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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
● Olympic Games 2028: Los Angeles ● The International Canoe Federation took a trip last week, meeting with the LA28 organizers in Los Angeles and then traveling to Oklahoma City to once again visit the Riversport OKC canoe slalom facility, which will host the ICF Slalom Worlds in 2027.
A three-person team led by ICF President Thomas Konietzko (GER) was presented with a “key to the city” by Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt. Said Konietzko:
“This is one of the best facilities in the world for our sport.
“The design of the venue is beautiful so I know the athletes and spectators will love it here and it is located close to the city which makes it very special. We will have our World Championships and Congress here in 2026 and then we can look forward to using this excellent environment to organize fantastic events in 2028.
“You can also be sure that a lot of our athletes and teams will come to Oklahoma City over the next three years to use this facility for training.”
● Olympic Games 2032: Brisbane ● Australian Olympic Committee Matt Carroll said at a Friday hearing of the Australian Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Committee, it’s time to get any new venues decided on and start building.
Asked by Senator Matt Canavan about the progress to date, Carroll explained:
“To a degree, progress has been made. The organizing committee is certainly well established The plans to build the new indoor sports centers across southeast Queensland is still proceeding; it doesn’t get a lot of news either, but certainly, there are things that are happening.”
But as for what needs to happen now, it’s in the hands of the government to figure out the remaining venues: “I think it is time to finalize any more reviews and settle exactly on what the two governments want to fund in terms of venues.”
Asked about the time pressure, Carroll said as to deadlines:
“I think that’s the first half of this year, to be honest with you, Senator, for two reasons. One, the sports program will start to be fleshed out the following year in 2026, which is obviously very important. And importantly, also, obviously, is to start the construction process of whatever work that needs to be done, which is going to take a bit of time. …
“Before I was in sport, I was in the construction industry, and the construction industry in Australia is stretched, at the moment. And therefore, to be able to start to do all these venues, wherever they may be, it needs to be moved along swiftly.”
The latest venue review, especially concerning the sites for athletes and for ceremonies, is ongoing and is expected to be concluded in March, after a change of government control last year.
● Anti-Doping ● The World Anti-Doping Agency confirmed that the national anti-doping agencies of Pakistan and Uganda have challenged the charges of non-compliance, filing an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport. So, no sanctions as of now. Cameroon and Russia remain non-compliant.
● Transgender ● The giant California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), governing more than 806,000 athletes at 1,587 public and private schools, said Friday that it would not follow the Executive Order signed last Wednesday by U.S. President Donald Trump, which removes transgender women from women’s sport in the U.S.
A statement provided to ABC10 Sacramento explained:
“The CIF provides students with the opportunity to belong, connect, and compete in education-based experiences in compliance with California law [Education Code section 221.5. (f)] which permits students to participate in school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, consistent with the student’s gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the student’s records.”
To be continued …
● Memorabilia ● The awards uniform top worn by iconic 1968 Olympic 200 m bronze medalist John Carlos – of raised fist on the podium fame – is up for sale at Heritage Auction’s Winter Platinum Night Sports Auction ending on 22 February.
Carlos finished third in the race and he and winner Tommie Smith raised their fists in a famed racial protest gesture on the awards ceremony in Mexico City, and were promptly dismissed from the Games. (They only had one pair of gloves, so Smith raised his right fist and Carlos, his left.)
Carlos swapped the jacket with a Senegalese athlete at the end of the ‘68 Games, and his nephew ended up with it. The nephew contacted Carlos, and the money raised from the auction will help the nephew’s family.
Made by Wilson, the jacket appears to be in excellent condition and still has Carlos’ bib number – 259 – attached. Ten bids have been received so far, with a high of $18,500; the item is expected to bring around $50,000.
A 10-minute video with Carlos is on the bid page (in which he says he let Smith win and was surprised that Peter Norman (AUS) got second), with the first section of bidding to end at 10 p.m., Central Time, on 22 February, and all bids finalized by 10:30 p.m.
● Boxing ● Another positive for World Boxing, trying to be recognized by the International Olympic Committee in March as the governing body for Olympic boxing, as its continental association – Asian Boxing – signed a memorandum of understanding with the Olympic Council of Asia:
“The partnership focuses on creating a robust certification program for referees, judges, and officials to ensure the highest standards of professionalism and fairness in officiating,” and will promote youth development in the sport.
As the Olympic Council of Asia’s members are the 45 National Olympic Committees of the region, the OCA can also be counted on to encourage the 22 NOCs whose national boxing federations are not yet members of World Boxing to join. The International Olympic Committee has already instructed NOCs to ignore their national federations if they continue to be members of the now-unrecognized International Boxing Association. This may help in Asia.
