Welcome to The Sports Examiner SPEED READ, a 100 mph (44.7 m/s) review of what happened this week in Olympic sport:
LANE ONE
Wednesday: The International Judo Federation has been one of the best with information about its tournaments and the athletes who will compete. Now that’s over as the fear of gambling and match-fixing means no one will know anything about who is competing until hours before the event starts. How does a sport grow in darkness?
Friday: The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee received the report of its Borders Commission on how the organization should be reformed to better serve athletes and oversee the National Governing Bodies. It includes many recommendations for changes in governance, multiple new hires, more athlete funding and support, changes to the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act … and no ideas on how to pay for any of it.
HEARD AFTER HALFTIME
Tuesday: Noah Lyles decides he’s only going to run one event at the USATF Nationals in Des Moines, and the International Boxing Federation loses its elected President, but gets a “roadmap” out of purgatory from the International Olympic Committee.
AQUATICS
Tuesday: At the FINA World Championships in Gwangju, Korea, China is now 8-for-8, winning every Diving event held so far and favored to win the remaining five! In Artistic Swimming, Russia didn’t compete in one event, but has swept the four it has participated, and more golds are coming. And another surprise in the 10 km Open Water events, as Germany’s Florian Wellbrock was the first to touch the timing board and won his first world title.
Thursday: China’s golden grip on diving remains perfect, as does Russia’s hold on gold in all of the Artistic Swimming events it has entered at the FINA World Aquatics Championships in Gwangju (KOR). The U.S. is having a pretty good diving meet itself, ending a 14-year drought in an individual diving event at the Worlds with a 10 m bronze from Delaney Schnell!
ARCHERY
Thursday: Korean archers didn’t win any individual titles at the 2019 World Championships, but the test event in Tokyo this week showed how dangerous they are: two dominant wins by Seung-Yun Lee and 18-year-old San An. The U.S. was in the medals too, as World Champion Brady Ellison took bronze.
ATHLETICS
Thursday: The IAAF Diamond League is in London this week for the Muller Anniversary Games on Saturday and Sunday. Although the 5,000 m is being de-emphasized, the men’s and women’s races are sensational: world-record setter Sifan Hassan (NED) vs. Hellen Obiri in the women’s event and a stacked field in the men’s. Check out our preview of the events most likely to make noise in the 2012 Olympic stadium.
BEACH VOLLEYBALL
Tuesday: Two FIVB World Tour events this week, in Edmonton (three-star) and Espinho (four-star). Don’t look now, but four-time Olympic medalist Kerri Walsh Jennings – with Brooke Sweat – are steadily moving up the rankings toward a possible shot at the Tokyo Games!
CYCLING
Thursday: French sports fans love that countryman Julian Alaphilppe is wearing the yellow jersey as the leader of the Tour de France. But what happens this weekend, with the Individual Time Trial on Friday and two brutal climbing stages on Saturday and Sunday? Britain’s defending champ Geraint Thomas and Colombian climber Egan Bernal are waiting …
FENCING
Tuesday: The 2019 FIE World Championships are underway in Budapest, with three Americans standing in the top five in their event’s World Rankings, including no. 1 Sabre star Eli Dershwitz. Italy and Russia appear to have the most firepower on the piste, at least on paper.
GYMNASTICS
Friday: The biggest U.S. women’s stars are in action this weekend at the GK U.S. Classic in Louisville, in a final tune-up for the U.S. Championships next month. That includes Simone Biles, who hasn’t lost an individual All-Around competition since 2013!
TRIATHLON
Wednesday: The World Triathlon Series is nearing the end of the 2019 season and American Katie Zaferes could – mathematically – clinch the seasonal title at this weekend’s Sprint event in Edmonton (CAN). A bike crash ended her streak of World Series races with medals at seven, but she can start a new one on Saturday.
PREVIEWS
● Badminton ~ Excellent fields for the $1.25 million Indonesia Open in Jakarta.
● Cycling ~ Women’s World Tour is in Pau for La Course by Le Tour de France.
● Sailing ~ Women’s Laser Radial World Championships underway in Japan.
● Sport Climbing ~ Janja Garnbret trying to get back to winning at Briancon Lead World Cup.
UPCOMING
Highlights of the coming week, with previews in the coming days on TheSportsExaminer.com:
● Aquatics: Start of the swimming events at the World Aquatics Championships!
● Athletics: What should be a great USATF Nationals starts in Des Moines!
● Cycling: The climbing stages get serious at the Tour de France …:
Also coming in just a week’s time: the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima (PER).
