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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
● International Olympic Committee ● The Financial Times reported Friday that JPMorgan Chase “is in talks to join the top rank of Olympic sponsors” in time for the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
Banking was an obvious unfilled category for the LA28 organizers and bank sponsors are usually a domestic sponsorship category. But with JPMorgan Chase in more than 100 countries, it certainly has the reach to be an effective IOC TOP sponsor.
If true, this would be the 12th sponsor in the IOC’s portfolio for 2025-28, more than all of its quadrennial programs except for Tokyo 2020 (14) and Paris 2024 (15), with more than two years left to go.
● Athletics ● A sign of the times for Grand Slam Track, moving toward a bankruptcy disposition in the Delaware courts: its Web site went down on Wednesday, 8 April 2026 and has not returned to service.
● Football ● It was reported last week that FIFA, trying to wring every possible dollar out of its 2026 FIFA World Cup, has increased the ticket prices of selected, close-to-the-field seats. A new “Front Category” seat has appeared for Category 1 and Category 2.
A Category 1 seat for the U.S.-Paraguay match on June 12 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California had been posted at $2,735 during the first days of April, but a “Front Category 1″ seat was posted for $4,105 last week. A “Front Category 2″ seat was shown at $1,940 to $2,330. No public announcement of a new, higher-priced category was made.
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Britain’s The Guardian reported that cities such as Chicago and Pittsburgh has decided not to pursue matches for the 2031 FIFA Women’s World Cup – set to be awarded to the U.S., Mexico, Costa Rica and Jamaica later this year – because of FIFA’s requirements and the investments required to meet them. The story noted:
“Chicago and Pittsburgh declined to enter the running for Women’s World Cup hosting rights, understood to be because of concerns about Fifa’s financial demands, and some cities are considering pulling out.
“A source working with one of the cities that has held talks with Fifa and World Rugby said the latter was offering far greater commercial freedom and has fewer demands regarding access to stadiums.”
The men’s rugby World Cup will take place in September and October in the U.S. and the story indicated that World Rugby has been more cooperative on terms than FIFA has shown for the 2026 World Cup.
● Swimming ● SwimSwam.com reported that two protesters, who appeared to be men, jumped into the pool just ahead of the women’s 50 m Freestyle final at the Malmsten Swim Open Stockholm on Saturday, carrying signs which may have been protesting the use of fossil fuels. According to the report:
“About 30 seconds in, a bystander on the pool deck jumped in and snatched both signs, while another person entered the water and guided the protesters to the side of the pool, where they were greeted by security and escorted out of the facility.”
It is unknown whether police became involved later.
≡ RESULTS ≡
● Archery ● The brilliant American star Brady Ellison won his 30th career World Archery World Cup final, this time in Puebla (MEX), with a 6-4 victory over Chih-chun Tang (TPE).
Ellison owns five Olympic medals and won the 2019 World Championships gold, among seven total medals. At 37, he shows no signs of slowing down. Olympic champion Mete Gazoz (TUR) won the bronze. 7-3, over Mexico’s Matias Grande.
The U.S. men’s Recurve team of Ellison, Christian Stoddard and Jack Williams won the gold final, 5-4 in a shoot-off against Turkey, after a 29-all tie after four ends.
In the all-China women’s Recurve final, Jingyi Zhu swept aside Qi Yu, 6-0. Not surprisingly, China won the women’s Recurve Team title, 6-0, over Turkey. In the Recurve Mixed Team final, China defeated the U.S. pair of Ellison and Casey Kaufhold, 5-1.
Denmark’s 2025 Worlds runner-up Mathias Fullerton won the men’s Compound final, 147-146, again Nico Wiener (AUT). American Stephan Hansen was fourth. Colombia’s 2021 World Champion, Sara Lopez, won the women’s final, 149-148, against Estonia’s Lisell Jaatma.
Columbia won the men’s Compound team gold and India edged the U.S. (Alexis Ruiz, Paige Pierce, Olivia Dean), 233-232, for the women’s Compound Team win. Denmark won the Mixed Team event, 157-156, over the Netherlands; the U.S. (Ruiz-Hansen) was third.
● Beach Volleyball ● Another win for 2025 World Championships silver medalists Kristen Cruz and Taryn Brasher at the Beach Pro Tour Elite 16 tournament in Saquarema (BRA).
Second last year at this event – and second-seeded – they rolled through the tournament and swept aside 2019 World Champions Melissa Humana-Paredis and Brandie Wilkerson (CAN), 21-15, 21-15, in the final.
It’s the second win of the season for Cruz and Brasher in the second Elite 16 event, both in Brazil, and fifth in two seasons.
The third-place match went to Nina Brunner and Tanja Huberli (SUI), with a 22-20, 21-11 win over Brazil’s 2025 Worlds bronze winners Carol Salgado and Rebecca Cavalcante.
