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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
● Olympic Games 2028: Los Angeles ● The LA28 organizers have been busy this week, with their first 2028 Olympic and Paralympic World Press Briefing and a separate meeting of rights-holding broadcasters. About 450 attendees were at the two events in total.
There were receptions, venue tours and lengthy presentations. While the program was for planning purposes only and off the record, the sessions demonstrated a considerable enthusiasm and a comprehensive approach to planning and preparation for the thousands of news media who will attend in 2028.
● Commonwealth Games ● The Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games opened on Thursday evening at The Hydro Arena with an entertaining show that used a 50 m wide screen and the TARDIS spacecraft and time machine from the British “Doctor Who” program to visit Scottish icons including Loch Ness, Edinburgh Castle and finishing at Balmoral Castle.
Olympic cycling legend Chris Hoy was the guide for the “Police Box” to go from Balmoral to the arena and then appear, out of which came King Charles III and Queen Camilla.
The parade of the 74 Commonwealth territories of course included Scotland dressed in kilts, and – of course – the Loch Ness Monster made a rare, personal appearance.
Competition opened on Friday, with the first gold medal won by England’s Mark Swan in the Para Powerlifting men’s Lightweight class. The Games continue through 2 August.
● Memorabilia ● Pins are a big deal in the Olympic world and for National Olympic Committees which are looking for help creating their own programs, the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) announced a bronze-level partnership with Australia-based Kingdom Pins:
“Through the agreement, Kingdom Pins will work closely with ANOC and its member NOCs to develop innovative pin programmes, create new engagement opportunities for athletes and delegations, and explore commercial initiatives that benefit NOCs.”
Kingdom Pins has been involved in Olympic pin production since Sydney 2000.
● Canoe-Kayak ● At the ICF Slalom World Championships in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – the 2028 Olympic site – Australian star Jessica Fox continued to cement her place as the finest Slalom competitor ever with two more wins on Tuesday and Thursday.
She had already won the Kayak Cross Individual on Monday, then teamed with sister Noemie Fox and Kate Eckhardt for an Australian gold in the women’s K-1 Team event in 97.87 seconds (0 penalties), ahead of France (98.51/0) and Slovakia (100.72/4). The U.S. was ninth at 108.29 (4).
On Thursday, Fox was back to win the women’s K-1. She was only ninth in the heats, and seventh in the semis, but in the final, she blasted through the course is 92.06 seconds and no penalties for her astonishing 17th Worlds gold! American Evy Leibfarth scored the silver in 93.37 (0) and Britain’s Kimberley Woods, the Paris 2024 bronze winner, won bronze here in 94.91 (2).
For Leibfarth, it’s her second career Worlds medal, after a 2021 Kayak Cross bronze.
The women’s C-1 team event went to Slovakia (105.16/0), ahead of the Czech Republic (105.39/0) and France (105.81/0). The U.S. was ninth (117.93/0).
Britain’s Joseph Clarke won Monday’s men’s Kayak Cross Individual event, and the Brits followed up with a win in the C-1 team event in 93.18 (0), followed by France (93.54/2) and Germany (95.60/0). The U.S. was 11th (106.40/6).
In the men’s K-1, Jakub Krejci (CZE) won his first Worlds individual gold in 83.65 (0), with Michal Pasiut (POL: 84.34/0) and Olympic champ Giovanni de Gennaro (ITA: 85.27/0) taking the bronze. Slovenia took the K-1 team gold in 89.60 (0), just ahead of Switzerland (89.71/0) and Austria (90.78/0). The Americans were 10th (95.09/0).
The paddling will finish on Friday.
● Cycling ● The 113th Tour de France heads to the finish this weekend in Paris, with – barring a disaster – Slovenian star Tadej Pogacar will win the race for a fifth time, tying the record for the most ever (not counting disqualifications for doping).
Tuesday’s 26.1 km Individual Time Trial was a win for double Olympic gold medalist Remco Evenepoel (BEL) in 32:19.33, with Pogacar second at +28.36 and his lead shaved to 4:32. The 174.7 km stage 17 had an early climb but ended in a mass sprint with Belgian Jasper Philipsen winning in 3:41.13, trailed by Mauro Schmid (SUI) and Olav Kooij (NED) with no change at the top of the leaderboard.
On Thursday, the 18th stage was a 185.2 km route with an early climb and then a long uphill to the finish. Ecuador’s Richard Carapaz broke away from four others in the final 3 1/2 km to claim the win in 4:26:21, ahead of Schmid and American Matteo Jorgenson. Pogacar was 13th and remained 4:32 up on Evenepoel.
The brutal Friday climber over 127.9 km had an early climb, a late climb and an uphill finish to the Alpe d’Huez at 1,835 m. Pogacar waited, joined the leaders late and then soloed to the win over the last km, finishing in 3:17:57, ahead of Lenny Martinez (FRA: +0.06) and Carapaz (+0:09) with American Sepp Kuss in fourth (+1:14).
The result is that with two stages to go, Pogacar is 7:11 up on Evenepoel and 9:42 up on Isaac Del Toro (MEX). He expects to be at the top of the podium on Sunday.
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