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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
● Olympic Games 2028: Los Angeles ● Traci Park, a member of the Los Angeles City Council’s Ad Hoc Committee on the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, moved Friday to assist the LA28 organizing committee with expedited approvals from City agencies. The motion includes:
“I therefore move that the Los Angeles City Council authorize and direct the City Planning Department, in coordination with the City Attorney, the Department of Building and Safety, and other relevant departments, to draft an ordinance to exempt Olympic and Paralympic temporary and permanent venues, training facilities, security perimeters, broadcast and media centers, transit infrastructure, live sites and fan zones, and associated structures from the requirements of City planning approvals, zoning regulations and conditions, including, but not limited to Conditional Use Permits (CUPs), and conditions tied to such permits, Site Plan Review requirements, height restrictions, setback requirements, limitations imposed by Specific Plans, and any other planning or zoning regulations that could delay or impede the rapid deployment and or use of essential facilities.”
Park’s motion also asks that the California exemption for Olympic Games work (Title 14, sec. 15272) regarding the non-applicability of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) be implemented for the 2028 Games.
Her motion cites the existing overload of the City Planning Department and states, “This approach is consistent with actions taken by the City of Los Angeles during the 1984 Olympic Games, where similar exemptions were granted to ensure the swift construction of the necessary infrastructure and venues.”
The motion will no doubt be sent to the Ad Hoc Committee on the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games for consideration by Park and others.
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The Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority (“Metro”) outlined Friday its intentions for a possible $200 million in Federal funding related to 2028 Olympic service needs. The primary spending targets of such a grant:
● $54 million: Key station improvements
● $25 million: Games Enhanced Transit System
● $25 million: Metrolink
● $20 million: Integrated transportation management
● $16 million: Light Rail speed improvements
● $15 million: First mile-Last mile support
● $15 million: Fare system modernization
● $12 million: Mobility hubs
● $9 million: Games Route Network
● $6 million: Bus priority corridors
The $200 million was listed in a Senate bill for transportation funding for Fiscal Year 2025, but was not in the House version.
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A California Department of Transportation (CalTrans) presentation on the Games Route Network submitted in August offered some specifics for the Games Route Network, to be used for official vehicles transporting athletes, officials, media, staff and others directly involved in the Games.
The early plan is to “Create dedicated lanes for use of Games Family Vehicles by temporarily converting HOV, HOT, GP, and/or shoulders to facilitate exclusive games-related travel. Emergency vehicles will have access, but general traffic will be prohibited from using these dedicated travel lanes.”
(“HOV” are high-occupancy vehicle lanes; “HOT” is high occupancy-toll lanes and “GP” are general-purpose lanes.)
A preliminary map of possible freeways for Games Route Network lanes was also included.
● Olympic Council of Asia ● The Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected an appeal by Sheikh Talal Fahad Al-Sabah, filed in December 2023, challenging the nullification of his July 2023 election as OCA President.
The CAS panel ruled the appeal inadmissible and confirmed the September 2024 election of India’s Raja Randhir Singh as President.
● Russia ● Attitudes are changing in Russia about competing as “neutrals.” Gymnastics stars such as Tokyo 2020 Team gold medalists Angelina Melnikova and Victoria Listunova were reported to be amenable to competing as neutrals if allowed by the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG). Russian artistic gymnasts refused to compete as neutrals to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Further, most of the Russian rhythmic gymnastics team has agreed to compete as neutrals, if allowed by the FIG, beginning in the April World Cup events in Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan.
Russian swimmers competed as “neutrals” at the World 25 m Championships in Budapest (HUN) and won 10 medals, including six wins.
On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin presented 39 Russian Paralympic “neutrals” with national awards, including the Order of Honor, Order of Friendship and the Order of Merit.
● Basketball ● The U.S. men won their third FIBA 3×3 Americup in San Juan (PUR), taking the final from defending champ Puerto Rico by 21-18, completing a perfect, 5-0, tournament. James Parrott led the Americans with eights points in the final, followed by Dylan Travis with seven and Mitch Hahn had four, with Henry Caruso adding three.
The American women, winners in 2021 and 2023, lost to Canada in the final by 19-18 in overtime, as Katharine Plouffe made the winning shot, the last of her game-high 11 points. Brittany Sykes led the U.S. with nine, followed by Azura Stevens (4), Abbey Hsu (3) and Maddy Siegrist with two. Canada finished at 5-0, with the U.S. at 4-1.
