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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
● Olympic Games 1984: Los Angeles ● George Bell, a 7-foot, 8-inch giant who appeared in the closing ceremony of the 1984 Olympic Games, passed away at age 67 on 19 March, in Durham, North Carolina.
Bell, then a student at Biola University, was the costumed “extra-terrestrial being” in the ‘84 Olympic closing ceremony at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on 12 August 1984, coming out from the peristyle end amid a cloud of smoke from a landing “spaceship” – actually just a ring of flashing lights carried by a helicopter – to tell the audience, “I’ve come a long way because I like what I’ve seen.”
He was recognized during his life as the tallest man in the world, and while he played basketball with the Harlem Globetrotters and had multiple roles in television, he was a member of the Norfolk (Virginia) Sheriff’s Office from December 2000 to May 2014.
● Commonwealth Games ● Commonwealth Sport made a sudden announcement on Monday that President Chris Jenkins (WAL) has resigned, with Dr. Donald Rukane, the President of the Ugandan Olympic Committee, now serving as Interim President.
A new President will be elected at the next General Assembly in November 2025.
Jenkins was the head of Commonwealth Games Wales for 16 years before being elected as President of Commonwealth Sport in 2023. No reason for his resignation was given.
● Russia ● The Russian Sports Minister and head of the Russian Olympic Committee expects the suspension of the ROC to be lifted soon. On Monday, Mikhail Degtyarev told a Moscow-area conference:
“There are no legal grounds for disqualification, our Olympic Committee will be recognized in the near future. In my opinion, in two to three months.”
The ROC was suspended by the International Olympic Committee in October 2023 for incorporating organizations governed by the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine as part of its Ukrainian invasion that began in February 2022. The situation there has not changed, but Russia is counting on more lenient treatment from incoming IOC President Kirsty Coventry (ZIM).
● Athletics ● Lots more hot action over the weekend, including two outdoor world leads at the Australian Championships in Perth, with two-time World Indoor Champion Nicola Olyslagers and 2022 World Champion Eleanor Patterson going 1-2 in the women’s high jump at 2.01 m (6-7) and 1.98 m (6-6). Olympic men’s 800 m fourth-placer Peter Bol won his fourth national title with a lifetime best of 1:43.79, followed by Peyton Craig (1:44.07) and Luke Boyes (1:44.50), now nos. 1-3-4 on the year.
Lachlan Kennedy moved to equal-third on the world list with a 10.00 in the men’s 100 m heats and then Rohan Browning won the final at 10.01. Teen star Gout Gout won the 200 m in a wind-aided 19.84 (+2.2 m/s).
Olympic women’s 1,500 m silver winner Jessica Hull doubled, taking the 1,500 m in 4:11.36 and the 5,000 m in 15:02.74.
Elsewhere, 2023 U.S. champ Bryce Deadmon took the men’s 400 m world lead at 44.30 at the Texas A&M Teams Invitational, and South Carolina’s JaMeesia Ford, the 2024 NCAA Indoor 200 m champ, grabbed the women’s 100 m world lead at 11.06 at the Gamecock Invitational in Columbia, South Carolina.
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Grand Slam Track announced its first six challengers for the upcoming 2-4 May meet in Miramar, Florida:
Men/Short Sprints:
● Andre De Grasse (CAN) ~ 2020 Olympic 200 m Champion
Men/Short Distance:
● Timothy Cheruiyot (KEN) ~ 2020 Olympic 1,500 m silver medalist
Women/Long Sprints:
● Amber Anning (GBR) ~ 2025 World Indoor 400 m Champion
Women/Short Distance:
● Claudia Hollingsworth (AUS) ~ 2024 U-20 Worlds 800 m silver medalist
Women/Short Hurdles:
● Keni Harrison (USA) ~ 2020 Olympic silver medalist
Women/Long Hurdles:
● Anna Hall (USA) ~ 2023 Worlds Heptathlon silver medalist
A total of 48 challengers will be lined up to face the 48 Grand Slam Track “Racers” who are signed for all four meets.
● Badminton ● Canada collected three golds and 12 medals to dominate the Pan American Championships in Lima (PER), taking the men’s Singles in an all-Canadian final with Victor Lai defeating Joshua Nguyen, the Mixed Doubles, with Ty Alexander Lindeman and Josephine Wu beating compatriots Jonathan Lai and Crystal Lai, and in the Mixed Team event.
The U.S. scored wins in the men’s Doubles, with Zhi-yi Chen and Presley Smith and in the women’s Doubles, with Lauren Lam and Allison Lee. Brazil’s Juliana Viana Vieira took the women’s Singles title.
● Cycling ● A Belgian man who threw a full water bottle and hit Paris-Roubaix race leader Mathieu van der Poel (NED) in the face on Sunday turned himself in to Belgian authorities on Monday.
Van der Poel was hit with about 33 km remaining in the 259 km race and said afterwards, “I arrived at 50K an hour and it was like a stone hitting my face. This is just not acceptable” and added later:
“We can’t let this pass. It was a full bidon, and it hurt a lot. If I take that bidon on my nose, it’s broken.
“Hopefully, the police can identify the man because there has to be a trial for this. This is attempted manslaughter. If the UCI doesn’t take action, then we will do it with the team.”
The BBC was told by public prosecutor Filiep Jodts, “We can confirm that the man presented himself to the police.
“An official report was drawn up, in which his statement was recorded. The Public Prosecution Service will decide in the coming days what action should be taken.”
The man who acknowledged throwing the bottle was reported to be apologetic when he turned himself in.
The Union Cycliste Internationale issued a statement including:
“The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and the associations representing the families of cycling (CPA for the riders, AIOCC for the organisers and AIGCP for the teams) unanimously condemn, in the strongest terms, the unacceptable behaviour of a spectator during the 122nd edition of Paris-Roubaix from the side of the road on 13 April.
“With 33 kilometres to go, this spectator on the roadside threw a water bottle in the direction of Dutch cyclist Mathieu Van der Poel, hitting him in the face. Such behaviour cannot be tolerated in the context of a cycling event.
“The UCI and representatives of cycling’s families express their support for the rider and will explore, in conjunction with the competent authorities, all the legal channels at their disposal so that such behaviour is duly and severely punished, as has already been the case in the past. They will take the same action in the future against any act that threatens the physical integrity of riders.”
● Swimming ● A raft of world-leading marks – sometimes more than one in the same event – in the last 10 days, especially with multiple national championships being held in Europe:
● Men/50 m Free: 21.62, Leonardo Deplano (ITA: nationals)
● Men/100 m Free: 47.27, Kyle Chalmers (AUS)
● Men/200 m Free: 1:45.07, David Popovici (ROU: nationals)
● Men/400 m Free: 3:39.96, Lukas Martens (GER) ~ World Record
● Men/800 m Free: 7:41.52, Daniel Whiffen (IRL: nationals)
● Men/1,500 m Free: 14:38.27, Florian Wellbrock (GER)
● Men/100 m Back: 52.24, Hubert Kos (HUN: nationals)
● Men/100 m Back: 52.04, Kliment Kolesnikov (RUS: nationals)
● Men/200 m Back: 1:55.64, Roman Mityukov (SUI: nationals)
● Men/50 m Fly: 22.77, Noe Ponti (SUI: nationals)
● Men/100 m Fly: 50.27, Noe Ponti (SUI: nationals)
● Women/50 m Breast: 30.12, Eneli Jefimova (EST)
● Women/100 m Breast: 1:05.82, Anita Bottazzo (ITA: nationals)
The Italian and Russian nationals are continuing and the British nationals are getting ready.
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