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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
● Olympic Games 2028: Los Angeles ● In the dump of three million pages of materials by the U.S. Justice Department related to the Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking case, personal electronic mail messages between convicted child sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell (GBR) and LA28 Chair Casey Wasserman surfaced, from 2003.
In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Wasserman said:
“I deeply regret my correspondence with Ghislaine Maxwell which took place over two decades ago, long before her horrific crimes came to light. I never had a personal or business relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. As is well documented, I went on a humanitarian trip as part of a delegation with the Clinton Foundation in 2002 on the Epstein plane. I am terribly sorry for having any association with either of them.”
Asked about the news at Sunday’s news conference, International Olympic Committee chief Kirsty Coventry (ZIM) said the matter was not discussed at the IOC Executive Board meeting and said “I believe Mr. Wasserman put out his statement and we have nothing further to add.”
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The IOC Executive Board approved 22 more qualification procedures for the LA28 Games, to add to the 26 previously released, leaving six more to go.
These vary from covering entire sports to specific disciplines and in some cases, even individual events. The LA28 Games will be the largest ever with 36 sports and 353 medal events.
● Olympic Winter Games 2034: Utah ● A delegation from the Utah 2034 organizing committee is in Milan Cortina for the Winter Games and will provide a report to the International Olympic Committee Session on Tuesday (3rd).
On Friday, the Utah organizers will sign a Memorandum of Understanding, aimed at sharing best practices, with the heads of France’s Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur regions, University Côte d’Azur, and Italy’s Lombardia region. A separate information-sharing agreement is also expected to be signed with the French Alps 2030 organizers, also on Friday.
● Pan American Games 2027 ● Panam Sports announced that the dates for the 2027 Pan Am Games in Lima (PER) have been moved by a week, now to take place from 23 July to 8 August.
The dates had originally been 16 July to 1 August.
● World University Games ● International University Sports Federation (FISU) President Leonz Eder (SUI) said that he will retire in 2027 at the end of his term. He served as Interim President from 2021-23 and then was elected to a full term of his own.
In an important signal for winter sport, the FISU Executive Committee approved the addition of cross-country running at the 2027 Changchun FISU Winter Universiade. Cross country is being considered as a possible addition to the Olympic Winter Games, since it is a winter-time sport.
● Athletics ● Worlds gold medalists Sha’Carri Richardson and Christian Coleman were arrested in Winter Garden, Florida on Thursday. Richardson was driving at a reported 104 miles per hour in a gray Aston Martin and was pulled over. She was arrested and charged with excessive speeding and traffic offenses.
Coleman followed a little later in a black Jeep, parked at the side of the road, walked toward the stopped cars and was told to return to his vehicle. He continued to speak with the officers, then refused to provide identification and was arrested for resisting instructions.
A search then found a “glass smoking device” in the console. Later, fellow sprint star (and relay gold medalist) TeeTee Terry came by and joined the discussions; she was ticketed for stopping on a limited-access highway.
Both Coleman and Richardson were released on bond.
● Curling ● American Beau Welling confirmed he will run for a second term as President of the federation, with elections coming in September.
He told Francs Jeux.com, “I don’t think I’ve reached the end; there are still things to accomplish. I think I still have something to contribute to this organization. We’ll see with my colleagues and our members, but I intend to run again to continue what we’ve started.”
● Figure Skating ● Now 19 and returned from her four-year doping suspension, Russian star Kamila Valieva returned to the ice for the Russian Jumping Championships, reaching the semifinals.
Alisa Dvoeglazova was the winner, scoring 127.27 points with Dina Khusnutdinova second (119.26). Nikita Sarnovsky won the men’s event (193.42) and Anastasia Mishina and Alexander Galliamov won Pairs (52.06).
● Nordic Combined ● As the International Olympic Committee placed the Nordic Combined essentially on probation for the 2026 Winter Games in Italy, it did not add the women’s competition to the 2026 Olympic program.
The women’s FIS World Cup starters in Seefeld (AUT) launched their own protest on Friday prior to the 5 km Individual Mass Start – won by American Alexa Brabec for her first World Cup gold – by crossing their ski poles right at the start line.
At the Sunday IOC news conference in Milan, sports director Pierre Ducrey (SUI) said that Nordic Combined is still under examination:
“I think we acknowledged the challenges that exist for the discipline, both on the men’s and the women’s side. … In September, we communicated then that we would use all of the information coming out of the Milano Cortina 2026 Games to really inform a decision for 2030.
“And this is what we intend to do. It will really give us a sense of how has the discipline come forward, on the women’s side, but also on the men’s side, between 2022 and 2026.”
≡ RESULTS ≡
● Alpine Skiing ● At the FIS World Cup in Crans-Montana (SUI), the only men’s race was the Downhill, with 2025 World Champion Franjo von Allmen (SUI) taking his second win of the season in 1:55.00, ahead of Italy’s 2019 World Super-G champ Dominik Paris (1:55.65) and American Ryan Cochran-Siegle, who got his second medal of the season in 1:55.70.
After thee cancellation of the women’s Downhill, the women’s Super-G was held, with Swiss Malorie Blanc taking her second career World Cup medal and final gold, in 1:17.34, ahead of Italian star Sofia Goggia, the 2018 Olympic Downhill winner (1:17.1:17.52) and 2025 World Downhill champ Breezy Johnson of the U.S. (1:17.70), her first medal of the season!
● Badminton ● At the BWF World Tour Thailand Masters in Patumwan, Indonesia’s Mohamed Zaki Ubaidillah won the men’s Singles by 21-19, 20-22, 21-19 over Panitchaphon Teeraratsakul (THA), and India’s Devika Sihan eased to the women’s title, 21-8, 21-16 against Jin Wei Goh (MAS).
