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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
● Central American & Caribbean Games ● The 25th edition of the CACG returned to Santo Domingo (DOM) – previously in 1974 – to open a new edition, with 37 countries and territories and 6,000-plus athletes competing in 40 sports and 483 events.
Dominican icon Felix Sanchez, the two-time Olympic champion in the men’s 400 m hurdles and for whom the Santo Domingo stadium in which the opening was held in named, was the final torchbearer.
This is the centennial Games, first held in 1926 in Mexico and will continue through 8 August.
● International Olympic Committee ● The IOC said Friday that it has no jurisdiction to investigate a charge of breaching Olympic political neutrality rules by FIFA President Gianni Infantino (SUI) over his actions related to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, especially in his relations with U.S. President Donald Trump. An IOC spokesperson explained:
“The IOC ethics commission thoroughly analysed the complaint by FairSquare.
“The commission noticed that, pursuant to the Olympic Charter, each international federation maintains its independence and autonomy in its governance. The IOC Code of Ethics’ scope of application vis-a-vis the international federations and their officials is specifically limited to their relations with the IOC.
“The IOC ethics commission noted that the current complaint, including with regard to the FIFA president, refers only to the IF’s decisions on its governance and its management, including its relations with government, and to the IF’s implementation of the rules of its sport, which are both outside the scope of application of the IOC code of ethics.
“Consequently, the complaint falls outside the IOC ethics commission’s jurisdiction. FairSquare has been informed accordingly.”
● U.S. Center for SafeSport ● The Center announced that it will issue weekly updates on new additions to the Centralized Disciplinary Database. Said chief executive Benita Fitzgerald Mosley:
“Knowledge is power and maintaining safe sport environments improves when information is as accessible as possible. By sharing weekly news updates of individuals who have been added to the Centralized Disciplinary Database, we hope to improve safeguarding through increased public awareness.”
This is a first for SafeSport, but hardly new. The Athletics Integrity Unit announces every doping-related suspension or sanction on the social site X daily, as well as maintaining a master list of ineligible persons. Same for the International Testing Agency, on its Web site.
● Youth Sports ● Pretty interesting Friday announcement from the Luka Doncic Foundation, with “Stay in Play” grants totaling $1.925 million to be awarded:
“Over the next three years, the Luka Doncic Foundation will award grants of up to $25,000 USD to 77 young athletes aged 12-15 from around the world. Each grant is designed to cover the costs that most often create barriers for participation — coaching or training, equipment or gear, travel expenses to train or compete, or club, league, or program fees. …
“Applications are open today, June 24, and run through August 20, 2026, for young athletes in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Greece, Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia. The program supports athletes across 176 sports – from basketball and soccer to gymnastics, swimming, track and field, and beyond.”
The first recipients will be announced near the end of the year. USA Fencing has already sent messaging about the program, encouraging its young members to apply.
● Cycling ● No apologies from the Union Cycliste Internationale for the International Testing Agency’s aggressive, 2 a.m. test of two-time Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard (DEN) on 19 July, just ahead of the 15th stage, a difficult climbing route. Four-time winner Tadej Pogacar (SLO) was awakened for a 5 a.m. test the same day; Vingegaard crashed out during the stage and had to leave the race.
Riders protested, and the UCI issued a statement on the 22nd, including in part:
“[T]he Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) wishes to respond and to reaffirm that the fight against doping is an absolute priority.
“The UCI of course acknowledges that night-time testing can disrupt riders’ rest and recovery, and wishes to reiterate that carrying out such controls outside normal hours remains an exceptional measure, reserved for limited and justified circumstances. While fully aware of how onerous such a measure is for riders, the UCI nevertheless underscores that these controls serve an overriding interest: the fight against doping.”
As many as five other teams were targeted in early-morning tests. A statement from the CPA riders union protested, however:
“The Tour de France is a competition that demands exceptional physical effort. The quality of sleep and recovery is essential not only for performance but also for the health and safety of the riders. It is clear that this practice hinders athletes’ recovery during the most important and difficult race on the global calendar and runs counter to the intended objectives.”
≡ RESULTS ≡
● Commonwealth Games ● Swimming is the main attraction in Glasgow (SCO) as the 2026 Commonwealth Games get going, and, as expected, Australia is dominating.