● Diving ● World Aquatics announced two Chinese stars as their Athletes of the Year: Paris Olympic men’s 10 m Platform winner Yuan Cao and 17-year-old Hongchan Quan, a double winner in Paris in the 10 m Platform (defending her Tokyo title) and the 10 m Synchro.
● Wrestling ● The Russian news agency TASS reported that United World Wrestling approved – on 5 February – a change of status, allowing Russian wrestlers to compete under the flag of the UWW instead of as an Individual Neutral Athlete (AIN).
This brings the UWW in line with the International Judo Federation, which has also adopted this scheme.
≡ RESULTS ≡
● Alpine Skiing ● Sunday’s men’s Downhill at the FIS World Championships in Saalbach (AUT) saw another surprise, as 23-year-old Swiss Franjo von Allmen – with one World Cup win in his career – take the gold in 1:40.68.
Von Allmen has never won a World Cup Downhill – his sole World Cup win was in a Super-G – but had three silvers in his career. No matter, he took the lead as the no. 11 starter, moving past Austria’s Vincent Kriechmayr, the 2021 World Champion and an 18-time World Cup winner (1:40.92).
Third was Swiss Alexis Monney, 25, also with one career World Cup win, in a Downhill last December in Bormio (ITA). His 1:40.99 got him the bronze, while the top American was Bryce Bennett, who tied for 10th (1:42.02). Ryan Cochran-Siegle was 13th and Jared Goldberg was 24th, with Sam Morse in 36th.
Monday is a day off, with the Team Combined events to start Tuesday.
● Athletics ● More from the Millrose Games, with intermediate 1,500 m times posted for the men’s Wanamaker Mile, and world mile record claimant Yared Nuguse leading Hobbs Kessler in 3:31.74 and 3:31.89, then France’s Azeddine Habz at 3:32.24 and Cam Myers (AUS) at 3:32.67.
It’s another American Record for Nuguse, breaking his own mark of 3:33.22 from 2023 at Millrose, and moved him to no. 5 all-time, with the no. 6 performance. Kessler is now the seventh-fastest ever at the distance with the no. 10 performance. Habz moves to no. 9 all-time and Myers to no. 12 (he’s 18!), both with national indoor records.
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Comebacking Shelby Houlihan, having served her doping ban, got a world-leading mark in the women’s mile in Boston on Saturday, winning in 4:20.30, well ahead of Kenyan Dorcus Ewoi (4:23.69). Houlihan’s mark moves her to no. 2 on the all-time U.S. women’s indoor list, passing Mary Decker (4:20.5 in 1982, with the no. 4 performance ever. Only Elle St. Pierre has run faster.
Houlihan passed 1,500 m in 4:03.40, now no. 6 on the all-time U.S. indoor list.
¶
The controversial “take-off zone” long jump was experimented with at the ISTAF Indoor meet in Dusseldorf (GER) on Saturday, and it makes a difference.
Using the standard style, using the take-off board, Pauline Hondema (NED) won with a 6.65 m (21-10) best, ahead of Pole Anna Matuszewicz (6.40 m/21-0). Tokyo 2020 Olympic champ Malaika Mihambo, who jumped a world-leading 7.07 m (23-2 1/2) on Friday in Karlsruhe using a take-off board, was only third at 6.39 m (20-11 3/4).
Among the seven jumpers, there were 41 attempts (one pass), of which 13 were fair, or 32%. Using the “take-off zone” approach, where a 40 cm (15.8 inches) long area was legal – vs. 20 cm (7.9 inches) for the take-off board – 36 of the 41 attempts were legal and the results changed dramatically, measured from their take-off point instead of the end of the board.
Under this style, Mihambo won at 6.87 m (22-6 1/2) on her fourth try (otherwise a foul) and Hondema was second at 6.68 m (21-11) on her first jump, which was measured at 6.56 m (21-6 1/4) using the take-off board.
● Bobsled & Skeleton ● The IBSF World Cup circuit was in Lillehammer (NOR), with the German 1-2 punch of Olympic gold and silver medal drivers Francesco Friedrich (+ Alexander Schueller) and Johannes Lochner (+ Georg Flesichhauer) going 1-2 in the 2-Man races, in 1:41.15 and 1:41.29. Britain’s Brad Hall, the 2023 Worlds 4-man runner-up was third in 1:41.63; Frank Del Duca has the top American sled in sixth (1:42.17).
