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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
1. Paris 2024 Olympic Village opens for athletes
2. Neutrals: Russia 15, Belarus 16 with a week to go
3. Bach: 2030 Winter award needs French gov’t guarantees
4. Salt Lake City watch party on Olympics vote at 3 a.m.
5. Argentina’s government supports football chants
● The Paris 2024 Olympic Village opened on Thursday and will house 14,500 athletes and officials during the Games. The complex is loaded with amenities and will become 2,000 family apartments and 800 student residences after the Olympic and Paralympic Games are concluded.
● The International Olympic Committee’s “neutrals” review panel issued its last update on 13 July and with the Village open, has received confirmations of 15 Russian and 16 Belarusian entries, after extending invitations for 30 Russians and 23 Belarusians. The totals are quite a bit less than anticipated.
● IOC President Thomas Bach said in an interview that the French government guarantees backing the 2030 Winter Games bid for the French Alps are needed for its election. It is possible that a conditional award could be made as the French government is in disarray following the 7 July legislative elections.
● Party time! Salt Lake City and other Utah towns are planning watch parties and celebrations for Wednesday as Salt Lake City’s bid for the 2034 Winter Games is expected to be confirmed by the IOC. The presentation will be made at 3 a.m. Utah time.
● The Argentina Under-secretary for Sport said in a radio interview that apologies should be made for the racist chant sung by players after the Copa America final win last Sunday. He was promptly fired by the Argentine President, supported by the Vice President, both with incendiary messages on X.
● Panorama: Paris 2024 (2: anti-auto group says Paris polluted; theatrical union to strike on Olympic opening day over pay) = U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee (Google partnership also involving NBC announced) = U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum (Paris 1924-2024 exhibit open with “$24 for ‘24″ donation program) = World Games (new World Games Series to debut in Hong Kong in October) = Athletics (3: Lyles, Thomas, Bol, Crouser headline London Diamond League on Saturday; more Kenyan doping suspensions; AIU tested 3,504 athletes in 2023) = Cycling (Campenerts wins stage 18, Pogacar still leads in Tour de France) = Football (FIFA postpones Israel-expulsion review until end of August) = Sport Climbing (Fossali and Deng win IFSC Speed World Cup in Briancon) = Volleyball (Azevedo lone FIVB President candidate) ●
1.
Paris 2024 Olympic Village opens for athletes
After all the worry about time and money, the Paris 2024 Olympic Village, built by the French governmental agency SOLIDEO, on time and within the €1.5 billion (~$1.64 billion U.S.) budget, opened on Thursday.
The 133-acre site will house the 10,500 athletes plus 4,000 team officials and be serviced by 2,500 volunteers. There are 345,000 pieces of furniture in the Village – 16,000 beds! – and the massive main dining hall seats 3,200 at a time, with 200 chefs preparing 40,000 meals daily; a secondary dining hall is available for 600. The fitness center is more than 3,000 sq. m (~31,000 sq. ft.), with 350 exercise and fitness machines, open around the clock, and eight training sites are available within the Village.
The entertainment zone, with multiple sections, comprises more than 800 sq. m (~8,200 sq. ft.), including the “Disconnection Bubble,” with a barista workshop and massage seats; the “Play Zone” arcade and game center, and “Social Zone,” which has a stage, giant television screens and, of course, a bar.
The on-site medical “Polyclinic” is equipped to assist 700 visits a day with 3,500 sq. m of space (~36,000 sq. ft.), with a blood sampling room, an emergency department and areas for physiotherapy, chiropody, dermatology, gynecology, cardiology and ophthalmology, 18 cold baths in a recovery area, and, of course, a pharmacy.
The “Village Plaza” is the only meeting place within the Village for visitors, with a café, a family area beauty and barber salon, supermarket and more.
There is a significant IOC sponsor presence in the Village, with Samsung continuing its program of gifting each athlete with a new phone (any Galaxy Z Fold 6s?) , Proctor & Gamble supporting the new Village Nursery for athletes and young children and Coca-Cola, which in addition to providing beverages, will provide two reusable bottles to each athlete to reduce waste.
Bridgestone is providing 280 bicycles and Toyota is offering its Accessible People Mover as the transport system within the Village.
