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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
● Olympic Winter Games 2026: Milan Cortina ● The Olympic Flame for the 2026 Winter Games was handed to the Italian organizers on Thursday at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens (GRE).
The Flame moved on to Rome by air – in a lantern! – on Thursday night, and will be formally welcomed in a ceremony in the Piazza del Quirnale on Friday (5th) before the Torch Relay begins its 63-day odyssey on the 6th. The Winter Games will open on 6 February 2026 in Milan.
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The Milan Cortina 2026 organizers introduced the uniforms for its award ceremonies crews, which it noted “are intentionally unbranded, ensuring that the spotlight remains exclusively on the athletes and their achievements.”
The design of the Victory Ceremony Uniforms came from a competition among three fashion design schools – IUAV Venezia, Istituto Marangoni di Milano, and Accademia di Brera – with the design from Accademia di Brera selected for “best capturing the vibrant, dynamic, and contemporary Italian spirit that characterizes the Games.”
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Ralph Lauren unveiled the opening and closing ceremony uniforms for the U.S. team for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games on Thursday. It’s the 10th straight Games for which Ralph Lauren has outfitted the American team; according to the announcement:
● “The Opening Ceremony uniform features a statement winter-white wool coat with heritage-inspired wooden toggles, an iconic American flag intarsia wool turtleneck sweater and tailored wool trousers.”
● “The Closing Ceremony uniform draws inspiration from vintage ski racing kits, featuring a sporty and modern color-blocked puffer jacket with bold Team USA graphics and a wool turtleneck sweater in a patriotic color palette, paired with a crisp white utility pant.”
● “Both looks are completed with red, white and blue intarsia knit hats and mittens, a leather belt and brown suede alpine boots with spirited red laces. Each item in the uniforms is proudly manufactured in the United States.”
Ralph Lauren is also debuting its Team USA Collection for public purchase, which includes a wider selection of items with a sporting flair using the “red, white and blue palette.”
● International Olympic Committee ● The IOC announced the appointment of five new members of the IOC Athletes’ Commission: Soraya Aghaei Haji Agha (IRI, badminton), Husein Alireza (KSA, rowing), Cheick Sallah Cisse (CIV, taekwondo), Olufunke Oshonaike (NGR, table tennis) and Mariana Pajon (COL, cycling). According to the IOC, the Commission now includes “23 members from all continents (including a member from the Refugee Olympic Team), 13 women and 10 men, representing 15 summer sports and 5 winter sports.”
Eleven candidates are standing for two positions to be elected by athletes attending the Milan Cortina Winter Games.
● Alpine Skiing ● Swiss Olympic and World Downhill champion Corinne Suter, 31, suffered a training crash in St. Moritz on Wednesday with injuries to her left calf, left knee and her right foot.
The Swiss skiing federation said she will not require surgery, but will be out for about a month. The women’s Downhill at the Milan Cortina Winter Games is on 8 February.
● Athletics ● The Athletics Integrity Unit reported a six-year ban for previously-suspended Kenyan distance runner Sheila Chelangat for use of Erythropoietin (EPO) from a 15 September 2024 positive and a follow-up positive on 25 March 2025.
The two positives in a short time period were the grounds for extending the normal four-year ban to six years. Chelangat was a Tokyo Olympian in the 10,000 m and has bests of 31:10.27 for 10,000 m on the track (2021) and a Half Marathon best of 1:06:06 (2024).
● Flying Disc ● The World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF) suffered a loss with the passing of Secretary General Volker Bernardi (GER) last August, but has announced the highly-experienced Jonathan Rigby (GBR) as his successor, beginning on 1 February 2026.
The WFDF is already involved with the Brisbane 2032 organizers to introduce the “Beach 4×4″ event as part of the Olympic program. The recent WFDF World Beach Ultimate Championships in Portimao (POR) attracted a remarkable 2,600 athletes from 38 countries!
● Football ● If you’re interested, the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final Draw will take place Friday (5th) in Washington, D.C. beginning at noon Eastern time and broadcast in the U.S. on FOX.
The show is slated to run two hours and will have the usual added entertainment elements, plus the award of the new “FIFA Peace Prize” in addition to the announcement of who will play who in each of the 12 group-stage pools.
Of the 48 teams to play, 42 have qualified and the remainder will come from play-off tournaments.
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The Associated Press reported on two State Department cables which advise “visa applications for businesspeople considering ‘significant investments’ in the United States should be at the top of the list for consideration along with applications from those wanting to travel ‘for major sporting events which showcase American excellence.’”
The story relates that State Department posts “‘should ensure sufficient appointment capacity to accommodate spectators and other fans traveling for events surrounding the [World Cup] tournament,’ said one of the two cables sent Tuesday. ‘These should take priority over all other B1/B2 applications, except those related to American re-industrialization.’”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio previously stated that 400 consular officers have been added to help with visas and that visa appointments are available within 60 days for about 80% of countries worldwide.
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Merchandise giant Fanatics announced it has been selected as the “official on-site retail licensee” for the 2026 FIFA World Cup across all 104 tournament matches, and “[i]n addition to in-venue retail, Fanatics will also build out bespoke retail experiences at official FIFA Fan Festival locations within host cities.”
The Fanatics statement noted that it will coordinate its product offers with outside partners:
“Fanatics will work with a variety of world-class brands and official FIFA merchandise partners to curate a robust fan gear assortment for all nations. The company will utilize its on-demand manufacturing capabilities and global supply chain – including local market operations throughout Canada, Mexico and the U.S. – to produce quick-strike products that celebrate unpredictable moments that regularly arise during the tournament.”
The appointment of Fanatics follows its role as retail licensee at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.
● Mixed Martial Arts ● Kerrith Brown (GBR), the President of the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) ripped into the newly-formed Federation of International Mixed Martial Arts (FIMMA) as a usurper, trying to take over the promotion of MMA into the Olympic program. Brown posted a statement on Thursday which included:
“This is not a press release.
“This is thirteen years of real work by athletes, coaches, officials, and national federations who trusted IMMAF to grow the sport the right way.
“Recent announcements from newly created organisations do not change these facts.
“Mixed Martial Arts cannot be reinvented in a press conference.
“It cannot be redefined on a mat to suit political convenience.
“And it cannot bypass the established governance framework of SportAccord, GAISF, and the Olympic Movement.”
He added, “The MMA community knows who has done the real work over the past decade.”
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