Lochner, the Beijing 2022 runner-up in both sleds, got his first win of the season in the Four-Man racing, taking the second run to pass Friedrich, 1:39.85 to 1:39.90. Swiss Michael Vogt was third (1:40.05) and Del Duca had the best U.S. finish, in 10th (1:41.03).
The women’s Monobob saw a win for Australian Bree Walker, her first of the season and fourth medal, tying with the U.S.’s Kaysha Love in 1:49.14. The 2024 Worlds winner, Laura Nolte (GER), was third (1:49.21). American stars Elana Meyers Taylor and Kaillie Armbruster Humphries finished 7-8 in 1:49.52 and 1:49.64.
The Two-Woman was the fourth straight German World Cup sweep, this time with Beijing Olympic champ Nolte (and Leonie Kluwig) winning in 1:44.40, ahead of 2023 World Champion Kim Kalicki and Leonie Fiebig (1:44.42) and 2018 Olympic gold winner Lisa Buckwitz and Kira Lipperheide (1:44.70). The U.S. sleds finished seventh (Taylor-Jasmine Jones: 1:45.18), ninth (Kaysha Love-Lolo Jones: 1:45.24) and 10th (Armbruster Humphries-Emily Renna: 1:45.39).
● Cycling ● Race three of the UCI Women’s World Tour was the UAE Tour, a four-stage affair that was decided in the uphill-finishing third stage, won by Italian star Elisa Longo Borghini, the 2024 Giro d’Italia winner.
Dutch star Lorena Wiebes won the first two, flat stages, creating a 13-second lead. But Longo Borghini took off with 3 km left at the end of stage 3, winning by 35 seconds and taking a 2:09 lead into the flat fourth stage. Sunday’s finale was the expected mass sprint, with Wiebes winning her third stage, in 3:03:28 over 127 km, with Longo Borghini 59th, but with the same time.
So Longo Borghini won the race at 13:14:57, ahead of countrywoman Silvia Persico (ITA: +2:06). Wiebes, despite winning three of four stages, was 13th (+4:06).
● Fencing ● Italy’s 2023 Worlds silver winner Davide Di Veroli won the FIE World Cup men’s Epee tournament in Heidenheim (GER), winning the final by 14-13 over Tibor Andrasfi (HUN); it’s Di Verolio’s first career World Cup gold. Japan defeated Israel for the team title.
Hungary’s Olympic bronzer Eszter Muhari won the Women’s Epee in Barcelona (ESP), with a 15-9 victory over 2022 World Champion Sera Song (KOR). It’s Muhari’s third career World Cup win. Italy beat China, 45-37, for the team gold.
At the Foil Grand Prix in Turin (ITA), home favorite Tomasso Marini – the 2024 World Champion – won his second career Grand Prix tournament with a 15-6 win over Czech Alexander Choupenitch, a Tokyo 2020 Olympic bronze medalist.
Martina Favoretto, the 2023 Worlds bronze winner, completed the Italian sweep of the wins with a 15-12 win in the final over Canada’s Eleanor Harvey, who won a 2024 Paris Olympic bronze.
● Freestyle Skiing ● Japan’s Ikuma Horishima, the double 2017 World Champion in men’s Moguls and Dual Moguls, finally stopped the four-race win streak of Canadian star Mikael Kingsbury at the FIS World Cup in Deer Valley, Utah.
Horishima won Thursday’s Moguls event at 86.24 points, ahead of Pavel Kolmakov (KAZ: 84.95) and two-time Worlds medalist Benjamin Cavet (FRA: 83.82). Saturday’s Dual Moguls saw Horishima get a second win, defeating Kingsbury in the gold-medal final, for his 20th career World Cup gold.
Olympic runner-up Jaelin Kauf of the U.S. got her first win of the season in the women’s Moguls (80.75), beating 2018 Olympic champ Perrine Laffont (FRA: 79.63) and Maia Schwinghammer (CAN: 75.22).
Kauf won again in the Dual Moguls final, again over Laffont, for her 12th career World Cup win, including eight in Dual Moguls. Olivia Giaccio won the all-American final from Tess Johnson for the bronze.
Aerials competition was held on Friday, with American Quinn Dehlinger getting his first win of the season (and second career win), scoring 122.57 points to 115.49 for Ukraine’s Dmytro Kotovskyi and 104.43 for 2021 Worlds runner-up Chris Lillis of the U.S.
Australia swept the women’s Aerials, with two-time World Champion Laura Peel winning her third straight World Cup event at 87.57 points, ahead of three-time Worlds medalist Danielle Scott (86.31) and Abbey Willcox (81.58). Tasia Tanner was the top U.S. placer, in sixth (20.01).
