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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
● Olympic Winter Games 2026: Milan Cortina ● FrancsJeux.com reported that the Milan Cortina organizers have reached €400 million in domestic sponsorships, against a €500-550 million target with a year to go. (€1 = $1.05 U.S.)
The five Premium Partners are ENEL, Eni, Italian railways, Poste Italiane and Salomon, with seven Official Partners: a2a Life, EA7 Emporio Armani, Esselunga, Fiera Milano, Randstad, TIM and Juniper Networks. There are eight additional Sponsors and five Official Supporters for a total of 25 involved companies so far.
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Good review from the International Olympic Committee inspection team on Monday to the under-construction sliding track in Cortina d’Ampezzo, with the government’s Olympic construction oversight company, Simico chief executive Fabio Saldini saying in a statement:
“It was a very positive visit, our international interlocutors were surprised by the quality and quantity of the work done. I had no doubts about the good progress of the construction site.
“We discussed the pre-homologation phases in view of March. We continue with optimism. On Thursday we will turn on the refrigeration system, the beating heart of the track.”
The construction firm working on the project has said it will have the facility ready for testing by 15 March.
● Olympic Winter Games 2030: French Alps ● Looks like World Athletics and the Union Cycliste Internationale have a shot to get into the Winter Games, with the possible additions to the program of cross country and cyclo-cross.
New French Alps 2030 President Edgar Grospiron told Le Dauphine that discussions will commence on multiple possibilities for added sports:
“We will work calmly and study everything on the table with ski mountaineering, speed skiing, telemark, even cross-country or cyclo-cross and why not ice-cross? Afterwards, we will have to budget.”
Cross country and cyclo-cross have been heavily promoted by their federations as sports which will open the Winter Games to new countries, especially in Africa.
● Alpine Skiing ● U.S. superstar Mikaela Shiffrin got her historic 100th World Cup victory last weekend and now wants others to be able to try skiing.
She has set up a partnership with the Share Winter Foundation to raise $100,000 to allow about 200 youngsters to learn skiing and snowboarding. Wrote Shiffrin on Instagram:
“I know that not everyone is blessed with the good fortune I have come across, in fact very few are, and over the years the lack of accessibility for a diverse group of people in winter sports has funneled us into a very not diverse community.
“I love this community, but can’t help but wonder how much more potential there is for it to be stronger if we could help Share Winter with everyone, rather than just those of us who have the means, the access, or the background and bloodlines to support it.”
“I see this 100 victory conversation as an opportunity to bring more eyes and, ideally, more passion to the sport. Helping Share Winter bring more kids to the mountain is really meaningful. It’s far bigger than me winning 100 races. This will make that 100th victory one of the most meaningful to me.”
She donated the first $10,000 herself and has asked her sponsors to contribute, and “MIK100″ items will be offered at auction on the Share Winter Foundation site.
● Athletics ● Grand Slam Track announced a partnership with sports data firm Stats Perform as its “exclusive global data and betting rights distributor and integrity partner.”
Founder and Commissioner Michael Johnson explained, “We look forward to setting a new standard for our sport with Stats Perform’s extensive network of trusted media and betting partners, eye-opening technology, and their true passion for the power of sport to unify and entertain.”
The first Grand Slam Track meet will be from 4-6 April in Kingston, Jamaica. Betting on track has long seemed like a natural fit, but the inability to be sure of who will actually run in any event has made sportsbooks less interested. The GST format of contracted Racers and Challengers eliminates some of that instability, although injuries will still come into the equation.
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World Athletics posted a review of its experimental, twice-as-deep long jump “take-off zone” project which was tried at indoor meets in Dusseldorf and Berlin (GER):
● “On average, athletes gained 13 centimetres in performance using the take-off zone, matching the expected 10-centimetre improvement. Under the classic format, the foul rate at the tests would have averaged 66%, compared to 32% at major championships. With the take-off zone, the foul rate dropped to 13% – a scenario virtually impossible in the classic format.”
● “Spectator surveys showed an overall preference for the take-off zone in future competitions. The divide, however, was striking: more than two-thirds of casual fans favoured the innovation, while those actively involved in the sport leaned just as strongly towards the traditional board.”
More testing is coming, with a series of other concepts to be tried in various meets this season, such as the Steeplechase mile, a Mixed 4×100 m relay and others.
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The Tokyo 2025 World Championships organizers revealed the name of its mascot, modeled after a Shiba Inu dog – Riku One – which received the most votes in a nationwide poll, just ahead of “Sorashiba,” 7,804 to 7,454.
“Riku” is the Japanese word for track & field athletics.
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The three American super-marathons – Boston, Chicago and New York – have joined with the Los Angeles Marathon, operated by The McCourt Foundation, to offer special merchandise to support Together LA.
The project, created by The McCourt Foundation, is designed to provide support for the Community Organized Relief Effort (CORE) and the California Fire Foundation, who are helping with emergency relief, assist displaced families, and support long-term recovery efforts from the brutal Palisades and Eaton fires in the Los Angeles area in January.
Special merchandise with the emblems of all four races is available at a special Web site, offered in conjunction with the 40th anniversary Los Angeles Marathon, coming up on 16 March.
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