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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
1. LA84 Foundation salutes 40 years of impact since the 1984 Games
2. USOPF’s Walshe: “Everyone can get involved at every level”
3. French authorities reject 3,570 possible troublemakers for Paris 2024
4. World Aquatics review identifies doping sanctions changes
5. World Rowing commends LA28 move to Long Beach
● The 40-year anniversary of the revolutionary 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles was celebrated on Sunday at the LA84 Foundation, with dozens of iconic Olympic athletes on hand and veterans of the organizing committee.
● The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Foundation received a $25 million gift (!) to further its “One For All” campaign, which supports the USOPC’s efforts in athlete health, sport performance and athlete career training and transition. There are varying levels of benefits, of course, for donors, but all of the fund-raising in the U.S. is for the American team and not for the organization of the Games in Los Angeles in 2028.
● The French interior minister said that more than 3,500 individuals have been excluded from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games as volunteers, ticket holders or other positions as identified potential security threats. And the checks are continuing.
● A review of the World Aquatics anti-doping procedures related to the Chinese swimmer doping positives from January 2021 included recommendations to allow bodies other than the national anti-doping agency involved to issue sanctions in cases where there are delays or possible interference with the process.
● World Rowing posted a statement in support of the announcement of the move by LA28 to relocate the rowing events to the Long Beach Marine Stadium – the 1932 Olympic venue – instead of at Lake Perris in Riverside County. But there will still be issues to deal with.
● Panorama: Paris 2024 (3: Last Russian wrestler opts out; Russia paying $2.26 million to athletes who missed int’l events; Jill Biden to lead U.S. delegation for Paris opening) = Winter Games 2030 (will French Alps be approved if guarantees not provided?) = Basketball (U.S. men beat Australia, 98-92, in Abu Dhabi) = Cycling (Johnson and Zubris win three each at U.S. Track Nationals) = Fencing (USA Fencing gets fencing sponsor) = Gymnastics (U.S. sending oldest women’s team since 1952!) = Water Polo (U.S. men defeat Greece in Paris tune-up) = Wrestling (U.S. finishes with most Olympic entrants) ●
● Memorabilia: Last week to bid on the 380-item auction of Olympic-related items, including 71 medals and 40 torches at RR Auction’s semi-annual sale, now to 18 July! ●
● Schedule: There will be no TSX post on Wednesday, but we’ll be back on Thursday. ●
1.
LA84 Foundation salutes 40 years of impact since the 1984 Games
In any discussions of the most important Olympic Games in history, the Games of the XXIIIrd Olympiad in Los Angeles always stands out. The only city to bid for the 1984 Games, the privately-organized and funded Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee revolutionized the Olympic Movement.
Now-common concepts in television rights sales, corporate sponsorship, volunteer staffing, use of existing facilities, the cultural festival, youth programs and many technical innovations took the Olympic Movement from an unsure footing in the 1970s to a brilliant future. Despite a boycott by the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies, a record number of 140 countries came to the Games, which set records for attendance and ended with an unprecedented surplus of $232.5 million.
About $93 million of that surplus went to form what is now the LA84 Foundation, whose purpose is to support youth through sports in the Southern California area. It has impacted more than 3.9 million children, more than 198,000 coaches and communities through 3,065 grants across the area over 40 years.
All that was celebrated on Sunday at the LA84 Foundation headquarters in the historic West Adams District with more than 250 attendees – including more than 30 Olympians and Paralympians – for a spectacular anniversary party and a special screening of a new film about the impact the Foundation has had. The date of 14 July was exactly 40 years since the opening of the Olympic Villages in 1984 and four years ahead of the opening of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
Attendees, which included many members of the LAOOC staff from 1984, were treated to a first look at a new exhibition in the Foundation library which documents and explains aspects of the 1984 Games, including memorabilia, but also a showcase for memorable moments and some of the stunning concepts used in 1984, including the unexpected “Festive Federalism” color and design scheme that dominated the visual imagery of the event.