The Dolphins won the first four women’s Olympic-program events and seven of the first eight with Olympic champ Mollie O’Callaghan taking the 200 m Free (1:54.66), Olympic relay gold medalist Lani Pallister winning the 400 m Free (3:59.56) and 1,500 m Free (15:41.03), Iona Anderson winning the 100 m Back (58.71), Jenna Forrester taking the 200 m Back (2:08.17) and Alex Perkins winning the 50 m Fly in 25.37. Perkins and O’Callaghan were on the winning 4×100 m Free relay team (3:31.40).
Scotland’s Angharad Evans won the women’s 100 m Breaststroke final in 1:06.07.
On the men’s side, Australia’s 50 m Freestyle world-record holder Cam McEvoy, won his specialty in 20.97, the no. 4 performance in history.
Sam Short (AUS), the 2023 World Champion, won the men’s 400 m Free and 2024 50 m World Champion Sam Williamson took the 100 m Breast final in 59.17. Australia also won the men’s 4×100 m Free relay (3:09.49), 4×200 m Free (7:01.67) and the Mixed 4×100 m Free (3:19.36).
South Africa’s Worlds silver man Pieter Coetze won the 50 m Back in 24.18 and 100 m Back in 1:54.22; Canadian star – and defending champion – Josh Liendo took the 100 m Fly by 0.01 in 50.42, and Tokyo 2020 silver medalist Duncan Scott (SCO) won the 200 m Medley in 1:56.38.
The swimming continues through the 29th; the track & field program starts Monday.
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English gymnast Gabriel Langton, 18, suffered a bad fall from the horizontal bar during the men’s Team final on Friday, landing on his head and neck. He was taken to a hospital for observation and tests and was released on Saturday. The England team won the silver.
● Athletics ● This was a national championships week in worldwide track & field, with a sensational men’s 400 m hurdles win for 2022 World Champion Alison dos Santos (BRA), running a world-leading 46.48, the eighth-fastest performance of all time (he has two of the eight)!
There was also a new world lead in the men’s triple jump for two-time World Indoor champ Andy Diaz (ITA) at 17.87 m (58-7 1/2) in Florence, moving him to equal-14th all-time.
Just as impressive was the spectacular long jumping by Olympic champ Miltiadis Tentoglou (GRE) at the Greek Nationals in Volos, who reached 8.52 m (27-11 1/2) on his first try, then 8.66 mw (28-5 +2.7 m/s) in round two, 8.66 m again with legal win (+1.0) in round three, and added an 8.64 m (28-4 1/4) legal jump in round six! Not only the world leader in 2026, but a lifetime best and now equal-12th all-time!
World-record holder Mykolas Alekna (LTU) won his national title in Palanga at 72.65 m (238-4); discounting the wind tunnel in Ramona, Oklahoma, that’s the furthest throw anywhere else since 2006!
Norway’s Sondre Guttormsen reached 6.00 m (19-8 1/4) in Trondheim to move to equal-second on the 2026 world outdoor list.
● Badminton ● At the BWF World Tour China Open in Changzhou, 2022 Worlds bronze winner Tien Chen Chou (TPE) took the men’s final from Toma Junior Popov (FRA), 21-15, 7-21, 21-13, and three-time World Champion Akane Yamaguchi won the women’s gold by 21-18, 21-16 over Yu Fei Chen (CHN).
Indonesia took the men’s Doubles, and China won the women’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles.
● Canoe-Kayak ● The ICF Slalom World Championships wrapped up in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, with Czech Tereza Kneblova winning the women’s C-1 final for her first individual Worlds gold. She timed 100.52 seconds with no penalties. Monica Doria (AND: 103.04/0) won silver and Poland’s Olympic K-1 silver winner Klaudia Zwolinska in third (103.21/0). American Evy Leibfarth was ninth in 106.58 (2).
Also winning his first individual Worlds gold was Spain’s Miquel Trave in the men’s C-1, in 88.28 (0), just ahead of Adam Burgess (GBR: 89.77/0) and Lukas Kratochvil (CZE: 89.89/0).
The women’s Kayak Cross title went to Swiss Alena Marx, the 2025 Worlds winner in the Kayak Cross Individual final. Olympic champ Noemie Fox (AUS) won silver and Miren Lazkano (ESP) got third. Czech Vit Prindis, the 2022 K-1 World Champion, took the men’s Kayak Cross, his fourth career Worlds gold, ahead of Swiss Dmitri Marx (silver) and Britain’s Sam Leaver.