¶
At the Ski Cross World Cup in Val di Fassa (ITA), the men’s final was a re-run of the Beijing 2022 Olympic final, with Swiss Ryan Regez again defeating countryman Alex Fiva. It was more amazing as Regez suffered an anterior cruciate injury soon after his Olympic win and hadn’t won a World Cup medal since. Fiva, 39, also tore an ACL in 2022 and was out of action for months.
On Sunday, Canada’s Reece Howden got his second win of the season and second against 2023 World Champion Simone Deromedis (ITA), who nevertheless regained the seasonal lead.
The women’s Saturday race was the third straight win for Canadian star Marielle Thompson, the Sochi 2014 Olympic winner. She defeated France’s Marielle Berger Sabbatel in the final, who got her first World Cup medal of the season.
Sunday saw Italian Jole Galli, 29, got her first career World Cup win and third career medal in the final, beating Berger Sabbetel and 2013 World Champion Fanny Smith (SUI) to the line.
● Ice Hockey ● In the final two games of the annual Rivalry Series, the Canadian took the 2024-25 series by three games to two, splitting the matches in Halifax and Summerside.
On Thursday, the U.S. won by 2-1 in a shoot-out, after a 1-1 tie in regulation and an overtime period. Hilary Knight, Hannah Bilka and Kelly Pannek all scored in a 3-0 rout in the penalty-shot decider.
Canada came back with a 3-1 win on Saturday, with Jennifer Gardiner getting the key goal with 6:44 to play to give the home team the lead. The U.S. added an extra attacker and Canada’s Laura Stacey scored an empty-netter with 1:19 left for the final score.
● Luge ● The 53rd FIL World Championships were in Whistler (CAN), with Germany once again leading the way, winning 12 of the 21 medals on offer.
Max Langenhan repeated as men’s World Champion, in 1:39.922, ahead of teammate Felix Loch (1:40.057), who won his 22nd Worlds medal. Austrian Nico Gleirscher, the 2024 runner-up, was third (1:40.144). Jonny Gustafson was the top American, in eighth at 1:40.541, with Tucker West 12th in 1:40.899.
Hannes Orlamunder and Paul Gubitz won the men’s Doubles – their first Worlds gold – winning both runs, with a 1:16.538 total. Latvia’s Martins Bots and Roberts Plume, four-time European medalists, took second in 1:16.640 and three-time Olympic winners Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt claimed the bronze in 1:16.671. Marcus Mueller and Ansel Haugsjaa of the U.S. finished seventh in 1:16.856 and Zachary Di Gregorio and Sean Hollander took 10th (1:17.054).
Germany’s 2021 World Champion Julia Taubitz won her second women’s Singles title in 1:17.206, ahead of teammate Merle Fraebel (1:17.247). American Emily Sweeney, the 2019 women’s Singles bronze medalist, scored another bronze, leading after the first run and then third in the second run (1:17.249 total). Americans Ashley Farquharson and Summer Britcher finished sixth (1:17.353) and 10th (1:17.466).
Austrians Selina Egle and Lara Kipp repeated as World Doubles Champions, winning in 1:17.724, ahead of 2022-23 Worlds winners Jessica Degenhardt and Cheyenne Rosenthal (GER: 1:17.753). Fellow German Dajana Eitberger – with new partner Magdalena Matschina – took the bronze (1:17.784). Americans Chevonne Forgan and Sophia Kirkby was fifth (1:17.968).
In the non-Olympic Mixed Singles, Taubitz and Langenhan won in 1:22.354, with Americans Gustafson and Sweeney second (1:22.449). The Mixed Doubles went to Austria (1:22.894) with German teams going 2-3, and the U.S. (Di Gregorio-Hollander and Forgan-Kirkby: 1:23.059). Germany also won the Team Relay, ahead of Austria and Canada, with the U.S. (Sweeney-Mueller-Haugsjaa-Gustafson-Forgan-Kirkby) fourth.
● Nordic Combined ● The sixth of eight stops on the 2024-25 FIS World Cup tour was in Otepaa (EST), with five-time World Cup seasonal champ Jarl Magnus Riiber – who will retire at season’s end – getting his fifth win of the season in Friday’s 97 m jumping and 10 km Mass Start race with 137.0 points, ahead of former champ Johannes Lamparter (AUT: 126.9) and Germany’s Vinzenz Geiger (126.4).
Geiger notched his fifth win of the season on Saturday, winning the 10 km Gundersen race in 24:28.0, just edging Riiber (24:28.7), with Jens Oftebro (NOR) third in 24:38.9. Sunday’s Compact jumping and 7.5 km race saw Geiger win again, ahead of Riiber, 16:53.5 to 17:09.5, with Julian Schmid (GER) third in 17:19.5.