The formal program was inside a massive tent placed on the Foundation’s parking lot, with NBC4 Los Angeles news anchor Colleen Williams as host. The Olympians were marched in as if during an Olympic opening ceremony, with iconic hurdler Edwin Moses reprising his role of taking the Olympic Oath, as he did during the 1984 opening ceremony at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Many of the great stars of 1984 were there. Quadruple gold medalist Carl Lewis, diving star Greg Louganis, gymnastics gold medalist Bart Conner (with wife Nadia Comaneci), triple jump winner Al Joyner, basketball icon Cheryl Miller and many more.
LA84 Foundation Chair Bill O’Brien explained the Foundation’s work and its breadth of programs over 40 years, followed by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who will receive the Olympic Flag at the closing ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on 11 August.
Bass referenced O’Brien’s listings of what the 1984 Games and then the LA84 Foundation accomplished and deadpanned to the audience:
“How’s that for a little bit of pressure, huh? Mayor [Tom] Bradley. City didn’t spend any money. Forty years later, there’s a legacy. That is an incredible challenge.”
Bass, 70, spoke to the time when the ‘84 Games surprised and excited Los Angeles:
“For those of us who remember the Games, and I was certainly there as a witness to all that ‘84 did. We were so paranoid that the city was going to go crazy, we weren’t going to be able to drive anywhere, and everything, and it was like the best driving in L.A., right?
“And for those of you who are too young to remember, just think about what it was like to drive during Covid. That was what ‘84 was like, and we had no technology that we have now.”
She also noted the already-in-progress legacy project of the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic organizers, with $160 million being invested prior to the Games in subsidizing youth sports participation through the City’s Recreation and Parks Department. Looking ahead to 2028:
“Our plans are taking [shape], and we have an incredible foundation from which to work with. One of the things that I’m very excited about with the Games is that our city has so much to offer, and when the world comes, we want the world to see all of Los Angeles, all of our neighborhoods.”
Bass also said she was already thinking about the Paris closing:
“At the closing ceremony, I have to receive the flag and I have to waive the flag like this, and so what I said to [LA84 Foundation President] Renata [Simril], ‘Renata, you’ve got to give me that flag so I can start to practice.’ I looked at YouTube and I saw the closing ceremony in Tokyo, so I know what’s going to happen, but I have to make sure that my shoulders are in shape, because I heard it’s heavy.”
Williams led a panel discussion with ‘84 gold medalists Lewis and Miller, with Lewis talking about his standout moment on the way to four golds in track & field:
“My standout moment had to be the 100 meters … it’s the first event, and so, of course, that’s the most vulnerable because, I would say, if you make a mistake at the start, you’ve got 99 meters to be pissed off” to laughs from the audience. He won, of course, and remembered back to when he started running, under the direction of his parents in New Jersey. “For one moment, you’re the center of the world. It’s incredible.”
Miller acknowledged her “idol” – sitting in the audience – Ann Meyers Drysdale, the 1976 Olympic silver medalist in women’s basketball, explaining “my dream didn’t start until I watched her win an Olympic gold medal [actually silver] and she was the driving force.”
Miller remembered the emotion of her own gold-medal awards ceremony at The Forum, “The national anthem never sounded better. It invoked such a passion and a respect, a humbleness, that I’m living in the greatest country – and still am – and be able to represent and win an Olympic gold medal, priceless. Absolutely priceless.”
Williams asked both for advice for future athletes, looking to 2028. Lewis advised, “keep it simple’ and keep doing what got you to the Games. Miller said, “All it takes is all you have.”
A panel followed with Debra Duncan – a key member of the LAOOC Ticketing Department and later a chair of the LA84 Foundation – and U.S. IOC member Anita DeFrantz, in 1984 an LAOOC Vice President for the Olympic Villages. Duncan explained that despite ending with a huge surplus, the organizing effort was based on not spending money:
“Peter [Ueberroth, LAOOC President] and Harry [Usher, LAOOC Executive Vice President] did a good job of never letting us think we had any money. And that’s how we spent, like we had very little. …
“And we never knew what was going to happen, so we were all very nervous, right, Anita? I don’t think any of us ever thought, wow, we’re going to make even a million dollars.”