The Czechs led the medal table with seven total (3-3-1), ahead of Britain (6: 2-1-3).
● Cycling ● Saturday’s 20th stage of the Tour de France included three major climbs over the 170.9 km route, ending at the famed Alpe d’Huez for the second straight day. American Sepp Kuss was in front late, but crashed with 7 km remaining and then again with about 6 km to go. That allowed Ecuador’s Richard Carapaz to get by and he soloed to the win in 4:59:39 for his second win in three stages.
Double Olympic champ Remco Evenepoel (BEL) was second at +0:26 and Kuss hung on for third at +0:31. Race leader Tadej Pogacar (SLO) was fourth (+1:05) and entered the final day with a 6:26 lead over Evenepoel. However, Kuss was also fined CHF 1,500 and lost 60 seconds of time for two incidents of littering in unauthorized zones during the stage; his third-place finish was unchanged.
Sunday’s 88.7 km ride in and around Paris finished with Dutch star Mathieu van der Poel winning the final sprint in 1:58:49 with Jasper Philipsen (BEL) and Mads Pedersen (DEN) right behind.
Pogacar was an easy winner of his fifth Tour in 73:56:26, with Evenepoel second (+6:26) and Isaac Del Toro (MEX: +9:42) in third. Kuss was the top American finisher, in 13th (+1:02:23).
Pogacar’s fifth win – and third in a row – ties him for the most ever, with Jacques Anquetil (FRA: 1957-64), Eddy Merckx (BEL: 1969-72), Bernard Hinault (FRA: 1978-85) and Miguel Indurain (ESP: 1991-95). At just 27, Pogacar will be favored to win more and become the all-time leader.
There was a bad crash during Friday’s stage 19, when a UAE Team Emirates-XRG team car stopped suddenly in front of Colombian rider Einar Rubio (Movistar), trying not to hit a spectator who had fallen in front of the car. Rubio hit the rear window with his head and broke it, eventually needing about 20 stitches. He had to abandon the Tour with just two stages left.
The UAE Team Emirates-XRG team leader apologized, having learned of Rubio’s actual injuries only after the stage finished.
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At the USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships at Big Bear Lake, California, Tegan Cruz won the men’s Dual Slalom final over Kyle Strait and Jordan Scott took the women’s final, defeating 2025 bronze winner Sophie Allen.
Qualifying leader – and defending champion – Ryan Pinkerton won the men’s Downhill on Saturday as the final rider, crossing in 2:48.905, just ahead of Dylan Maples (2:49.784) and Nate Kitchen (2:50.101).
Aletha Ostgaard, also the qualifying leader, won the women’s junior race in 3:13.132, the fastest of the day! The senior title went to defending champ Kailey Skelton (3:14.079), beating Maylei Leaneagh (3:15.276) and older sister Taylor Ostgaard in third (3:19.871).
● Fencing ● The FIE World Championships are underway in Hong Kong, with South Korea’s 2022 World Champion Se-Ra Song winning her second women’s Epee title, defeating Italian Olympic Team gold medalist Giulia Rizzi, 9-8, in the final. The bronze medals went to Poland’s Barbara Brych and Junyao Tang (CHN).
The women’s Sabre saw a first-time winner (and first-time medalist) in Larissa Eifler (GER), who sailed past Paris 2024 silver medalist Sara Balzer (FRA) in the final by 15-10. Hungary’s Sugar Katinka Battai and France’s Toscane Toni won the bronze medals.
The men’s Foil gold was won by Czech Alexander Choupenitch, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic bronzer, won defeated Italy’s Paris 2024 silver winner, Filippo Macchi, 15-2, in the final. Daniel Dosa (HUN) and Kazuki Iimura took the bronzes.
A surprise in the men’s Epee, as 31-year-old Lucas Malcotti (SUI) won his first individual Worlds medal with a 12-11 finals win over Davide de Veroli (ITA), the 2023 Worlds runner-up. Malcotti had won two Worlds Team medals previously. Masaru Yamada (JPN) and Khalifah Al-Omairi (KSA) took the bronze medals.
The championships continue through the 30th.
● Sailing ● The San Pedro Olympic Classes Regatta continues through 8 August, but three classes were concluded this week, with Australia’s 2024 Olympic champ Matt Wearn taking the ILCA7 class with 43 net points, just ahead of Olympic runner-up Pavlos Kontides (CYP: 51) and Britain’s 2023 Worlds silver winner Michael Beckett (52).