Japan’s twin sisters, Yuna Kasai and Haruka Kasai went 1-2 in the women’s 97 m jumping and 5 km Mass Start race on Friday, with 99.9 and 97.8 points, with German Jenny Nowak third (97.6). It was the first event this season without a Norwegian medal winner!
Norway’s Ida Marie Hagen, who won the first seven events of the season, got her eighth in the 97 m jumping and 5 km Gundersen race, in 13:50.5, with Haruka Kasai second (14:06.1) and Nathalie Armbruster (GER) in third at 14:44.1. American Alexa Brabec, 20, was ninth at 14:13.2.
On Sunday, Armbruster, the seasonal leader, won her third event of the season in 13:33.7 to 13:34.9 for Hagen and 13:50.9 for Haruka Kasai.
● Short Track ● The fifth of six ISU World Tour stops was in Tilburg (NED), with Canadian men’s skaters having won nine of the 12 individual races held so far. That continued with 2024 World 1,000 m Champion William Dandjinou winning the 1,500 m in 2:22.541, ahead of 2024 Worlds silver winner Jens van’T Wout (NED), second in 2:22.659. Beijing Olympic 500 m bronze winner Steven Dubois took the 500 m win, in 40.313, with teammate Jordan Pierre-Gilles second in 41.362.
On Sunday, the men’s 1,000 m went to van’T Wout in 1:25.045, with Latvia’s Roberts Kruzbergs a distant second in 1:34.623. The Dutch won the 5,000 m relay in 6:55.717.
Belgium’s 2021 Worlds silver winner Hanne Desmet won the women’s 1,000 m in 1:30.454, beating American Corinne Stoddard (1:30.454) and seasonal event leader Xandra Velzeboer (NED: 1:30.883). The Dutch won the 3,000 m relay in 4:11.508, with the U.S. (Julie Letai, Kristen Santos-Griswold, Louisiana Stahl and Stoddard) third in 4:12.463.
The women’s 500 m went to Canadian Florence Brunelle, the 2022 World Junior Champion, who finished in 43.141 to best Michelle Velzeboer (NED: 43.257; younger sister of Xandra) and American star Santos-Griswold (43.500), with Stoddard fifth (43.733).
Canada scored again in the 1,500 m, with 2021 Worlds runner-up Courtney Sarault winning in 2:27.388, beating Elisa Confortola (ITA: 2:27.406) and Americans Stoddard (2:27.525) and Santos-Griswold (2:27.565). Desmet won the race on the ice, but was disqualified for impeding another skater.
In the Mixed Relay, the Dutch won in 2:37.729, with the U.S. (Andrew Heo, Santos-Griswold, Sean Shuai, Stoddard) third in 2:51.378.
● Ski Jumping ● The FIS World Cup was back in Lake Placid, New York, jumping off the 128 m Mt. Van Hoevenberg, with Norway getting its first win of the season with 2018 Olympic silver medalist Johann Forfang winning with 259.5 points, to turn back Austria’s Jan Hoerl (256.6) and seasonal leader Daniel Tschofenig (255.0).
Tschofenig won his eighth tournament of the season on Sunday, coming from third to first in the second round, totaling 275.1 points. Hoerl was second again (269.1) with 2021 Worlds bronze winner Anze Lanisek (SLO: 262.3) scoring his first medal of the season.
The women’s competition was the first women’s World Cup ever held in North America, on which 19-year-old Slovenian star (and seasonal leader) Nika Prevc made an indelible impression. The Friday morning event was canceled midway due to high winds, but was re-run in its entirety in the evening, with Prevc winning 295.7 points, ahead of Eirin Kvandal (NOR: 283.6) and Alexandria Loutitt (CAN: 273.2).
Prevc was equally dominant on Saturday, taking her seventh win of the season with 272.1 points, with Germans Agnes Reisch (261.2) and Selina Freitag (254.7) going 2-3.
● Wrestling ● The U.S. women’s Freestyle squad won five golds at the Zagreb Open, the first United World Wrestling ranking event, and took the team title with 155 points to 96 for Hungary.
American wins came from 2019 World Champion Jacarra Winchester (57 kg), Adaugo Nwachukwu (62 kg), Olympic silver winner Kennedy Blades (68 kg), Skylar Grote (72 kg) and World U-23 Champion Yelena Makoyed (76 kg).
The U.S. won two bronze medals in the Greco-Roman tournament, from Ellis Coleman at 63 kg and Brady Koontz at 55 kg. Iran won the team title; the U.S. was 11th.
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