DeFrantz added, “a tiny little surplus” was the goal, and Duncan agreed, “not to lose money.
“I don’t think we ever sat back and said, ‘we’ve got it.’ We never knew for sure.”
Asked about how she felt when the Games ended, Duncan remembered, “I think I was sad when it ended. It was such a fulfillment of a lot of hard work, and it was great, it was beautiful, we celebrated the athletes. … It was such a success.”
DeFrantz told the story that three days after the closing, at the USC Village, “There was one athlete, from Australia, who didn’t want to leave. So we had to circle him and say, ‘The Village is closed.’”
Williams had also a session with LA28 Chair Casey Wasserman. Earlier, a special ceremony was held in the garden of the LA84 Foundation to present a 1952 Olympic gold medal in Yachting (as then known) to Michael Schoettle, a member of the crew for the winning Complex II from the U.S. in the 5.5 m class. The ceremony included DeFrantz of the U.S. and U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee President Gene Sykes and chief executive Sarah Hirshland. Schoettle, now 87, stayed involved with American sailing for decades, was a member of the competition management team for the 1984 Olympic sailing events in Long Beach and was the team leader for the U.S. team at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona.
2.
USOPF’s Walshe: “Everyone can get involved at every level”
(Part II on the fund-raising efforts of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Foundation)
The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee announced a fund-raising goal of $500 million in 2023 for the 2021-to-2028 period – called the “One for All: The Campaign for Team USA” – and is confident of receiving cash and pledges of $225 million by the end of 2024, with the Los Angeles Olympic Games coming in 2028.
Christine Walshe, the President of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Foundation – the USOPC’s fund-raising arm – explained in an exclusive interview with The Sports Examiner where all this money is going to go once received, to three “impact areas”:
● “We’re raising $100 million for athlete health and wellness. We want more athletes to have health insurance, we have a very large mental-health portion of our campaign and then we are also trying to make sure we provide sports-medicine opportunities for our very diverse group of athletes. With so many female athletes now making up the delegation – we have, of the 592 athletes that are going to Paris, 314 are women – and we need to make sure we have the sports medicine suite of services that definitely benefit all of our athletes, but especially the women because we’ve been behind … we’ve got to make sure we’re meeting that population where they need to be. …
“We do have a program where people can donate to an athlete’s family fund, and they receive a grant if they have a child that is younger than three years old, to help them with child care as they compete and train.”
● “After the mental health and wellness, which is $100 million, we then have $300 million dedicated to sport performance. As you know, Team USA is the largest, most diversely-talented team on the planet. …
“So $300 million is going to make sure they have what they need on the field of play. We want to make sure that all of elite athletes of this country know that it’s still possible to be an Olympian and Paralympian. With the NCAA and the collegiate space changing so much, and [name-image-likeness payments], it’s critical that we continue to improve direct athlete support. We have that Sport Ambassador program, tech and innovation – you can give a restricted gift to the tech and innovation fund – you can also create micro-grants for NGBs that are smaller: 50% of the National Governing Body population’s operating budgets are $10 million. They need help and we have all kinds of great ways to do that.”
● “And then the last area of impact is athlete career and transition, with $100 million going to athlete services. Fifty-seven percent of our athletes earn less than $50,000 year, the average age is 28 years old and 70% of these athletes have gone to college, but once they leave the Olympic and Paralympic Movement, they need help transitioning into their next career. And that’s what that impact area is meant to do.”
Walshe expanded on the multiple levels of fund-raising from the foundational layer of smaller givers across more than a million U.S. households, on up to wealthy givers:
“So this is meant to be a community program, everyone can get involved at every level and really engage with the athlete stories at the bottom, to personally interacting with athletes, sport, [National Governing Bodies], leadership, then beginning to get involved in the strategy of where the dollars go, as a leader of the organization, a trustee, or a six-figure contribution. And then we go into restricted giving of incremental impact.”
As you would imagine, there are benefits offered to the larger givers. Walshe noted that, “Above $150,000, at a $300,000 contribution, you can join us at the Olympics. We’re bringing 750 individuals to the Paris Games. We have a huge hospitality program that you can become a guest of ours for a gift of $50,000, all the way up to $5 million. And that helps people join the Games as a VIP or a member of the Foundation delegation.