All of this will be operational to 13 August for the Olympic Games and from 21 August to 10 September for the Paralympic Games.
Although specifically built because of the 2024 Olympic Games, the Village is actually a civic redevelopment project in the three towns of Saint-Denis, Saint-Ouen and L’Île-Saint-Denis. After the Games period, the buildings will be converted into 2,800 housing units – 2,000 family homes and 800 student apartments – and eventually accommodate 6,000 total residents.
Offices for up to 6,000 employees will be enabled, along with two schools, a gym and other amenities.
2.
Neutrals: Russia 15, Belarus 16 with a week to go
With a week to go before the opening of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the International Olympic Committee’s Individual Neutral Athlete Eligibility Review Panel appears to have finished its work, with the last update issued last Saturday (13th).
The current status shows that 15 Russian athletes and 16 from Belarus will be competing as “neutrals” in Paris, which is considerably fewer than projected by the IOC itself back in March:
“The experts currently project that, under the most likely scenario, 36 AINs with a Russian passport and 22 AINs with a Belarusian passport will qualify for the Olympic Games Paris 2024. The maximum number, which is unlikely to be reached, would be 54 and 28 respectively.”
In fact, Russian athletes earned 48 qualifying places and Belarusians earned 32, for a total of 80. But after the IOC’s review panel finished, only 53 invitations were issued for 30 Russian places and 23 for Belarus. Out of these, acceptances were limited to 15 Russian and 16 Belarusians as follows:
Canoeing (announced 28 June, for 5 quota places):
● 3 for Russia (3 invited, 3 accepted)
● 2 for Belarus (2 invited, 2 accepted)
Cycling/road (15 June for 4 places):
● 3 for Russia (3 invited: 2 accepted, 1 declined, new invite accepted)
● 1 for Belarus (1 invited: accepted)
Gymnastics/trampoline (15 June for 3 places):
● 1 for Russia (1 invited: 1 accepted)
● 2 for Belarus (2 invited: 2 accepted)
Judo (28 June for 12 places):
● 12 for Russia (4 invited; 4 declined)
Modern Pentathlon (27 June for 2 places):
● 2 for Belarus (none invited)
Rowing (27 June for 2 places):
● 2 for Belarus (2 invited, 2 accepted)
Shooting (27 June for 3 places):
● 3 for Belarus (2 invited, 2 accepted)
Swimming (3 July per qualifying standards):
● 1 invitation for Russia (1 accepted)
● 3 invitations for Belarus (3 accepted)
Taekwondo (15 June for 5 places):
● 4 for Russia (none invited)
● 1 for Belarus (1 invited, 1 accepted)
Tennis (27 June for 10 places):
● 8 for Russia (8 invited: 4 accepted, 4 declined; 5 new invites, 3 accepted, 2 declined)
● 2 for Belarus (2 invited, 2 declined)
Weightlifting (15 June for 4 places):
● 4 for Belarus (2 invited, 2 accepted)
Wrestling (15 June for 26 places):
● 16 for Russia (10 invited: 0 accepted, 10 declined)
● 10 for Belarus (6 invited: 1 accepted, 5 declined)
Only one recent change, with Russian wrestler Shamil Mamedov – the 2023 World Freestyle 65 kg bronze medalist – declining his invitation after initially accepting it. The rest of the Russian wrestlers and the Russian federation decided not to go and Mamedov was said to have “injury” issues. In any case, he’s not going now.
So, with the entry deadline of 8 July now passed and a week to go, the “neutral athlete” project looks like this:
● 80 qualifying places total across 12 sports
● 53 invitations: 30 Russians and 23 Belarusians
● 31 acceptances: 15 Russians and 16 Belarusians
This will be the smallest “Russian team” since London 1908, when it sent six athletes, and the smallest Belarusian team ever (first competed as an independent in 1996). At Tokyo 2020, Russia sent 334 and Belarus sent 103.
Observed: For those who believe that due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, no Russian or Belarusian athletes should be at Paris 2024, the 31 total “neutrals” are too much. There is no doubt that Russia has been humiliated by having most of its athletes unable to go to Paris, but it has not impacted its war aims at all, still foiled by heroic Ukrainian resistance.
