Buffalo is set to host some of the most intense and physical hockey action in the world this month when it welcomes the 2025 World Para Ice Hockey Championship and for those who haven’t seen para hockey, or might think they know what it is solely by name, the event is an opportunity to showcase the sport and open some eyes.

The event will take place May 24–31 at LECOM Harborcenter and feature 130 athletes from around the world, led by the United States and Canada while including China, Czechia, Germany, Korea, Norway and Slovakia.

“The misconception for those who’ve never seen it before is when you put the word para on it and they think it’s like a charity game, and it’s not that at all,” said Dan Brennan, USA Hockey sled hockey general manager. “When the teams get out there, they play extremely hard. It’s a very physical game. There’s nothing soft about it. Unlike able–body hockey, when our guys go into the boards, they go into the lower part where the boards don’t move versus the glass that bends and pushes you back.

“People will be thrilled to see the skill level — especially in the last five years it has really changed the game to a much more skill-based game — and I think especially when we play Canada, they’re going to see a heck of a battle.”

This will mark the fourth time the event has taken place in America. Buffalo hosted in 2015 and becomes the first U.S. destination to host it twice.

“Our overall history of supporting and hosting adaptive sports plays a part,” said Patrick Kaler, president and chief executive officer at Visit Buffalo Niagara. “We’ve hosted a myriad of other types of adaptive sports, from wheelchair hockey, basketball, lacrosse, curling to water sports as well. I think that’s one of the things that has put us on the map for being able to host adaptive sports in Buffalo. We’re a big city, but without a big city feel. And we’re very accessible.”

Buffalo a Perfect Fit

There are several reasons Buffalo won the bid aside from its history of hosting successful adaptive sports events.

The Marriott at LECOM Harborcenter is attached to the facility, making the trip to the arena as easy as pushing an elevator button. The Harborcenter is a training facility for the Buffalo Sabres as well as several area colleges and universities, and features two NHL-sized ice sheets. It’s located in an entertainment district that includes restaurants and a brewery on the waterfront, which gives visitors plenty to see and do between games.

“The Harborcenter is a very unique hotel inside an arena,” said Brennan, who has traveled with the team for 19 years. “When you’re dealing with athletes with disabilities, to be able to just get in the elevator and you’re down to your locker room immediately is something really special. So that was a huge part of Buffalo winning the bid. But overall it’s a great hockey city and our guys are really looking forward to playing there.”

Another advantage Buffalo has is the community support. The city loves its Bills during football season, but the Sabres have a loyal hockey fanbase. Youth, adult and amateur hockey events also take place regularly in Buffalo and the sport is the number one generator for sports tourism in the city.

“The community support will be huge on this,” Kaler said. “We typically host an amateur hockey event every weekend out of the year. So we are definitely a hockey town. And this is a very special hockey tournament. In para ice hockey, these athletes are truly unique in what they do on the ice and they are serious about their sport.”

“Historically we’ve always had a good fan base and players in Buffalo,” Brennan added. “In the past we had a bunch of players from the Buffalo area, so it’s one of the regions that really got sled/para hockey going.”

Kaler is expecting good crowds at the 2,000–seat Harborcenter arena and says this event will total about 2,400 room nights with an estimated economic impact of about $1.85 million. Kaler and his team are looking to spotlight the city to visitors in hopes of bringing them back.

“This puts us on the world stage,” Kaler said. “These are the types of events where people will go back home and talk about it with their friends and family. It’s our opportunity to really showcase our destination, to show what we have to offer and that we are the city of good neighbors. Some people may not know about Buffalo, or they may have ideas of what they think Buffalo is. In May, they’re going to find some of the best weather. We’re a lakefront city with amazing views of Lake Erie, so the sunsets are going to be fantastic. It’s just a great way to start off our summer season.”

USA Hockey Happy to be Home

Brennan says it means a great deal to the Team USA players and their families to be playing on home soil. At last year’s World Para Ice Hockey Championship in Calgary, host Canada stunned the favored U.S. side in the gold medal game 2–1, handing the Americans their first loss in three years.

“It’s very important to win gold,” Brennan said. “It was a great lesson for us last year because for a while there we were getting pretty complacent. We hadn’t lost a game in three years. It was not the best time to lose, obviously. But here we are now and I think our guys have really learned from it. They’re back to being very hungry and really making each other accountable to be ready to play. It’d be very disappointing if they didn’t come home with gold.”

While the competition on the ice is fierce, the tournament also provides a chance for players from eight nations to spend time together over the course of week. Brennan says over the past few years USA Hockey has trained with Norway and the Czech team and the NGB has gone out of its way to help the sport and expand it.

“I think it’s the most wonderful part of being involved in an international sport,” Brennan said. “If you don’t take advantage of those relationships, you’re really missing out. In the end, we all need each other. And when the game’s over, they should be able to enjoy each other’s company and talk about their similarities, not just the differences.”

Brennan says during his 19 years with USA Hockey, the games against Canada have been the most physical, brutal and competitive that he’s seen, but both teams have a lot of respect for each other. As the two nations battle in Buffalo next week, there’s the real-world issue of United States and Canada relations souring in recent months due to the political climate.

“In Buffalo, the Canadians are our friends. We have always had our ‘Buffalo Loves Canada’ campaign. That’s something that we are still pushing out very strongly,” Kaler said. “And the good thing about sporting events such as this is that we can put those types of political differences aside and come together for the overall sportsmanship, for the overall spirit of what this tournament actually means.

