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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
● International Olympic Committee ● The IOC Executive Board will meet in Lausanne on 9-10 December, picking up on questions remaining before the Milan Cortina Winter Games and more expected on the working group efforts on the “protection of the female category.”
On Thursday (11th), the 14th Olympic Summit will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. with IOC officers, commission heads and representatives of the International Federations, National Olympic Committees and the anti-doping community.
The lone American invitee is Gene Sykes, the President of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee.
In the past, the Olympic Summit has been used to show a united front on major issues, which will clearly include the fight against doping, and possibly the “protection of the female category” and a further indication of where the IOC wants to go on the question of Russia and Belarus.
● Enhanced Games ● Seven more athletes have agreed to participate in the Enhanced Games in May 2026, including five more swimmers, one track athlete and one weightlifter.
These bring the totals to 11 swimmers, and three athletes each in track and weightlifting. The track addition is Liberian sprinter Emmanuel Matadi, 34, who ran a lifetime best of 9.91 for 100 m in 2024 and reached the Paris Olympic semifinals. He did not compete in 2025.
● Athletics ● In what can be seen as a sports parallel to the “Belt and Road” initiative started by China in 2013 to its project economic power into other countries, Qatar announced its “Aim Beyond” program on Monday:
“As part of the project, 11 state-of-the-art, eco-friendly and inclusive running tracks will be constructed across 11 countries around the world, in Anguilla, Burundi, Cook Islands, Dominica, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Palestine, Panama, Tajikistan, Tanzania and Ukraine.
“The project reflects Qatar’s deep belief in the power of sport to promote sustainable development, peace and social cohesion. It also underscores the country’s determination to transform sporting legacy into a tangible tool for positive change in the lives of youth and communities.”
The Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) is underwriting the program, in coordination with the Qatar Olympic Committee and in partnership with World Athletics.
● Boxing ● World Boxing announced that a total of 49 national federation applications were approved at its Rome Congress, with the total of member federations now at 124.
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The final World Boxing rankings for 2025 show Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan with six boxers each ranked no. 1 in their weight classes. All six of the Uzbek fighters ranked first are in men’s classes at 60-65-75-80-85-90 kg, with Kazak boxers taking the top spot in the fourth other men’s classes (50-55-70-90+ kg) and two women’s classes, at 65 kg and 70 kg.
The U.S. had three in the top 10 across all classes, with Malachi Georges 10th in the men’s 90 kg class, and Yoseline Perez at fourth in the women’s 54 kg division and Naomi Graham, tied for ninth at 75 kg.
● Football ● The full FIFA World Cup schedule, including venues and times, was announced Saturday and the turmoil has already started.
The semi-official Tasnim News Agency in Iran posted a story Monday concerning the 26 July, Group G match between Iran and Egypt in Seattle (computer translation from the original Farsi):
“Some American media outlets, including ‘Outsports,’ reported that members of the local committee for organizing the Seattle 2026 World Cup have decided to call the match between the Iranian and Egyptian national teams in the competition ‘Gay Pride Match’ in honor of gays and to celebrate ‘Gay Pride Month’ at Lumen Field Stadium!
“However, the website ‘Outsports’ claimed that Seattle officials wanted to take this action on the sidelines of the match on July 26 at Lumen Field Stadium, and this match will be played as scheduled, with Iran and Egypt facing each other in this stadium. Considering that the people of Iran and Egypt are Muslims, this decision by Seattle officials can be considered mischievous. …
“[T]he Iranian Football Federation intends to announce this issue in a letter to FIFA and to correspond about holding the game under this title and also about such issues being brought to the stadium.”
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FIFA announced that hydration breaks will be held for all World Cup 2026 matches, regardless of venue or weather, with referees stopping play for three minutes after about 22 of play in each half. Per the announcement:
“The use of hydration breaks is part of a focused attempt to ensure the best possible conditions for players, drawing upon the experiences of previous tournaments, including the recent FIFA Club World Cup, which took place in the United States last summer.”
Observed: It will also benefit broadcasters such as FOX in the U.S. enormously, with opportunities for full-screen commercials while play is stopped in each half! The sound you hear is advertising rates being changed in real time.
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FIFA also posted the full World Cup 2026 schedule with venues, teams and times on a hard-to-read PDF here.
● Freestyle Skiing ● The second of two moguls events at the FIS World Cup in Ruka (FIN) saw 2018 Olympic silver medalist Matt Graham win with 81.72 points, ahead of Sunday’s winner, Japan’s Ikuma Horishima (80.58) and Canada’s Julian Viel (79.30). American Nick Page, the Sunday bronzer, was fourth at 77.23.
Beijing Olympic champ Jakara Anthony (AUS) logged her first win of the season in the women’s event, scoring 79.89 to edge Americans Olivia Giaccio (78.64) and the 2025 seasonal winner, Jaelin Kauf (78.08), with Tess Johnson (76.09) in fourth place.
● Shooting ● The U.S. dominated the Shotgun finals at the ISSF World Cup Final in Doha (QAT), starting with a sweep of the men’s Skeet final, as Christian Taylor shot a perfect 36 to edge Olympic champ Vincent Hancock, 36-35, with teammate Dustan Taylor third at 31.
China’s Jiting Yang, an Olympic Mixed Team bronze winner in Paris, took the women’s Skeet title, also with a perfect 36 score, two shots up on 2025 World Champion Sam Simonton of the U.S. Teammate Dania Jo Vizzi, the 2017 World Champion, was fifth at 21.
The U.S. scored a 1-3 finish in men’s Trap, with Will Hinton scoring 29 out of 30 for the gold, followed by Jean Pierre Brol Cardenas (GUA: 28) and fellow American, 43-year-old, Beijing 2008 Olympic Double Trap gold medalist Walton Eller (23). It’s Hinton’s third World Cup medal this year (2-0-1).
In women’s Trap, Paris Olympic runner-up Silvana Stanco (ITA) and San Marino’s Alessandra Perilli, the Tokyo 2020 bronzer, tied at 26 after 30 shots and went to a shoot-off, with Stanco winning, 2-1.
China ended up on top of the medal table with nine (4-2-3), followed by India (2-3-1) and the U.S. (2-2-2: all in Shotgun) with six each.
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