★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★
★ To get The Sports Examiner by e-mail: sign up here! ★
★ Friends: You are inspiring! Now 23 donors have covered 58.9% of our technical costs for the rest of 2024. If you can support our coverage, please donate here. Your enthusiasm is the reason this site continues. It is. ★
≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
1. USATF’s Siegel “excited” about investments in the sport
2. Wasserman doubts ‘28 Track & Field Trials can be in L.A.
3. Big NBC numbers for diving, swimming and T&F Trials
4. Phelps, Schmitt, Tygart lambast WADA at House hearing
5. United Nations General Assembly asks for Olympic Truce
● At a rare news conference, USA Track & Field chief executive Max Siegel welcomed the new interest and investment in the sports and pledged cooperation. He said he has heard the gripes about holding every Olympic Trials in Eugene, but praised their expertise. He said he was “pretty optimistic” on growing the popularity of the sport on the road to LA28.
● At the same event, LA28 Chair Casey Wasserman said the complexities of installing a track in the L.A. Memorial Coliseum will likely prevent the 2028 Olympic Trials from being held there. But the marathon finish on the final day of the Games will be maintained as a tradition.
● The biggest TV audience for a track meet prior to the Olympic Trials was 1.37 million in June. But NBC reported that last Friday’s first day of the 2024 Track & Field Trials did an average of 3.9 million viewers, then 4.1 million on Saturday and 5.2 million – the most since 2012 – on Sunday. Swimming and diving viewership was also way up over 2021 levels.
● At a rare evening House sub-committee hearing, retired Olympic swimming stars Michael Phelps and Alison Schmitt stressed their lack of trust in the World Anti-Doping Agency in view of the mass Chinese doping violations in January 2021 that went unpunished. U.S. Anti-Doping Agency chief Travis Tygart explained the issues and called for a possible hold on U.S. funding.
● The head of the United Nations General Assembly urged all nations to observe the 2024 Olympic Truce during the period of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, an action warmly received by the International Olympic Committee.
● Panorama: Russia (BRICS Games end in Kazan) = Athletics (5: Mu protest was denied; world lead for Caudery in women’s vault; Roberts gets eight-year ban; Jeruto cleared to compete; AIU sets sampling record) = Basketball (Sparks teammate Hamby to replace Brink on Paris 3×3 team) = Boxing (2: World Boxing adds four members; IBA furious over IOC pressure on NOCs to get member feds to leave) = Football (2: four of six groups decided at Euro 2024; Argentina wins in 88th minute at Copa America) ●
● Errata: Some typographical errors have crept into our blizzard of stories over the past week; thanks to Olivier Bourgoin, Brian Russell, Paul Roberts and Brian Springer for noting them so they can be corrected in the online text. ●
1.
USATF’s Siegel “excited” about investments in the sport
“We’re incredibly excited about the interest in investing in the sport. We’ve been working closely with all of the promoters and the organizers with the events and we’re continuing to have those discussions. I think when you see some of the mainstream presence of celebrities that are here, the way some of our athletes are transcending track & field in terms of the fans, I think it’s a unique time. We had this glidepath from the World Championships here leading into L.A., I think it does nothing but heighten the profile of the sport.
“We’re going to try and capitalize on the excitement and momentum to build the stories around our athletes.
“We’re really excited about the new initiatives in the sport. We’re going to support them however we can as a federation.”
That’s from USA Track Field chief executive Max Siegel, speaking at a shared news conference on Sunday with LA28 Chair Casey Wasserman prior to competition at the U.S. Track & Field Trials in Eugene, Oregon.
Beyond welcoming the announced Grand Slam Track effort from 1996 Atlanta Olympic star Michael Johnson, and 2024 events for a single event (Duael Track) and the 776 Invitational for women, Siegel was asked about the overall health of track & field in the U.S.:
“I think that we’re going to present some data, viewership continues to increase around the sport. I do think again, the momentum of having the Games in the States here will help us heighten the profile.
“As a federation, we have good commercial engagement, we are working incredibly hard again to help build the brands of the athletes and as you see with people coming into the sport with these new events and initiatives, I think there’s interest.
“We look at healthy sustainability of the sport, we look at really developing some of the markets and really maximizing the distribution platforms to promote the sport. So I would say, the indicators that the general public may not see are pretty strong and they are showing an uptick.