“At that point, you can potentially have a leadership role and be invited or nominated to join the Foundation, which is really exciting, and then after that, you get to really dive in to where the dollars go.”
So how do you engage potential large donors? Walshe said there are various concepts for this, with the hope that people will “invest” in Team USA and if they become highly successful, will give more:
● “At each level: you’re in the direct mail [level], you’re hearing stories, and then you get into that next level, you’re in larger groups, but you’re meeting athletes, and as you climb up the ladder for engagement, you’re spending more time directly with athletes, as you hear about the needs that they have or that their peer group has.”
● For higher-end givers: “We do family videos; athletes just using their iPhones and sending the donor community videos to thank them for their contribution. We bring people like Katie Ledecky and other athletes, wonderful athletes to family homes for what we call ‘Jeffersonian dinners,’ and larger cocktail parties, and we will have alumni with us in Paris. We have two athlete ambassadors that are part of the campaign: Summer Sanders the Olympian [four swimming medals at Barcelona 1992] and Brad Snyder the Paralympian [8-time Paralympic swimming medalist 2012-20].”
● “So, absolutely, some of the tactics are not only to be able to see the athletes on the field of play, but to get to know their personal stories.”
Since changing its name and adding “Paralympic” in 2019, the USOPC had taken great pains to promote its Paralympic athletes. Walshe said that the Paralympic impact on donors is not to be underestimated:
“We see a ton of [higher message] open rate when we talk about Paralympians. We get a lot of engagement on our Paralympic story telling, in the mail and digital and definitely – anecdotally – I can tell you that as we embrace and engage people in group settings, it is always the Paralympic story that really moves people and they love the fact that we represent both Olympians and Paralympians, and hence the reason we’ve asked Brad Snyder to be a campaign ambassador….
“What I can tell you is that adding Paralympics to the USOPC has really encouraged the philanthropic community to even want to give more.”
What the Foundation is not doing is raising money for the LA28 organizing committee. All of the funds it raises is for the USOPC and its programs. Walshe noted:
“We’re one storefront. They won’t open a development shop or a foundation fund-raising effort. We’re it, so we created a partnership with them, and so we’re representing not only Team USA, but also LA28. … hey will not be raising philanthropic dollars separately.”
And they will get none from the USOPF. LA28 and the USOPC are in a separate partnership for the sales of corporate partnerships – run by LA28 – called U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Properties, with revenue shared according to a contracted formula.
The situation is a little different with the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games, set to be awarded the hosting rights for the 2034 Olympic Winter Games on 24 July at the International Olympic Committee Session in Paris.
Once the ‘34 Winter Games is awarded, then the Salt Lake team will be allowed to raise donations within the state of Utah only for the purpose of starting up its organizing committee. But that will expire on 31 December 2028, and a parallel agreement to the LA28 format with the USOPC is expected, which will reserve donations to the Foundation through 2034.
The 2023 announcement of a $500 million funding goal for the USOPC seemed a stretch, but the Foundation expects to be 45% there by the end of this year, with $225 million in cash and pledges, and accelerating. Walshe said that with the Games coming to the U.S. in 2028 (and 2034), now is the time to reach out:
“We have to build new fans in order to keep the Movement alive and we have to share with [Generation] X and the Baby Boomers who’ve all watched the amazing Olympic Games in front of one TV with their TV dinners, their grandparents, their parents, their children, that we’re a cause, and so our strategy is to engage the American public, the young generation of fans, hopefully convert a fraction of them – a good size, but a fraction of them – into donors and be on this march together and hopefully use the power of sport to unite this country at a time it needs it most. …
“We want to work hard to unite this country and make them feel like investors in their team, which is Team USA.”
¶
On Monday, the Foundation announced its largest-ever single gift, a $25 million donation from billionaire venture capitalist Mark and Mary Stevens. They have previously donated more than $72 million to the University of Southern California for medical science and technology projects.
