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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
● International Olympic Committee ● Statements were reported from three IOC Presidential candidates on Monday:
● Juan Antonio Samaranch (ESP):
“I firmly believe that effective leadership is based on four principles: experience, perspective, judgment and collaboration.
“Experience provides the foundation for understanding. Perspective frames the opportunities and risks in proper context, and judgment provides the wisdom, ethics and critical thinking necessary for good decisions. And the basis for all of this is collaboration within our membership and beyond.
“The IOC needs a president who can articulate a clear vision and lead our movement based on these four principles. And I humbly believe I can serve in that role.”
● Sebastian Coe (GBR):
“Olympic sport is fundamental to my DNA. I had the privilege of being a double Olympic champion, I’ve chaired an Olympic and Paralympic Games – London 2012 – from bid, through delivery and legacy implementation.
“I’ve chaired a National Olympic Committee – the BOA – and I’ve led an international federation through some turbulent times, retaining athletics’ position as a cornerstone of the Olympic Games.
“Sport plays a critical role in driving and maintaining the health and fitness of people, young and old, in every country around the world. But it faces significant challenges on multiple fronts.
“The Covid years saw many people struggle through inactivity and many sports organisations suffer through lack of funds. We need to invest more in both over the next decade. A laser-like focus on sport must be the priority for the IOC. I believe I can help achieve this and more. I’ll release a detailed manifesto in the coming weeks so the voting members are able to understand what I stand for and believe in.”
● Morinari Watanabe (JPN):
“I want to take on the challenge to transform the IOC.”
● Russia ● The head of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency said she was concerned that 16 athletes are now on suspension, having been found to be doping while younger than 18. Veronika Loginova told the Russian news agency TASS:
“I consider the situation outrageous when more than a dozen and a half underage athletes were found to have banned substances in their samples.
“And this is not just about figure skating, but also a number of other sports. At a recent anti-doping forum in Belarus, the topic was raised that we need to start testing athletes at an even younger age. But I am firmly convinced that these young athletes must first receive anti-doping education in order to clearly understand the danger of using banned substances and methods.
“Moreover, we have recently been increasingly talking about the fact that educational work should be carried out not only with young athletes, but also with their environment. As sad as it is to say, but in almost all cases of violation of anti-doping rules by children, the athlete’s environment is involved, and especially their grandparents.”
Of the 16, two were under 15 years old at the time of sanction, two were under 16, and three were under 17.
Among those serving suspensions is figure skater Kamila Valieva, who was 15 in December 2021 when a doping test turned up a positive for trimetazidine that eventually cost Russia team the Olympic Winter gold for the figure skating Team Event at Beijing 2022. Added Loginova:
“We believe that athletes do not yet fully understand that they cannot take all the medications that are sold in pharmacies and that their parents buy.”
● Breaking ● Breaking was widely embraced at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in its inaugural appearance, but will not be on the program in 2028.
Breaking will also not hold its previously-scheduled World Championships in 2024, as the World DanceSport Federation posted a notice on Monday that included:
“The World DanceSport Federation (WDSF) regrets to announce the cancellation of the 2024 World Breaking Championship, originally scheduled to take place from 8-9 November in Houston, Texas.
“Local organiser Break Free Worldwide has informed the WDSF that due to unforeseen circumstances the event is unable to take place as planned. …
“The WDSF is now exploring other options in hopes of rescheduling the World Breaking Championships, with new dates and location to be announced in due course.”
● Figure Skating ● He did it! The 2024 men’s World Champion, American Ilia Malinin included a now-legal somersault in his Free Skate program at the Lombardia Trophy in Bergamo (ITA), on the way to a big win in this ISU Challenger Series event.
He scored 312.55 to win easily, with 2022 Olympic runner-up Yuma Kagiyama (JPN: 291.54) second.
The U.S. went 1-2 in the women’s Singles with national champ Amber Glenn scoring 137.18 to edge Sarah Everhardt (132.77) and three-time World Champion Kaori Sakamoto (JPN: 126.41).
● Football ● Tight, amazing quarterfinals at the FIFA Women’s U-20 World Cup in Colombia on Sunday, with two 1-0 finals and the other two going to penalties!
The U.S. women might have been in the wildest game of all, down 1-0 to Germany after 90 minutes had been played, and then going down 2-0 on a Loreen Bender score at 90+2. But Jordynn Dudley scored at 90+8 and Ally Sentnor at 90+9 to send the game to extra time!
