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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● The Official Report of the 2024 Paris Games was published and is available for download, providing a summary of the efforts of the highly-successful organizing committee.
At 275 pages, it is quite brief compared to older reports and does not go deeply into the development and staging of the Games, but offers a comprehensive overview of the elements which made the Games work.
● Olympic Games 2040 ● London Mayor Sadiq Khan told The Times that London should bid to bring the Olympic Games back in 2040:
“I would like to see London become the first city to host the Games four times.
“And if we have the World [Athletics] Championships in 2029, it means in the lead-up there’s energy, enthusiasm and investment in track and field, which means you will have the future Mo Farahs, the future Paula Radcliffes.
“Globally, everyone loves coming to London. And we’ve managed to stage a good event every year in the London Diamond League. I’m in favour of this. I was in Paris last summer and I saw the transformation of their city.
“But we could knock it out of the park in relation to the Olympics, using the assets we already have in the aquatics centre, the stadium, the velodrome. And we could have some events outside of London too. London could be a hub.”
London staged the Games in 1908, 1948, in 2012 and now wants 2040, also coveted by Germany, which will select a candidate city later this year, and others. Great Britain will host the UEFA men’s championship in 2028 and the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2035.
● Russia ● The man who clubbed figure skating judge Mikhail Slobodchikov in the head after he disagreed with the scores he gave to his daughter at a regional competition has been arrested and detained. According to the filing at the Oktyabrsky District Court of Yekaterinburg:
“The preliminary investigation bodies have accused the man of a crime under paragraph ‘a’ of Part 1 of Article 213 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. According to the preliminary investigation bodies, [Adonis] Miroev, disagreeing with the grades given to his daughter at a figure skating competition, hit the coach. The court chose a preventive measure for Adonis Miroev in the form of detention until June 23.”
● Archery ● Texas A&M shooters won the Recurve titles at the USA Archery Team Qualifier at the Easton Foundations Gator Cup in Newberry, Florida.
Paris Olympian Catalina GNoriega took the women’s Recurve final with a 6-4 win over Alexandria Zuleta-Visser, moving up from second in this event last year. The men’s title went to Trenton Cowles, who overcome 2-0 and 5-3 deficits to Christian Stoddard in the final to come back and win in a shoot-out, 6-5. All four finalists will be part of the U.S. squad for the next World Archery World Cup from 6-11 May in Shanghai (CHN).
In the Compound finals, Dutch 2013 World Champion Mike Schloesser won a shoot-off in the men’s final after a 148-148 tie to edge Mathias Fullerton (DEN), and third-seed Olivia Dean won a shoot-off with top seed Liko Arreola to take the women’s gold after a 145-145 tie.
● Athletics ● The London Marathon reached another goal on Sunday, with Guinness World Records confirming the race as the largest ever, with 56,640 finishers.
That eclipsed the mark of 55,646 set at the November 2024 New York City marathon. The race organizers noted:
“The 2025 TCS London Marathon is already the most popular marathon on the planet, achieving the title for the most ballot entries for a marathon event thanks to an astonishing 840,318 people who applied via the public ballot for the 2025 edition, and it is also the world’s largest annual one-day fundraising event with more than £1.3 billion raised for charity since 1981.”
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The second-ever U.S. high schooler under 10 seconds in the 100 m is Langston Hughes (Fairburn, Georgia) High’s Maurice Gleaton, Jr.
He ran – with 0.0 m/s wind – 9.98 to win the Georgia State 5A Region 3 meet in Hampton, winning by 0.67 seconds! Next up will be the Georgia 5A Sectional B in Villa Rica this weekend. He committed to play football – he’s a receiver – and run track for Georgia.
● Basketball ● Star guard Jimmer Fredette, 36, announced his retirement from basketball last Wednesday (23rd). He didn’t have to wait long for his next job.
On Monday, USA Basketball announced Fredette as its new managing director for the men’s 3×3 national teams. According to the federation:
“Fredette will be responsible for identifying the USA 3×3 Men’s National Team coaching staff and players for major international competitions, including the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028, FIBA 3×3 World Cup, FIBA 3×3 Champions Cup, FIBA 3×3 AmeriCup, Pan American Games and the FIBA 3×3 pro circuit, as well as the program’s training camp participants over the next three years.”
