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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
● International Olympic Committee ● To the surprise of no one, the IOC Executive Board nominated Paris 2024 President Tony Estanguet (FRA) for election to the organization as an independent, individual member.
Estanguet, 46, a three-time Olympic gold medalist in canoeing, headed the highly successful organizing committee and will enjoy an easy confirmation at the 144th IOC Session in Greece in March.
● Association of Summer Olympic International Federations ● ASOIF welcomed a new President on 1 January as Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) chief Ingmar De Vos (BEL) took over for Italian Francesco Ricci Bitti, the former head of the International Tennis Federation, who served for 12 years as ASOIF leader.
ASOIF also admitted as Associate Members, in the new Olympic cycle from 2025-28, federations representing the added sports for Los Angeles 2028: the International Cricket Council (ICC), the International Federation of American Football (IFAF), World Lacrosse and World Squash.
● Alpine Skiing ● Impressive support for young skiers from American World Cup veteran and Beijing 2022 Olympian River Radamus, 26, who announced Tuesday he will fund all U.S. U-16 skiers who qualify for the Federation of European Ski & Snowboard Associations FESA Alpine Ski Cup.
Six U.S. skiers can qualify, with an entry requirement of $3,000 each that Radamus will handle; he explained, “I’m trying to do my part to ensure the sport becomes less expensive as these athletes climb the ladder.”
Qualifying is from 5-10 January in Burke, Vermont and the FESA Alpine Ski Cup will be from 28 February to 10 March in France. Radamus’ support will come in coordination with his ARCO Foundation and the World Cup Dreams Foundation.
● Boxing ● USA Boxing posted a list of the top five gyms in the nation according to the most wins in USA Boxing National Tournaments. Did you guess two of the five are from Hawaii?
● 1. 76: WestSide Striking (Waianae, Hawaii)
● 2. 51: Real Deal Boxing (Cincinnati, Ohio)
● 3. 44: HR Boxing (Waianae, Hawaii)
● 4. 32: Team Cartel Elite Boxing (Toledo, Ohio)
● 5. 26 wins: Relentless Boxing Academy (Round Rock, Texas)
The win totals are a product, of course, of entries in specific tournaments, but are still an eye-opener. Hawaii? Wow.
● Cross Country Skiing ● Norway’s Andreas Kirkeng, competing for the University of Denver, won two events at the U.S. Cross Country Ski Championships in Anchorage, Alaska, that finished on Tuesday.
Kirkeng, the defending champ, finished a very close second in the first-day men’s 10 km race to John Steel Hagenbuch of Dartmouth, 21:23.4 to 21:24.2, then won the Classical Sprint race over defending champ Luke Jager, 2:55.49 to 2:55.93. Kirkeng then won the 20 km Mass Start in 50:47.5, with defending champion Hagenbuch second in 50:58.0 and Jager at 50:59.2.
Tuesday’s Freestyle 1.4 km Sprint was taken by Michael Earnhardt in 2:51.95, ahead of Walker Hall (Utah: 2:52.48).
There were four different women’s winners, with Kate Oldham taking the 10 km in 24:29.8 over Kendall Kramer (24:41.0), but Kramer came back to win the 20 km Mass Start in 58:17.2, beating Swede Erica Laven (58:19.6).
Laven, competing for the University of Utah, won the Classical 1.4 km Sprint in 3:25.03, well clear of Estonia’s Mariel Pulles (3:29.64). But Pulles won the second (Freestyle) Sprint, on Tuesday, in 3:11.63 to 3:11.6 for Laven and 3:13.67 for Oldham.
● Football ● U.S. Soccer announced that defender Antonee “Jedi” Robinson, 27, as its 2024 men’s player of the year. A star back for Fulham F.C. in the English Premier League, he suited up for the U.S. in 11 matches – starting all 11 – and is the first defender to win since Oguchi Onyewu in 2006.
Robinson received a weighted total of 55% of the vote, ahead of nominees Folarin Balogun, Ricardo Pepi, Christian Pulisic and Tim Ream.
● Table Tennis ● After losing both Olympic champions – Chinese stars Zhendong Fan and Meng Chen – from the World Table Tennis tournament circuit to heavy participation rules, the International Table Tennis Federation created a task force “to gather feedback from players and review existing regulations.”
A five-member team, which includes Athletes Commission co-Chair Sharath Kamal Achanta (IND), will meet with athletes and coaches and hold a forum at the upcoming Singapore Smash beginning 30 January. Their report will come following the Singapore event, which closes on 9 February.
The current rules require top-10-ranked players to compete in the high-profile World Table Tennis events with only two events off; Fan and Chen preferred voluntary retirement after their Paris wins to what they considered a grueling schedule and fines of $5,000 per tournament missed.
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