And the Ukrainians will have a large team in Paris, in obvious contrast. That’s how it’s going to be.
3.
Bach: 2030 Winter award needs French government guarantees
The election of the French Alps bid to host the 2030 Olympic Winter Games is slated for 24 July at the International Olympic Committee Session in Paris, but could be delayed or even only conditionally awarded.
IOC President Thomas Bach told the French all-sports daily L’Equipe (translation from the original French by GamesBids.com):
“I am not going to speculate on legal details but without guarantees we cannot make an unconditional decision for the attribution of the Games. All stakeholders are aware of this. We are waiting.”
However, he was optimistic:
“We have had very constructive discussions knowing that we need to have a guarantee.
“Afterwards, we can discuss the legal details that would enable us to make a decision. If it is a firm guarantee, we can make a firm decision. If there are still details to be resolved, we need to know what conditions would still need to be met. These are different scenarios, we have to wait.”
The situation has been clouded by the legislative elections in France on 30 June and 7 July, in which no party received a majority and, as yet, no government has been assembled. In fact, no group is close; with 289 seats needed for a majority, no party has more than 180. So far, no coalition government has been announced and the existing government – whose coalition, the Ensemble de la Renaissance, which won 159 seats – is staying on as caretakers until a new government is assembled.
Salt Lake City’s bid for 2034 is in good shape, has all of the required guarantees and is expected to be elected without difficulty.
4.
Salt Lake City watch party on Olympics vote at 3 a.m.
While the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games bid team will be making its final presentation to the International Olympic Committee in Paris next Wednesday (24th), a watch party back at home is being organized for 3 a.m. at Washington Square in Salt Lake City.
This is the same location where a watch party saw Salt Lake City win the right to host the 2002 Winter Games, and conveniently, will also be a focal point of Utah’s annual “Pioneer Day” celebrations.
Video boards in the square will fire up on Tuesday (23rd) with advance coverage of the presentation and vote from KSL-TV from 5 to 11 p.m. On Wednesday, the expected schedule includes (Mountain time zone):
● 3:00 a.m.: SLC-Utah Committee presentation
● 4:00 a.m.: IOC Session vote
● 4:20 a.m.: Anticipated announcement
● 5:30 a.m.: Unveiling of the SLC-UT 2034 transition logo
● 9:00 a.m.: Days of 47 Parade begins
The 2002 Olympic torch will be lit at Rice-Eccles Stadium at the University of Utah, and “CELEBRATE 2034″ events will also be held at the Utah Olympic Park in Park City from 4-9 p.m. A festival program with vendors, food, activities, giveaways, and an athlete meet-and-greet will be on from 4 to 6 p.m., followed a free Flying Ace All-Stars Freestyle Show at 6:30 p.m. and live music by Freedog at 7:00 p.m.
Mort events will be held during the day and evening in the Heber Valley, and at the Peaks Ice Arena in Provo.
The Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games presentation team will leave for Paris on 22 July (Monday) from Salt Lake City International Airport.
5.
Argentina’s government supports football chants
The criticism of Argentine players for a racist chant sung following its victory at the Copa America final in Miami Gardens, Florida last Sunday has been rejected by the national government.
FIFA has said it was looking into the incident, which was posted in a video by midfielder Enzo Fernandez, who apologized on Instagram. The French Football Federation statement included:
“Given the seriousness of these shocking remarks, which are contrary to the values of sport and human rights, the FFF president has decided to contact its Argentinian counterpart and FIFA directly to file a legal complaint for racist and discriminatory remarks.
“The president of the French Football Federation, Philippe Diallo, condemns in the strongest terms the unacceptable racist and discriminatory remarks made against the players of the France team as part of a song sung by players and supporters of the Argentina team.”
The chant mocked the African heritage of some of the French players.
In Argentina, however, the situation is different.
Argentine Under-Secretary for Sport Julio Garro said in a radio interview that apologies should be made, but later that night, he was fired by Argentina President Javier Melei; the government issued a post on X (ex-Twitter):
“No government can tell what to comment, what to think or what to do to the World Champion and Double Americas Champion Argentine National Team, or to any other citizen. For this reason, Garro is no longer Sports undersecretary.”
