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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
● Olympic Games 2028: Los Angeles ● The LA28 organizers and U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee announced a sponsorship with luxury mattress maker Saatva, as the “Official Mattress and Restorative Sleep Provider of the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games and Team USA.”
Founded in 2010, U.S.-based Saatva “will supply Olympic and Paralympic athletes with some of the most luxurious mattresses and bedding, and work closely with LA28 and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee to spotlight the essential role of sleep in recovery and performance.”
Saatva is the ninth company in the “Official Supporter” category, in the third tier of LA28 corporate partners, below “Founding Partners” Comcast and Delta Airlines and six “Official Partners.”
● Olympic Winter Games 2026: Milan Cortina ● Recruiting has begun in earnest for the staffing giant Randstad, a Milan Cortina corporate partner, with a “recruiting day” on Wednesday, 28 May, at the company’s 270 offices, looking to fill 4,500 positions.
About 1,500 of these will be with the organizing committee and 3,000 spots with related companies, suppliers and vendors. The announcement noted needs in accreditation, staff management, help desks, data entry, audio-visual support, fleet managers and more. Positions with allied entities include logistics and operations support, maintenance, food service, transportation and multiple other positions.
Staff needs are spread across Milan, Cortina, Anterselva, Valtellina, and Val di Fiemme.
● Enhanced Games ● The campaign against the pro-doping Enhanced Games, which may be held in the U.S., has begun in earnest for the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which debuted a focused Web page on the controversial concept last week. Highlights:
● “Simply explained, the Enhanced Games is a planned international sports event that may take place in 2025 where athletes are encouraged to enhance themselves and their performances by using performance-enhancing substances (PEDs) and methods. The idea was conceived by Australian businessman Aron D’Souza and has since garnered widespread media attention, as well the support of some and the condemnation of many.
“Why would someone support the Enhanced Games? D’Souza claims that the Enhanced Games will offer athletes financial incentives that they don’t receive through the current Olympic and Paralympic system. And with the help of PEDs, D’Souza argues that athletes will be able to feel better for longer and extend their careers.
“Critics point out that the concept is not only legally questionable, but actually very dangerous to athletes’ health. Critics also note that the Enhanced Games sets a terrible example for young athletes around the world who will witness the glorification of a doping arms race rather than sport based on integrity, fairness, and determination.”
USADA chief Travis Tygart’s view:
“While those behind the Enhanced Games might be looking to make a quick buck, that profit would come at the expense of kids across the world thinking they need to dope to chase their dreams. We desperately wish this investment was being made in the athletes who are currently training and competing the real and safe way. They are the role models this world so desperately needs and they are the ones who deserve our support – not some dangerous clown show that puts profit over principle.”
The Enhanced Games Web site promises information on dates and venues on Wednesday, 21 May.
● Memorabilia ● Heritage Auction’s Spring Sports Catalog Auction that closed Sunday had two Paris 2024 Olympic items, most notably a gold medal from the Mixed 4×400 m relay, won by the Netherlands thanks to a brilliant anchor leg by Femke Bol.
The gold was from lead-off leg Eugene Omalla, who then handed to Lieke Klaver, with Isaya Klein Ikkink on the third leg and then Bol. The sale came with considerable controversy in The Netherlands, with Omalla – now at Kansas State – needing to explain his intentions in a social-media post. He noted that most of the money will go to the Child’s Destiny of Hope (CDHope) charity in Uganda, started by his parents. Also:
● “It was never meant to be about greed or disrespect for that monumental moment. This decision is about something much more personal: securing the future and the well-being of my family and supporting those who need it.”
● “The proceeds will also be used to provide for my family. The struggles and sacrifices we have been through to get to where we are have shaped me in ways that many people perhaps don’t understand.”
The medal sold for $70,150 with the buyer’s premium. Also in the auction was a Paris 2024 Olympic torch, which sold for $12,200 with the buyer’s premium.
● Athletics ● Despite significant rain in Anapoima (COL), Peru and the U.S. battled for the Pan American Race Walking Cup over a hilly course, with Peru winning, but with three Americans in the top 11.
Peru’s Evelyn Inga took the women’s title in 2:56:17 over Johana Ordonez (ECU: 2:58:42), with Americans Maria Michta-Coffey in fifth (3:06:23), Kathleen Burnett in seventh (3:08:25) and Stephanie Casey in 11th (3:27:34).
The men’s 35 km race was won by Mexico’s Jose Doctor in 2:33:22, ahead of Cesar Herrera (COL: 2:33:42), with Nick Christie the top American finisher in 15th (3:02:57), then Michael Mannozzi in 20th (3:19:22) and Anthony Gruttadauro (3:26:47) in 21st.
The U.S. team members had to pay their own way to this event, as USA Track & Field withdrew support it had provided in previous years.
● Basketball ● The FIBA Hall of Fame Class of 2025 was inducted in ceremonies in Manama (BRN), in the Bahrain National Theatre, including seven players – Alphonse Bile (CIV), Andrew Bogut (AUS), Leonor Borrell (CUB), Pau Gasol (ESP), Ticha Penicheiro (POR), Ratko Radovanovic (SRB), and Dawn Staley of the U.S. – and Duke University and U.S. Olympic coach Mike Krzyzewski.
