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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
1. Kipyegon 3:49.04, Mahuchikh 6-10 3/4 world records in Paris!
2. Paris 2024 identifies back-up open-water venue
3. Russia says all 10 wrestlers refuse Paris invites
4. WADA decries U.S. inquiry into Chinese swimmer doping
5. LAOOC star commissioner Jay Flood passes at 90
● Spectacular results at the Diamond League Meeting de Paris on Sunday at the Stade Charlety, with Kenyan star Faith Kipyegon breaking her own world record in the women’s 1,500 m at 3:49.04 and Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh raising a 37-year-old mark in the women’s high jump to 2.10 m (6-10 3/4)!
● Hedging their bets against possible bad weather and flooding into the Seine, Paris 2024 announced that if needed, the canoeing and rowing site could be used for the open-water competitions for men and women. However, if the triathlon swimming cannot be held, the events will be reduced to cycling and running only.
● The Russian wrestling national federation issued a statement that all 10 invitees to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games have refused to go, despite nine previously indicating to the International Olympic Committee that they would go. As of now, 11 Russians have accepted invitations as “neutrals,” mostly in tennis.
● The World Anti-Doping Agency issued an unhappy statement reacting to new inquiries by the U.S. Justice Department about the 2021 Chinese doping incident involving 23 swimmers, saying it serves only to “validate the concerns” over the impact of the Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act of 2019.
● Sad news of the passing of architect Jay Flood, 90, one of the key managers in the success of the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, who served as the Commissioner for Aquatics and introduced new concepts to swimming management at the Games.
● Panorama: U.S. Olympic Trials (top U.S. city for viewing interest: New Orleans!) = Artistic Swimming (U.S. sweeps team events at World Cup Super Final) = Badminton (Denmark and Japan win two each at Canada Open) = Basketball (2: Spain, Brazil, Greece, Puerto Rico on to Paris in men’ qualifiers; U.S. crushes all at FIBA U-17 World Cup) = Beach Volleyball (U.S.’s Nuss and Kloth take Elite 16 title in Gstaad) = Cycling (3: Austria’s Drege dies in crash at Tour of Austria; Pogacar maintains lead at Tour de France; Hatherly sweeps Mountain Bike racing at Lets Gets) = Football (2: Argentina-Canada, Colombia-Uruguay set as Copa America semis; Spain-France and Netherlands-England in Euro 2024 semis) = Gymnastics (Tokyo champ Litvinovich wins Trampoline World Cup finale) = Table Tennis (Wang wins two, misses triple at U.S. Nationals) = Water Polo (U.S. women slam Hungary in first of two tune-up friendlies) ●
1.
Kipyegon 3:49.04, Mahuchikh 6-10 3/4 world records in Paris!
The level of brilliance in track & field has perhaps never been higher, with record performances everywhere, all the time … all in anticipation of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
In Paris, but at the Stade Charlety – not the Stade de France, where the Olympic competitions will be held – the Diamond League Meeting de Paris featured two world records, nearly a third and world-leading performances in four events:
● Men/800 m: 1:41.56, Djamel Sedjati (ALG)
● Men/3,000 m: 7:28.83, Jacob Krop (KEN)
● Women/1,500 m: 3:49.04, Faith Kipyegon (KEN) ~ World Record
● Women/High Jump: 2.10 m (6-10 3/4), Yaroslava Mahuchikh (UKR) ~ World Record
At 22, Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh was already the 2022 World Indoor Champion, the 2023 World Champion and a four-time European champ, but she had her greatest day on Sunday. No. 2 in the world in 2024 outdoors at 2.01 m (6-7)
Only three remained at 1.98 m (6-6), with Mahuchikh over on her first try, with Olympic silver winner and World Indoor champ Nicola Olyslagers (AUS) and Serbia’s European silver winner Angelina Topic. Makuchikh and Olyslagers made 2.01 m (6-7) and then Mahuchikh cleared 2.03 m (6-8), while Olyslagers missed three times.
All on her own now, the Ukrainian went to 2.07 m (6-9 1/2), which would move her to no. 5 all-time. She missed once but had excellent speed and made it on her second. On to 2.10 m (6-10 3/4) and a try at the 1987 world record of Stefka Konstadinova (BUL).
Her speed was even better and with a sharp turn to the bar, Mahuchikh cleared with superior hip height and just grazed the bar on the way down, which, despite a wobble, stayed solidly on the pegs for a first-time clearance and a new world record after 37 years!
She thought she might be on to something on Saturday, visualizing a clearance at 2.07 m (6-9 1/2) and jumping at a world record 2.10 m; she said afterwards of the record jump, “It was ‘wow.’ It was fantastic.” She now owns the world record and her 2.07 m clearance is also the equal-sixth performance ever.
The final event of the day was the women’s 1,500 m, with the race set for another world-record attempt for Kenya’s two-time Olympic 1,500 m champ Faith Kipyegon. It was as fast as planned, with the pacesetters letting go after a blistering 2:03.82 first 800 m.