Said Mark Stevens, “As avid supporters of Team USA for over a decade, we’ve seen firsthand how our gifts have impacted U.S. Olympians and Paralympians, from world-class equipment and coaching to data projects that enhance athlete wellness.”
The announcement noted that the USOPF has raised more than $370 million since its founding in 2013.
3.
French authorities reject 3,570 possible troublemakers for Paris 2024
French Interior Minister Gerard Darmanin stated on the social platform X (ex-Twitter) on Saturday (computer translation from the original French):
“Olympic Games: 770,000 administrative investigations have been carried out to date, resulting in the exclusion of 3,570 people, including 130 people on S files, 16 on FSPRT files and dozens of radical individuals close to Islamist, ultra-left and ultra-right circles.”
The “S files” reference is to “Surete de l’Etat” or state security files, which indicate surveillance, but not arrest. The “FSPRT” reference is to the “Fichier de traitement des signalements pour la prévention de la radicalisation à caractère terroriste,” or Prevention of Terrorist Radicalisation, which was organized in 2015 after the Islamic-based terror attacks on the Charlie Hebdo magazine (12 dead) and the Hypercacher kosher supermarket (four dead) in Paris in January of that year.
Darmanin said that up to one million individuals who were going to be accredited for the Paris 2024 Games, or could be issued tickets for the Opening Ceremony on the Seine River on 26 July, would be reviewed and that process is continuing.
Reports indicate that 45,000 security officers of various kinds and types will be employed for the Paris Games, but an even bigger force was deployed over the weekend to safeguard the Bastille Day celebrations on Sunday (14th). Darmanin added on X:
“To guarantee the security of the July 14 festivities, 130,000 police officers and gendarmes will be mobilized this weekend, including 11,000 in Paris. Thanks to them. Faced with the irresponsible people who are trying to sow disorder, I call for respect for this moment of national cohesion. #FêteNationale”
The Bastille day celebrations in Paris also included the Olympic Torch as part of the parades.
Darmanin appeared on FranceInfo radio on Monday and was pleased to report that “The [Olympic] flame traveled across France in more than 50 stages … without any incident. We were able to thwart terrorist attacks at least twice.”
¶
A memorial ceremony for the 11 Israeli team members murdered by Palestinian terrorists at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich has been moved from the Paris City Hall on 24 July to 6 August elsewhere.
The Israel Olympic Committee responded to a report that security issues mandated the change of date and place:
“Due to the delegation’s tight schedule, it was decided to hold the ceremony, in coordination with International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, in its full format on August 6 in another location.
“Claims that the ceremony is underground or that it was moved due to any specific security alerts, or that canceling it was considered are fundamentally false claims.”
4.
World Aquatics review identifies doping sanctions changes
“The Committee notes that the TMZ Case has weakened the trust of the Aquatics community, notably among the athletes, in the anti-doping system. In particular, questions were raised as to whether anti-doping rules are applied consistently in all countries, in particular as it relates to the principle of strict liability.
“The frustration was particularly strong with athletes who felt they were denied a medal for which they had worked their whole life. The Committee does not take it upon itself to rebuild and maintain this trust but does consider it appropriate to highlight certain actions which it believes may help generate a certain level of reassurance in the work being conducted by World Aquatics, with the assistance of the [International Testing Agency] and the Aquatics Integrity Unit.”
That’s from the five-member Anti-Doping Review Committee of World Aquatics, whose 11-page report, made public on Monday (15th), reviewing the federation’s procedures and protocols for doping cases, notably the January 2021 Chinese swimming doping case, in which 23 athletes tested positive for trimetazidine during the national swimming championships.
Specific to that case, the report detailed the timeline as related to the involvement of FINA (as World Aquatics was then known), which differs from that of the World Anti-Doping Agency:
● “The samples had all been collected by CHINADA, which meant that CHINADA was in charge of the handling, investigation and initial decision making on the case (see World Anti-Doping Code Article 7.1).
“In accordance with the World Anti-Doping Code, FINA’s primary role in this matter arose only when CHINADA issued its decision, which closed the case, which in essence meant that (a) the athletes were not to be provisionally suspended; and (b) the case was to be resolved without any sanction being imposed on the athletes. FINA did not have any right to intervene until those two decisions were made by CHINADA (and in this case they were made in a single determination).”
