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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
● Olympic Winter Games 2026: Milan Cortina ● National Hockey League and the NHL Players Association issued a joint statement signaling satisfaction with the weekend’s trial tournament at the new PalaItalia Santagiulia arena in Milan to be used for the Winter Games. Also:
“While challenges are inherent with new ice and a still-under-construction venue, we expect that the work necessary to address all remaining issues will continue around the clock.
“The NHL and NHLPA will continue to monitor the situation, standing ready to consult and advise on the work being done to ensure that the local organizing committee, the IOC, and the IIHF deliver a tournament and playing conditions befitting the world’s best players.”
● Olympic Winter Games 2038: Switzerland ● The “preferred” Swiss bid for the 2038 Winter Games took a step forward with the release of a plan which spreads the Games across the entire country, with events in 10 of the 26 cantons (states). Per the announcement:
“This decentralization has the positive effect of ensuring that the whole of Switzerland benefits from the Games, thus promoting national cohesion. Switzerland is one of the leading winter sports nations, and this expertise will be leveraged for the 2038 Games.
“The plan relies on existing, world-class sports venues that have demonstrated, and will continue to demonstrate, their excellence annually at World Cups, World Championships, and European Championships. In close collaboration with the national winter sports federations and experienced local organizing committees, Switzerland is ensuring that costs and environmental impacts are minimized.”
The ceremonies would be in Lausanne (opening) and Bern (closing) with athletes housed in three of the clusters and two smaller locations. As for costs:
● “The total budget for the next 10 years, from the awarding of the contract to the Games themselves, amounts to 2.2 billion Swiss francs [$2.76 billion U.S.]. 82 percent of this is to be financed by private investors, and 18 percent by the public sector.”
● “The federal government’s requested contribution amounts to 130 million francs for the Olympic Games and 60 million francs for the Paralympic Games, supplemented by contributions from cantons and municipalities.”
● “Public deficit guarantees are explicitly not part of the concept. Instead, the budget includes reserves of 10 percent of the total budget as well as a privately funded deficit guarantee of 200 million Swiss francs.”
The International Olympic Committee will review the plan after the Milan Cortina Winter Games, also quite spread out, and could decide to award the 2038 Games in 2027, or go back out to bid.
● World Anti-Doping Agency ● WADA has listed the anti-doping agency of Cote d’Ivoire as “non-compliant” with a 21-day clock for appeal or compliance. If compliance is not achieved by 3 February, Cote d’Ivoire will be listed as “non-complaint.”
No restrictions on athletes are included at this stage, but further sanctions are possible after 12 months of non-compliance.
● Athletics ● At the USA Track & Field Marathon Race Walk Championships in Santee, California, Swedish star Perseus Karlstrom, the 2023 World 20 km silver medalist, won at 3:04.50 for the new distance, with an impressive margin of six minutes.
American Nick Christie took the U.S. title – his 22nd national championship – by a wide margin in second in 3:11.12, with Jordan Crawford third overall at 3:31:30.
The women’s winner was veteran star Maria Michta-Coffey at 3:50:38 – her 24th national title – followed by Katie Burnett at 3:59:07 and Lydia McGranahan at 4:07:15
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At the Chevron Houston Marathon, Zouhair Talbi, who gained his American citizenship in 2025 after changing his affiliation from Morocco, won the men’s division with a lifetime best of 2:05:45, making him the third-fastest American in history, with the no. 3 performance.
He won’t be able to represent the U.S. until 2027; his prior best was 2:06:39 to win in Houston in 2024.
In the Houston Half, Habtom Samuel (ERI) won in 59:01, with American Alex Meier fourth in 59:23, moving him to no. 2 all-time U.S., behind only Conner Mantz’s 59:17 in Houston last year. Fantaye Belaneh (ETH) won the women’s Half in a lifetime best of 1:04:49, with American Taylor Roe fourth in 1:06:20, also no. 2 all-time U.S., behind Weini Kelati’s 1:06:09 from 2025, also in Houston.
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Veteran Kenyan marathoner Albert Korir, 31, the 2021 New York City Marathon winner, has been provisionally suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit for CERA (Continuous Erythropoietin Receptor Activator), used for stimulating red blood cell production.
The listing was as of 8 January; he was third in the 2025 NYC Marathon on 2 November, his last race. He has a best of 2:06:45 from 2023 in New York.
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Following up on the success of the U.S. Figure Skating Nationals at the Enterprise Center, St. Louis Sports Commission President Marc Schreiber said that the city has also bid for the 2028 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials.
It was reported that USA Track & Field has received multiple bids for the event, but has not named any of the cities interested.
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Having been banned for 45 months for doping and tampering, American sprinter Marvin Bracy-Williams – the 2022 Worlds men’s 100 m runner-up – was announced as one of six new additions to the Enhanced Games.
Britain’s Reece Prescod, South African Clarence Munyai and German Mike Bryan joined the men’s field and American Taylor Anderson and Shockoria Wallace (JAM) were added to the women’s roster.
● Football ● FIFA announced a multi-year agreement with Britain-based Stats Perform with “exclusive rights to distribute official betting data and live streams for selected FIFA properties.”
In addition to data for sportsbooks, “Stats Perform will also serve as an official distributor of live FIFA match streams to customers of licensed sports betting operators in selected territories,” which were not listed.
● Freestyle Skiing ● Monday was the second and final day of the Aerials event at Lake Placid, New York, with China’s 20-year-old Xinpeng Li winning his first career World Cup gold, scoring 137.19 ahead of Sunday’s winner, Xindi Wang (112.00).
The women’s results were flipped from Sunday, with then-third-placer Kalia Kuhn of the U.S. winning her first World Cup gold at 105.60, followed by again-second-placer (and Olympic champ) Mengtao Xu (CHN: 105.17) and then Sunday’s winner, Danielle Scott (AUS: 85.65) this time in third!
● Gymnastics ● Jim Hartung, a member of the 1984 men’s Olympic team champions, passed away at age 65 on Saturday, 10 January. A two-time NCAA All-Around champion at Nebraska, he was a 22-time All-American and a member of the U.S. national team eight times.
He was a member of the 1980 U.S. team that did not go to Moscow, but won gold in Los Angeles in 1984 and was a finalist on Vault. He was a 19-year assistant coach at Nebraska and inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame with his ‘84 teammates in 2006.
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