Then Kipyegon took over, with only Australia’s Tokyo Olympian Jessica Hull for company. And Hull stayed with the Kenyan through the bell in 2:49, with the rest of the field 50 m behind. Kipyegon finally shook Hull with 200 m to go and it was a race against the clock. Kipyegon never broke stride, powered through the finish and got her fourth individual world record at 3:49.04, slashing her 3:49.11 mark from Florence (ITA) in 2023.
The Kenyan star, 30, ran her last 800 m in 2:00.4, her last 400 m in 59.3 and the final 200 m in 30.1. She now owns six of the top 11 times in history and is the favorite for a third straight 1,500 m gold in Paris.
Meanwhile, Hull, 27, the 2018 NCAA champ for Oregon, hung in on the final lap and finished in a national record 3:50.83, now no. 5 in history! The top eight got lifetime bests and Tokyo silver winner Laura Muir (GBR) won the fight for third in a national record 3:53.79, no. 13 all-time.
The men’s 800 was set up to be fast, with the pacing aimed at the world-leading 1:41.70 by Emmanuel Wanyonyi (KEN). But the first 400 was completed in 48.79 (!) with Wanyonyi taking over on the backstraight, ahead of fellow Kenyan Wyclife Kinyamal. But as he has done before on the Diamond League circuit this season, Algeria’s 2022 Worlds silver winner Djamel Sedjati pulled up close with 200 m to go and was chasing Wanyonyi around the turn.
He took the lead coming into the straight, but Wanyonyi did not give in and kept coming back, but with limited space on the inside. Coming on Sedjati’s outside was France’s Gabriel Tual and the three ran almost together to the line, with Sedjati grabbing the world lead moving to no. 3 on the all-time performer list at 1:41.56!
Wanyonyi couldn’t get through on the inside and had to settle for second at 1:41.58 (no. 4 all-time), then Tual with a national record of 1:41.61 (no. 5)! Kenyans Aaron Chemningwa and Kinyamal were 4-5 at 1:42.08 for both (no. 10 all-time) and Eliott Crestan (BEL) sixth at 1:42.43. The top eight all got lifetime bests, with four national records; it’s the first race ever with three men under 1:42!
The men’s 3,000 m saw Australia’s Stewart McSweyn break away with Kenya’s two-time Worlds 5,000 m medal winner Jacob Krop, and then Krop took over from McSweyn at the bell. He had plenty in the tank and won in 7:28.83, a lifetime best and the outdoor world leader in 2024. McSweyn was second in 7:29.46, with Americans Sean McGorty (3rd: 7:35.63), Thomas Ratcliffe (5th: 7:37.92) and Matthew Wilkinson (7th: 7:38.18) all getting lifetime bests.
The men’s Steeple was also fast, with Kenya’s 2021 World Junior Champion Amos Serem and Abraham Kibiwot breaking away with Ethiopia’s Abrham Sime – an 8:10.56 man from 2023 – in third with 2 1/2 laps to go. They stayed that way to the bell, with Serem leading, but Sime broke free on the backstraight and took the lead, holding on through a shaky water jump.
He led into the straight, but Serem came hard after the final barrier and they crossed together. Sime was given the win on a strong lean at the line in a lifetime best of 8:02.36, with Serem in the same time, also a lifetime best, and both now no. 2 in the world this season. Kibiwot was third (8:06.70), followed by national records for Mohamed Jhinaoui (TUN: 8:09.41), Geordie Beamish (NZL: 8:09.64) and Avinash Sand (IND: 8:09.91). American Anthony Rotich was 11th in 8:14.22.
Dominican Alexander Ogando, a two-time Worlds finalist, took the lead off the turn in the men’s 200 m and ran away to win in a seasonal best of 19.98 (wind: -0.4 m/s), with Uganda’s Tarsis Orogot – wearing his Alabama jersey – a distant second in 20.18.
The men’s 110 m hurdles had 2022 Worlds silver medalist Trey Cunningham of the U.S. moving well from the start, but Japan’s Shunsuke Izumiya – fifth at the 2023 Worlds – came on to lead in mid-race, along with Dylan Beard of the U.S. But Cunningham was moving better as was French champ Sasha Zhoya out in lane eight, and on the run-in, Cunningham and Zhoya came to the line together with Zhoya given the win in 13.15 for both (-0.6). Izumiya was third in 13.16 and Beard was fifth in 13.21.
Brazil’s 2022 World Champion, Alison dos Santos, had no trouble in the men’s 400 m hurdles, taking the lead after two hurdles and cruising to a 47.78 victory, ahead of Rasmus Magi (EST), who got a seasonal best of 47.95.
The men’s vault had Sweden’s world-record man Mondo Duplantis jumping and he and two-time World Champion Sam Kendricks of the U.S. were clear of the field at 5.95 m (19-6 1/4). Duplantis made 6.00 m (19-8 1/4) and Kendricks missed, so Duplantis moved right away to a world-record 6.25 m (20-6), his fifth meet with a try at that height (0-12).