● Gymnastics ● At the Pan American Trampoline and Tumbling Championships in Santa Tecla (ESA), Americans Ryan Maccagnan and Cody Gesuelli went 1-2 in the men’s Trampoline final, scoring 58.110 and 57.470. Brazil’s Camilla Gomes won the women’s final at 53.430, with Leah Garafolo of the U.S. fourth (51.670) and Kennedi Roberts eighth (21.110).
Maccagnan and Elijah Vogel won the men’s Synchro at 50.420, ahead of Aldo Zuniga and Donovan Guevara (49.560), while Mexico’s Dafne Navarro and Mariola Garcia took the women’s title at 47.020. Avery Kroeker and Clare Bretscher finished seventh.
In the men’s Team final, the U.S. won with 26 points to 24 for Mexico and 19 for Brazil. Brazil edged the U.S., 26-25, for the women’s gold.
● Ice Hockey ● International Ice Hockey Federation chief Luc Tardif (FRA) is quite pleased with the 2025 men’s World Championship ongoing in Sweden (Stockholm) and Denmark (Herning), with a healthy average of 7,041 fans per game through 48 played so far. But the action is not only in the two arenas, as Tardif approvingly noted in an interview with FrancsJeux.com:
“The fan zone is a tradition, it goes with the World Championship. Some people don’t understand why we hold our World Championships in May, but there’s a small tourist element. And most of the time, in May, it’s sunny, it’s nice, so we combine business with pleasure.
“The fan zone is really a meeting place for supporters from different countries. It’s a very family-oriented crowd, a bit like rugby. It’s friendly, there’s no animosity. The first Friday, there were 3,000 people in the fan zone. It’s part of the folklore. You can watch the matches on the giant screens, and drink beer, of course! Ice hockey is primarily in the Nordic countries, and they drink beer!”
¶
In Monday’s action, Finland surprised Canada in Group A with a 2-1 shoot-out win on Eeli Tolvanen’s score as the third Finnish shooter. Both teams are already qualified to the quarterfinals.
In Group B, the Czech Republic hammered Germany, 6-0, making the final quarterfinal spot from this pool to come from the Germany-Denmark match on Tuesday. The Czechs, Swiss and Americans are already through to the quarters.
● Swimming ● Some important action in the pool, as the hot spring times continue.
At the Chinese national championships in Shenzhen, Tokyo Olympic women’s 400 m Free bronzer Bingjie Li won her final in a lifetime best of 3:59.99, to move to third on the world list for 2025, behind American Katie Ledecky and Canadian star Summer McIntosh. Li becomes the sixth woman in history to break four minutes and is now no. 6 all-time.
Li also moved to no. 2 in the world in the women’s 1,500 m in 15:43.94.
Qianting Tang, China’s Paris 2024 women’s 100 m Breast silver medalist, moved to equal-second on the 2025 world list in her nationals semifinal, winning in 1:05.72. Only Britain’s Angharad Evans (1:05.37) is faster so far this year. Two-time Worlds 200 m Medley bronzer Yiting Yu won that event in 2:08.67, now third on the year list, ahead of 12-year-old Zidi Yu (2:10.63).
Haiyang Qin, the 2023 triple Breaststroke World Champion, won the men’s 100 m Breast final in a world-leading 58.61.
France’s Paris 2024 icon Leon Marchand is also getting into shape, taking the world lead in the men’s 400 m Medley at the Longhorn Elite Invitational in Austin, Texas last week, in 4:07.11 and moving up to no. 5 in the in the 200 m Breast in 2:08.25. Hungary’s Hubert Kos, the Paris 2024 men’s 200 m Back winner, moved up to no. 2 in the world at the Elite Invitational, in 1:55.50.
Italian star Benedetta Pilato scored a 50 m Breast world leader at 29.87 in the heats of the Mare Nostrum Monaco stop, on Saturday.
¶
The 66-foot, 14,000-pound replica of the Eiffel Tower that was a centerpiece of the U.S. Olympic Trials fan zone in Indianapolis has moved, on the way to a permanent home at the International School of Indiana by the time school starts in the fall.
● Wrestling ● Rio 2016 Olympic Freestyle gold medalist Kyle Snyder pled guilty via video to one count of disorderly conduct and was fined $250 in a Franklin County (Ohio) Municipal Court, after being arrested in a prostitution sting on 10 May.
He also participated in an education program meant to deter solicitation. He said during the hearing:
“I’ve learned a lot through this process. It’s taught me a lot about myself, and I plan on making much better decisions.
“I learned about why I made the decision that I did, which was because I had too much pride. I learned about the impact that these decisions have on not just my family but the community.”
Snyder continues to be suspended by the U.S. Center for SafeSport; he is entered in the Final X card on 14 June to determine the American team for the 2025 World Championships, but if still suspended, will not be able to wrestle.
¶
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