● “In mid June 2021, CHINADA sent its final decision to WADA and FINA. Its decision concluded that the positive tests resulted from contamination of the food served in the hotel. Within days, FINA requested the complete case file from CHINADA, who complied.”
● “Approximately 2 weeks later, towards the end of June 2021, internal Legal Counsel completed his review of the case file received from CHINADA. Following internal discussion, FINA retained Prof. Jordi Segura [ESP], former director of a WADA accredited laboratory in Barcelona and Chair of the former FINA Doping Control Review Board, to review the file materials and provide an expert opinion on the scientific aspects of the matter.
“Within approximately one week, Prof. Segura provided his opinion to Legal Counsel on the specific scientific questions he had been asked to answer. His opinion was that contamination of food or food products in the dining kitchen of the athletes’ hotel was more likely than not the source of the positive tests.”
On this basis, and especially considering the advice of Prof. Segura, FINA did not appeal the contamination conclusion to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The report noted that the procedures in place at the time were followed appropriately. However, it also put forth 10 recommendations to improve the doping-control process going forward. These included, but were not limited to:
● The new process for World Aquatics is to have the Aquatics Integrity Unit appeal any decisions from national anti-doping organizations, but could be changed to allow the International Testing Agency – which handles the World Aquatics anti-doping program now – to do so itself, since it is closer to the workflow now.
● “As highlighted by the TMZ Case, International Federations have no authority to assess a provisional suspension on an athlete in cases arising from testing conducted by a NADO, but instead must wait until such time as the NADO affirmatively decides whether or not to provisionally suspend an athlete (which could take several months). Only then may an International Federation decide to appeal such decision.
“In all cases where a provisional suspension is not timely imposed by a NADO, or in cases where no final decision on the merits is taken after a reasonable time, International Federations should be granted the ability to take necessary actions such as the imposition of a provisional suspension or the takeover of results management process from a NADO.”
● “If the case is handled by a NADO, follow-up requests should be systematically sent to the NADOs prior to the start of [a World Aquatics] competition to ask them to issue a decision or impose a provisional suspension prior to the start of the event. If there is still no action after due notice has been given, the failure to decide should be considered as a decision not to impose a provisional suspension thereby subjecting such to CAS, seeking an expedited process and decision on that appeal.
“Whenever possible, World Aquatics should ensure that the case is resolved before the start of the event, or otherwise, that a provisional suspension is imposed on the athlete.”
● “While NADOs and WADA-accredited laboratories should be trusted, and the system has various checks and balances in place to ensure this trust, concerns were raised by athletes about the capabilities and lack of independence of certain NADOs and local laboratories.
“The athletes perceive conflicts of interest when national entities are in charge of supervising their own athletes due to take part in international competitions. The Committee recognises the important role of NADOs in the fight against doping in sport.
“However, to address these concerns, the Committee recommends that when feasible, the ITA attempt to conduct a certain number of out-of-competition tests without using local NADOs and local laboratories, especially whenever they are conducting a particularly targeted testing mission and in advance of major international events. Particular consideration will need to be made to the costs associated with this and the scarcity of accredited laboratories worldwide, especially in time-sensitive testing scenarios.”
● It was suggested that World Aquatics post a list of provisionally-suspended athletes, which is done – for example – by the fiercely aggressive Athletics Integrity Unit, but not by World Aquatics at present.
The report also recommends more education on anti-doping and more contact between athletes and the anti-doping officials to build trust and understanding.
Observed: While the report did not get into the question of whether the Chinese swimmers who tested positive in January 2021 should have been suspended, it did get into the sensitive area of oversight of anti-doping organizations in authoritarian countries.
The recommendations ask for new powers for organizations beyond a national anti-doping agency to be able to suspend athletes and to do so if there is a delay in investigation and results reporting. This would have allowed a much better response in 2021, when the samples were taken in January, reported in March and a final report was not available until June, long after any investigation would have been meaningful.
