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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
● Archery ● U.S. Olympic medalists Brady Ellison and Casey Kaufhold won the Recurve titles at the 2026 Vegas Shoot indoor championship, the final leg of the World Archery Indoor World Series.
Ellison won the Vegas Shoot men’s title for the 12th time and third in a row, scoring 886 points to 885 for Santiago Arcila (COL) and Brazil’s three-time Worlds medal winner Marcus d’Almeida. Kaufhold also won her third straight, with 884 points to finish ahead of teammate Catalina GNoriega (880).
The Compound winners were Mike Schloesser (NED) for the men and Ella Gibson (GBR) for the women, the latter winning in a five-way shoot-off!
● Athletics ● Two weeks ago, The Sports Examiner reported on the curious situation of a two-year doping suspension for Adaejah Hodge (IVB), who won the NCAA Indoor women’s 200 m title for Georgia. She tested positive for two metabolic modulators at the 2024 World Athletics U-20 Championships in Peru and was banned from 28 August 2024.
But no one knew it, as the ban was never posted on the Athletics Integrity Unit’s list of ineligible persons. Suddenly, however, she was eligible as of 28 January 2026 and ran for Georgia two days later. And no one knew anything about it.
TSX asked the Athletics Integrity Unit about the secrecy and received this curious reply:
“The AIU’s policy is to announce provisional suspensions and sanctions as soon as possible. Indeed, since its inception in 2017, the AIU has implemented the ground-breaking policy of Public Disclosures regarding all disciplinary matters.
“There are, however, some exceptions to this rule – where Public Disclosure may be delayed – and one of these was the Adaejah Hodge case in which the athlete provided Substantial Assistance to an important ongoing investigation. Announcing her case earlier could have jeopardized the other investigation.
“The timing of the AIU’s announcement related solely to this case and the related investigation – nothing else.”
And no, the AIU was not forthcoming about the subject(s) of the inquiries which Hodge assisted with. Whatever she said was worth a seven-month reprieve that allowed her to become an NCAA champion.
● Flag Football ● Monday marked the next step in the development of Flag:
“The NFL announced today that it is partnering with TMRW Sports to develop and operate a professional flag football league for women and men. The new professional league will launch with support from a broad and influential investor pool, including NFL clubs, established institutional and strategic investors, and current and former NFL players.”
TMRW Sports helped create the TGL golf project, but no timeline was offered other than to note it “is expected to align with the run-up to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics,” where Flag will debut as a medal sport in the Olympic Games.
Flag is a key strategic element for the NFL to broaden participation in American-style football to women and girls.
● Modern Pentathlon ● On 15 March, the Federation Internationale de Sports d’Obstacles (FISO) voted to dissolve and become a part of the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM).
This places obstacle racing as part of the modern pentathlon federation, which has incorporated an obstacle component into its event program, replacing equestrian. The UIPM’s goal is to use obstacle racing as a vehicle for growth.
However, along with the absorption of FISO has come a dispute between it and the International Adventure Racing Association, a separate federation for “adventure racing,” defined as “a multi-discipline sport that originally developed as a multiday, non-stop, expedition-style event in which natural and varied terrain was to be navigated and traversed by teams with minimal outside assistance.” Events can range from hours to up to 10 days, on unmarked courses and can include on-and-off-trail running or trekking, mountain biking and paddling.
FISO has said it governs adventure racing and the IARA, formed in 2023, says it governs the sport. And the IARA has made its position known, with Chair Ross Phillips (GBR) declaring in a 16 March message to the UIPM, seen by The Sports Examiner:
“IARA’s desire has always been to represent the sport of Adventure Racing without the distractions of having to fend off hostile takeovers or by becoming embroiled in political machination associated with mergers it wants nothing to do with. That remains the case. Please be aware, IARA will not back down. We will continue to work strongly for the removal of Adventure Racing as one of the sports listed as a UIPM discipline.”
This is hardly a timely fight for the UIPM, which is working to retain its place in the Olympic Games past 2028 in view of the “Fit for the Future” review by the International Olympic Committee, with a report on the program due in June.
● Nordic Combined ● It’s no secret that the International Olympic Committee has had the Nordic Combined on the possible chopping block for some time. It did not add women’s competitions for the 2026 Milan Cortina Games and a decision may come as soon as June for French Alps 2030.
French athletes attending the biathlon and Nordic Combined national championships in Premanon in eastern France, stood together in a demonstration of support for retaining the Nordic Combined for future Olympic Winter Games. They posed behind a giant sign reading “Sauvons Le Combine Nordique!” – “Let’s save the Nordic Combined!” – and signed a petition noting that the discipline has been part of the Winter Games since the very first edition in 1924!
As for the International Ski & Snowboard Federation, it is optimistic, with Lasse Ottesen (NOR), the FIS Race Director, telling FrancsJeux.com, “Over the last two years, we’ve broken records in terms of youth participation, for both men and women. We’re seeing very positive results.”
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