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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Games 2036 ● India sent a large delegation of nearly 20 officials to Lausanne to meet with the International Olympic Committee in its quest to land the 2036 Olympic Games, and was told – according to a report – that it had work to do:

“Sources told The Indian Express that during the meeting – the first of its kind after India expressed interest to host the mega event – the IOC flagged concerns over governance issues at the Indian Olympic Association (IOA); the rampant doping menace; and the country’s poor performance at the Olympics. At last year’s Paris Games, India finished at 71st spot with just six medals.”

India is pitching Ahmedabad as its candidate city, and is among more than a dozen cities, regions or countries discussing bids for 2036, 2040 or 2044 with the IOC. There is no present timetable for naming a 2036 host, as the IOC is revisiting its selection procedures.

● World University Games 2025: Rhine-Ruhr ● The International University Sports Federation (FISU) posted a Friday statement on the eligibility of Russian and Belarusian athletes for the 2025 WUG in Germany, explaining, “FISU will continue to follow the recommendations of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the respective International Federation (IF).”

Russian or Belarusian athletes can only compete as “Individual Neutral Athletes” and

● “The invitation to compete at the Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games was only proposed for certain sports (based on the current participation status of that sport at the IOC and relevant International Federation). None of these sports are team sports.

● “Should the IF allow the participation under the status of Individual Neutral Athletes (AINs), their eligibility will be assessed by the relevant International Federation.”

The number of “AIN” athletes from Russia and Belarus were not specified.

● Cycling ● The Union Cycliste Internationale confirmed that at the UCI Congress in Kigali (RWA) on 25 September, incumbent President David Lappartient (FRA) will run unopposed:

“With regard to the Presidency, only David Lappartient, current UCI President, submitted a candidacy for the position. In accordance with Article 40, paragraph 3 of the UCI Constitution, his election for a third four-year term will be confirmed without a vote.”

● Table Tennis ● World men’s Singles silver medalist Hugo Calderano, who competes for Brazil but travels with a Portuguese passport, reported on his Web site that he was unable to get a U.S. visa to be able to compete at the World Table Tennis U.S. Smash tournament in Las Vegas:

“Hugo submitted his application, but given the longer than usual confirmation time by US authorities, he contacted Customs and Border Protection (CBP). He was then informed that he was no longer eligible for visa waiver because he had traveled to Cuba in 2023 to compete in the Pan American Championships and the qualifying event for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, events organized by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).

“Given the situation, Hugo made every effort to obtain an emergency visa, counting on the support of the United States Table Tennis Association (USATT) and the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC). The emergency appointment was approved, but there was no availability for a consular interview that would allow him to arrive in time for the start of the competition.”

≡ RESULTS ≡

● Athletics ● Paris Olympian Martha Araujo (COL) defended her heptathlon title at the World Combined Events Gold Decastar in Talence (FRA), scoring 6,451 to top Americans Taliyah Brooks (6,365) and Michelle Atherley (6,283).

Puerto Rico’s Ayden Owens-Delerme was a clear winner in the decathlon, scoring 6,478 to 8,236 for defending champ Johannes Erm (EST).

● Badminton ● At the BWF World Tour Canada Open in Markham, third-seed Kenta Nishimoto (JPN) won his third career Tour gold over home favorite Victor Lai (CAN), 21-13, 21-14. Japan’s Manami Suizu completed the Singles sweep with a 21-12, 21-14 win over Thuy Linh Nguyen (VIE) in the women’s final.

Thailand won twice in Doubles, taking the women’s title and the Mixed Doubles, with Ruttanapak Oupthong and Jhenicha Sudjaipraparat beating Presley Smith and Jennie Gai (USA), 21-14, 21-17. Chinese Taipei won in men’s Doubles.

● Basketball ● The U.S. scored its ninth win in the FIBA men’s U-19 World Cup in Lausanne (SUI), sailing past Germany, 109-76, in the Sunday final. It’s the fifth win in the last seven tournaments for the U.S., which was really only challenged by Canada in the quarterfinals, winning by 108-102.

In the final, the U.S. was up by 56-47 at the half, but a 28-10 third quarter decided the issue. Michigan center Morez Johnson Jr. led the U.S. with 15 points on 5-6 shooting in the final.

¶

The U.S. overwhelmed its first six opponents at the FIBA women’s AmeriCup in Santiago (CHI), meeting 6-0 Brazil in the final. This was a struggle all the way. The Americans were up, 25-22 at the quarter, down 47-45 at the half, still down 66-65 after three, but got the lead with an 11-3 run at 76-69 and held on to win by 92-84. Indiana Fever forward Damiris Dantas poured in 35 for Brazil, while Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes scored 27 for the U.S.

The American women won their group games by 108-47, 80-43, 80-62 and 104-48, then took playoff wins against the Dominican Republic (110-44) and Canada (65-53) before the final.

● Beach Volleyball ● Top-seeded Americans Kristen Nuss and Taryn Brasher, the 2023 Worlds bronze medalists, won the Beach Pro Tour Elite 16 women’s final in Gstaad (SUI), beating Tina Graudina and Anastaija Samoilova (LAT) by 21-19, 21-18. It’s the eighth World Tour win for Nuss and Brasher together.

Sisters Anouk Verge-Depre and Zoe Verge-Depre won the all-Swiss third-place match, 21-17, 21-11, over Tanja Huberli and Leona Kernen.

The men’s title went to third-seeds Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan (QAT), the Tokyo Olympic bronze winners, winning two tight sets from 24th-seeds Jacob Holting Nilsson and Elmer Andersson (SWE), 21-19, 22-20.

Stefan Boermans and Yorick de Groot (NED) took third with a 21-23, 21-17, 15-10 win over George Wanderley and Andre Stein (BRA).