The wind wasn’t right, so Duplantis took a miss as the time ran out on his first try. He missed his second and third tries and will aim for another record another day.
American Record holder KC Lightfoot tied for seventh in 5.75 m (18-10 1/2) and Olympic silver winner Chris Nilsen did not clear a height.
In the non-Diamond League men’s hammer, Poland took 1-2 with five-time World Champion Pawel Fajdek at 77.13 m (253-0) and Olympic champ Wojciech Nowicki (75.17 m/246-7). Germany’s Julian Weber, the 2022 European champ, got the win in the javelin with his fifth-round throw in 85.91 m (281-10). Grenada’s two-time World Champion Anderson Peters got second at 85.19 m (279-6) with Olympic silver winner Jakub Vadlejch (CZE) getting third in 85.04 m (279-0).
Poland’s super-starter Ewa Swoboda got out best in the women’s 100 m, but Gambia’s Gina Bass Bittaye had the lead in lane two by 60 m. But on the outside, it was Patrizia van der Weken (LUX) who finished best and won in 11.06 into a 2.0 m/s headwind. Bass Bittaye was second in 11.09, with Swoboda at 11.16; American Tamara Clark was fifth in 11.32.
Reigning World Champion Marileidy Paulino (DOM) was the focus of the women’s 400 m, but 2019 World Champion Salwa Eid Naser (BRN) moved best in the first 200. Paulino came on along the turn to get the lead and moved smoothly through the straight to win in a seasonal best of 49.20. Poland’s European champ Natalia Kaczmarek passed Naser for second as both timed 49.82, with American Alexis Holmes fourth in 50.02.
Kenyans Jackline Chepkoech, world-record holder Beatrice Chepkoech and Bahrain’s 2023 World Champion Winfred Yavi broke away on the first lap of the women’s Steeple and had a strong lead. Beatrice Chepkoch and Yavi moved away with 4 1/2 laps left, but were finally caught by European champ Alice Finot (FRA) and Elizabeth Bird (GBR) with 2 1/2 laps to go. Yavi had the lead over Finot and Bird as Chepkoech fell back and at the bell, Yavi led by 8 m on the backstraight and cruised home in 9:03.68, with Finot and Bird 2-3 in 9:05.01 (national record) and 9:09.07.
American Olivia Markezich, the 2023 NCAA champ for Notre Dame, moved up smartly and finished fourth in a lifetime best of 9:14.67.
European runner-up Larissa Iapichino (ITA) owned the long jump after her third-round 6.82 m (22-4 1/2), , ahead of 2022 World Junior champ Plamena Mitkova (BUL), who reached 6.78 mw (22-3w) and Quanesha Burks of the U.S. (6.73 m/22-1).
American star Valarie Allman, the Tokyo Olympic champ, continued her hot streak in the women’s discus, leading from round one and getting her best throw on her last try at 68.07 m (223-4). Dutch star Jorinke van Klinken, the European Champs silver winner, was the only one close, getting a seasonal best of 67.23 m (220-7) on her fifth throw.
World leader Brooke Andersen, who fouled out at the U.S. Trials, won the women’s hammer at 73.27 m (240-4), with fellow American Janee Kassanavoid – who also did not make the Paris team – third in 69.66 m (228-6).
Two more Diamond League meets before the Olympic break: in Monaco on the 12th and London on the 20th.
¶
The women’s shot turned out to be the headline at the annual FBK Games in Hengelo (NED), as home favorite and European champ Jessica Schilder got a mammoth personal best in the final round to win at 20.33 m (66-8 1/2).
She moved to no. 2 on the 2024 world list, ahead of World Champion Chase Jackson of the U.S., second at 20.07 m (65-10 1/4), with Tokyo Olympic champ Lijiao Gong of China getting a season’s best of 20.00 m (65-7 1/2) for third.
Kenyan Ferdinand Omanyala, no. 2 on the world list for 2024, won the 100 m in 10.01 (wind: +0.8 m/s) ahead of Ronnie Baker of the U.S. (10.03), Tokyo Olympic 200 m champ Andre De Grasse (CAN: 10.07) and American Brandon Hicklin (10.16).
Dutch star Niels Laros, the 2023 European Junior champ, set a world under-20 record for the men’s 1,000 m, winning in 2:14.37 from Peter Sisk (BEL: 2:15.52). Ethiopia’s Telahun Haile Bekele won the men’s 5,000 m at 13:01.12, just ahead of Nicholas Kipkorir (KEN: 13:02.25).
Discus world-record holder Mykolas Alekna (LTU) used his first throw to win at 69.07 m (226-7), well ahead of Commonwealth Games champ Matthew Denny (AUS), who reached 68.17 m (223-8) on his third throw.
Celera Barnes of the U.S. won the women’s 100 m at 11.19 (+0.6), and Dutch superstar Femke Bol won the 400 m in a seasonal best of 50.02, now no. 13 on the 2024 world list. World 800 m leader Keely Hodgkinson (GBR) impressed by winning the 800 m in 1:57.36, ahead of world no. 3 Prudence Sekgodiso (RSA: 1:58.75).