The men’s final saw Tokyo Olympic champions Anders Mol and Christian Sorum (NOR) get past 2025 Worlds runner-ups Jacob Holting Nilsson and Elmer Andersson (SWE), 21-16, 23-21, for their first win of the season.
In the third-place match, Martins Plavins and Kristian Folkerots (LAT) won the bronze over Remi Bassereau Daubas and Calvin Aye (FRA), 21-16, 17-21, 15-13.
● Cycling ● A thrilling and wild 123rd running of the famed Paris-Roubaix race ended in a velodrome sprint with Belgian star Wout van Aert crossing ahead of favored Slovenian star Tadej Pogacar, with both in 5:16:52 for the 258.3 km ride from Compiegne to Roubaix.
Pogacar was trying for his third Monument win of the season already, but had trouble with a puncture with 120 km to go, then had to use an unfamiliar spare until his Visma-Lease A Bike team could get him his usual spare bike.
Nevertheless, he had made up perhaps 20 seconds and rejoined the peloton with 98 km left. Two-time defending champ Mathieu van der Poel (NED) suffered two punctures shortly thereafter and fell back.
At the front, Pogacar and van Aert had punctures again with about 72 km left, but with 50 km to go, both were in front again and van Aert attacked and he and Pogacar were alone. Pogacar led into the velodrome, but van Aert got by in the final 200 m and won at the line. Belgian Jasper Stuyven got third at +0:13 and van der Poel was an amazing fourth at +0:15.
Van Aert was second in this race in 2022, third in 2023 and finally got the win. Pogacar was second for the second straight year in the only “Monument” race he has yet to win.
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The women’s Paris-Roubaix (143.1 km from Denain) came down to a three-way finish with defending champion Pauline Ferrand-Prevot (FRA), Dutch star Marianne Vos and German Franziska Koch. Vos, the 2012 Olympic Road champion, launched the sprint first, and while Ferrand-Prevot fell back, Koch came on to get to the line first in 3:30:16. Ferrand-Prevot was third, six seconds back.
American Megan Jastrab finished fifth, at +1:30.
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The 65th Itzulia Basque Country saw French teen Paul Seixas lead from start to finish, taking the first two stages and then stage five for his biggest career win, in 20:07:35. The 19-year-old won by 2:30 over German Florian Lipowitz and 2:33 up on Tobias Johannessen (NOR).
Seixas won the opening Individual Time Trial, the hilly second stage and then beat Lipowitz to the line in the hilly fifth stage to sew up the title.
● Equestrian ● The FEI World Cup Finals was in Ft. Worth, Texas, with American Kent Farrington leading the Jumping competition coming into Sunday’s third and final section. He won both of the prior events and had 72 points to 64 for three-time champ Steve Guerdat (SUI) and 60 for France’s Kevin Staut.
Farrington led after the first round of finals, with the equivalent of zero faults, to seven for second-place Daniel Deusser (GER). Farrington, an Olympic Team silver winner in 2016, registered four fault points through the two rounds of finals and won aboard Greya. Deusser added no faults in the finals and finished second with seven, aboard Otello de Guldenboom. Fellow American Katherine Dinan (on Out of the Blue) took third at nine, also perfect during the two final rounds. Staut and Guerdat each had four fault points in the finals and finished 5-6.
Farrington’s win is the first for the U.S. since Beezie Madden in 2018.
In Dressage, the Thursday Grand Prix Final was won by Becky Moody (GBR) aboard Jagerbomb at 76.761%, ahead of American Christian Simonson (Indian Rock: 75.413%) and 2024 champion Patrik Kittel (SWE, on Touchdown: 72.869%).
The Grand Prix Freestyle had Moody (88.330%) and Simonson (83.810%) 1-2 again, with Sandra Sysojeva (POL, on Maxima Bella: 80.770%) in third. Simonson won the first medal for the U.S. in this event since 2019.
● Football ● The second-ranked U.S. women opened a three-match series vs. no. 5 Japan in San Jose, California on Saturday, and came away with an impressive 2-1 win.
The U.S. had a clear possession edge, unusual against Japan, throughout and in the ninth minute, a free kick by midfielder Sam Coffey from the right side of the pitch found Tiffany Rodman on the left side and her pass to striker Rose Lavelle ended with a right-footed slam into the net for a 1-0 lead. That’s how the half ended, with the U.S. at 59% possession and a 6-4 shots edge.
The complexion changed in the 48th, as Lavelle centered the ball from the left side of the Japanese goal to an oncoming Lindsey Heaps, who scored on a left-footed shot for a 2-0 lead.
The game appeared decided, but Japan continued to attack and in the 61st, substitute striker Riko Ueki got a header from sub midfielder Honoka Hayashi from the top of the box and Ueki’s header popped past U.S. keeper Claudia Dickey to cut the lead to 2-1. That ended a U.S. scoreless streak of 866 minutes!
