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: An insider’s view of athlete sponsorships from a four-time Olympic gold medalist, the person who recruits athlete endorsers for United Airlines and an athlete’s representative who has made deals for some of the biggest names in the Games. They had some good advice about what to do and deals to be made.
Friday: International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach of Germany came into office with the Olympic Movement courting disaster. But in the last five years, he has re-programmed the organization to avoid the descending-into-chaos scenario that many were sure the Olympic Movement was heading into. Kind of like how Starfleet Academy cadet Jim Kirk – before he became the captain of the Enterprise – solved the no-win scenario of the Kobayashi Maru exercise!
THE BIG PICTURE
Tuesday: On Monday, the International Olympic Committee rejected sentimentalism and chose the much better Milan-Cortina bid for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games. Meanwhile, at the Sports Summit, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti forecast a 2028 Olympic organizing committee surplus of more than $1 billion (yes, Billion!).
Thursday: The International Olympic Committee passed all of the recommended reforms proposed, including removing AIBA from the 2020 Olympic Boxing tournament, changing the shape of Olympic bidding for the future, confirming the four sports requested by Paris 2024, including Break Dancing!
ATHLETICS
Wednesday: More world-leading marks in the men’s javelin and women’s 200 m, plus a double win for sprinter Matthew Boling at the U.S. Junior Champs. And, finally, it was confirmed that former IAAF chief Lamine Diack (SEN) will go on trial in France for corruption and money-laundering later this year. Oh yes, and more doping positives!
Friday: The Pre Classic moves from Eugene to Stanford this year, with a great meet ahead on Sunday. Coleman or Gatlin in the 100? Norman vs. Kerley, Montgomery and Merritt in the 400! Shelley-Anne Fraser-Pryce vs. Sha’Carri Richardson in the women’s 100! Ryan Crouser! Mondo Duplantis vs. everyone in the vault, and what will Caster Semenya do? We have a full preview.
BEACH VOLLEYBALL
Thursday: The FIVB World Championships start in Hamburg (GER) on Friday and carry on for 10 days. Norwegian and German pairs are favored, but the U.S. has two top-eight seeds on the men’s side and one on the women’s.
FOOTBALL
Wednesday: Europe’s domination of the Women’s World Cup in France was confirmed with seven of the eight quarter-finalists; only the U.S. managed to get by a European opponent and just by 2-1 over Spain. The match of the tournament comes Friday as the U.S. plays France in Paris in what might be the de facto World Cup title match!
Wednesday: The U.S. men defeated Panama, 1-0, to win its group in the CONCACAF Gold Cup and advance to Sunday’s quarterfinal against Curacao. It wasn’t artistic, but Jozy Altidore’s game-winning finish on the lone goal of the game certainly was!
Friday: The U.S. women squeezed by France, 2-1, in the much-anticipated Women’s World Cup quarterfinal, thanks to two Megan Rapinoe goals and especially thanks to great team defense that frustrated the French all game long.
MODERN PENTATHLON
Thursday: Sterling field for the World Cup Final in Tokyo, with Olympic qualification spots for the men’s and women’s winners, and the top 10-ranked men and women all in the fields.
TRIATHLON
Thursday: ITU World Series continued with a Sprint in Montreal, with France’s Vincent Luis and American Katie Zaferes trying to protect their series leads.
PREVIEWS
● Canoe-Kayak: World Cup Slalom season continues at Tacen in Slovenia
● Fencing: Largest tournament in the world – the U.S. Nationals – start in Columbus
UPCOMING
Highlights of the coming week, with previews in the coming days on TheSportsExaminer.com:
● Athletics: IAAF Diamond League returns to Europe with Athletissima in Lausanne
● Cycling: The Tour de France begins its three-week adventure on 6 July!
● Volleyball: The U.S. women are co-favorites to defend their Nations League title in China.
And a look at the IOC’s finances as revealed in its annual report.