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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
● Athletics ● The World Athletics Championships in Tokyo has been well attended this far, with figures now available for the first four days (morning and evening sessions):
● 13 Sep.: 32,739 a.m. // 56,819 p.m.
● 14 Sep.: 30,080 a.m. // 57,528 p.m.
● 15 Sep.: 33,144 a.m. // 53,124 p.m.
● 16 Sep.: 37,462 p.m. only
The first three days were on the weekend and a Monday national holiday. Evening sessions will be held Wednesday through Friday, with walks and qualifying session on Saturday morning and the start of the second day of the decathlon on Sunday morning.
It’s quite a change from the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in 2021, when no spectators were allowed, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
● Fencing ● The Federation Internationale de Escrime (FIE), which has been stifled since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with Russian President Alisher Usmanov recusing himself from his office, issued a 22-page “Strategic Plan” last week. The goal:
“By 2028, the FIE will be recognised as a benchmark of institutional excellence, competitive fairness, and global fan engagement.”
The plan objectives start with “Modernize government and institutional structure,” an area which has atrophied under Usmanov’s time as President; officer term limits are promised to be introduced in 2026 (Usmanov has been elected to five terms so far).
Promotion will include more digital content, use of influencers on social media and a focus on Gen Z as future athletes and fans. The target is a 30% increase in global participation by 2028 and 15% annual growth in its digital audience.
Development will be focused on “diversify revenue and build long-term reserves”; the FIE media rights agreements are to be renewed in 2026. A new, tiered sponsorship program is also promised.
With Usmanov self-sidelined, the FIE Executive Committee appointed Abdel Moneim El Husseiny (EGY) as interim President on 30 April of this year, with an FIE Congress to ratify the selection in November.
Usmanov personally contributed CHF 87,158,404 (about $110.94 million U.S. at $1 = CHF 1.27) to the FIE from the year of his first election as President in 2008 to 2021, but the donations stopped after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The FIE has not publicly posted its financial statements since those covering 2021 (and then only in its Congress minutes). As of the end of 2021, the FIE had CHF 37.02 million in assets and CHF 35.29 million in reserves. It had total expenses in 2021 of CHF 8.12 million.
The 2023 Congress report stated the 2022 budget of CHF 10 million was underspent at CHF 7.74 million and that the budget for 2024 was CHF 6.95 million. The 2023 budget was CHF 7.43 million. Perhaps posting financial statements will be part of the future transparency plan.
● Swimming ● USA Swimming announced its team for its major international competition of 2026, the 14th Pan-Pacific Championships from 12-15 August in Irvine, California, the first time the meet has been held in the U.S. since 2010 (also in Irvine).
This is a strong meet, with the U.S., Australia, Japan and Canada the featured teams. For 2026, the American squad was selected via a performance formula, as there will not be a selection meet.
The team is a strong one, with the men’s squad including sprinter Jack Alexy, who won two medals at the World Aquatics Championships this year; Bobby Finke, the three-time Olympic distance champion and Luca Urlando, the only individual men’s gold medalist for the U.S. at the 22025 Worlds, in the 200 m Butterfly.
The women’s squad includes Freestyle superstar Katie Ledecky, the 800-1,500 m Worlds winner, and 2025 Worlds gold medalists Katharine Berkoff (50 m Backstroke), Kate Douglass (200 m Breaststroke, but shown in five events!), and Gretchen Walsh (50-100 m Fly), plus triple Backstroke silver winner Regan Smith and Paris 2024 five-medal winner Torri Huske, in Free and Fly events.
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USA Swimming updated its 221-page Operating Policy Manual on Tuesday, revising its “Competition Category Policy” to comply with U.S. President Donald Trump’s February Executive Order banning transgender women from women’s competitions:
“USA Swimming is committed to protecting opportunities for athletes participating in sport. As mandated by the USOPC, and pursuant to the Act, USA Swimming must continue to collaborate with various stakeholders with oversight responsibilities (e.g., the International Olympic Committee, World Aquatics, etc.) to ensure that women have a fair and safe competition environment consistent with Executive Order 14201 and the [Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports] Act. As required by Executive Order 14201, the definitions in Executive Order 14168 shall apply to this Competition Category Policy (this ‘Policy’).”
The women’s category is now defined as available to:
“Only athletes who meet the Executive Order’s definition of ‘women’ or ‘girls’ may compete in the Women’s Competition Category. In registering for membership in the Women’s Competition Category, an athlete represents and warrants that they meet the Executive Order’s definition of ‘woman’ or ‘girl.’”
● Wrestling ● Rio Olympic 97 kg champion Kyle Snyder of the U.S. won his fourth World Championships gold on Tuesday with a 4-2 victory over Iran’s Amir Ali Azapira at the UWW World Championships in Zagreb (CRO).
Snyder, now 29, won his matches by 10-0, 5-0 and 9-1 before the final and now has eight Worlds medals (4-2-2); his prior wins were in 2015, 2017 and 2022.
Real Woods of the U.S. won a bronze at 65 kg, with the class taken by Iran’s Rahman Amouzad, so the American men’s Freestyle group won five medals in 10 classes (3-1-1) and scored 94 points for second as a team (Iran won with 140).
Women’s Freestyle began on Tuesday, with Asian champion Kyong-ryong Oh (PRK) winning at 55 kg and Japan’s Sakura Onishi winning her first Worlds gold at 59 kg.
At 57 kg, 2016 Olympic 53 kg champ Helen Maroulis, 33, reached her sixth Worlds final and will face Il-sim Son (PRK) to try for a fourth Worlds gold tomorrow. Maroulis stormed through her three matches on Tuesday with pin falls in all three!
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