This is a worthwhile report and it will be interesting to see if World Aquatics adopts the path charted by it … and if so, if it spreads to other federations.
5.
World Rowing commends LA28 move to Long Beach
The second announcement of multiple venues for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games included confirmation of the long-known move of rowing and flatwater canoeing to the Long Beach Marine Stadium, the site of rowing for the 1932 Olympic Games.
World Rowing added comments from President Jean-Christophe Rolland (FRA)
‘’We are pleased to have the Marine Stadium in Long Beach venue confirmed to feature classic rowing at the heart of the Olympic Games.
“This is the outcome of a thorough and extensive analysis, developed very closely with the IOC and the Los Angeles Organisers [sic] in the context of the Olympic Agenda 2020. The bid proposal was to stage the 2028 Olympic regatta at Lake Perris, a reservoir on the east of Los Angeles (approx. 3 hours outside of the Olympic Village), a complex and expensive solution that would have had no legacy and required a satellite Olympic Village.”
The Lake Perris State Recreation Area is in Riverside County and opened in 1973, about 90 miles due east from the UCLA campus where the Olympic Village will be located. The move was reportedly suggested by LA28, bringing the two sports closer to the Los Angeles area.
However, it will be interesting to see how the athlete program is arranged, as the Long Beach Marine Stadium is close to the Pacific Ocean and can have tidal influences. This generally will require competitions early in the day to assure still water, which may eventually require some Village-type support for athletes in the Long Beach area either prior or after the competitions.
Rolland also noted that the federation had to make some significant concessions to hold the events at the Marine Stadium, with the events held at 1,500 m instead of the normal 2,000 m:
“It is a unique situation, brought about by a very specific Los Angeles context, certainly the best compromise for the benefit of our Sport in the context of the Olympic Games.
“In 1932, a full 2000m course was in place, but since then, a bridge was built, shortening the available water to 1500 meters for a six-lane race. This option was shared and discussed on multiple occasions with our Member Federations and the rowing community.
“It will require some adaptation, for the athletes in the first place, but it shows our ability to adapt without changing the core nature of our sport. Long Beach will be a great location and an exciting opportunity to showcase Rowing to the rest of the world.”
The J.H. Davies Bridge was opened in 1956 to connect two communities bisected by the Marine Stadium, but shortens the race course for rowing. Flatwater canoeing competitions in the Olympic Games are not impacted, as they are not more than 1,000 m.
Out of the compromise by World Rowing for the move to Long Beach and its willingness to give up its Lightweight division – long sought by the IOC – was the approval of Beach Sprint Rowing, also expected to be held in another area in Long Beach, but not yet confirmed.
≡ PANORAMA ≡
● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● The Russian news agency TASS reported that Russian Freestyle wrestler Shamil Mamedov – the 2023 World Freestyle 65 kg bronze medalist – will not compete in Paris after previously indicating that he would.
The Russian wrestling federation said the change was due to an “injury relapse.”
This means that all 10 of the Russian wrestlers invited to compete in Paris by the International Olympic Committee will skip the Games, and brings the current total of Russian “neutrals” for Paris to 15.
¶
The Russian Olympic Committee is providing compensation to its athletes who were not allowed to compete internationally of 200 million rubles, or about $2.26 million U.S.
The first payments were made in December, to 132 athletes from 14 sports. A second group of 113 athletes from 15 sports received funds from a second round of payments.
¶
The White House announced the U.S. government’s delegation leaders for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. First Lady Jill Biden will head the Olympic opening group for the 26 July ceremony on the Seine, and Doug Emhoff, husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, will lead the Olympic closing group for 11 August.
Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth will head the Paralympic opening delegation for the 28 August ceremony and U.S. Health and Human Services Department Secretary Xavier Becerra will lead the Paralympic closing group on 8 September.
● Olympic Winter Games 2030 ● With the French legislative elections on 7 July leaving no party in charge and no governing coalitions formed so far, whether the French Alps 2030 bid can deliver the required government guarantees is now in question.
GamesBids.com reported that a group against the 2030 Winter Games will protest at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne on 19 July, but the IOC leadership will already be in Paris.