“So, we’re pretty optimistic about what we can do between Paris and Los Angeles to continue that trend.”
Siegel was asked further about what has been seen as only modest promotion and ticket sales for the USATF’s Bermuda Grand Prix in April and the L.A. Grand Prix in May:
“The fact of the matter is, after each one of those events an we’re looking at how we get better. We work with a lot of people, invest a lot of time, a lot of resources in promoting our sport and when you start anything new, there’s nothing to do but get better.
“So we do have a team of people that are working with the meet promoters, looking at all those things we can do better, and again, at the end of the day, it’s to give a competitive opportunity for our athletes and to continue to improve. So we are well aware of the things that need to be worked on and our team works really diligently with the local folks that are organizing those events to make them better.”
He was also questioned several times about holding Olympic Trials time after time in Eugene, which has concerned athletes over the cost of travel, accommodations and food in the no. 119 media market in the United States:
“We’ve been working really diligently to cultivate in markets across the country, you know, the L.A. Grand Prix, the New York Grand Prix are examples of what we’ve been doing, the Bermuda Grand Prix. I think it’s difficult to find a partner that is as collaborative, knowledgeable and the fanbase that supports the sport as Eugene. We all understand the logistical challenges, but if you look at the financial support that the federation has given with coaches travel, to athlete travel, we try to offset that. But we’re highly sensitive to that.
“We’ve seen these indoor tracks being built and we’re having those ongoing discussions and I think that it is one of our priorities to make sure we move the sport around across the country.”
He was also asked specifically about the 2028 Olympic Trials, after Wasserman cast doubt on the availability of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the Olympic venue:
● “Rather than avoiding coming back here as they have been great partners of ours, I think we’ve been on this journey anticipating the Games being here, in L.A. for some time. We’ve talked to our partners here about an intentional approach to try and cultivate a relationship and to make sure, the most important thing is that our athletes are supported in a way that reflects the hard work and commitment that they have competing.
“So, we’ve already started conversations with the team, both in L.A. and across the country, about the importance of having an amazing Olympic Trials leading up to L.A. So it is not a foregone conclusion that it will be back here in Eugene and we’re doing everything we can to create that atmosphere and experience for athletes to be ready to compete in L.A. In ‘28.
● “We’ll bid it out. We’re trying to find a host that’s as good and collaborative as we have here in Eugene. There are a lot of logistics attached to it, but we will work closely with the team in L.A. to see what we can do.
“But we certainly will have a presence in the Los Angeles market between now and when the Games are hosted.”
Siegel rarely does these kinds of availabilities and his answers demonstrated a thorough understandings of the issues, but without any concrete plans for future success.
2.
Wasserman doubts ‘28 Track & Field Trials can be in L.A.
While saying that the initial response to Friday’s announcement of multiple venue changes has been positive, LA28 Chair Wasserman also emphasized that the organizing committee’s focus is on the Games only.
On the possibility of holding the 2028 Olympic Trials, Wasserman stated, “I think it adds a level of complexity to our planning that I’m not sure is best for the athletes.”
He added:
“The temporary track is actually both the most expensive and most complicated thing we actually have to build because the track is gone after the ‘94 earthquake. So we have to put a world-class facility back in and that is truly a complicated thing.
“The other thing is it’s also where closing ceremonies is going to be, so the operational stress [will] probably take away from the athletes. That’s not my decision to make [about the Trials] but my concern is we can’t give them – for what is essentially a 10-day event here – the right environment and the right clarity and the right simplicity to compete to make their Olympic team that they should have.
“And so, I think in most cases, test events are a thing of the past for most Olympics, because they add a lot of complexity and cost in general, not specific to track, and that for us is the complexity that exists.”
He also stressed the favorable training environment in the Athletes Village in 2028 as a counter to any advantage to competing on the Coliseum track during an Olympic Trials:
“The Athletes Village is at UCLA and we’ll have no competitive events on campus. … We’ll convert that track to make sure it’s really an exact replica of the Coliseum track so that they will be able to warm up 100 meters from their housing at a track that’s going to replicate their competition venue without having to commute. So, it’s a powerful opportunity to have.
“We have about 65% of the Olympic athletes and 80% of the Paralympic athletes will prepare for their sports on-campus at UCLA.”
He also endorsed the idea that having the 2028 Trials outside of Los Angeles, and Eugene, for that matter, could be better:
“The world is coming to L.A. for the Olympics, and track is going to be no. 1. but the opportunity to take this event other places is spectacular.”
