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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
● Athletics ● Aside from the excitement of the World Athletics Relays, there were some intriguing world-leading marks over the weekend, including two men at 44.02 at the Torrin Lawrence Memorial in Athens, Georgia.
Georgia frosh Jonathan Simms, who turned 19 in January, won the men’s 400 m at the line in a world-leading 44.02, in the same time as Alabama junior Samuel Ogazi (NGR). It’s a national record for Ogazi, and for Simms, moves him to no. 2 all-time on the world junior list, behind only American Olympic gold winner (and UCLA’s) Steve Lewis, who ran 43.87 at the Seoul Games in 1988!
Simms ran 45.12 as a prep in 2023, 45.44 to win the U.S. Junior title in 2025 and then exploded indoors at 44.62 at Clemson on 10 January. He finished a composite fourth at the NCAA Indoors, finishing second in race one while Ogazi won race two and had the fastest time at 44.57.
Paris Olympic 100 m gold medalist Julien Alfred (LCA) rolled to a 21.86 world-leading win in the women’s 200 m at the Texas Invitational last Thursday (30th), and won the 100 as well in 10.93.
Fellow Olympic champ – and American Record holder – Masai Russell took the world lead in the women’s 100 m hurdles at the Jim Green Invite in Lexington, Kentucky at 12.40, winning by 0.27 with just 0.5 m/s wind, after winning her heat in 12.47!
● Cross Country Skiing ● American Rosie Brennan, 37, wrote in a personal letter posted by U.S. Ski & Snowboard:
“I struggle with the word retirement because I hope to ski and race as long as I possibly can, but my time as a World Cup athlete has come to an end. I continue to battle my health with few answers, and that has taken a toll both physically and mentally.
“I dreamed of finishing on a high and on my own terms, and I feel some amount of disappointment that this isn’t that. But something that skiing has given me is a deep appreciation for challenging myself and finding joy in the process of learning, and this year provided plenty of that.”
A three-time U.S. Olympian, Brennan was a solid performer on the FIS World Cup circuit, earning two wins and 12 medals in her 13-season career. She scored her two wins on back-to-back runs in Davis (SUI) on 12 and 13 December 2020, taking the 1.5 km Freestyle Sprint and the 10 km Freestyle races. She was also a member of six relay medal-winning U.S. teams, including a win in 2022 in Falun (SWE).
● Football ● Reuters reported that FIFA has not yet secured a broadcast rights holder in both China and India – the world’s two most populous countries – for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which kicks off on 11 June.
Against a FIFA offer of rights in India for $100 million U.S. for 2026 and 2030, an offer of $20 million for 2026 was made by Reliance-Disney and no deal has been struck. China, especially, is important for FIFA as the story noted it comprised 17.7% of the 2022 World Cup audience on broadcast and cable channels, and the two countries together were 22% of the worldwide digital streaming audience.
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Concern over hotel bookings continue for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the 11 U.S. host cities in a Monday report from the American Hotel & Lodging Association.
The survey showed 10 of the 11 U.S. host regions with high percentages “of respondents reporting booking pace below expectations and trailing a typical June or July” (approximate percentages from a bar chart):
● 88%: Kansas City
● 75%: San Francisco
● 75%: Seattle
● 75%: Philadelphia
● 75%: Boston
● 67%: Los Angeles
● 66%: New York-New Jersey
● 65%: Houston
● 65%: Dallas
● 54%: Miami
The only host city reporting better bookings and above a typical June or July was Atlanta: only 48% reported bookings below expectations.
There is hope for a late booking rush; the bottom line, however:
“World Cup hotel bookings track below expectations due to FIFA cancellations, international traveler headwinds, and new tax and fee proposals that are injecting uncertainty into travelers’ plans. Policy restraint and operational transparency can unlock remaining potential.
“Host cities like Philadelphia, New Jersey and others must avoid tax hikes that compound uncertainty, preserving jobs and revenue for a tournament still poised to deliver if late demand materializes.”
● Shooting ● At the ISSF World Cup for Shotgun events in Almaty (KAZ), Italy’s 2016 Olympic champ Gabriele Rossetti grabbed the men’s Skeet title and a world record with 35/36 targets in the final, to win over Sven Korte (GER: 34). The record had been 33, by Mohammad Aldaihani (KUW) and Eduard Yechshenko (KAZ), both from January of this year.
The women’s Skeet gold went to Kazakhstan’s Assem Orynbay, the 2023 World Cup Final winner, who equaled the women’s world record of 33, to best Paris Olympic team bronze winner Yiting Jiang (CHN: 30).
Orynbay equaled teammate Adel Sadakbayeva, who scored 33/36, also in January 2026.
● Table Tennis ● SportBusiness reported that the International Table Tennis Federation, with negative net equity after a huge loss in 2025, has sold a 10% interest in its commercial arm – World Table Tennis – to bolster its finances.
The ITTF showed $71.08 million in 2025 revenue, but spent $85.47 million and its auditor opinion included:
“Should the Group be unable to achieve profitable results in the foreseeable period, such condition would indicate that a material uncertainty exists, that may cast a significant doubt on the Group’s ability to continue as a going concern.”
● Wrestling ● Impressive move from the mat to the sidelines for Oklahoma State coach David Taylor, named as the 2025 USA Wrestling/Terry McCann Freestyle Coach of the Year.
As a wrestler, Taylor won the Tokyo 2020 Olympic men’s Freestyle gold at 86 kg and owns three World Championships golds as well from 2018, 2022 and 2023. He won a Worlds silver in 2021 and a bronze in 2024 (at 92 kg) and retired after the 2024 season.
He was hired at Oklahoma State later in 2024, and in 2025, led the Cowboys to a 13-1 dual record and a third-place finish at the NCAA Championships. His team was 15-1 in the 2026 season and was the national team runner-up. He also coached three U.S. World Champs team members in 2025: Jax Forrest (61 kg), eventual World Champion Zahid Valencia at 86 kg and Wyatt Hendrickson at 125 kg.
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