● Cycling ● The 112th Tour de France got underway in Lille on Saturday, with the first two stages mostly for the sprinters.

Belgium’s Jesper Philipsen won the opener, the 184.9 km course in and around Lille, in 3:53:11 in a final sprint over Biniam Girmay (ERI) and Soren Waerenskjold (NOR), with the top 33 given the same time. A notable casualty was Italian time trial star Filippo Ganna, who did not finish after a crash; Slovenian star Primoz Roglic, the four-time Vuelta a Espana winner, also had trouble and finished 79th (+0:39). Belgium’s double 2024 Olympic winner Remco Evenepoel had a first-day disaster, in 67th (+0:39).

The slightly hilly, rainy second stage of 209.1 km to Boulogne-sur-Mer ended with a mass sprint of 26, with Mathieu van der Poel (NED) winning his second career Tour stage in a duel with the race favorites, Tadej Pogacar (SLO) and Jonas Vingegaard (DEN), all timed in 4:45:41. That gives van der Poel the yellow leader’s jersey, at least for now.

Stages 3 and 4 on Monday and Tuesday are both expected to be for the sprinters, with a flat, Individual Time Trial in Caen for stage 5.

¶

The unstoppable Jackson Goldstone (CAN) won his fourth UCI Mountain Bike World Series Downhill in a row in La Thuile (ITA), finishing just ahead of France’s two-time World Champion Loris Vergier, 3:27.134 to 3:27.738, with five-time World Champion Loic Bruni (FRA) third in 3:28.173.

German Nina Hoffmann took the women’s Downhill in 3:57.934, well ahead of World Champion Valentina Hoell (AUT: 4:00.928) and Gracey Hemstreet (CAN: 4:01.130)

● Fencing ● The USA Fencing summer nationals in Milwaukee, Wisconsin offered championships in division as young as age 10 all the way to past 80. Included were the Division I tournaments for all three weapons for men and women.

This was not a selection “trials” event, so many of the top American stars did not compete. But some did, notably 2023 World Champion Eli Dershwitz, returning to the piste for the first time since the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. He won the men’s senior Sabre title, 15-9, over Samuel Rightler. Henry Lawson won the men’s Epee over Gabriel Feinberg, 15-5, and Borys Budovskyi won Foil over Ethan Gassner, 15-13.

The women’s Epee final had 2024 Pan American champion Hadley Husisian outlasting defending champion Catherine Nixon, 15-11. Katerina Luna won the Foil title over JoJo Conway, 15-4, and the Sabre victory went to Siobhan Sullivan over Aria Bevacqua, 15-3.

● Gymnastics ● At the FIG Trampoline World Cup in Coimbra (POR), Olympic champ Ivan Litvinovich (BLR as a “neutral”) won the men’s title, scoring 66.37 over Paris runner-up Zisai Wang (CHN: 65.77).

Belarus’ Katsiaryna Yarshova (also “neutral”) won the women’s final, 58.06 to 57.41 over Russian “neutral” Anzhela Bladtcheva.

In the non-Olympic Double Mini, American Ruben Padilla won the men’s final at 31.900 and Kennedi Roberts of the U.S. took the women’s gold, scoring 27.300.

● Modern Pentathlon ● The UIPM World Cup Final was in Alexandria (EGY), with happy fans as home heroes won both the men’s and women’s titles.

Moutaz Mohamed, 20, the two-time World Junior champ, took the men’s title, scoring 1,583 points to 1,574 for Matej Lukes (CZE). Moutaz won the swimming, but started the Laser Run in fourth place, down 0:23. But he won the event in 10:00.33 and crossed first.

The women’s gold went to teen star Farida Khalil, 14, who won the obstacle and the swimming and started second (by 0:01) in the Laser Run. But her sixth-fastest time got her to the finish line first, with 1,470 points. That was comfortably ahead of Olympic bronze winner Seung-min Seong (KOR: 1,443) and Blanka Guzi (HUN: 1,440). In her four World Cups in 2025, Khalil finished 1-2-1-1.

● Sport Climbing ● Two Olympic quarterfinalists races for the women’s title at the IFSC World Cup in Speed in Krakow (POL), with Indonesia’s 2023 World Champion Desak Made Rita Kusuma Dewi winning over American Emma Hunt, 6.27 to 7.56.

The third-place match saw Olympic champ Alexandra Miroslaw (POL) top countrywoman Natalia Kalucka, 6.36 to 6.64.

Indonesia completed a sweep with gold and silver in the men’s final, as Raharjati Nursamsa set an Asian Record of 4.73, over Kiromal Katabin, who fell. Japan’s Omasa Ryo of Japan took the bronze at 5.48 over Zach Hammer of the U.S., who fell off near the top.

● Table Tennis ● Men’s star Kanak Jha tied the record for most men’s national Singles titles with his sixth at the USA Table Tennis national championships in Ontario, California. He defeated Nandan Naresh, 11-5, 11-5, 11-7, 8-11, 11-8, to defend his 2024 title and add to his wins in 2016-17-18-19.

Nikhil Kumar and Sid Naresh won the men’s Doubles by 3-1 over defending champions Daniel Tran and Nandan Naresh.

The top two seeds met in the women’s final, with no. 2 Sally Moyland winning by 4-1 over Amy Wang, 11-5, 11-7, 11-8, 2-11, 11-8. It’s Moyland’s first national title, in her third finals appearance, and second time against two-time winner Wang.

Wang and Abigail Yu won the women’s Doubles with a 3-0 sweep of Moyland and Jessica Reyes-Lai. For Wang, it was her fifth straight U.S. Doubles title.

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