Wasserman noted that while the track & field schedule will be moved up to the first week of the 2028 Games, another innovation will remain:
“I think the other thing we committed to, which is important, is hat we’ll keep the tradition of the marathon ending on the last day as is, so that what is a very traditional part of the Olympics, we’ll maintain.”
He added that “We don’t have a course set today. It’s something we’ll get into post-Paris.”
A couple of historical notes are in order.
First, the removal of the track in the Coliseum had nothing to do with the 1994 Northridge Earthquake, as it was done the year before. The late Earl Gustkey wrote in the Los Angeles Times in a 12 August 1993 story:
“The Coliseum has a new look. It looks bigger. And younger.
“The stadium’s staff unveiled the first major renovations of the 70-year-old facility in 62 years Wednesday, most visible of which are a lowered playing field and new rows of seats.
“Capacity for USC and Raider games will remain largely unchanged–92,000 and 68,000–but the sightlines from seats near the playing field are markedly improved.
“The track was removed, the field lowered 11 feet 8 inches and 14 new rows of seats installed. Previously, the first few rows of seats for Coliseum football games were among the worst in the stadium, because spectators couldn’t see over players standing on the sidelines. Now, the first row of seats is 4 1/2 feet above the field. And there are 93 rows from Row 1 to the rim, not 79. The 14 new rows contain 8,100 seats.”
Also, the legacy of the 1984 Olympic Games will be continued with at least one of the marathons ending on the day of the closing of the Games. That idea came from ABC in 1984, asking for the men’s marathon finish to lead directly into the closing ceremony at the Coliseum. The LAOOC organizers, International Amateur Athletic Federation and the International Olympic Committee all agreed, although there were protests about the timing being too hot for the runners.
Carlos Lopes of Portugal won in an Olympic Record of 2:09:21, a mark which was not surpassed for 24 years. There were 78 finishers, but 29 who did not, with the race start at 5:15 p.m. Since then, the marathon has been moved to earlier in the day for cooler racing, but with the victory ceremony as part of the closing.
3.
Big NBC numbers for diving, swimming and T&F Trials
Once again, there is no comparison between interest in Olympic sports and interest in the Olympic Games.
The latest confirmation came with ratings data provided by NBC for Olympic Trials broadcasts for diving, swimming and track & field.
(For those who have read about Nielsen-provided ratings data in the past, that information is no longer publicly available. The only data now offered comes from the broadcasters.)
For track, the biggest audience so far this year was 1.371 million on NBC for USATF NYC Grand Prix on 9 June.
The USATF National Championships did horribly on cable-only on CNBC in 2023, compared to more than one million on NBC in 2022:
● 7 July: 176,000 on CNBC in 2023 vs. 214,000 on CNBC in 2022
● 8 July: 207,000 on CNBC in 2023 vs. 1.050 million on NBC in 2022
● 9 July: 288,000 on CNBC in 2023 vs. 1.052 million on NBC in 2022
But then came the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, with huge average audiences:
● 21 June (Fri.): 3.9 million on NBC and Peacock
● 22 June (Sat.): 4.1 million on NBC and Peacock
● 23 June (Sun.): 5.2 million on NBC and Peacock
NBC reported these were considerably higher than for the Covid-tinged Trials in 2021, and the 5.2 million Sunday audience was the highest Trials audience since 2012. That’s a very good sign for NBC ahead of this summer’s Olympic Games.
Interest in Sunday’s events, featuring Noah Lyles in the men’s 100 m, peaked at 5.7 million.
The nine nights of the swimming Trials on NBC and Peacock averaged 3.4 million viewers, way ahead of any other swimming competition in the past couple of years and 26% above the audience for the Tokyo Trials in 2021.
Same for diving, with an average of 2.3 million viewers on NBC and Peacock, ahead by 26% from 2021 levels.
The Track & Field Trials will start up again on Thursday and big numbers are expected for the U.S. Artistic Gymnastics Trials from Minneapolis – starring Simone Biles – from Thursday through Sunday.
4.
Phelps, Schmitt, Tygart lambast WADA at House hearing
“There is no trust. and what we ask for is that trust for accountability and transparency. We don’t have accountability and we don’t have transparency as we have not seen the full files.”
