★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★
★ To get the daily Sports Examiner Recap by e-mail: sign up here! ★
≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
● Olympic Games 2028: Los Angeles ● Los Angeles voters will go to the polls on Tuesday in an important primary election day that could have significant impact on the path to the 2028 Olympic Games.
Incumbent Mayor Karen Bass, under heavy pressure since the January 2025 Palisades fire and with continuing concern over affordability, homelessness and a crumbling city infrastructure, has been leading a tight mayoral race, which will go to a run-off in November if no candidate gets 50% or more of the vote.
A 19-24 May poll showed Bass at 26%, Council member Nithya Raman at 25% and insurgent Spencer Pratt, best known as a reality-TV star, at 22% with a 3% margin of error. The top two will advance to a November run-off. Some 63% of poll respondents said the city is on the “wrong track” vs. 24% who were positive.
The 2028 Games has not been an issue on the mayoral campaign; there is a ballot initiative to increase the city’s hotel tax by 2% through 2028 to raise funds for the City’s role in the Games.
● Olympic Games 2032: Brisbane ● Earthworks began in Victoria Park in Brisbane on Monday on the area to be used to build the new, 63,000-seat Olympic Stadium for the 2032 Games.
Protesters of the project were removed from the site last week, including five arrests (one later released without charge), and site fencing was installed. A small number of remaining protesters were moved outside of the fenceline on Monday.
Applications to the Australian national government to protect a significant Aboriginal site were being reviewed. Federal environment minister Murray Watt told Australian Associated Press “that cultural heritage declarations were not designed to stop the project, but instead to set out what must be done ‘to preserve or protect an area from being injured in some way or desecrated in some way.’”
● Athletics ● While a Federal lawsuit continues over transgender women competing in California high school athletics, trans jumper AB Hernandez won two more State titles in Clovis over the weekend.
Competing for Jurupa Valley High School as a senior, Hernandez won the high jump at 1.77 m (5-10), finished third in the long jump at 6.15 mw (20-2 1/4 wind-aided) and won the triple jump at 13.02 m (42-8 3/4). Hernandez repeated as winner in the high jump and triple jump.
Per a California Interscholastic Federation rule adopted in 2025, Hernandez did not displace any other athlete, so her first and third-place finishes were shared by the biological female placers who followed. Her time as a California high school athlete is done, but the case continues.
¶
Jamaican long jump star Carey McLeod, the 2024 World Indoor bronze medalist and a two-time Olympian, was banned by the Athletics Integrity Unit “for 2 years from 28 May 2026 for Whereabouts Failures. DQ results from 1 May 2026.”
He missed a test on 30 June 2025, a filing failure on 9 August 2025, a missed test and a filing failure on 1 May 2026. He finished ninth at the World Indoors on 22 March in last meet.
¶
UK Athletics, the governing body of track & field in Great Britain, “pleaded guilty to corporate manslaughter” for a training center accident in 2017 in which UAE Paralympian shot putter Abdullah Hayayei, 36, was struck as the throwing cage around him collapsed and he eventually died.
The fine attached to the charge ranges from £180,000 up to £20 million and Richard Davies, now 79, then head of sport for the 2017 World Paralympic Athletics Championships, admitted to a safety failure and will also be sentenced.
● Gymnastics ● World Gymnastics published its 2025 annual report, including a financial summary which showed that operating revenues were lower than expected at CHF 8.77 million, but operating expenses were also lower at CHF 9.96 million for an operating loss of CHF 1.20 million.
This was offset by Gymnastics Ethics Foundation funding and investment gains, for a year-end surplus of CHF 3.22 million. World Gymnastics showed a healthy CHF 65.51 million in assets, including CHF 30.87 million in reserves. (CHF 1 = $1.27 U.S.)
A positive note came from the anti-doping report, which showed a total of 716 athletes tested from 69 nations, with only one doping violation reported.
The federation’s astonishing failure to prevent or sanction Indonesia’s banning Israeli participation in the World Artistic Championships in Jakarta was noted only briefly in the opening statement by federation chief Morinari Watanabe (JPN):
“Artistic Gymnastics held its World Championships in south-east Asia for the first time, in Indonesia. This milestone event, once again marked by unprecedented participation, significantly strengthened the growth of gymnastics in the region. It was regrettable that not all national federations were able to attend. We must continue to uphold the independence of our sport from political influence, and our organisation, together with the global gymnastics family, remains committed to supporting all athletes worldwide.”
¶
At last week’s European Rhythmic Championships in Varna (BUL), Russian Iana Zaikina won the Junior Ribbon final, with Ukraine’s Sofiia Krainska in second.
In the Junior Ball final, Kira Babkevich of Belarus won and Ukraine’s Varvara Chubarova won the bronze.
During the medal ceremonies, both Ukrainians wore headphones in their ears and covered their eyes as the Russian and Belarusian anthems were played. Commented Ukrainian skeleton racer Vyacheslav Heraskevych, who was disqualified at the Milan Cortina Olympic Winter Games for not being able to wear his “memory helmet” in competition:
“It is so painful to see Ukrainian female athletes in such a terrible situation, where they have to watch Russian symbols and listen to the Russian anthem, while at the same time their friends and relatives are dying at the hands of the army that fights under those very same Russian symbols.
“It is a shame that for the leadership of the International Gymnastics Federation, particularly for its president Watanabe, personal interest is more important than basic humanity.”
● Swimming ● World Aquatics introduced a rule change for its 1-6 December World Short-Course Championships in Beijing (CHN) in order to promote athlete participation in its short-course World Cup events in Asia – the “Silk Road Tour” – in October:
“A new system of wild cards will also be trialled at the Silk Road Tour, ensuring additional qualification opportunities for the 2026 World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m).
“Swimmers will be able to earn a wild card for themselves by attending the Silk Road Tour stops and achieving an A standard time in their event. Up to three additional wild card swimmers could represent each World Aquatics Member Federation.”
At the 2024 World Short-Course Championships, each member federation was limited to 26 men and 26 women as entries.
The announcement also noted the use of 10 lanes in the pool – instead of eight – for semifinals and finals of events at the World Short-Course meet in events at 50, 100, 200 and 400 m. Relays and longer races will remain with eight in the pool.
● Tennis ● Superstar Serena Williams, who stopped her competitive career in 2022 and is now 44, returned to the registered doping pool for the sport in February and is returning to the WTA Tour with a wild-card invitation for Doubles at the Queen’s Club tournament in London (GBR) from 8-14 June.
Williams won 73 career titles and 23 career Grand Slam titles; her partner for the Queen’s Club tournament has not been announced. Williams won Olympic Doubles titles in 2000-08-12 and the Olympic Singles gold medal in 2012.
¶
★ Receive our exclusive, weekday TSX Recap by e-mail by clicking here.
★ Sign up a friend to receive the TSX Recap by clicking here.
★ Please consider a donation here to keep this site going.
For our updated, 681-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!