The ILCA6 women’s race was Hannah Snellgrove (GBR) in a tight finish with American Charlotte Rose, 47-49, and Ireland’s Eve McMahon third at 51. Rose won the last finals race, but Snellgrove was close in third to secure the overall victory.
The Mixed 470 class saw the 2025 Worlds bronze winners, Britain’s Martin Wrigley and Bettine Harris win comfortably with 39 net points and five wins, ahead of 2025 Worlds runners-up Simon Diesch and Anna Markfort (GER: 52) and Swedes Anton Dahlberg and Lovisa Lindner (53).
Starting up this week are the 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 classes.
● Shooting ● China is dominating the ISSF World Cup in Hangzhou (CHN) with six total wins out of 10 events so far, with Shuaihang Bu taking the men’s 10 m Air Pistol (244.4), Olympic champ Lihao Sheng in the men’s 10 m Air Rifle (253.9) and Changhong Zhang with a world-record 363.0 in the men’s 50 m Rifle/3 Positions. Three wins in the women’s events include World Champion Quanxun Yao (243.6) in the 10 m Air Pistol and a second gold with Kai Hu in the Mixed Team final, and Yuchen Du in the 10 m Air Rifle (254.6).
Oliver Geis (GER) took the men’s 25 m Rapid-Fire Pistol, equaling the world record for 35/36 in the final, and Worlds bronze winner Seonaid McIntosh (GBR: 362.6) won the women’s 50 m Rifle/3 Positions.
In shotgun events, Qatar’s 2022 Worlds bronzer Rashid Al-Athba won the men’s Skeet (35), and the U.S. went 1-2 in women’s Skeet with the six-time Olympic medalist Kim Rhode taking gold at 34/36, followed by 2022 Worlds bronze winner Sam Simonton (32/36).
The event continues through the 28th.
● Triathlon ● Reigning World Champion Matt Hauser (AUS) scored a third seasonal win in the World Triathlon Championship Series Sprint in London (GBR), staying close to the front through the swim and bike phases, then facing challengers on the 5 km run.
But he had enough on the final lap to score a tight win over no. 1-ranked Vasco Vilaca (POR), 50:28 to 50:31. Hungary’s Csongor Lehmann (HUN: 50:36) was third over American Morgan Pearson (50:45).
American Taylor Knibb had the lead in the women’s Sprint out of the first transition and had a 21-second lead after the bike phase. But France’s Olympic champ Cassandre Beaugrand had the fastest 5 km run in the field at 15:27 and Knibb faded badly at 16:15.
Beaugrand was chased by 2025 World Champion Lisa Tertsch among others and Tertsch emerged as the primary challenger, but was nine seconds slower on the run and finished second, 56:06 to 56:11. It was the undefeated Beaugrand’s third win on tour this season. Sweden’s Tilda Mansson got third (56:21); Knibb finished seventh at 34:33.
● Water Polo ● At the World Aquatics World Cup Super Final in Sydney (AUS), the U.S. women were trying for a sixth title and walloped China by 14-8 in the quarterfinals, then beat Australia by 10-6 and met Spain, the 2025 Worlds bronze winners, in the final. The Spanish, Olympic champs in 2024, got by Hungary (8-7) in the quarters, then survived against Russia in a 5-3 penalty shoot-out after a 10-10 tie.
The gold-medal match was tight through the half, with the U.S. up by 7-5, and both teams scored four goals in a busy third for an 11-9 score going into the final period. But the American defense was better and shut down Spain, 2-0, for the 13-9 final, with Emily Ausmus scoring six goals for the winners. Rachel Fattal and Jordan Raney each added two for the U.S. and Amanda Longan stopped 13 of 22 Spanish shots in goal. The Spanish were 0-4 on fourth-quarter shots.
This was the 20th women’s World Cup, with the U.S. winning in 1979-2010-2014-2018-2023-2026.
The men’s Super Final had 2025 Worlds bronzers Greece edging Montenegro in the quarterfinals by 14-13, then getting by Italy, 10-9 and finally in the championship match, winning another one-goal game by 15-14 over Hungary, the 2025 Worlds silver medalists. Dimitrios Skoumpakis led the winners with five goals in the final, to their first-ever Super Final gold.
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