That was four-time Olympic swimmer Alison Schmitt, a 10-time Olympic medal winner, describing her view of the World Anti-Doping Agency at Tuesday’s rare evening hearing of the House Energy & Commerce Committee’s Oversight & Investigations Sub-Committee.
The two-hour hearing was primarily aimed at the disclosure by the German ARD network and the New York Times that 23 Chinese star swimmers tested positive for trimetazidine (TMZ) in January 2021, prior to the Tokyo Olympic Games, but were cleared by the Chinese Anti-Doping Agency, which declared that the doping violations came from contaminated food served to the athletes.
Olympic swimming superstar Michael Phelps, also a four-time Olympian and the leading all-time medal-winner with 28, attended along with Travis Tygart, chief executive of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.
Asked about his view of WADA, Phelps said simply, “I do not have many positive things to say about them.” He further explained that during his career, he was tested hundreds of times, sometimes multiple times a day by different agencies!
Tygart, however, dominated the proceedings and answered many of the questions. In his opening statement, he railed against the failures of WADA, and suggested action items:
● “We must ensure the World Anti-Doping Agency – WADA – is held accountable and does the job without fear or failure. Now is the time to do that. The need for change could never be greater especially since the U.S. is hosting many international competitions here at home: the 2026 [FIFA] World Cup, the 2028 summer Olympic Games in L.A. most likely that Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City.”
● “Allison and Michael speak for the countless athletes out there who are dismayed with the current crisis at WADA. a crisis caused by the decision to allow China to sweep under the rug 28 positive tests on 23 athletes for testing positive for a potent performance-enhancing drug.”
● “We can all understand why the world’s athletes are incensed that WADA did not even open an investigation into the outrageous claims that China found a potent, prescription-controlled drug somehow, mysteriously found its way into the hotel kitchen and into these athlete’s samples. On top of that, these positive cases came in just nine months after WADA closed an investigation into allegations of systemic doping in China.
“They met with this whistleblower who defected from China. They found her to be credible and according to WADA’s own written report, she said, and they were aware, that Chinese athletes were using; and get this, TMZ was the drug she said they were using at low levels.”
● “So what can Congress do? Three things at least. First, [the Office of National Drug Control Policy] and Congress must demand a subpoena or even condition our funding on making the entire China dossier public. Anything less will not satisfy those who deserve justice and there’s no reason this cannot be done.
“Second, WADA has now finally admitted China did not follow the rules [in this case]. It can’t be that a couple of WADA staffers, in secret back rooms, are allowed to pick and choose who follows the rules and who doesn’t. we should require change.
“Third, U.S. funding should be conditioned on a compliance audit of WADA.”
Tygart went further, asking for structural changes at WADA:
“The most important principle as we have touched on in anti-doping is independence.
“Unfortunately WADA is not independent, as you have heard. WADA has sport leaders who have a direct interest in their decisions sitting on its Board; for example, the current vice president of WADA from China [Yang Yang] is a former member of the Chinese National Olympic Committee and is on the IOC. It’s the epitome of the fox guarding the hen house.
“And WADA governors cannot possibly promote and police effectively. Let me be very clear: clean athletes need a strong WADA. No country is immune to the scourge of doping including here in the U.S. It is why our role at USADA is so important, we need to be fully supported. However for a global system to work we need fierce, fair, effective global watchdog to protect athlete’s rights in the Olympic Games, not a lapdog of sport or favored nations.”
In response to questions from the committee members asking what WADA specifically did wrong regarding the Chinese swimming case, noting that it was the Chinese Anti-Doping Agency which investigated, he explained that CHINADA did not follow the rules and WADA did not enforce them when the positives were reported back from the lab:
“It’s absolutely against the rules. Even if you buy this contamination theory and keep in mind, TMZ is a controlled, prescription medication. It is prohibited all of the time; the default sanction is four years. It does not magically appear – fairy dust – in a kitchen of a hotel three months after this event happened during Covid when cleaning protocols were the height of what they were. However, even if you believe this contamination theory they still did not follow the rules.
“They absolutely should have appealed the lack of a provisional suspension when the notice of the positive test were first sent. And if they were going to let the Chinese handle the case, WADA has the power to go in and grab a case out of the national organization’s hands and they handle it themselves in the first instance. And they probably should have done that when they saw China wasn’t giving their athletes due process. There were no B-samples [tests], they didn’t give notice to the athletes, there was no provisional suspension – which is mandatory – but given that they didn’t do that, what they then got the full file that demonstrated China swept these under the rug and didn’t follow the rules, they should have immediately appealed those to the Court of Arbitration for Sport like they do in the hundreds of cases on an annual basis.”