Melissa Courtney-Bryant (GBR) won the featured women’s 1,500 over Danielle Jones of the U.S., 4:03.58 to 4:03.78. Olympic 5,000 and 10,000 m gold medalist Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands was overtaken on the home straight and finished fifth in 4:04.83.
Olympic 100 m hurdles champ Jasmine Camacho-Quinn (PUR) got a season’s best to win the 100 m hurdles in 12.39 (+1.6) from Dutch favorite and Olympic fifth–placer Nadine Visser (12.46). Gabriela Leon of the U.S. won the women’s vault at 4.62 m (15-1 3/4), with Emily Grove third at 4.42 m (14-6).
2.
Paris 2024 identifies back-up open-water venue
On Friday, the Paris 2024 organizers said that a back-up site for open-water swimming has been identified in case of pollution levels in the Seine being too high. A Paris 2024 spokesperson explained to Reuters:
“The rules of World Triathlon allow, as a final resort, for the competition to be held in a duathlon format. On the other hand, in order to guarantee that marathon swimming events could still be held if all other contingency plans were exhausted, we have initiated a fallback plan based on the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium.
“The competition site, already used for rowing and canoeing events, has all the necessary features to host these events if required.”
Pollution levels in the Seine have improved with sunnier weather, but heavy rains could raise pollutant results once again beyond safety limits established by World Aquatics and World Triathlon.
The triathlon events are scheduled for 30-31 July and 5 August, with the 10 km open-water events slated for 8-9 August. The rowing competitions are slated for 27 July to 3 August and the canoe sprint events for 6-10 August.
3.
Russia says all 10 wrestlers refuse Paris invites
On Friday, the International Olympic Committee released its fourth list of invited Russian and Belarusian “neutral” athletes for Paris 2024, including nine Russian wrestlers who had accepted the invitation to compete.
On Saturday, the Russian news agency TASS posted this:
“All Russian wrestlers, who received invitations from the International Olympic Committee to compete at the Paris Games, rejected them, a source in the Russian Wrestling Federation told TASS.”
This was later confirmed by the federation:
“The decision was made by the organization’s executive committee, the coaching staff of the teams and the athletes who received individual invitations from the IOC. The FSBR Executive Committee held an extended meeting with the coaching staff of the Russian national teams in freestyle, women’s and Greco-Roman wrestling and with the athletes who received invitations to the Olympic Games.”
Complained Russian federation head Mikhail Mamiashvili:
“The IOC’s unfounded dictate has led to this organization starting to determine the composition of athletes, this is too much.
“But we have gone this way to the end, consciously passed all the approvals, all the filters. This is not the Olympics, but a caricature of an event called the ‘Olympic Games.’ What kind of rhythmic gymnastics is there without Irina Viner‘s team, what kind of synchronized swimming is there without Tatyana Pokrovskaya‘s students? This is not the Olympics, this is a parody of competitions.
“Where the IOC was able to order the international federations, it ordered them. Where it was able to intimidate, it intimidated them; the ardent Russophobes wrote off the federations, rubbing their hands. It is clear that they did not go into direct conflict with the IOC, but many did not succumb to the situation due to many reasons, including personal qualities, understanding of their responsibility. But the IOC dealt with these federations too: it itself determined the composition of the participants, crossing out all conceivable and inconceivable principles.”
Thanks to a fairly liberal inclusion policy by United World Wrestling, 16 Russian wrestlers had qualified for the 2024 Olympic Games via the federation’s process. But of these, 10 were approved by the IOC’s Individual Neutral Athlete Eligibility Review Panel, with several stars left home.
Said Dmitry Svishchev, Chair of the Russian State Duma Committee on Physical Culture and Sports:
“We respect their position. As the President said, we understand those who will go. And we respect the decision of those who decided not to go. The federation made such a consolidated decision, which is respected by all of us.
“For incomprehensible and far-fetched reasons, the main leaders of the wrestling team were eliminated. And this happened not only with the wrestlers, the IOC applied discriminatory measures during the inspection, which, unfortunately, were expected.”
With the withdrawals, the “neutrals” box score for Paris:
● 78 qualifying places total across 12 sports
● 51 invitations: 29 Russians and 22 Belarusians
● 24 acceptances so far: 11 Russians and 13 Belarusians
The entry deadline for Paris 2024 is Monday, 8 July.
4.
WADA decries U.S. inquiry into Chinese swimmer doping
Following the confirmation by World Aquatics that Executive Director Brent Nowicki (USA) has been asked to meet with U.S. government investigators concerning the federation’s agreement not to inquire further or ask for sanctions against 23 Chinese swimmers who tested positive for trimetazidine – a banned drug – in January 2021, the World Anti-Doping Agency renewed its criticism of the long arm of U.S. law enforcement:
“The public reports about this investigation validate the concerns expressed broadly by the international community about the passage of the Rodchenkov Act, under which the United States purports to exercise extraterritorial criminal jurisdiction over participants in the global anti-doping system.
