 Olympic Aerials champion and 2022 women’s silver winner, and Russian Anastasia Tatalina, the 2021 World Big Air gold medalist.
This follows a Court of Arbitration for Sport decision that Russian and Belarusian skiers cannot be completely excluded from competitions and must at least be able to compete as “neutrals” following the federation’s own review procedures. The FIS statement indicated more approvals will be forthcoming in the future:
“Since 2 December, athletes and support personnel have been individually contacting FIS to request AIN status. Each application is submitted to a thorough review process to ensure compliance with the FIS Individual Neutral Athlete Policy. This process requires an independent third party to carry out due diligence checks, generating a report that is the basis for a decision by the FIS Individual Neutral Athlete Eligibility Review Panel.”
● Olympic Games ● Look out for Paraguay, which hosted the Junior Pan American Games in 2025, was selected to host the 2031 Pan American Games in October and now is one of three candidates to host the 2030 Youth Olympic Games, as announced on Wednesday.
Noted in a statement from the Paraguay National Olympic Committee:
“Paraguay’s credentials are further bolstered by the pioneering Permanent Organising Committee, which ensures continuity and optimum standards at all major events held in the country. This permanent capability reflects the IOC’s emphasis on sustainable delivery models.
“Paraguay’s proposal is also strengthened by the national government’s clear commitment to the project and to the development of sport nationwide. The government has pledged to finance the vast majority of the costs associated with delivering the Youth Olympic Games, providing a stable and low-risk model fully aligned with the IOC’s sustainability principles.”
The push for high-profile sports events comes directly from Paraguay President Santiago Pena, who took office in August 2023, and wants to use events to raise consciousness and interest in the South American country. At least in the Olympic world, he is succeeding and a 2034 YOG assignment is likely actually better for Asuncion than if selected for 2030.
● Russia ● The Russian sports ministry announced that the much-loved mascot of the 1980 Olympic Games, a bear known as “Misha” or “Mishka” will become the mascot of all Russian national teams.
Said Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev: “A new unified mascot for the Russian Olympic team has been developed, based on one of the most recognizable sports mascots in our country’s history, the Olympic Bear. At the moment, ‘Mishka’ is being registered as a trademark with the Federal Service for Intellectual Property.
“It looks great and will replace the blue bear, no one knows where that one came from. We will have a normal bear we are accustomed to.”
● Athletics ● Former Oregon prep high jumpers Alexa Anderson and Reese Eckard settled one of their lawsuits against the Oregon School Activities Association over their third- and fourth-place medals at the Oregon State meet on 30 May 2025, and free-speech violations.
They both refused to stand on the victory podium with a transgender competitor who finished fifth and were told their medals would be sent to their schools. They were not, and they filed a suit in July; the medals were sent to their attorneys and they agreed to dismiss their suit.
However, the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) Chief Legal Affairs Officer Leigh Ann O’Neill, acting as counsel for both, explained:
“This lawsuit accomplished exactly what we intended: ensuring Alexa and Reese’s voices were heard and restoring what they were owed – the medals they earned and their First Amendment right to peacefully express their views.
“But this is only the beginning. Our remaining Oregon lawsuit against Oregon officials now becomes our central focus, and we will not relent until the sex-based rights of women and girls are fully protected and officials who presume they can redefine basic terms like ‘sex’ are held to account.”
● Curling ● The round-robin phase of the Olympic Qualification Event concluded in Kelowna (CAN), with the top three teams advancing to the playoffs, to qualify two each in the men’s and women’s tournaments.
In the men’s round-robin, China and the U.S. – skipped by Daniel Casper – were both 6-1, with Japan at 5-2. As the top two teams, China and the U.S. will play for one of the Olympic spots, with the loser facing Japan for the final spot in Milan.
In the women’s tournament, Norway and Japan were both 6-1 and the U.S. (Tabitha Peterson, skip) was 5-2. So, the top two teams will play for one qualifying spot and the U.S. will play the loser for the other.
● Flag Football ● The National Football League announced a $32 million commitment – equivalent to $1 million per team – to starting a professional flag league. No more details were provided, but the decision further supports the Olympic debut of the sport at the LA28 Olympic Games.
The NFL statement noted that flag is already a high school sport in 38 states; the league sees flag as a crucial part of a growth strategy to get women involved as players.
● Football ● Front Office Sports reported that while Fox, the U.S. broadcaster for the 22026 FIFA World Cup, has been quiet on the announcement of three-minute hydration breaks at all World Cup matches, it’s obvious that commercials will be sold during that period. So:
“In 2022, Fox charged about $300,000 for a 30-second commercial spot during most match telecasts, though that was up to $600,000 for the U.S.-England group-stage match. Those figures should only increase with the 2026 World Cup held in North America, giving U.S. viewers accessible time slots for every match.”
It was noted that between-period breaks for NBA games run 2:30.
● Sport Climbing ● A day after the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique became World Gymnastics, the International Federation of Sport Climbing became World Climbing:
“At the heart of the rebrand is a distinctive new logo: a world formed from Climbing holds, with interwoven routes symbolising global Climbing. Each colour in the new palette represents one of the sport’s three disciplines, Lead, Boulder and Speed, all in harmony with a written font that will be seen to be ascending in selected visuals.”
The change was approved by the federation in late 2023, but is debuting now after the visual development work has been completed.
● Tennis ● In an interview with British host Piers Morgan, Belarusian star Aryna Sabalenka repeated her view that transgender women should not play against biological women:
“I have nothing against them, but I feel like they still have a huge advantage over women.
“I think it’s just not fair to women to basically face biological men. It’s not fair. The women work their whole life to reach her limit, and then she has to face a man, which is biologically much stronger. So. for me, I don’t agree with this kind of stuff in sport.”
Australian star Nick Kyrgios, also being interviewed ahead of their “battle of the sexes” match on 28 December in Dubai (UAE), agreed.
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