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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
● Olympic Games 2036 ● The Times of India reported that discussions around a 2036 Olympic bid for India have centered about New Delhi and Agra, site of the iconic Taj Mahal, instead of previously-championed Mumbai and/or Ahmedabad.
The superb use of the iconic Eiffel Tower by the French for the Paris 2024 Games lends added significance to the potential of the Taj Mahal as a symbol for an Indian Olympic bid. Moreover, New Delhi is the national capital, with the accompanying support for visitors, and available land space for new construction that would be needed.
● Olympic Winter Games 2026: Milan Cortina ● The Milan Cortina 2026 organizers unveiled the 2026 Torch Relay on Tuesday, with a planned 10,001 torch bearers to take the flame to 60 locations across 63 days and 12,000 km (7,456 miles).
The flame will be lit at ancient Olympia on 26 November 2025 and then arrive in Rome on 4 December, beginning its journey throughout Italy.
The Paralympic Torch Relay will begin in Stoke Mandeville, England on 23 February 2026, with a 12-day relay to follow with 500 torchbearers covering 2,000 km (1,243 miles).
● Pan American Games 2027 ● Official dates for the 2027 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru were announced Tuesday as 16 July to 1 August.
The dates are close to the 2019 dates for the PAG held in Lima of 26 July to 11 August and a near-exact match for the 2028 Olympic Games dates of 14-30 July in Los Angeles.
This will be the eighth Pan American Games – out of 20 through 2027 – to open in July, the most of any month. August has been the start for five editions.
● Russia ● The newest sports diplomacy move by Russian sports minister Mikhail Degtyarev is the signing of a cooperation agreement with the North Korean sports minister, Il Guk Kim, in Pyongyang on Sunday. Wrote Degtyarev on his Telegram page (computer translation from the original Russia):
“We attach great importance to the development of sports cooperation, as well as constructive dialogue, with North Korea. The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement signed earlier by the heads of our states is clear proof of the unmatched high level of relations between our countries.”
Further:
“Starting in 2025, I proposed holding the Russian-Korean Summer Games on a biennial basis [alternating between the countries]. We are ready to hold at least 10 sports competitions on the program of the possible Games. The North Korean side was all for this.”
● Athletics ● Grand Slam Track announced a major new signing of Olympic 200 m gold medalist Gabby Thomas of the U.S., who also ran legs on the winning 4×100 m and 4×400 m relays in Patis.
This brings the “Racer” total to 38 signees out of 48 planned. Thomas is the sixth Paris Olympic champion to commit to the new project, also including Quincy Hall (USA: men’s 400 m), Cole Hocker (USA: men’s 1,500 m), Marileidy Paulino (DOM: women’s 400 m), Masai Russell (USA: women’s 100 m hurdles) and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (USA: women’s 400 m hurdles).
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A story in the London Daily Mail newspaper reported that World Athletics is developing a “World Treadmill Championships” to keep up with similar events already staged in rowing and cycling.
World Athletics chief executive Jon Ridgeon (GBR) explained:
‘There are millions of people around the world that just go to the gym and run on the treadmill. We should create products for those people. We should have a Treadmill World Championships.
‘You are an athlete if you go for a 30-minute run on a treadmill or if you win an Olympic gold medal in the 100 metres. It is all athletics.
‘We are working it out at the moment. We will be announcing a tech partner that we are going to work with to develop the virtual running scene.”
No indication on a possible date for a first championship.
● Biathlon ● Russian Evgeny Ustyugov, the 2010 Vancouver men’s Olympic Mass Start winner and a relay gold medalist at Sochi 2014, had his appeal rejected at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, confirming his sanctions for abnormalities in his Athlete Biological Passport.
He was retroactively banned from 24 January 2010 to the end of the 2013-14 season, at which point he retired. This wipes out three Olympic medal performances in 2010 and 2014, and two 2011 World Championships silver medals.
The disqualification from the Mass Start win at Vancouver 2010 should allow French star Martin Fourcade to move from silver to gold, giving him a total of seven Olympic golds from 2010-14-18.
Another doping penalty on Ustygov, now 39, from information obtained from the Moscow Laboratory by the World Anti-Doping Agency in 2019 relating to the state-sponsored Russian doping scheme, is being appealed. That sanction wiped out results from August 2013 to the end of the season in 2014.
