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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● The French Foreign Ministry condemned Tuesday years of cyberattacks made by the Russian military intelligence service (GRU) against French interests:
“Since 2021, this attack group has been used to target or compromise a dozen French entities. These entities are working in the daily lives of French people and include public services, private enterprises as well as a sport organization involved in the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. In the past, this group was also used by GRU in the sabotage of the TV5Monde broadcasting station in 2015, as well as in attempts to destabilize the French elections in 2017. …
“These destabilizing activities are not acceptable or worthy of a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. Moreover, they are contrary to the UN norms of responsible state behaviour in cyberspace, to which Russia has adhered.”
● Olympic Winter Games 2026: Milan Cortina ● The International Olympic Committee profiled some of its Olympic scholarship holders for the upcoming Winter Games, and noted:
“The first scholarships for Milano Cortina 2026 were awarded in autumn 2023, and there are currently 423 athletes (245 men, 178 women) from 87 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) benefitting from the programme. …
“The aim of Olympic Solidarity is to provide assistance to all NOCs for athlete development programmes, in particular those with the greatest need of it. Ahead of the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, a total of 429 scholarships were awarded to athletes from 80 NOCs. Over 50 per cent of those scholarship-holders, 236, qualified for the Games, winning 10 medals.”
● Olympic Winter Games 2034: Salt Lake City ● The Salt Lake City-Utah organizers for the 2034 Winter Games made some money Wednesday, while not doing a thing.
Smith Entertainment Group, owners of the NHL Utah Hockey Club and NBA Utah Jazz announced a renovation of the Delta Center floor area, which will expand the capacity for hockey from about 16,000 fans to about 17,000, to take place over the next three seasons.
The Delta Center is slated to host ice hockey for the 2034 Winter Games.
● International Olympic Committee ● With the election of Kirsty Coventry (ZIM) as the next President of the IOC, a new head for the IOC’s Coordination Commission for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games is needed, with Kenyan IOC member Humphrey Kayange announced as her replacement on Wednesday.
Kayange has been an IOC member as an elected member of the Athletes’ Commission since 2021, and on the Dakar Coordination Commission since 2022.
● Athletics ● The emergence of Grand Slam Track, with its second meet coming this weekend in Miramar, Florida, and the new, 2026 World Athletics Ultimate Championship with more than $10 million in prize money, has raised plenty of interest in the track & field community.
But not all of it is wholly commendatory. From long-time Los Angeles-area high school track coach Ron Brumel:
“As Ronald Reagan would have said, ‘There you go again.’
“While I commend any efforts to improve Athletics (a/k/a Track & Field) interest and viewership, I think that the powers-that-be that move-or-shake (mostly move) the sport into view on the Webisphere, miss the point entirely by emphasizing individual greatness over team aspects.
“The Grand Slam approach may have some appeal, such as mandating that each of the Slammers compete in two events for points, which may also be the case for the ‘Ultimate’ idea.
“So, my point of view is that people (fans) like cheering for TEAMS, whether they be collegiate, or international.
“Listen to the cheering at high school meets, even these days. For that matter, attend an age group club event, where the cheering is even louder.
“Consider an ‘Athletics’ league, composed of teams from around the country, where distinctive uniforms and regular competitions take place. Keep track of standings, as well as the individual results, you know, like other sports. Would baseball be as popular if all the comps were individualized? Home run derbies, and the like? I don’t think so, not in the long run.
“Remember when the UCLA-USC meet was a huge event? … How much fun was it when it came down to the 4×400 relay? Did we worry about times, although back then (‘70s through the ‘90s) it was not uncommon to hear results announced as ‘the fastest in the world this year’ – thank you Ato Boldon, Andre Phillips and Steve Lewis.”
“Just a thought. I know I’m shouting into the wind (cleaning up that analogy) but still…yeah.”
¶
Speaking of Grand Slam Track, the start lists for all three days of this weekend’s Slam in Miramar, Florida have been posted here.
● Basketball ● Having seen the success of the NHL’s Four Nations Face-Off during its All-Star break in 2025, the NBA is now discussing a U.S. vs. the world or similar format for the 2026 All-Star Game to be played at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told The Athletic:
“Our All-Star Game will return to NBC next season in the middle of their coverage of the Winter Olympics.