And Tygart took a final swipe at WADA, saying “Russia and China have been to big to fail in their eyes and they did a different set of rules than the rest of the world does, unfortunately.”
WADA President Witold Banka (POL) was invited to testify, but did not attend the hearing.
5.
United Nations General Assembly asks for Olympic Truce
On Monday, the President of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Dennis Francis (TTO), issued an appeal for an Olympic Truce during the upcoming Paris Games and Paris Paralympic Games, including:
“[O]n 21 November 2023, the General Assembly adopted resolution 78/10. In that resolution, the Assembly urged Member States to observe the Olympic Truce individually and collectively, within the framework of the Charter of the United Nations, throughout the period from the seventh day before the start of the XXXIII Olympiad until the seventh day following the end of the XVII Paralympic Games, to be held in Paris in 2024. …
“As President of the General Assembly at its seventy-eighth session, I solemnly appeal to all Member States to demonstrate their commitment to the Olympic Truce for the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games and to undertake concrete actions at the local, national, regional and world levels to promote and strengthen a culture of peace and harmony based on the spirit of the Truce.
“Referring to the original tradition of the Olympic Truce practised in ancient times, as described in resolution 78/10, I also call upon all warring parties of current armed conflicts around the world to boldly agree to true mutual ceasefires for the duration of the Olympic Truce, thus providing an opportunity to settle disputes peacefully.”
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach (GER), who has championed the Truce, added:
“The IOC very much welcomes the solemn appeal by the President of the UN General Assembly, Dennis Francis.
“The Olympic Truce represents the very essence of what the Olympic Games stand for – peace, unity and the hope of building a better world. In these difficult times, when we are all facing so much confrontation, division and polarisation, the Olympic Truce is more relevant than ever. And, as an event that unites the world in peaceful competition, the Olympic Games Paris 2024 will be a powerful reminder that we can all come together peacefully, even in times of wars and crises.”
The U.N. first adopted the Olympic Truce in 1993.
≡ PANORAMA ≡
● Russia ● The 387-event, 27-sport BRICS Games closed in Kazan on Sunday, with the host country dominating the medals as expected. Russians took 266 gold, 142 silver and 101 bronze medals for a total of 509. Belarus won 247 medals (55-85-107) and Uzbekistan earned 114 (17-39-58). China took 62 (20-24-18) for fourth overall; a total of 38 countries won medals (none for the U.S.).
● Athletics ● A protest was filed on behalf of Tokyo 800 m gold medalist Athing Mu after her fall on the opening lap of the women’s 800 m on Monday, but it was denied.
¶
A world lead and national record in the women’s vault for Britain’s Molly Caudery, the 2024 World Indoor Champion, who cleared 4.92 m (16-1 1/4) to win Theme de Toulouse meet on Saturday (22nd).
¶
Gil Roberts, a 44.22 performer in the men’s 400 m from 2017 and an Olympic gold medalist on the men’s 4×400 m relay, received a second sanction from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.
He was previously banned for doping for 16 months from 3 June 2022 to 2 October 2023; now, an arbitrator has decided in favor of USADA:
“After an evidentiary hearing on May 20, 2024, where both Roberts and USADA were provided a full opportunity to present their cases and witnesses to the independent arbitrator, the arbitrator determined that Roberts will receive an eight-year sanction after he tested positive for ostarine (enobosarm), RAD-140, and metabolites of LGD-4033 (ligandrol) and SR9009 during an out-of-competition drug test on September 20, 2023. Roberts received an enhanced period of ineligibility under the rules because this was his second anti-doping rule violation within the last 10 years.”
Roberts, now 35, had his period of ineligibility begin on October 18, 2023.
¶
The Court of Arbitration for Sport dismissed the appeal by World Athletics in the Norah Jeruto case. Jeruto, Kenyan-born but who changed to Kazakhstan, was the 2022 World Champion in the women’s Steeple, was charged with doping in April 2023, based on allegations of abnormalities in her Athlete Biological Passport.
