SPEED READ: Headlines from The Sports Examiner for Friday, 19 April 2019

Welcome to The Sports Examiner SPEED READ, a 100 mph (44.7 m/s) review of what happened this past week in Olympic sport:

LANE ONE

Wednesday: The Tokyo 2020 organizing committee announced the session-by-session schedule for next year’s Games, with the swimming finals in the morning and several of the track & field finals also moved to the a.m. session. Why? There are billions of good, valid reasons.

Friday: Now that the session-by-session schedules have been released for the 2020 Games in Tokyo, we can see whether sprinter Caeleb Dressel or distance superstar Katie Ledecky might have the edge in trying to make history. It’s possible they could both go where only four others have gone before … or there could be a third to join then! This is going to be great!

THE BIG PICTURE

Tuesday: The former Director General of the World Anti-Doping Agency, David Howman, asks why doping control is operating in the 2010s with the same tools it had in the 1960s. Good question, and he is doing something about it, especially in concert with the World Marathon Majors.

ATHLETICS

Monday: Sensational Boston Marathon on Monday, with a thrilling finish for the men and a brilliant breakaway victory in the women’s race. A suggestion: don’t bet against Kenya’s Lawrence Cherono in any future races, either!

Tuesday: Did you hear about Sydney McLaughlin and the Odd Squad? Probably not, since neither even made the official results at the Rafer Johnson-Jackie Joyner-Kersee Classic in Los Angeles. But we have the story of McLaughlin’s brilliant relay leg … running against the men!

CURLING

Thursday: The World Curling Mixed Doubles Championship starts this weekend in Norway, with familiar faces like Olympic team champs John Shuster of the U.S. and Anita Hasselborg of Sweden. But the home-ice favorites might have the edge.

CYCLING

Wednesday: Belgium’s Philippe Gilbert joined some elite company when he won Paris-Roubaix last week for his fourth different “Monument” win. Now he can make more history if he can win a fifth Amstel Gold Race in the Netherlands this weekend: only one other has done it!

GYMNASTICS

Wednesday: Russia continues to dominate rhythmic gymnastics, winning all five individual events at last year’s World Championships. Star Aleksandra Soldatova headlines this week’s FIG Rhythmic World Cup in Tashkent, but will see the debut of the next-gen Russian star?

RUGBY

Wednesday: The U.S. women are back in action in the World Rugby Sevens Series in Japan, and are in second place through three rounds of play. They’ve never finished higher than fourth in a season, but like everyone else, they are chasing New Zealand’s Black Ferns, who are a perfect 3-for-3 this season.

SAILING

Monday: Impressive fields, with 22 Olympic and World Championships medal winners in the third World Sailing World Cup of the season, held for the first time in the iconic Italian port city of Genoa.

SHOOTING

Monday: The amazing Kim Rhode won her second straight World Cup of the season in women’s Skeet at Al Ain (UAE) by a single shot. It’s her 20th career World Cup win, to go along with six Olympic medals!

WRESTLING

Wednesday: Three powerful U.S. teams, in Greco-Roman and men’s and women’s Freestyle, are in Buenos Aires for the Pan American Championships. There are Olympic qualifying ranking points stake and the U.S. has five World Champions on its roster!

MORE PREVIEWS

Artistic Swimming: Third FINA World Cup starts in Kazan
Cycling: The 55th edition of the six-stage Presidential Tour of Turkey
Gymnastics: Star-studded FIG Trampoline World Cup, in Minsk
Karate: Third Karate1 Premier League tournament, in Rabat
Weightlifting: Important Pan American Championships, in Guatemala City

UPCOMING

Highlights of the coming week, with previews in the coming days on TheSportsExaminer.com:

Athletics: Sensational fields for the London Marathon, coming on 28 April!

Swimming: The first of FINA’s three big-money Champions Swim Series, in China!

Table Tennis: Can anyone dent China’s supremacy at the World Championships?

And much more, on the field and off of it, in the continuing five-ring circus!