Dickey had to make a couple more saves and the U.S. could not convert some difficult chances and the end finished at 2-1, with the Americans at 61% possession; Japan finished with 10 shots to nine for the U.S.
The second match is on Tuesday (14th) in Seattle, Washington.
● Gymnastics ● The final leg of the World Gymnastics Apparatus World Cup series was in Osijek (CRO), with Tokyo Olympic Floor champion Artem Dolgopyat (ISR) winning his second Floor gold of the season at 14.500, with American Kam Nelson in fourth at 13.966.
Armenia’s 18-year-old European Pommel Horse champ Hamlet Manukyan won his specialty at 14.733 and China’s Hengyu Liu took the Rings at 14.366. American Donnell Whittenburg, the 2025 World Rings Champion, finished fifth at 13.966.
On Sunday, Britain’s Paris 2024 bronzer Harry Hepworth won on vault (14.616), with Nelson also fourth (14.183). Colombian Angel Barajas, who won the Paris 2024 silver on the Horizontal Bar, won on Parallel Bars at 14.866, with Whittenburg second at 14.600. Paris 2024 bronze winner Chia-Hung Tang (TPE) took the Horizontal Bar gold at 15.233.
German Karina Schoenmaier, the 2025 European champ, won the women’s Vault at 14.000, while 2025 Worlds bronze winner Fanyuwei Yang took the Uneven Bars at 15.266. Paris bronze winner Manila Esposito (ITA) won on Beam at 13.666 and France’s 15-year-old Elena Colas – the 2025 World Junior A-A runner-up – won on Floor at 13.133.
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At the Rhythmic World Cup in Tashkent (UZB), Russian “neutral” Maria Borisova took the All-Around win, scoring 113.50 to 112.65 for Germany’s Paris 2024 Olympic champ Darya Varfolomeev. American Rin Keys finished fourth at 109.05.
Uzbekistan’s home favorite – and 2022 Asian Games A-A champ – Takhmina Ikromova won the Hoop title at 29.70 with Keys fourth (28.25) and the Ball victory, scoring 28.55 with Keys taking silver at 28.00.
Varfolomeev won on Clubs (30.25) and on Ribbon (29.650); Keys won another silver on Ribbon (27.800) and was fourth on Clubs (27.25).
● Modern Pentathlon ● The opening event of the UIPM World Cup was in Cairo (EGY) and 2025 World Champion Moutaz Mohamed did not disappoint the home fans, winning the men’s competition with 1,608 points to 1,597 for 2025 Worlds runner-up Mathis Rochat (FRA). Mohamed was second in the swimming and won the Laser Run to take the gold, coming from fifth to win.
Hungary’s Blanka Guzi, the 2025 Worlds silver medalist, won the women’s gold at 1,488 over Belarusian “neutral” Anastasiya Malashenoka (1,478). Like Mohamed, Guzi was second in the swim and won the Laser Run to move from fifth to first.
The new UIPM rules for pentathlon, with the shorter 100 m swim and sixth shooting stage in the Laser Run, were in effect.
● Shooting ● China dominated the ISSF World Cup for Rifle and Pistol events in Granada (ESP), winning eight of the 10 events.
Paris Olympic gold medalist Lihao Sheng won the men’s 10 m Air Rifle, scoring 253.9, and Tokyo Olympic champion Changhong Zhang took the 50 m Rifle/3 Positions at 358.8.
Zifei Wang, the 2025 Worlds silver medalist, won the women’s 10 m Air Rifle (252.9) and Wang and Sheng took the 10 m Mixed Team gold.
In the men’s 10 m Air Pistol final, Shuaihang Bu won at 244.5, and Yuhao Yang won the 25 m Rapid-Fire Pistol, equaling the world record of 31/40 to win by one shot over Italy’s Massimo Spinella.
Yiyao Shen led a 1-2 in the women’s 10 m Air Pistol at 244.2, over 2025 World Champion Qianxun Yao (239.6). Tokyo Olympic bronzer Jiaruixuan Xiao won the 25 m Pistol in a shoot-off (5-4) with teammate Jieru Kong, after a 39-all tie.
German Anna Janssen, 24, took the women’s 50 m Rifle/3 Positions title with a world-record 362.9, ahead of teammate Nele Stark (361.5). That crushed the 358.2 mark from February by Sofiya Shulzhenko (KAZ). India won the 10 m Air Pistol Mixed Team event.
● Water Polo ● At the World Aquatics men’s World Cup in Alexandroupolis (GRE), Spain won the overall Division I title with a 2-1 record (7 points) in the second round, over Italy (2-1: 6 points) and Greece (2-1: 6). All three, along with Hungary (0-3: 0) advance to the Super Final later this year.
In the second group, only the winner advanced to the Super Final: Croatia, which had a 3-0 record and nine points. Serbia, the U.S. and the Netherlands were all 1-2 and finished 2-3-4.
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