Jeruto won her appeal with the World Athletics Disciplinary Tribunal, and World Athletics appealed again to the Court of Arbitration for Sport – seeking a four-year sanction – and lost. Jeruto is therefore eligible to compete in Paris, and has run 9:22.45, meeting the Olympic Qualifying Standard.
¶
The Athletics Integrity Unit announced that it collected an all-time high of 13,363 samples from 3,504 athletes from 102 countries in 2023.
● Basketball ● USA Basketball announced that Los Angeles Sparks forward Dearica Hamby will replace teammate Cameron Brink on the U.S. women’s 3×3 team for the Paris Games.
Hamby, 30, is a two-time WNBA All-Star and has been part of the American 3×3 training pool and was on the winning FIBA Americup team last December.
She joins Hailey Van Lith, Cierra Burdick and Rhyne Howard, as the U.S. will try for a second straight women’s 3×3 gold. Brink tore her left anterior cruciate ligament last week.
● Boxing ● “The National Federations for boxing in Barbados, Dominica, Peru and Singapore have become the latest four organisations to have their membership applications approved by World Boxing.”
The Friday announcement brings the World Boxing total to 33 members.
¶
Following the expulsion of the International Boxing Association from recognition by the International Olympic Committee in June 2023, the IOC has more recently told National Olympic Committees that if boxing is to be returned to the Olympic program for 2028, its national federations must affiliate with another international federation, and quickly.
On Tuesday, the IBA screamed foul:
“The IBA has learned of recent weeks that multiple National Olympic Committees (NOCs) are interfering directly in the business of the respective National Boxing Federations to intimidate them with funding cuts due to their membership with the International Boxing Association. The situation is totally unacceptable, nor within the spirit of our sport, and must be addressed and exposed immediately.”
The loss of national boxing federation funding by National Olympic Committees is the key pressure point, especially if boxing is left off of the LA28 program. If there’s no Olympic boxing, why should a National Olympic Committee fund a national boxing federation? But the IBA stated:
“NOC’s funds are crucial for some National Federations; however, they are absolutely not the cornerstone of National Federations’ success.”
What the IBA did not do was say that it would fund its member national federations en toto.
● Football ● Third-round pool play is continuing at the UEFA Euro 2024 in Germany, with four of the six groups now completed:
● A: Host Germany (2-0-1: W-L-T) won the group with seven points to five for Switzerland (1-0-2), with Hungary (1-2) possibly moving on as a third-place team. The Germans and Swiss tied, 1-1, in Frankfurt on Sunday.
● B: Spain defeated Croatia, 3-0, then Italy by 1-0 and Albania by 1-0 to sweep this group, with the Italians (1-1-1) also advancing.
● C: England (1-0-2) tortured its fans, scoring only two goals in three games and giving up just one, but won the group over winless Denmark (0-0-3) and Slovenia (0-0-3). Both of Tuesday’s games were goal-less draws between England and Slovenia and Denmark and Serbia. Denmark secured qualification as second in the group on disciplinary points as compared with Slovenia. Wow.
● D: France defeated Austria, 1-0, but the Austrians won the group by defeating Poland (3-1) and the Dutch (3-2 on Tuesday) for seven points. The French played a scoreless draw with the Dutch and then tied Poland on Tuesday, 1-1, with star Kylian Mbappe scoring in the 56th on a penalty kick, for five points and advances as the second-place team.
Pool play finishes on Wednesday, with all four teams in Group E at 1-1: Belgium, Romania, Slovakia and Ukraine. In Group F, Portugal is 2-0 and will advance, with 1-1 Turkey currently second and facing the Czech Republic (0-1-1) for second place and the elimination round.
The round-of-16 will start on Saturday.
¶
At the 48th Copa America, being played for the second time in the U.S., first-round pool play is continuing, with surprises like Costa Rica’s 0-0 draw with Brazil on Monday.
Second-round play was in Group A on Tuesday, with Canada (1-1) beating Peru (0-1-1) by1-0 on a 74th-minute goal from Jonathan David. Argentina (2-0) and Chile (0-1-1) looked like a possible 0-0 tie until an 88th-minute corner resulted in an Argentina shot on goal that was saved, but a failed clearance came to striker Lautaro Martinez, who smashed it into the net from the left side for the only score – confirmed by a lengthy video review – in a 1-0 final.
¶
You can receive our exclusive TSX Report by e-mail by clicking here. You can also refer a friend by clicking here, and can donate here to keep this site going.
For our updated, 547-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!