It came down to penalties and Sentnor, Leah Klenke and Riley Jackson converted their tries, and the Germans scored once, then failed on three straight – including one save by U.S. keeper Teagan Wy – and the U.S. moved on, 3-1.
The Americans will face North Korea, a 1-0 winner over Brazil on a 49th-minute goal from Un-yong Chae.
In the other semi, Netherlands will face Japan, a 1-0 winner over Spain, which had outscored its opponents by 7-1 over four matches. The Dutch tied Colombia, 2-2, in regulation and won by 3-0 on penalties.
The semis will be played in Cali on Wednesday (18th) and the final is on Sunday (22nd).
● Judo ● New faces were featured at the IJF World Tour’s Grand Prix Zagreb (CRO) that finished Sunday, with Japan leading all nations with four wins.
Kanta Nakano won the men’s +100 kg class, two-time Worlds medalist Wanaka Koga won the women’s 48 kg division, Kisumi Omori won the women’s 52 kg and Kirari Yamaguchi took the title in the women’s 63 kg tournament.
Kazakhstan, France, Hungary and the Netherlands all had two winners.
● Skateboarding ● The massive World Skate Games rolls on in Italy, with the Skateboarding Street final in Rome on Sunday, with Japan placing seven of the eight finalists in the women’s division.
But instead, it was Brazil’s Rayssa Leal – now 16 – who won her second Worlds gold (also in 2022) by scoring the best run of the day (88.43) and then scoring 88.14 and 93.99 on two of her tricks for a 270.56 total.
Tokyo 2020 gold medalist Momji Nishiya scored 269.14 for a close second and Miyu Ito was third at 249.53. Leal has now gone bronze-gold-silver-gold in the last four Worlds.
The men’s Street title went to Japan’s Toa Sasaki, who had the top run at 90.33 and two highest-scoring tricks at 96.50 and 89.81 to win with 276.64, well clear of Argentine Matias Dell Olio (265.18) and J.C. Gonzalez (COL: 258.91). It’s the first Worlds medal for all three.
● Tennis ● World no. 1 Jannik Sinner (ITA), the 2024 U.S. Open champion, announced that he fired his fitness trainer and physiotherapist, both of whom were involved in his doping positives in March.
The Associated Press reported that Clostebol, a banned substance, was absorbed “through a massage from his former physiotherapist, Giacomo Naldi. Sinner said his former fitness trainer, Umberto Ferrara, purchased a spray containing the steroid and gave it to Naldi for a cut on Naldi’s finger. Naldi then treated Sinner while not wearing gloves.”
Sinner’s two positives were reported, but were held to be unintentional and he was reinstated to the ATP Tour losing only the points and prize money from the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California.
Sinner announced the hiring of Italian Marco Panichi as fitness coach and Ulises Badio (ARG) as physiotherapist; both worked previously worked with superstar Novak Djokovic (SRB).
● Wrestling ● United World Wrestling will hold a 2024 World Championships for the 12 wright classes – four each in men’s Freestyle and Greco-Roman, and women’s Freestyle – which were not on the Olympic program in Paris from 28-31 October in Albania.
Over the weekend, the U.S. World Team Trials were held in Omaha, Nebraska, to select the American team. In the men’s Freestyle, familiar faces earned the right to go to Tirana, as six-time World Champion Jordan Burroughs won the 79 kg class, two matches to none over Chance Marsteller. Three-time World Champion David Taylor swept his series, 2-0, at 92 kg over Zahid Valencia; Taylor is now the head wrestling coach at Oklahoma State!
Two-time Worlds medal winner James Green will represent the U.S. at 70 kg, defeating Alec Pantaleo, 2-0, and 2023 World Champion Vito Araujo defeated Marcus Blaze, 2-0, at 61 kg.
In Greco, Tokyo Olympian Ildar Hafizov won at 63 kg, 2023 Worlds participant Brady Koontz advanced at 55 kg and 44-year-old Aliaksandr Kikiniou – a 2012 Olympian for Belarus – will represent the U.S. at 82 kg. Benjamin Peak, also a Worlds veteran, won at 72 kg.
Jacarra Winchester, the 2019 women’s World Champion at 59 kg, swept her series against Michaela Beck and 2023 Worlds runner-up Macey Kilty won by 10-0 and 12-1 against Aine Drury at 65 kg.
Kylie Welker, a 2021 Worlds team member, won at 72 kg over Yelena Makoyed, 2-0, and Areana Villaescusa will be a first-timer at the Worlds after defeating Amanda Martinez, 2-0.
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