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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
● Olympic Winter Games 2034: Utah ● The Utah 2034 organizing committee announced a series of personnel shifts to prepare for a more active effort.
Abby Osborne was named as Vice President of Impact, Engagement, and Enterprise Operations and will start on 1 August; she has been the Chief of Staff for the Utah House of Representatives since 2019.
Planning lead Darren Hughes, a member of the 2002 Winter Games organizing committee, will now be the Vice President of Games Delivery, directly responsible for the competitions themselves. Two-time Olympic short track skater Julie Letai will by the Athlete Experience Coordinator.
Leaving Utah 2034 by her own choice is four-time Olympic speed skater Catherine Raney Norman, who chaired the bid committee and was a key early player in community outreach and the amazing development efforts within the Utah community to help get the organizing committee up and running.
● Athletics ● The NCAA Track & Field Championships drew what appeared to be about 4,000 fans a day at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, but did better on television.
ESPN reported that its telecasts on ESPN and ESPN2 – covering a meet with one world record and nine collegiate records – averaged 291,500 across the four days, with higher numbers on Wednesday and Thursday (note the FIFA World Cup started on the 11th and NBA Finals game five was played on the 13th):
● 10 June: ESPN: 324,000 (men day 1)
● 10 June: ESPN2: 77,000 (track events after 11 p.m. Eastern)
● 11 June: ESPN2: 332,000 (women day 1)
● 12 June: ESPN2: 258,000 (men day 2)
● 13 June: ESPN2: 252,000 (women day 2)
In comparison to 2025, day one was a little better and the last three days were down a bit::
● 11 June: ESPN: 317,000
● 11 June: ESPN2: 15,000 (track events after 11 p.m. Eastern)
● 12 June: ESPN: 443,000
● 13 June: ESPN2: 268,000
● 14 June: ESPN2: 298,000
The 2024 telecasts – in an Olympic year – were bigger and did 340,000 viewers on day one (ESPN2), 257,000 on day two (ESPN2), 602,000 on day three (ESPN) and 519,000 on day four (ESPN). The 2023 NCAAs, all on ESPN2, drew 152,000-227,000-176,000-393,000.
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American middle-distance star Jenny Simpson, 39, the 2011 World 1,500 m champion and two-time silver medalist, collapsed while pacing a run in Raleigh, North Carolina on Tuesday evening.
LetsRun.com reported that “she was without a pulse for a period of time but that hat she was currently alive and at the hospital. CPR apparently was performed, one online report indicated an AED [automated external defibrillator] was used, and her pulse was restored.”
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Texas A&M coach Pat Henry announced his retirement Wednesday after 54 years in coaching and 22 at the school, ending a stunning career in which his teams won 10 NCAA titles, following on the 27 he won while at LSU .
Now 74, his A&M teams won 10 NCAA men’s titles (9 outdoor, 1 indoor) and 27 women’s championships (17 outdoor, 10 indoor) at LSU.
● Ice Hockey ● The International Ice Hockey Federation named American defender Caroline Harvey as its women’s Player of the Year.
In the fourth edition of the award, she was the Olympic tournament’s Most Valuable Player in the U.S.’s gold-medal performance in Milan and received 77.3% of the vote, the most ever.
Swiss forward Alina Muller finished second (9.1%), followed by Laila Edwards (USA: 4.5%) and prior winner Marie-Philip Poulin (CAN: 4.5%); Americans Taylor Heise and Megan Keller also received votes.
● Ski & Snowboard ● U.S. Ski & Snowboard unveiled a busy schedule of 13 FIS World Cup events to be held in the U.S. during the 2026-27 winter season:
● Alpine (5): men’s racing at Copper Mountain and Beaver Creek, Colorado; women’s racing in Killington, Vermont and Beaver Creek, plus the World Cup Finals in Sun Valley, Idaho.
● Freestyle (3): Aerials in Lake Placid, New York, Moguls and Dual Moguls in Waterville Valley, New Hampshire, and Aerials-Moguls-Dual Moguls in Deer Valley, Utah.
● Freeski & Snowboard (3): events in Slopestyle and Halfpipe in Copper Mountain and Aspen, Colorado and a site to be announced.
● Ski Jumping (1): in Lake Placid, New York (128 m hill).
One Paralympic World Cup event will be held and the total of 13 is most ever in a season in the U.S.
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