Argentina’s Vice President, Victoria Villarruel, was even more strident, ripping French history:
“Argentina is a free and sovereign country. We never had colonies or second-class citizens. We have never imposed our way of life on anyone. But neither will we tolerate that they do it to us.
“Argentina was made with the sweat and courage of Indians, Europeans, Creoles and blacks like Remedios del Valle, Sergeant Cabral and Bernardo de Monteagudo. No colonialist country is going to intimidate us for a song or for telling the truths that they do not want to admit.
“Enough of feigning indignation, hypocrites. Enzo, I support you, Messi, thanks for everything! Argentines always with your heads held high! Long live Argentina!”
¶
In Spain, Pedro Rocha, the President of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) was banned for two years by Spain’s Sports Administrative Court (TAD) for “serious infractions.” Rocha took over from then-President Luis Rubiales in 2023 in the aftermath of the kissing incident with midfielder Jenni Hermoso of the winning Spanish team at the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The court held that during his time as Interim President from September 2023 until he was elected as President in April 2024, “Rocha made decisions beyond his authority, including the dismissal of senior RFEF members such as general secretary Andreu Camps, who had been appointed by [former President Luis] Rubiales in 2018.”
Three violations were alleged and the court instituted the two-year ban on one of them and issued fines of €33,000 (about $35,961 U.S.) for each of the other two. Rocha can appeal the ban, which would prevent him from standing for election again in September or October, and ask for it to be tolled until the appeal can be completed.
≡ PANORAMA ≡
● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● Respire, an activist anti-automobile organization in France, has issued a “warning” about poor air quality at the Paris Games, reporting pollution levels near the ring road close to the Olympic Village, and at other sites in the city.
The Games will go on.
¶
A French union representing theatrical workers called a strike for 26 July, the day of the Olympic opening ceremony, citing “outrageous disparities in treatment.”
According to the union, “some non-Parisian artists being paid and housed, when the majority of them – the most precarious – won’t be, even though they have the same employment contracts.” It claimed that 250-300 of the professional dancers – out of about 3,000 in the ceremony – were being underpaid.
● U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee ● The USOPC announced a new partnership with Google, “with Google being named the Official Search AI Partner of Team USA, marking the first time the technology company has entered into a partnership with Team USA.”
The project will include a deep integration with NBC’s coverage, including “Try It With Google Gemini” with “Chief Superfan Commentator” Leslie Jones, “One Day in Paris” with selected athletes in social videos aided by Google Lens, Circle to Search, Immersive View in Google Maps and Gemini, and enhanced 3D broadcasts.
● U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum ● The Museum has opened a special “Return to Paris: 1924-2024” exhibit with a special look back at the last Paris Games and offering a special giving opportunity: $24 for ‘24:
“Donations to the $24 for ‘24 campaign will enhance exhibits and programs that educate and inspire visitors about the values and achievements of America’s greatest athletes. This support is crucial in allowing the museum to continue its mission of celebrating the spirit of Team USA and inspiring guests to pursue their own dreams. Your contribution will help preserve the history and legacy of America’s Olympians and Paralympians, ensuring their stories continue to motivate future generations.”
● World Games ● The International World Games Association introduced a new concept, a World Games Series, to be held for the first time in Hong Kong from 11-13 October 2024.
It will include three sports – Pom Doubles cheerleading, Freestyle Inline roller skating, and wushu – with a total of 88 athletes. A second Series is planned for Chengdu (CHN) in February or March 2025, ahead of the 2025 World Games in Chengdu, to be held in August.
The event is being sponsored by the Samaranch Foundation, a China-based charitable organization created by the Samaranch family to further the work of IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch (ESP) and his friendship with China during his 20-year term in office.
● Athletics ● The final Diamond League meet before the Paris Games is on Saturday in London (GBR), with a powerful line-up, including Worlds men’s 100 m gold and silver medalists from 2023, Noah Lyles of the U.S. and Letsile Tebogo (BOT), world women’s 200 m leader Gabby Thomas (USA) against St. Lucia star Julien Alfred and 2019 World Champion Dina Asher-Smith of Great Britain.
The British crowd will be absolutely wild for European women’s 800 m champ Keely Hodgkinson, and Dutch star Femke Bol, no. 2 all-time, will headline the women’s 400 m hurdles. Brazil’s 2022 World Champion, Alison dos Santos, will highlight the men’s 400 hurdles race.
