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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
● Russia ● “Whereabouts” incidents – failures to be present for an anti-doping test – are on the rise in Russia. The Russian Anti-Doping Agency reported 47 incidents in July and 195 for the full year of 2025.
That’s the most for any month in 2025 and projects to 334 for the year, which would be the most since 2022 (375). There were 242 incidents in 2023 and 282 in 2024.
● Athletics ● More strong audiences for track & field on NBC, as the two televised days of the USATF National Championships last weekend both drew more than a million viewers:
● 2 August (Sat.): 1.1 million on NBC, Peacock and NBC digital
● 3 August (Sun.): 1.3 million on NBC, Peacock and NBC digital
The follows the 1.1 million total audience for the Prefontaine Classic on NBC on 5 July. Audience data was provided upon request by NBC.
Track & field off of NBC does not do as well, with the new Grand Slam Track effort averaging 239,000 for its six dates on The CW, with similar audiences for the NCAA Championships, annually on ESPN or ESPN2.
But without much promotion, the NBC shows consistently come in at about one million viewers, over many years, and this is the great promise for the sport if the right kind of showcase can be constructed.
Audiences for the U.S. Olympic Trials are in another category. The 2024 T&F Trials averaged 4.5 million viewers across eight nights of coverage, up from 3.2 million on average for 2021.
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U.S. men’s 100 m champion Kenny Bednarek told CNN Sports that he had a discussion with 200 m winner Noah Lyles and have worked out their differences regarding the end-of-race incident on Sunday at the USATF Nationals in Eugene, Oregon.
Lyles looked at Bednarek as he came from behind to win, 19.63 to 19.67, said something and then Bednarek pushed Lyles in the back past the line. Both said afterwards they needed to talk, and they did, with Bednarek telling CNN:
“[W]e both decided to discuss the situation after the event was done and that’s what we did. We had about an hour-long conversation and it was a really good, honest conversation. We both came to an agreement with things and we’re good now.”
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Russian vaulting icon, two-time Olympic champion Yelena Isinbayeva and an International Olympic Committee member from 2016-24, is being pursued by Russian law enforcement for unpaid rent and utility bills in her hometown of Volgograd.
The Russian news agency TASS carried the story and noted that Isinbayeva, 43, has been reported to be living in Tenerife in the Canary Islands of Spain. She is married with two children and retired in 2016.
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The Athletics Integrity Unit announced it “has provisionally suspended Judy Jelagat Kemboi (Kenya) for the Presence/Use of a Prohibited Substance (Hydrochlorothiazide).”
Kemboi, 26, ranks in the top 60 all-time in the road 5 km (14:54 in 2024), 10 km (30:29 in 2024) and Half Marathon (1:05:43 in 2024). Her last race was on 27 April of this year, a 1:07:47 third in the Istanbul Half. He won the 2024 Kenyan national title in the Half.
● Fencing ● USA Fencing announced a new record for memberships at 45,157, with 752 clubs, with a significant expansion after the U.S. team success at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
Reaching past 700 clubs meets a target set for 2028! Membership totals before the pandemic were in the 30,000 range, so the federation has been expanding strongly in recent years.
● Football ● The cat-and-mouse game between violent spectators and law enforcement in England is moving to a new level as Cheshire police said Wednesday that a “DNA tagging spray” will be used on disruptive fans that will help identify them in the future.
The Associated Press reported:
“The spray marks equipment, clothing and skin with an invisible uniquely-coded synthetic DNA solution that can be used for forensic evidence. It ‘clings to skin and clothing for months,’ police said. The spray shows up under ultraviolet light.”
● Skiing ● U.S. star Lindsey Vonn, 40, preparing to try and make the U.S. team for the 2026 Winter Games in Milan Cortina with a strong performance on the FIS World Cup circuit, announced retired Norwegian star Aksel Lund Svindal as coach and equipment advisor.
Svindal, 42, retired in 2019 after 36 World Cup wins and 80 total medals across 17 seasons. Like Vonn, he was primarily a speed skier – Downhill and Super-G – and both have been long-time users of Head ski equipment. Said Vonn:
“There are very few people in the world I would trust when it comes to line, technique, and equipment – and Aksel is absolutely one of them. He knows exactly what it takes to be the best of the best. …
“This comeback is a little bit crazy, but I think Aksel can really help me.”
● Swimming ● At the USA Swimming Summer Nationals in Irvine, California, two U.S. stars who were not part of the U.S. team at the Worlds were in the final of the men’s 50 m Free.
Australia’s Jamie Jack won the race in 21.63, which would have placed seventh in the Worlds final and has him at no. 10 on the 2024 world list, followed by Americans Hunter Armstrong (21.76 lifetime best) and Tokyo 2020 Olympic star Caeleb Dressel, in 21.94, his fastest of the season.
The meet continues through Friday.
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Longtime Australian swimming supporter and billionaire mining company owner Gina Rinehart announced added bonuses of A$300,000 for Aussie swimmers of A$20,000-15,000-10,000 for individual events and A$5,000-3,750-2,500 for medal performances at the recent World Aquatics Championships in Singapore. (A$1 = $0.65 U.S.)
This is on top of the U.S. $20,000-15,000-10,000-6,000-5,000-4,000-3,000-2,000 prize money paid by World Aquatics for places 1-8.
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