★ 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 Winter Games 2026: Milan Cortina ● The 2026 Winter Games organizers marked 100 days to go before the 6 February opening of the Games in Milan, revealing the designs of the Olympic and Paralympic podiums.
Concerns continue over the construction of the main ice hockey arena, the PalaItalia Santa Guilia, which is running behind schedule, but is expected to be completed in time.
Organizing committee chief executive Andrea Varnier said more than 850,000 of the total of 1.4 million Olympic and Paralympic tickets had been sold so far.
¶
Italian sports officials confirmed that prize money for its medal winners at the 2026 Winter Games will be the same as for Paris 2024: €180,000 for gold, €90,000 for silver and €60,000 for bronze. Legislation is being worked on to allow the winnings to be tax-free.
That’s about $208,814, $104,407 and $69,605 U.S. Italy’s target is 19 total medals, from a team expected to number about 209.
● World Anti-Doping Agency ● The German ARD channel’s doping editorial team reported Wednesday that the World Anti-Doping Agency “is seeking to expose whistleblowers who passed on information about suspected doping cases in China to ARD. Human rights organizations are strongly criticizing the so-called ‘Operation Puncture’.”
The effort, which WADA told ARD “was commissioned by its Athletes’ Commission to conduct such an investigation,” could place such informants in danger, as governments generally do not tolerate such behavior. The story noted that the Athletics Integrity Unit had been contacted by WADA on this issue and “declined to exchange information.”
WADA has been suffering since the ARD expose in 2024 of a mass-doping incident among star Chinese swimmers in January 2021, who were ultimately not sanctioned by the Chinese Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA), with no appeal filed by WADA. The U.S. government, in protest, has withheld its $3.6 million dues from WADA for 2024, and has not paid in 2025.
● U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee ● Now, the USOPC medical staff has its own sponsor for the Milan Cortina Olympic Winter Games in February. The healthcare apparel brand FIGS will outfit about 150 physicians, nurses, trainers and other professionals for the USOPC support team in Italy:
“The official Team USA Medical Team kit features specially designed scrubwear, outerwear, knitwear, and accessories, all of which include distinct Team USA Medical Team emblems in a spirited palette of red, white, and blue. To support the healthcare professionals who work tirelessly behind the scenes to power Team USA’s athletes, FIGS is introducing its new FIBREx fabric, which is making its debut in the Winter Games collection.”
● NCAA ● The Athletic obtained a document from NCAA Division I Cabinet Chair Josh Whitman, who is also the Illinois athletics director that included:
“During its October meeting, the Division I Cabinet determined that, for the remainder of the current [2025-26] academic year and for the rosters competing during the 2026-27 academic year, it will maintain existing eligibility rules as they pertain to student-athletes competing in no more than four seasons of athletics competition in a particular sport over a consecutive five-year period.
“The Cabinet is studying these policies, along with several related eligibility rules, and will later consider what changes, if any, to implement for future academic years. When challenged, the current rules have been upheld by the overwhelming majority of courts.”
Discussion is continuing about extending eligibility to five years, but no changes yet.
● Athletics ● Another Kenyan doping ban from the Athletics Integrity Unit, this time it’s Esphond Cheruiyot “for 3 years from 23 October 2025 for Presence/Use of a Prohibited Substance (Trimetazidine).” His results are nullified from 21 September 2025.
He’s a 2:09:46 (2025, now nullified) marathoner and has a best of 1:01:24 in the Half (2024).
● Football ● The U.S. women completed their international match window with a friendly against New Zealand in Kansas City, Missouri, and a 6-0 rout.
Although not quite as quick as the first-minute goals against Portugal, the U.S. was on offense right away and after getting free on the right side via a back-heel pass from midfielder Lily Yohannes, Michelle Cooper sent a line-drive cross to the far side of the New Zealand goal where the onrushing forward Emma Sears blasted it into the net for the 1-0 lead in the 8th minute.
It took 20 minutes for the Kiwis to get deep into U.S. territory and the American offense was unrelenting, but didn’t get a second goal until defender Emily Sams sent another sharp cross across the goal and striker Catarina Macario pounded a right-footed laser toward goal and it flew off the foot of New Zealand keeper Claudia Dickey for the 2-0 edge in the 34th.
In the 44th, midfield star Rose Lavelle found herself at the top of the box, with room, and sent a loose ball screaming inside the goal post for a 3-0 lead to close the half, with the U.S. taking 85% possession and 18-0 on shots!
The goals kept coming in the second half, with Sears scoring in the 55th, Macario again in the 66th and Sears with the hat trick in the 84th. The Americans finished with 82% possession and a 34-3 shots advantage.
¶
The round-of-16 matches at the FIFA women’s U-17 World Cup in Morocco finished on Wednesday, with Canada pounding Zambia, 6-0; Japan blanking Colombia, 4-0; France ousting Spain on penalties (5-4) after a 4-4 tie and Mexico edging Paraguay, 1–0.
In the quarters, Brazil will face Canada and defending champ North Korea will play Japan in the upper bracket. France and the Netherlands and Mexico and Italy will play in the lower half.
● Taekwondo ● At the World Taekwondo Championships in Wuxi (CHN), Iran’s Abolfazi Zandi, the 2022 World Junior Champion, won his first Worlds medal with a 7-3, 12-8 win over Belarus “neutral” Georgli Gurtsiev in the men’s 58 kg final.
Another World Junior winner – from 2024 – Tunisia’s Wafa Masghouni won on criteria in two rounds against Hungary’s Viviana Marton, the Paris 2024 Olympic champ, 7-7 and 0-0, in the women’s 62 kg championship.
The tournament will finish on Thursday.
¶
★ 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, 850-event International Sports Calendar for 2025, 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!