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The Russian news agency TASS reported that the International Biathlon Union has reiterated its total ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes for the coming season, in view of the continuing invasion of Ukraine. The IBU has no provision for “neutral” athletes.
● Boxing ● To the surprise of absolutely no one:
“World Boxing has welcomed the creation of a new Asian confederation to represent and promote boxing in the region, marking a significant milestone for the sport.”
The new confederation, to be made up of the 15 national federations from Asia which are members of World Boxing, was announced by Asian Boxing Confederation President Pichai Chunhavajira (THA), following last weekend’s vote for the ASBC to remain allied with the International Boxing Assocation.
● Equestrian ● Another demonstration of the impact of being the host of a forthcoming Olympic Games was demonstrated on Saturday, with a temporary show jumping arena sent up at the site of the 1984 Olympic equestrian events – Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California – for the first Longines FEI Jumping World Cup Los Angeles, with $400,000 in prize money.
The event was not related in any way to the 2028 Olympic organizing committee, but was an expansion of the FEI Jumping World Cup tour in North America. There will be many more such events in the L.A. area in the coming years in various sports to familiarize athletes and officials with the area.
Karl Cook, a member of the U.S.’s Paris 2024 Team Jumping silver, won the eight-entry jump-off to win on Caracole de la Roque, with no penalties and the fastest time through the course at 41.19 seconds. Israel’s Daniel Bluman was second with no penalties and 42.87.
● Football ● Iconic American keeper Alyssa Naeher, now 36, announced her retirement from national-team play on Tuesday, but will be available for the upcoming games against England and The Netherlands in December.
Naeher compiled a brilliant career over 11 season as a national-team keeper, with an outstanding 0.50 goals-against average; the U.S. was 88-6-14 (W-L-T) in her matches. She played on three World Cup teams, on title winners in 2015 and 2019, and was on three Olympic teams, including the 2024 Paris gold-medal winners. Her first game in goal for the U.S. was a 7-0 win against Argentina in December 2014; she had 68 career shutouts. She said:
“This has been a special team to be a part of and I am beyond proud of what we have achieved both on and off the field. The memories I have made over the years will last me a lifetime. I know one chapter is ending, but I am so excited to continue to see the growth of this team going forward and what more they can accomplish.”
Naeher plans to play for the NWSL Chicago Red Stars for the 2025 season.
● Shooting ● One of the goals of the International Paralympic Committee is to eventually have International Federations take over all of the sports it currently administers. One of those is shooting and the effort is underway as the IPC and International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) met last week discuss the process for the ISSF to integrate Para Shooting.
● Swimming ● Although Australian Freestyle star Emma McKeon said she would be retiring after the Olympic Games in Paris, she made it official on Sunday with a post on Instagram:
“Today I am officially retiring from competitive swimming.
“Leading into Paris, I knew it would be my last Olympics, and the months since have given me time to reflect on my journey, and think about what I wanted my future to look like in swimming.
“I am proud of myself for giving my swimming career absolutely everything, both physically and mentally.
“I wanted to see what I was capable of – and I did.
“Swimming has given me so much. From the dream igniting at 5 years old, right through to my third Olympic games- I have so many lessons, experiences, friendships and memories that I am so thankful for. Along with every person who supported me, worked hard with me, and cheered me on. THANK YOU.
“Now I am excited to see how I can push myself in other ways, and for all the things that life has in store.”
Now 30, McKeon finishes with a sensational 14 Olympic medals (6-3-5), including individual golds in the 50-100 m Frees at Tokyo 2020, and 20 World Championships medals (5-11-4).
● Wrestling ● The Court of Arbitration for Sport imposed a five-year ban on Serbian Greco-Roman wrestler Zurabi Datunashvili, who won the Tokyo 2020 Olympic bronze medal in the 87 kg class.
The decision confirmed a prohibited method – urine substitution – and fabricated evidence to justify missing a test in January 2022, resulting in a nullification of all of his results since 27 May 2021 to 11 April 2023.
This wipes out his Tokyo 2020 Olympic bronze (won in 2021) and his World Championships gold in 2022, but Datunashvili has appealed the urine substitution charge and the disqualification of results. He retired in 2023.
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