Indonesia won the men’s, women’s and Mixed Doubles titles!
● Cycling ● The UCI Women’s World Tour Cadel Evans Great Ocean Race, in and around Geelong (AUS) covered 141.2 km, finally turning into an all-out sprint of 12 riders. New Zealand star Ally Wollaston got to the line first in 3:54.55, just ahead of Josie Nelson (GBR) and Mireia Benito of Spain.
The 182.3 km men’s edition, the 10th, was held on Sunday with a mass sprint finish of 19 riders, won by Tobias Lund Andresen (DEN) in 4:15:25, ahead of Matthew Brennan (GBR) and Brady Gilmore (AUS). Luke Lamperti was the top American, in 12th.
● Freestyle Skiing ● The FIS World Cup Ski Cross circuit was in Val di Fassa (ITA), with 2023 Worlds silver medalist Florian Williamson (GER) winning the first men’s race over countryman Cornel Renn. Williamson made the final in Sunday’s second race, but took second to Italy’s 2023 World Champion Simone Deromedis, who won his second race of this season.
Italian Joie Galli, a 2022 Olympian, won the first women’s race over France’s Marielle Berger Sabbatel, and then 2022 Olympic bronzer Daniela Maier (GER) got her second World Cup win in the last three races, this time over Swiss Saskja Lack. Galli took the bronze.
● Nordic Combined ● The FIS World Cup stopped in Seefeld (AUT) for the famed “Seefeld Triple” for the men, with three different winners this year! Seasonal leader Johannes Lamparter (AUT) won the 10 km race and 109 m jumping with 129.5 points, just ahead of countryman Stefan Rettenegger (129.0). The second event was the Compact 109 m jumping and 7.5 km race with 2022 Olympic champ Vinzenz Geiger (GER) winning a tight one with Lamparter, 18:00.9 to 18:01.1 and Norway’s Jens Oftebro close at 18:03.2 for third. Finally, Oftebro won the 109 m jumping and 12.5 km race in 30:27.8 over Rettenegger (30:31.5) and Geiger (30:46.4).
Following their opening protest move (see above), the women’s 5 km race and 109 m jumping was a first-ever win for American Alexa Brabec, scoring 122.9 over Ema Volavsek (SLO: 121.6) and seasonal winner (already) Ida Marie Hagen (NOR: 115.3).
Hagen took over from there, winning the Compact 109 m jumping and 5 km race in 14:03.5, followed by Brabec (14:29.5) and then Nathalie Armbruster (GER: 14:51.3). American Tara Geraghty-Moats, now 32 was fifth in 14:57.5 and Annika Malacinski was ninth in 15:39.3.
Hagen won the Gundersen 109 m jumping and 7.5 km race in 21:03.2, followed by Brabec (21:58.2) and Geraghty-Moats (22:50.6), with Malacinski in 10th (25:04.7).
● Rugby Sevens ● At the third-leg (of six) HSBC Sevens Series in Singapore, Fiji and France led pool play with 3-0 records and they rolled right into the championship final, with Fiji taking a 21-12 win. New Zealand edged South Africa, 14-12, for the bronze.
The women’s tournament, as usual, had Australia and New Zealand as 3-0 winners of their pools, and they zipped to the final as well, with the Kiwis winning in a 36-7 rout. Canada beat the U.S. women, 24-19, to take the bronze.
● Ski Jumping ● Slovenian star Domen Prevc continued to treat the FIS World Cup, this time in Willingen (GER), as if he owns it, sweeping the two men’s events off the 147 m hill. He now has a streak of four straight World Cup wins working.
He won Saturday’s event at 264.2, ahead of Japan’s seasonal find, Ren Nikaido (242.2) and German Karl Geiger. He followed up on Sunday, winning at 293.0 points, over Nikaido (261.3) and German Philipp Raimund (253.1).
The women’s jumping was a double win for Norway’s four-time Worlds medal winner Eirin Kvandal, winning Saturday at 235.7, ahead of 13-time seasonal winner Nika Prevc (SLO: 224.4) and Japan’s Nozomi Maruyama (217.8). Kvandal won on Sunday with 251.8, coming from fourth after the first jump, to beat Maruyama (243.9) and Prevc (235.1). Josie Johnson of the U.S. was ninth at 186.1.
Not surprisingly, the Mixed Team event was won by Slovenia (295.4: with both Prevcs), over Germany (294.8) and Japan (277.8).
● Ski Mountaineering ● The ISMF World Cup in Bol Taull (ESP) showcased the men’s and women’s Sprint, with France’s Worlds runner-up Thibault Anselmet winning a tight men’s dual with World Champion Oriol Cardona Coll (ESP), 2:35.9 to 2:39.9.
French World’s runner-up Emily Harrop won the women’s Sprint in 3:01.8, well ahead of Italian Giulia Murada (3:09.0) and Margot Ravenel (3:11.9).
The Mixed Relay, of course, went to World Champions Harrop and Anselmet together, in 27:47.5, ahead of Worlds silver winners Cardona Coll and Ana Alonso (ESP: 28:04.4). The U.S. pair of Anna Gibson and Cameron Smith finished seventh in 29:25.3.
● Snowboard ● Korea’s 2018 Olympic Parallel Giant Slalom silver winner Sang-ho Lee got his first win the FIS World Cup Parallel Giant Slalom season in Rogla (SLO), winning the men’s final over Italy’s 45-year-old, two-time World Champion Roland Fischnaller. It’s also Lee’s first medal of the season!
The women’s PGS gold went to Japan’s Tsubaki Miki, the 2023 World Champion, over 2018 Olympic bronzer Ramona Hofmeister (GER). It was Miki’s second win of the season, and Hofmeister’s third medal in the last four races!
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