“Given the strong interest we’ve seen in international basketball competitions, most recently in last summer’s Olympics in Paris, we’re discussing concepts with the players association that focus on NBA players representing their countries or regions instead of the more traditional formats that we’ve used in the past.”
● Cycling ● The French-language site FrancsJeux.com noted that the organizing committee for the multi-discipline UCI “Super World Championships” in the Haute-Savoie region in France is gearing up with 281 World Championship titles to settled between 24 August and 5 September 2027.
Some 20 disciplines are to be included, with organizing committee head Florian Vuillaume explaining that the budget is €43 million (about $48.7 million U.S.), with two-thirds from public funds and one-third from sponsorships and tickets. Ticket sales are expected to start in September.
● Football ● FIFA confirmed that Women’s World Cup bid agreements were submitted by the U.S. Soccer Federation for 2031 and a combined 2035 bid from The Football Association (England), the Irish Football Association, The Scottish Football Association and The Football Association of Wales.
Both bids are expected to be formally approved in the second quarter of 2026.
● Ice Hockey ● The National Hockey League said Tuesday it will not hold an All-Star Game in 2026, but will instead have a “kick-off” event prior to the Winter Olympic hockey tournament taking place.
UBS Arena, home of the New York Islanders in Elmont, New York will be the site.
¶
At the IIHF men’s U-18 World Championship, being played in Frisco and Allen, Texas, the quarterfinals were held on Wednesday, with Canada edging the Czech Republic in overtime, 3-2, and Sweden clubbing Finland, 7-2, in the lower bracket.
In the upper bracket, Slovakia defeated Germany, 3-2 and the U.S. sailed past Latvia, 6-3, in the final quarter.
With re-seeding after the quarterfinals, the semis on Saturday will have the U.S. playing Sweden and Canada facing Slovakia. The medal matches are Sunday.
● Swimming ● What is expected to be a spicy edition of the Tyr Pro Swim Series is on in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, with the men’s and women’s 1,500 m races completed Wednesday and the meet continuing through Saturday.
Freestyle superstar Katie Ledecky rang the bell early, taking the first event – the women’s 1,500 m – in a sensational 15:24.41, the second-fastest swim in history, behind only her world record of 15:20.48, way back in 2018!
Ledecky passed 800 m en route in 8:12.76 (!), no. 2 in the world for 2025 and a time that only Ledecky, Canadian star Summer McIntosh and Ariarne Titmus (AUS) have ever bettered. Moreover, Ledecky also passed 400 m in 4:04.75, which ranks fifth on the world list for 2025! Wow.
Said the winner:
“I’m pretty fired up. I’ve been training really well and feeling good going into this meet, but you never know. It’s not like it’s the biggest meet of the year or anything, I just wanted [my time] to be a season best, which would have been 15:36. I’m pretty ecstatic.”
Jillian Cox was a distant second in 16:04.13, still no. 5 in the world this year!
Two-time Olympic champion Bobby Finke of the U.S. won the men’s 1,500 m on Wednesday by almost 26 seconds in 14:54.49, moving up to no. 9 on the 2025 world list.
With the U.S. nationals coming from 3-7 June, this is the final high-level warm-up event, and has attracted many American and international stars, including 13 Paris 2024 gold medalists (with their Paris events, including relay wins):
● Finke: men’s 1,500 m Freestyle
● Ledecky: women’s 800-1,500 m Freestyle
● Hunter Armstrong (USA): men’s 4×100 m Free Relay
● Kate Douglass (USA): women’s 200 m Breaststroke
● Caeleb Dressel (USA): men’s 4×100 m Free Relay
● Chris Giuliano (USA): men’s 4×100 m Free Relay
● Torri Huske (USA): women’s 100 m Butterfly, mixed 4×100 m Medley
● Lilly King (USA): women’s 4×100 m Medley Relay
● Hubert Kos (HUN): men’s 200 m 200 m Backstroke
● Leon Marchand (FRA): men’s 200 m Butterfly, 200-400 m Medley
● Summer McIntosh (CAN): 200 m Butterfly, 200-400 m Medley
● Regan Smith (USA): women’s 4×100 m Medley Relay
● Gretchen Walsh (USA): women’s and mixed 4×100 m Medley Relay
What will Walsh do, after winning seven World Short-Course golds last December? She’s entered in the 50 and 100 m Freestyles and Butterflys.
The meet will be shown on NBC’s Peacock streaming service (some sessions), and on the USA Swimming Network (all).
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