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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
● International Olympic Committee ● Japan’s Morinari Watanabe is a long-shot candidate for the IOC Presidency, but as the head of the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), he is charging ahead with his plan to have sport support society.
He introduced the FIG Ageing Society Programme last week in Jakarta (INA), the host for the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in October, as a method for keeping senior citizens healthier:
“Many countries face the challenge of an aging population.
“This has a significant impact on social security costs, since the smaller, younger population cannot finance the social security costs of the bigger, older population. The FIG Ageing Society Programme addresses this problem and allows countries to work on measures to mitigate the problems of an ageing society using dedicated gymnastics programmes.”
This is a joint initiative of the FIG, the Indonesian Gymnastics Federation, the National Olympic Committee of Indonesia, the Ministry of Youth and Sport of Indonesia and commercial partner NTT Data.
The first step is a measurement exercise, which 115 program members undertook by visiting eight different stations to establish baseline health measurements. According to the FIG:
“The programme encourages older people to continue to exercise at home using a smartphone application. They will be able to track their progress, their overall health and share their health data with medical institutions to facilitate treatment of any health issues.”
In the end, Watanabe hopes the results – which will need to be measured over years – will result in better senior heath and significant cost savings:
“This application will create an entire ecosystem for the benefit of older people with the aim of reducing social security costs. Food companies, retailers, financial institutions and insurance companies would all benefit from integrating with this application.”
He said he got the idea from seeing opposition to bringing the Olympic Games to Tokyo (for 2020), noting:
“There were many who were against the Olympics or not welcoming of them. That was because the Olympics were seen as entertainment and not something essential to society. When we think about turning sports into something society demands … sports are at the core of countermeasures for aging societies.”
● Alpine Skiing ● Tuesday’s men’s Alpine World Cup Giant Slalom in Schladming (AUT) was shortened to deal with rainy and snowy conditions, eliminating 15 gates.
Swiss star Loic Meillard led after the first run, but faded on the second, allowing for a Norwegian 1-2 with Alexander Steen Olsen moving up after standing second following the first run. He had the 10th-fastest second trip and that was good enough for his second World Cup win of the season in 1:42.75. Teammate Henrik Kristoffersen had the no. 3 first run and 16th-best second run and finished second (1:43.14) with seasonal leader Marco Odermatt (SUI: 1:43.35) in third.
River Radamus was the top American, tied for 12th (1:43.71). The Schladming stop concludes on Wednesday with a Slalom, weather permitting, of course.
● Basketball ● USA Basketball announced forward A’ja Wilson as its women’s 5×5 Athlete of the Year, following up on her Paris Olympic Most Valuable Player and All-Star Five awards at the Games.
Wilson, 28, was the dominant force on the gold-medal-winning American team, leading the squad in points per game (18.7), rebounds (10.2), blocks (2.7) and steals (1.5)!
● Football ● The International Trade Union Confederation-Africa (ITUC-Africa) has been rebuffed by FIFA on its request that the football federation establish an independent monitoring operation in Saudi Arabia over labor conditions in the build-up to the 2034 FIFA World Cup.
FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom (SWE) wrote back, noting “With the bidding processes now completed, FIFA is working collaboratively with its local counterparts to ensure these commitments are upheld.”
ITUC-Africa Secretary General Akhator Joel Odige (NGR) said in an interview, “We vow to remain seized with this campaign until we see, feel, and measure tangible changes in Saudi Arabia’s laws and practices. Black lives must be respected and valued as those of other races.”
● Handball ● France and Croatia advanced to the semifinals of the 2025 IHF men’s World Championship with taut, one-goal wins in their quarterfinals on Tuesday.
The French remained undefeated with a 34-33 win over Egypt in Zagreb (CRO), , leading 18-14 at half and holding on Nedim Ramili and Dika Mem both scored six goals for the French, while Egypt’s Ahmed Hesham led all scorers with eight.
Croatia and Hungary were tied, 16-16, at half but the Croatians advanced with a 31-30 win, with Filip Glavas scoring six and Hungary’s Zoran Ilic the top scorer with eight.
Wednesday’s quarters feature three-time defending champs Denmark (5-0) playing Brazil and Portugal facing Germany, with both matches in Baerum (NOR).
The U.S. finished 26th overall, going 0-3 in group play, then 3-0 in the President’s Cup playoffs for places 25-32. Poland defeated the U.S., 24-22, in the 25-26 final. Aboubakar Fofana of the U.S. led all scorers in that match with five goals.
● Ice Hockey ● You hear it every day in every sport: “how could the refs miss that?”
The International Ice Hockey Federation is doing something about it, in a new program in which it “has provided the on-ice officials with special glasses in four junior tournaments – most lately at the IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women’s World Championship in Finland. The glasses have two cameras: one records the game events, or what the referees see, and the other the ref’s eyes.”
Joel Hansson (SWE), the IIHF Officiating Development Manager, explained:
“A red dot shows where the referee’s eyes are focused, and the size of the dot tells us how fully they’re focused on, say, a puck in the corner.
“And we can tell that over the course of a tournament the focus changes. Early on, everyone’s very alert and focused, but as the tournament progresses, fatigue or stress affects them. …
“What we’re looking for are ways to help the officials to find new patterns and tools that they can use, for example, when warming up, especially their eyes. We’ve looked into what is being done in Formula 1 racing, how they work with reaction times and so on. …
“What’s a little funny is that we often hear that the ref ‘should’ve seen it,’ and now we can tell that they really have or should’ve seen it.”
● Swimming ● Australian star Ariarne Titmus, the women’s 400 m Freestyle Paris Olympic winner and silver medalist in the women’s 200 and 800 m Freestyles, will skip the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore in July.
Titmus, 24, told the Sydney Morning Herald, “I just knew that after Paris, I needed some time away. I’ve been on the national team since I was 16, and I just needed a bit of a break mentally from the intensity of the sport. …
“When you’re at the tail-end of your career, the Olympics just become so much more important. I’ll be going back to training to be able to gear up for LA. It’s the [2028] Olympic Games that now my eyes are on.”
● Wrestling ● Phenomenal, developing story in Kenya, where U.S. Freestyle star Kyle Snyder, 29, the Rio 2016 Olympic gold medalist at 97 kg and Tokyo 2020 runner-up is setting up a children’s wrestling club near Nairobi.
Snyder visited the Mully Children’s Family Ndalani Campus for orphaned children in November, saw considerable interest from 75 kids who came to an opening meeting. USA Wrestling shared:
“The targeted timeline to launch the wrestling club is October 2025. The goal is to finish up an athletic facility at Mully Children’s Family Ndalani Campus in April and have mats and supplies shipped out in time for the fall launch.
“Snyder and team are currently seeking coaches and athletes from the U.S. interested in helping with the club. The initial plan is for individuals to commit to a six-month rotation living at Mully Children’s Family Ndalani Campus and coaching at the club.”
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