“WADA reviewed the Chinese swimmer case file diligently, consulted with scientific and legal experts, and ultimately determined that it was in no position to challenge the contamination scenario, such that an appeal was not warranted. Guided by science and expert consultations, we stand by that good-faith determination in the face of the incomplete and misleading news reports on which this investigation appears to be based.”
The WADA statement also noted:
“At this time, WADA has not received any contact or request from U.S. law enforcement.”
¶
WADA also announced that it has removed Angola from the list of non-compliant countries, leaving Russia was the only one on the non-compliance list among National Olympic Committees. That means no sanctions on any NOCs – except Russia, of course – at the Olympic Games in Paris.
5.
LAOOC star commissioner Jay Flood passes at 90
Sad news that Jay Flood, a gifted architect who made an enormous contribution to the success of the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, passed away at age 90 on 4 July. He had been in weakened health for some time.
Flood knew Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee President Peter Ueberroth from their water polo days in college and afterwards as national champion post-collegians with the Olympic Club in San Francisco, and Ueberroth made Flood one of his first “commissioners,” in charge of a single sport.
In Flood’s case, it was aquatics – based on his background – which was actually four sports: swimming, diving, water polo and the new Olympic discipline of synchronized swimming (now artistic swimming). Although the LAOOC did very few test events, the first was a water polo tournament at the Olympic site at Pepperdine University in Malibu, which ran efficiently and was well attended.
A key event in the development of the LAOOC’s operations was the test event at the newly-built McDonald’s Olympic Swim Stadium at USC in July 1983, which was a test not only of the new, outdoor pool, but a trial of the “Festive Federalism” design concept for which the 1984 Games became famous. With Flood – an architect – as the coordinator, the event went smoothly and multiple systems passed early-on tests. As for the pool, heavily criticized in advance by Soviet athletes and officials because it was an open-air venue, it turned out to be of Olympic caliber after the first final, in which Soviet distance star Vladimir Salnikov set a world record in the men’s 800 m Freestyle. He had nothing bad to say about the pool to reporters in the mixed zone afterwards.
Flood also introduced a new concept of temporary pools. For the first time, a temporary pool was installed instead of building a permanent warm-up and warm-down facility. The criticism was intense, but melted as Flood designed the pool with ramps between the lanes so that coaches could walk side-by-side with their swimmers. They loved it. And now they are everywhere.
The aquatics test events also included diving and synchro and were similarly well organized and successful, helping the LAOOC’s reputation in advance of the Games, and demonstrating to the organizing committee multiple functional areas which worked and some which didn’t. Flood was widely considered one of the best commissioners at the LAOOC, and a model for how other sports could succeed. All four of his Olympic disciplines succeeded brilliantly in 1984.
Flood was a highly-respected architect, who received notice for his work the Janss Corporation as a senior planner and architect in Los Angeles, Aspen, Colorado and Sun Valley, Idaho, especially known for his work on ski resorts. He opened his own architectural firm in 1967 in Santa Monica, California, which built housing and sports facilities of many kinds.
And he stayed involved in the Olympic Movement, contributing to the U.S. Olympic Committee on its long-range planning and with U.S. Swimming, helping with its facility and organizational management. He retired to Laguna Beach, California in 2013.
It was easy to see why Flood was successful. Beyond his brilliant architectural skills, he was pragmatic, a consensus builder and always kept a project’s ultimate goals in mind. He had an easygoing, friendly manner that instantly made new friends and even when he convinced a client to change their mind, it was as if they had been moved by no more than a feather.
Friends prized his iconic drawings of buildings, people and places that he created on his many travels around the world, and that he sent as mementos, especially at the holidays.
≡ PANORAMA ≡
● U.S. Olympic Trials ● Fascinating data from NBC on the television markets which had the highest interest in the diving, swimming, track and gymnastics trials aired from 14-30 June:
● 1. New Orleans, LA: 4.2 household rating
● 2. Indianapolis, IN: 4.1
● 3. tie, Dayton, OH and Ft. Myers, FL: 3.8
● 5. Tulsa, OK: 3.7
● 6. tie, Oklahoma City, OK and Norfolk, VA: 3.6
● 8. Pittsburgh, PA: 3.2
● 9. tie, Minneapolis, MN and Detroit, 3.1
A Household Rating point represents 1% of all homes with a television in a specific market. So, for New Orleans, the U.S. Trials primetime broadcasts on NBC and Peacock were viewed, on average, on 4.2% of all homes in those markets.
In terms of the Trials being seen as a share of those homes in which the TV (or computer) was on, Indianapolis was the leader among the top-20 markets at 14%, trailed by Austin, TX (13%), and Norfolk at 12%.
In terms of market size, NBC released the top 22 media markets by rating, with Detroit at Minneapolis-St. Paul at nos. 14 and 15 the largest.
● Artistic Swimming ● Spain and the U.S. were big winners at the World Aquatics World Cup Super Final in Budapest (HUN), with the American women sweeping the team events.