● Football ● FIFA apologized to the Ukrainian Association of Football for its error at the draw for the UEFA World Cup 2026 qualifying competitions, showing a map which depicted the Ukrainian territory of the Crimea as part of Russia.
Russian invaded and has illegally occupied the Crimea since 2014; a letter from FIFA Chief Member Association Officer Elkhan Mammadov (AZE) included:
“The infographic in question was developed by an external third-party service provider. Upon recognising the issue, we have taken immediate steps to address the situation, including working to have the image removed from circulation. Additionally, we are conducting an internal review to ensure such oversights do not recur in the future.
“We fully understand the delicate sensitivity of this matter and while the incident was unintentional, we sincerely regret any concern it may have caused and appreciate your understanding as we work to address this situation responsibly.”
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UEFA announced a 156% increase in prize money for its 2025 women’s championship – EURO 2025 – with a €41 million total as against €16 million in 2022. (€1 = $1.05)
Each of the 16 competing teams will receive €1.8 million for making it to the tournament (vs. €600,000 in 2022), with the remaining amount in performance bonuses for group stage and playoff wins.
The maximum that could be earned by an undefeated champion is €5.1 million.
● Ice Hockey ● The U.S. women raised another trophy, this time the 2024 Women’s Hockey Euro Tour in Tampere, Finland, with the Americans and Canadians playing as guests.
The U.S. and Canada both won their two groups games, and in the playoffs, the Americans beat Sweden in one semi (5-0) while Canada beat Finland, 3-0.
In the title match, the U.S. – actually a collegiate select team – came from 1-0 down at the end of the first period to score three times in the second, by Lacey Eden, Tessa Janecke and Sydney Morrow, for a 3-1 lead. In the third, Jocelyn Amos and Alex Law tied the game within four minutes.
It was Abbey Murphy with a go-ahead goal for the U.S. just another 80 seconds after Law’s score that turned out to be the winner, and Sloane Matthews got an empty-netter for the 5-3 final.
● Modern Pentathlon ● The Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM) announced that three more Executive Board members have been named, including Dr. Doug Stull, elected as the head of the Medical Committee after having been a member since 2016.
He’s the younger brother of new UIPM President Rob Stull, the team physician for the University of Kansas and an assistant clinical professor at the University of Kansas Health System.
● Swimming ● World Aquatics named Swiss Noe Ponti and American Gretchen Walsh as the men’s and women’s swimmers of the meet at the World 25 m Championships that concluded Sunday in Budapest. Ponti won three events and set two world records, while Walsh had an astounding meet, with five individual wins, two relay wins and 11 world records.
World Aquatics also published a list of the athletes winning the most money from at the federation’s events in 2024 – it did not pay athletes for placements at the Paris Olympic Games – with the top five:
● 1. $343,000: Kate Douglass (USA)
● 2. $285,000: Regan Smith (USA)
● 3. $277,000: Noe Ponti (SUI)
● 4, $275,000: Gretchen Walsh (USA)
● 5. $174,000: Leon Marchand (FRA)
Most of this money was from world-record bonuses, sweeps of events at the World Cup and places at the 2024 World Championships in Qatar and the World Short-Course event in Budapest (relay prize money is apparently not included in these totals).
Swimswam.com ran a check on the money-winners from the Short-Course Worlds, with Walsh (of course) at the top, making the assumption that relay prize money is split equally among all participating swimmers in the heats and finals (rounded to the nearest dollar):
● 1. $290,417: Gretchen Walsh (USA)
● 2. $142,500: Regan Smith (USA)
● 3. $125,000: Noe Ponti (SUI)
● 4. $118,417: Kate Douglass (USA)
● 5. $114,667: Summer McIntosh (CAN)
Among countries, the U.S. won $974,000 as a team, with Canada a distant second at $241,000 and Russia (as “neutrals”) at $220,500.
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World Aquatics named French Olympic star Leon Marchand and Canada’s McIntosh as its swimmers of the year on Sunday.
Marchand stormed to wins in the 200 m Breaststroke, 200 m Butterfly and the 200 and 400 m Medleys to become the leading French star of the Paris Olympic Games. McIntosh took three golds and a silver in Paris, then won three events and set three world records at the World 25 m Championships just concluded.
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