Said Fredette:
“When USA Basketball approached me about this role, I jumped at it. I’m determined to help build a sustainable program for years to come and, ultimately, the best 3×3 program in the world. I’m so grateful for the USA Basketball Board of Directors for trusting me with this responsibility and I’m ready for the challenge.”
● Cycling ● At the Pan American Mountain Bike Championships in San Jose (CRC), Canadian Jennifer Jackson, the 2023 Pan American Games gold medalist, doubled with two wins in the women’s elite division.
First, she won the Cross Country Short race in 18:40, just ahead of former World Champion Kate Courtney of the U.S. (18:44). Then she took the Cross Country Olympic title, again over Courtney, but this time by a comfortable 1:27:45 to 1:28:51 margin.
Mexico’s Jose Ulloa won the men’s Cross Country Olympic race in 1:32:40, in a close battle with Brazil’s Ulan Galinski (1:32:46). Brazil went 1-2 in the men’s Short, with Gustavo Pereira taking the win over Alex Malacarne, 20:30 to 20:31.
● Gymnastics ● The sixth and final FIG Apparatus World Cup for 2025 was in Cairo (EGY), with two wins each for 2023 Worlds Floor bronze winner Milad Karimi (AZE) and 2024 Paris Olympic Uneven Bars champ Kaylia Nemour (ALG).
Karimi led off the men’s competition with a win on Floor at 14.133, ahead of Bulgaria’s Eddie Penev (13.966) and came back in the final event of the meet to win on Horizontal Bar at 14.466. Karimi won the seasonal title in both events.
Armenia scored three wins in Cairo, with 17-year-old Hamlet Manukyan taking the Pommel Horse final at 14.800, his third victory in the series; he was the seasonal champion as well. Americans Patrick Hoopes (14.700) and Brandon Dang (14.533) finished 3-4.
The second Armenian win was by Artur Avetisyan on Rings at 14.466, with Nikita Simonov (AZE) second at 14.433, but taking the seasonal crown. American Alex Diab (13.733) was fourth. On Vault, Armenia’s two-time Olympic medalist Artur Davtyan won at 14.700 for his fourth gold in the six meets, giving him the seasonal win.
On Parallel Bars, Egypt’s Omar Mohamed won at 14.033, on criteria over Noe Siefert (SUI: 14.033), but Ukraine’s Nazar Chepurnyi took the series title.
Nemour won, of course, on Uneven Bars at 14.533, over Lucija Hribar (SLO: 13.133), with Hribar winning the series crown. Nemour also won on Beam at 13.333, but Greta Mayer (HUN) got the seasonal trophy.
Canadian star Ellie Black, the 2017 Worlds All-Around silver winner, took the Vault at 13.616, with two-meet winner Teja Belak (SLO) getting the seasonal title. On Floor, Egypt’s Jana Mahmoud scored a 13.033 win over Nemour (12.966); American Jayla Hang won the seasonal title.
● Swimming ● In line with its unique circumstance as a sport as well as a life-saving activity, the USA Swimming Foundation announced $865,000 in grants to 114 organizations nationwide that will provide swimming lessons for 13,500 individuals across 36 states.
The 114 swim-learning providers receiving grants were selected from more than 470 applicants, including 81 youth-swimming providers, who will receive the bulk of the funding: $725,000. Adult learn-to-swim grants were designated for 33 providers, who will receive a total of $140,000.
● Volleyball ● USA Volleyball has tapped one of the finest women’s beach players in history to help shape future American teams, announcing three-time Olympic medalist April Ross as Head of Coaching for the Beach National Teams, “responsible for supporting the professional development of Beach National Team coaches, enhancing their training, competition preparedness, and the performance of our top American athletes on the international stage.”
Now 42, Ross won Olympic silver in 2012 with Jen Kessy, Olympic bronze with Kerri Walsh-Jennings in 2016 and gold with Alix Klineman at the Tokyo 2020 Games. According to the statement:
“Ross will be based at the Beach National Team Training Center in Torrance, California, and report to Sean Scott, the director of beach national teams. In this role, she will work closely with the USAV Performance Team and U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee members to significantly advance the professional capabilities of national team coaches and elevate the quality of coaching and training across all levels of the Beach National Team program.”
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