In the women’s Solo Technical, 2024 Worlds bronze winner Huiyan Xu (CHN), 18, won at 244.9300, ahead of Klara Beyer (GER: 243.0017), but Beyer returned to win the Solo Free by 246.7417 to 242.7250 over Xu.
Ukraine’s Maryna Aleksiva and Vladyslava Aleksiva took the Duet Technical title at 260.2700, comfortably ahead of Yanyan Lin and Yanjun Lin (CHN: 252.1533) and Israel’s Shelly Bobritsky and Ariel Nassee (247.5649). Canada’s Audrey Lamothe and Jacqueline Simoneau won the Duet Free final, scoring 272.6457 to defeat Bobritsky and Nassee (243.9042) and Lin and Lin (239.1897).
Worlds Solo Free winner Dennis Gonzalez took the Men’s Solo Technical event (214.1050) over American Kenneth Gaudet (207.0300); Gustavo Sanchez (COL: 194.0543) won the Solo Technical win over Viktor Druzin (KAZ: 190.1584) and Gaudet (169.9209).
Gonzalez teamed with Mireia Hernandez to win the Mixed Technical routine for Spain (227.9000) and Gonzalez took a third title, this time with Emma Garcia in the Mixed Free final (213.2250).
The American team won Worlds bronzes in Doha in February in the Acrobatic Routine and Free Routine and won both. In the Team Acrobatic, they out-pointed Canada by 229.0367 to 194.4867, and in the Team Free, defeated Mexico, 346.6104 to 335.6398. The U.S. also took the Team Technical title over Mexico, 285.1667 to 281.5500.
● Badminton ● At the BWF World Tour’s Canada Open in Calgary, Denmark and Japan both came away with two wins.
Sunday’s finals started with an all-Dane final in the Mixed Doubles as Jesper Todt and Amalie Magelund defeated Mathias Christiansen and Alexandra Boje, 9-21, 24-22, 21-12. Kim Astrup and Anders Rasmussen (DEN) won the men’s Doubles, over Ben Lane and Sean Vendy (ENG), 18-21, 21-14, 21-11.
In the women’s Singles, however, Busanan Ongbamrungphan (THA) defeated Line Kjaersfeldt (DEN), 21-16, 21-14.
Japan got its first win of the day in the women’s Doubles, by Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi, over Yin-Hui Hsu and Jhih Yun Lin (TPE), 21-13, 21-13, and Koki Watanabe won the men’s Singles by 20-22, 21-17, 21-7 against Alex Lanier (FRA).
● Basketball ● FIBA held four Olympic Qualifying Tournaments last week to complete the field for the men’s Olympic tournament, in Spain, Latvia, Greece and Puerto Rico.
In Valencia, Spain, the host country managed an 86-78 win over the Bahamas to qualify for Paris, with a decisive 25-17 second quarter, and 18 points from former North Carolina State star Lorenzo Brown.
In Riga, Latvia, Brazil punched its ticket by crushing the home team, 94-69 in the final, leading 34-11 at the quarter (ending with a 19-0 run), 49-33 at half and 72-46 at the end of three. Bruno Cabocio led the winners with 21.
At Piraeus, Greece, NBA stars led Greece (Giannis Antetokounmpo), Serbia (Luka Doncic) and Croatia (Ivica Zubac), but the home team was the strongest. They dispatched Serbia in the semis, despite 21 points from Doncic and then Antetokounmpo scored 23 in the final as Greece outran Croatia, 80-69. Zubac had 19 for Croatia, but the Greeks had a 44-31 edge in the second and third quarters that was the difference.
In San Juan (PUR), the home team and Lithuania met in the final, with Puerto Rico taking charge in the second and third quarters for a 79-68 victory. Jose Alvarado of the New Orleans Pelicans of the NBA led Puerto Rico and all scorers with 23 points. It will be the first Olympic appearance for Puerto Rico since 2004.
¶
The U.S. men continued their streak having won every edition of the FIBA men’s U-17 World Cup by going undefeated in Istanbul (TUR) and winning the final by 129-88 over Italy for its seventh straight triumph.
Forwards Koa Peat and Cameron Boozer led the U.S. attack in the final with 26 and 24 points, respectively, as the Americans had five scorers in double figures and Boozer added 13 rebounds.
The whole tournament was never close. The U.S. won their group games by 104-81, 124-49 and 146-62, and its playoff contests by 141-45, 111-60, 145-65 and 129-88. Wow.
● Beach Volleyball ● At the Beach Pro Tour Elite 16 in Gstaad (SUI), American stars Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth – ranked no. 2 worldwide – took their second title of the season, winning an all-American final from Terese Cannon and Megan Kraft, 19-21, 21-15, 15-11. It was the first all-U.S. final in a Beach Pro Tour Challenge or Elite 16-level tournament since March 2023.
Latvia’s Tina Graudina and Anastasija Samoilova took the bronze medal by defeating Agatha Bednarczyk and Rebecca Cavalcante (BRA), 21-16, 21-10.
The top-ranked and red-hot Swedish pair of David Ahman and Jonatan Helvig (SWE) won their fourth Elite 16 tournament out of five held this season with a 21-18, 21-18 victory over no. 2-ranked George Wanderly and Andre Loyola Stein (BRA).