The men’s shot is a Paris preview, with U.S. Trials winner Ryan Crouser, European champ Leonardo Fabbri and two-time World Champion Joe Kovacs of the U.S.
The meet will be shown live on NBC’s Peacock streaming service from 9-11 a.m. Eastern, with a replay on CNBC on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Eastern.
¶
Another Kenyan doping sanction from the Athletics Integrity Unit: Reuben Kipyego, a 2:03:55 – no. 32 all-time – from his second-place at the 2023 Milan Marathon. He was suspended for two years beginning 27 May 2024 for “whereabouts” failures.
¶
The Athletics Integrity Unit published its annual report for 2023, noting it collected 13,363 samples from 3,504 athletes from 136 nations last year, with 67.3% collected out-of-competition.
The AIU has identified its prime targets through its Registered Testing Pool of 857 athletes considered most likely to compete for medals, and adding more at other World Athletics competitions.
The focus is on Africa and distance running, with 47.4% of all samples collected from African athletes and 60% of all samples taken from distance runners, either in road racing (42%) or track racing (18%). The second-largest testing area was Europe (24.6%) and the second-largest testing group was the sprints (13%).
The breakdown by gender was 51.5% men and 48.5% women and blood samples are rapidly catching up to urine, with 42% blood and 58% urine in 2023.
Out of all this came 81 international cases and 347 national cases from 63 countries (428 total). Of the 81 international cases, no violations was found in two cases, 48 were concluded with sanctions, eight had atypical findings and 23 are still pending.
This was done with a $12.0 million budget, against which AIU did receive $4.1 million in income and $7.9 million in support was provided by World Athletics.
● Cycling ● Veteran Belgian rider Victor Campenerts won his first stage win at the 18th stage of the 111th Tour de France on Thursday, winning a final sprint over Matteo Vercher (FRA) and Michal Kwiatkowski (POL), with all three timed in 4:10:20 over the hilly, 179.5 km course to Barcelonnette.
Campenaerts, 32, has now won stages at the Giro d’Italia (2021) and the Tour de France. Behind him, there was no change in the overall standings, as leaders Tadej Pogacar (SLO), Jonas Vingegaard (DEN) and Remco Evenepoel (BEL) were all 13:40 behind the leader.
Two-time winner Pogacar maintains a 3:11 lead on two-time defending champion Vingegaard and 5:09 on Evenepoel with three stages left. Friday and Saturday are difficult climbing stages of 144.6 km (with three climbs) and 132.8 km with four climbs, before Sunday’s 33.7 km Individual Time Trial in Nice to conclude the race.
● Football ● FIFA announced on Thursday:
“An independent legal assessment of the Palestinian Football Association proposals against the Israel Football Association was due to be provided to FIFA Council by 20 July 2024.
“Following requests for an extension from both parties to submit their respective positions, duly granted by FIFA, more time is needed to conclude this process with due care and completeness.
“The assessment will be shared with the FIFA Council for any subsequent decision to be taken no later than 31 August 2024.”
Reports had circulated that a negative report against Israel was being filed, but the issue will be moot now until the end of August. Israel will play in the men’s Olympic tournament in Paris.
● Sport Climbing ● At the IFSC World Cup for Lead and Speed in Briancon (FRA), 2019 World Speed champ Ludovico Fossali (ITA) earned the men’s Speed gold with a final-round win over Erik Noya (ESP), 4.97 to 5.06. Jianghuo Long of China, the 2023 Worlds silver winner, took the bronze.
The women’s Speed winner was China’s Lijuan Deng in 6.41, an Asian Record, ahead of Korean Jimin Jeong (6.73).
● Volleyball ● The Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) announced that only a single candidature for President has been received for elections in the fall: FIVB Director General Fabio Azevedo of Brazil.
Azevedo, 51, came to the federation in 2013 after fellow Brazilian Ary Graca became FIVB President in 2012. Azevedo had worked in the Brazilian national federation (1997-2010) and with his own event management firm until then. Graca, now 81, is termed out and the election will take place during the 15-17 November FIVB Congress in Portugal.
¶
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