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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● In case you were interested, the European Olympic Committees noted that the continent again won the most medals at Paris 2024:
● 448: Europe (128-144-176)
● 256: Asia (97-70-89)
● 221: Americas (62-74-85)
● 74: Oceania (28-27-19)
● 38: Africa (13-12-14)
This does not include the five medals won by “neutrals” from Russia (1) and Belarus (4), both members – in better days – of the European Olympic Committees.
● Russia ● The Russian government’s campaign against the International Olympic Committee continues without pause, as Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov lambasted the IOC in a Tuesday interview:
● “The current IOC leadership, to my great regret, is burying the Olympic Movement. I am convinced that new forms will emerge that will preserve the spirit of fair competition and respect for the partner.”
● “[T]he West is engaged in, without exaggeration, sports aggression, as well as many other aggressions, including diplomatic aggression. The West’s sports aggression undermines the fundamental principles of the Olympic Movement, the principles of the Olympic Charter that sports are outside of politics. In this situation, we are forced to look for new forms that will allow us to revive honest, truly competitive, depoliticized sports.”
● “[T]he World Anti-Doping Agency and the IOC are joining forces to finally emasculate the principles of the Olympic Charter and finally put sport at the service of the interests of maintaining the hegemony of the West in all conceivable areas of human life.”
Just in case anyone was wondering about the context of Lavrov’s remarks, he added:
“[E]very day they are increasingly trying to provoke us into further escalation in response to the unprecedented aggressive actions of the West, which unleashed a hybrid war against us at the hands of Ukraine.”
At the hands of Ukraine? Now Lavrov makes sense; the TASS story did not include any information on the last time Lavrov was tested for doping.
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Russian athletes and officials are already speculating on the IOC Presidential election to be held next March. It’s clear there is one candidate they do not want elected, as two-time Olympic biathlon relay gold medalist Dmitry Vasiliev told TASS:
“Sebastian Coe‘s candidacy is the worst; if he is elected, then Russia will have nothing to do in the international Olympic movement for the foreseeable future. He will be even worse than Thomas Bach.”
The head of the Russian Artistic Gymnastics Federation, Vasily Titov, a Federation Internationale de Gymnastique board member, prefers his IF chief, Morinari Watanabe (JPN):
“I think that his election would be a good option for us, because, despite pressure from the government of his country, he did everything so that the FIG would make a decision to return our athletes to their competitions.”
Vyacheslav Ekimov, head of the Russian Cycling Federation, prefers his IF head, France’s David Lappartient:
“If you look at the policy of the federation he heads in relation to Russians, the International Cycling Union allows us to compete in its competitions as neutrals, unlike the European Cycling Union.
“David is a very hard-working person, a professional who deeply understands all issues and an excellent organizer. He is good both as a practitioner and as a politician.”
● Athletics ● A major cut in Kenyan anti-doping funding was reported on Tuesday, which could potentially lead to a national suspension. NewsCentral.Africa reported:
“The Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) revealed that it was given only 20 million shillings ($155,000) to cover day-to-day operations for the upcoming financial year, a sharp contrast to the expected 288 million shillings ($2.2 million).
“The agency’s program was affected by widespread budget cuts imposed by the government following the withdrawal of a tax bill that sparked massive protests in June.”
Said ADAK Board Chair Daniel Makdwallo:
“This decision has paralysed the agency, preventing us from meeting our obligations and risking non-compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code.”
In track & field alone, Kenya currently has 105 persons listed on the Athletics Integrity Unit’s list of ineligible persons, out of a global total of 587, or 17.9%. Second is India with 97 and then Russia with 71.
The situation concerning doping is so critical that to avoid suspension, the Kenyan government approved a five-year, $25 million allocation to combat it. That could all be in jeopardy now.
¶
Otis Davis, the 1960 Olympic 400 m gold medalist in Rome, has passed away at age 92, as announced by the University of Oregon. Davis was Oregon’s first-ever Olympic gold winner and also won gold on the U.S. 4×400 m relay.
He came to Oregon to play basketball but switched to track, and was elected to the National Track & Field Hall of Fame in 2003.
● Boxing ● World Boxing announced its first-ever World Championships, with the men’s and women’s title tournaments to be held together in Liverpool (GBR) from 4-14 September.
It’s another step for the federation, currently with 44 members, to show it is capable of being recognized as the International Olympic Committee’s designee to govern the sport, which is currently not on the 2028 Los Angeles program.
The IOC has said that it wants to make a decision in the early part of 2025 concerning boxing and LA28.
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