Olympic and World Champions Anders Mol and Christian Sorum (NOR) won a marathon test for the bronze over Samuele Cottafava and Paolo Nicolai (ITA), 20-22, 22-20, 28-26!
● Cycling ● Austrian rider Andre Drege, 25, died on Saturday after being badly injured during a crash on a descent during the fourth of five stages of the Tour of Austria.
Road cycling deaths are not common, but they do occur. Swiss rider Gino Maeder, 26, died last year during the Tour de Suisse, when he crashed into a ravine, also on a major downhill.
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Two-time winner Tadej Pogacar (SLO) finished second in Friday’s Individual Time Trial at the 111th Tour de France, trimming his lead against winner Remco Evenepoel (BEL) to 33 seconds, but extending to 1:15 over two-time defending champ Jonas Vingegaard (DEN).
Evenepoel timed 28:52 over the 25.3 km course to 29:04 for Pogacar, and 29:26 for Primoz Roglic (SLO), with Vingegaard fourth (+0:37).
Saturday’s stage 8 was a sprinter’s special, a moderately hilly, 183.4 km ride to Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises. Eritrea’s Biniam Girmay – who won stage 3 and almost won stage 6 – got to the line first in 4:04:50, ahead of Jasper Philipsen (BEL) and Arnaud de Lie (BEL), as the first 112 riders were given the same time.
Sunday was another hilly stage, in and around Troyes over 199 km, with France’s Anthony Turgis winning his first career Tour stage by out-sprinting five others to the line in 4:19:43, ahead of Tokyo Olympic Mountain Bike gold medalist Tom Pidcock (GBR)! Derek Gee (CAN) was third, as the main contenders were in the pack that finished 1:46 later.
Monday is the first rest day.
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Two-time Olympian Alan Hatherly (RSA) swept the men’s events at the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup XCC-XCO in Les Gets (FRA), first winning the Short Track final in a close battle on the final lap in 21:28 to 21:32 for Charlie Aldridge (GBR) and 21:33 for Sam Gaze (NZL).
In Sunday’s Cross Country Olympic race, Hatherly got his first win of the season, in 1:23:14, well ahead of Swiss Olympic silver winner Mathias Flueckiger (1:24:45) and Dane Simon Andreassen (1:25:16).
In the women’s Short Track, Swiss Alessandra Keller won on the final lap, ahead of Puck Pieterse (NED) by 19:50 to 19:53, with Rebecca Henderson (AUS: 19:55) in third. American Gwen Gibson was fifth in 20:16 and Savilla Blunk was seventh (20:17).
Pieterse got the win – her third medal in a row this season – in the Cross Country Olympic race, finishing in 1:29:12, more than 2 1/2 minutes up on Candice Lill (RSA: 1:31:49) and Keller (1:32:19); Blunck was seventh in 1:34:34.
France’s 2019 Worlds bronzer Amaury Pierson won the men’s Downhill in 3:43.976, a few seconds up on Andreas Kolb (AUT: 3:50.474) and four-time World Champion Greg Minnaar (RSA: 3:50.687). Italy’s Eleonora Farina won the women’s race over Mille Johnset (NOR), 4:19.168 to 4:25.936, with three-time Worlds medalist Tahnee Seagrave (GBR) third in 4:39.833.
● Football ● The semifinalists in the 48th Copa America, being played in the U.S. for the second time are set, with defending champion Argentina meeting Canada on Tuesday in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and Colombia facing Uruguay in Charlotte, New Jersey on Wednesday.
After Argentina’s win on penalties (4-2) over Ecuador last Thursday, Friday’s Canada-Venezuela game also went to penalty kicks after a 1-1 tie in regulation. Canada scored in the 13th minute on a Jacob Shaffelburg goal, but not again until penalties. At 3-3 through the first five, Wilker Angel’s try was saved by Canada’s Maxime Crepeau and Canadian midfielder Ismael Kone converted for the 4-3 victory.
Saturday’s quarters started with a 5-0 rout by Colombia over Panama, with striker Jhon Cordoba scoring in the eighth minute, followed by a penalty by forward James Rodriguez in the 15th and forward Luis Diaz in the 41st for the 3-0 halftime lead.
Richard Rios scored in the 70th and a penalty conversion at 90+4 by Miguel Borja concluded the proceedings. Panama had a 14-7 shots edge, but it did not matter.
The nightcap between Brazil and Uruguay was the brawl that everyone expected, with the Uruguayans playing a high line on defense and fouling repeatedly. Neither side got a real chance in the first half and in the 71st, defender Nahitan Nandez was red-carded for a straight-leg foul and Uruguay had to play with 10. It was the 24th foul of the match by Uruguay, to 12 for Brazil.
Still, Brazil could not find the goal and the game went to penalties; the Brazilians had 60% of possession, Uruguay had a 12-7 shots edge and committed 26 fouls to 15 for Brazil.