The IOC has said that it expects the guarantees to be provided prior to the IOC Session vote on 24 July, but failing delivery, could delay the vote, could provisionally award the Games to the French Alps bid, conditioned on the delivery of the guarantees once a government is formed, or just wait.
● Basketball ● The U.S. men’s Olympic Team had a 16-point lead at halftime, a 24-point lead in the third and a 15-point lead going into the fourth quarter, but had to settle for an 98-92 win over Australia in Abu Dhabi (UAE) in its second exhibition game on Monday.
Trailing 76-61 entering the fourth, Australia went on a 10-0 run in the middle of the quarter to draw within 86-80. The U.S. extended to 92-80 with 2:19 left and Australia closed in again to 94-90 with nine seconds left and it ended at 98-92. Said U.S. head coach Steve Kerr:
“It was a good game for us to have to remind the guys we have to keep playing. We stopped playing there mid-third quarter. We started turning the ball over, we gave up a ton of points at the basket, backcuts, offensive boards. So the game shifted. It’s a good lesson for us, better to learn it now than later. This will be a good tape for us to watch.”
Anthony Davis led the U.S. with 17 points and 14 rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench, with Devin Booker scoring 16 and Anthony Edwards with 14. Australia was led by Jock Landale, with 20.
The U.S. will face no. 4-ranked Serbia and superstar Nikola Jokic on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi in the third game of its five-game exhibition schedule.
● Cycling ● Anders Johnson was the big winner at the USA Cycling National Track Championships in Carson, California that finished Sunday with three wins in the men’s Individual Pursuit, the 60-lap Scratch Race and the Points Race.
Evan Boone scored two wins in the men’s Sprint and Keirin, while Brendan Rihm won the Omnium over Johnson, Wyatt Paul took the 1,000 m Time Trial and John Bowie won the Elimination Race.
Kimberly Zubris won three events on the women’s side, taking the Omnium, the Elimination Race and the Points Race. The sprinting star was McKenna McKee, winning the Sprint and the Keirin. Emily Hayes won the 500 m Time Trial, Elizabeth Stevenson won the Individual Pursuit (with Zubris third) and Chloe Patrick took the 40-lap Scratch Race (with Zubris third).
● Fencing ● The most obvious sponsorship in the history of sponsorships has to be fencing (chain-link, chicken wire, picket) for fencing (epee, foil, sabre). Good for USA Fencing, which announced Superior Fence & Rail as the “Official Fence of Fencers.”
Said USA Fencing chief Phil Andrews:
“We’ve really nailed it with this one. Superior Fence & Rail understands the importance of structure and support, just like USA Fencing. This collaboration will provide a boost both to fencing (the sport) and to fencing (the other kind). Plus, it’s just fun.”
The deal is for a year, through 29 June 2025, with opportunities for renewal, or – should we say – extensions?
● Gymnastics ● USA Gymnastics released a set of charts which showed that the women’s Olympic team for Paris is the oldest since 1952, with an average age of 22.48 years. The men’s team is the youngest since 2012, at 22.81 years (average), and the third-youngest since 1992, when the average was 22.56.
● Water Polo ● The U.S. men’s Olympic team defeated Greece, the 2023 Worlds runners-up, in Volos (GRE) last Friday, 10-9, coming back from 9-7 down in the fourth quarter with three straight goals from Alex Bowen (2) and Chase Dodd.
The Americans were up 3-2 at the quarter and 4-3 at half, but five third-period goals – including four straight – put Greece up by 8-7 going into the final period. Another goal made it 9-7 before Bowen and Dodd scored the winners.
Bowen led the U.S. with three scores and Max Irving and Johnny Hooper each had two. The U.S. has a final friendly prior to Paris on 19 July at Sibenik, Croatia against the 2024 World Champions.
● Wrestling ● With the collapse of the Russian “neutrals” entry for the Paris 2024, the U.S. will enter the most wrestlers among all nations with 16, followed by 13 from Japan.
Azerbaijan and China each have 13 to tie for third and 11 will be sent by Egypt, Iran and Turkey.
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