In the penalty shoot-out, Uruguay’s Sergio Rochet saved the first Brazilian penalty and another hit the left post. Finally, Uruguayan midfielder Manuel Ugarte converted for the 4-2 clincher and the end of a highly unentertaining game.
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Penalties decided two of the four quarterfinals at UEFA Euro 2024, with the semifinals set with Spain and France on Tuesday and the Netherlands and England on Wednesday.
On Friday, Portugal and France played to a 0-0 tie after extra time – with France leading, 35-20, on shots – and went to penalties, with the French making all five of theirs and after a save by France’s Mike Maignan on substitute forward Joao Felix on the third penalty, France moved on, 5-3.
On Saturday, England and Switzerland were scoreless through most of the game, then a sudden goal by striker Breel Embolo for the Swiss in the 70th was matched by midfielder Bukayo Saka’s seeing-eye liner from the right side in the 75th. But after 120 minutes, it was still level, with possession about equal and England getting 13 shots to 11 for the Swiss.
After Cole Palmer converted for England on the first penalty, English keeper Jordan Pickford saved Manuel Akanjio’s try for 1-0 lead. That proved to be enough as the English made their next four and won, 5-3.
In Berlin, 70,091 saw Turkey and the Netherlands, a tight defensive battle. But the Turks broke through in the 35th when, off a corner, midfielder Arda Guler sent a cross to the far post from the right side for a header by defender Samet Akaydin and a 1-0 lead.
The Dutch had possession and the edge on shots, but Turkey kept getting the chances. Then, in the 70th, a cross from striker Memphis Depay found defender Stephen de Vrij for a header that found the net and a 1-1 tie.
Another penalty shoot-out? Suddenly, the Dutch had the energy and five minutes later, a cross from defender Denzel Dumfries found striker Cody Gakpo at the far side of the Turkish goal and he rolled with defender Mert Muldur to the ground and the ball rolled in for a 2-1 lead. The score was eventually ruled an own-goal as Muldur touched it last.
The stat line showed the Dutch with 60% possession but Turkey had 15 shots to 11 for the Netherlands, and every chance to win the game. It was that close.
● Gymnastics ● At the season finale of the FIG Trampoline World Cup series in Coimbra (POR), defending Olympic men’s champion Ivan Litvinovich (BLR) was a clear winner, scoring 62.720 in the final, ahead of China’s Weijian Fu (60.300) and France’s five-time Worlds medal winner Pierre Gouzou (59.390).
In the Synchro final, 2023 World Team gold medalists Julian Chartier and Allan Morante (FRA) won with 52.110 points, with American Worlds silver winners Ruben Padilla and Aliaksei Shostak second (50.960) and Japan’s Ryosuke Sakai and Hiroto Unno third (50.800).
China’s Qianqi Lin took the women’s individual title at 56.19, trailed by Anzhela Bladtceva (BLR: 55.53) and Canada’s Stephanie Methot (55.51). Yunzhu Cao and Xinxin Zhang of China won the Synchro gold, scoring 48.990, over Momo Sawada and Saki Tanaka (JPN: 47.710) and Maia Amano and Leah Garafalo of the U.S. (46.480).
● Table Tennis ● Two-time U.S. women’s Singles winner Amy Wang fell just short in her quest to win three titles for a second straight year at the USA Table Tennis National Championships in Huntsville, Alabama.
To start, Wang and Rachel Sung took the women’s Doubles title – their third straight – by sweeping Tiffany Ke and Jessica Reyes-Lai, 11-8, 11-5 and 11-7.
Wang and Andrew Cao, the top seeds, took the Mixed Doubles title over Sid Naresh and Ke in a see-saw battle, 11-4, 11-4, 2-11, 8-11 and 11-5. For Wang, this was her second straight Mixed title, last year with Nikhil Kumar.
That left the women’s Singles on Sunday, with Wang advancing to the final against Hong Lin, but was over-matched and Lin won by 11-5, 11-6, 8-11, 11-7, 11-5.
In the men’s final, Kanak Jha won his fifth career U.S. national title – but first since 2019 – with a 11-4, 9-11, 12-10, 11-7, 11-4 battle against Jinxin Wang in the final. Wang had been a national men’s Doubles champ in 2023 and battled hard, but Jha prevailed.
In the men’s Doubles final, Nandan Naresh and Daniel Tran defeated Darryl Tsao and Victor Xie, 11-7, 11-4, 7-11, 11-9.
● Water Polo ● The U.S. women, getting ready to defend their Olympic title in Paris, met Tokyo Olympic bronze medal-winner Hungary on Friday in the first of a two-match series, at Stanford University, and notched a 12-8 victory.
The first quarter was wild, with the U.S. leading 5-4, and then the Americans took an 8-5 halftime advantage. The second half was tighter, with a 3-2 edge in the third and a 1-1 fourth quarter for the 12-8 final. Rachel Fattel and Maddie Musselman each scored three goals and keeper Ashleigh Johnson was terrific in goal with 11 saves.
The second match will be on Tuesday (9th) at Berkeley.
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