“So I think this will truly be a showing of what para ice hockey means to these athletes and we want them to have a great experience in Buffalo and in the United States. Whether they’re from Canada or Korea or the Czech Republic — whatever country it is. This will hopefully help strengthen our overall sentiment towards our friends in Canada, no matter what is being said in Washington, D.C.”

East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State’s women’s golf team made a run after making the turn onto the back nine of the third round on Sunday but could not close the gap and the Spartans finished in 18th place among 30 teams at the NCAA Championship, being played at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif.

The 30-team field, playing on the par 72, 6,330-yard course at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa, was cut to 15 teams after Sunday’s third round of stroke play and the Spartans fell just six shots shy of making the cut.

Top-ranked Stanford was the leader in the field at 23-under par 841, with Northwestern second at 8-under par 856, Oregon third at 2-under par 862, Southern California fourth at even-par 864 and Florida State in fifth place at 3-over par 867.

UCLA and Mississippi State tied for 14th place at 18-over par 882.  Michigan State finished in 18th place at 24-over par 888 (2904-303-291).

The Spartans entered the third round in 20th place following a 15-over par 303 in Saturday’s second round but played the first nine holes on Sunday (starting on the 10th hole) in 8-over par and fell to 23rd place and were 10 shots off the cut line.

Once MSU moved to the front nine for its final nine holes, the team moved. Seniors Katie Lu and Brooke Biermann posted birdies on the 1st hole and the Spartans played the first six holes of their back nine in 7-under par, pulling to within four shots of the cut line.  That was as close as they would get, posting the team’s best round of the weekend at 3-over par 291.

Playing in her final NCAA Tournament, Lu was the team’s top finisher, tying for 45th place at 5-over par 221 (72-78-71). She posted a 1-under par 71 in the final round, with four birdies, and was one shot off the cutline to advance to Monday’s final round of stroke play. Lu, who twice advanced to the fourth round of the NCAA Championships, will leave Michigan State ranked fourth all-time in scoring average.

Junior Paula Balanzategui tied for 63rd place at 7-over par 223 (75-73-75), including a 3-over par 75 in the final round. She tied for 10th in the field with 40 pars during the three rounds.

Senior Brooke Biermann and sophomore Ana Sofia Murcia both tied for 76th place at 8-over par 224.

Biermann, who will leave Michigan State ranked third all-time in scoring and owns three of the top-20 single-season marks in program history, shot an even-par 72 to finish at 8-over par 224 (75-77-72). Biermann had four birdies on her final nine holes.

Murcia shot a 1-over par 73 on Sunday with a pair of birdies to finish at 8-over par 224 (73-78-73).

Junior Taylor Kehoe tied for 91st place at 10-over par 226 (74-75-77), closing with a 5-over par 77 on Sunday.

 

MICHIGAN STATE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP NOTES

• Michigan State closed out one of its most successful seasons with a runner-up finish at the Big Ten Championships and followed that with a third-place finish at the NCAA Normal Regional the 25th time in the last 26 years being selected to the regionals.
• The Spartans then advanced to the NCAA Championships for the fourth time in the last five years, the 17th time in program history and the 15th time under Head Coach Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll.
• The team’s 18th place finish marked the program’s third-straight top-20 finish and the fourth in the last five years.

TULSA, Okla — Union High School student Kelis Robinson considered several colleges before choosing the University of Arkansas to study architecture.

“I also visited OU, OSU, KU,” she said.

To pay for college, she already has a gymnastics scholarship that will pay part of her expenses, and she expects to hear back on other scholarships she’s applied for within a few days.

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To cover the rest, her parents are weighing their options.

“These are our expenses that we have right now and this is our savings that we have now,” Lakeia Robinson said. “Going on the college website and just getting an estimates of about how much will tuition costs for a student living on campus, you know, for a year and then just trying to figure out can this amount fit in our budget.”

Like many families, to fill in the gaps the Robinson’s are considering student loans but haven’t decided whether to go with a private loan through a bank or credit union, or take out a federal student loan.

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” I’m going based off of he interest rates, Lakeia Robinson said. “It’s like which loan could give me the best interest rate at this moment in time when it comes to paying it back because ideally I want to pay back, you know, the least amount as possible.”

Federal student loan interest rates for undergraduate direct federal loans will adjust to 6.392% starting July 1st.

Banks and credit unions may offer cheaper rates on private student loans at that time, but College Financial Aid Counselor Andrew Pentis says there’s more to consider than just the interest rate.

“In most cases,” said Pentis, “it makes sense for families to still prioritize federal loans over private loans because if they ever to run into problems repaying that debt, they’ll have access to some pretty important protections that they may not have with private loans.”

Lakeia Robinson is also considering an option offered by her daughter’s chosen college.

“There’s a monthly payment option, she said, “so we do not have to come up with all the money up-front.”

She says this takes the pressure off the family budget and she recommend students and parents check to see if the option is available at their chosen school as well as they plan for how to pay for college.

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● Following through on promises made in advance of the Paris 2024 Games, the City of Paris announced last week that beginning on 5 July, public swimming will once again be allowed in the Seine River.

Outlawed in 1923 due to the pollution levels in the river, restoring swimming became a priority for the city government under Mayor Anne Hidalgo and an enormous tank installation to catch run-offs during rainy periods was completed in time for the Games. Despite some delays due to too-high pollutant levels early in the event, both the triathlon and open-water swims were held in the river.

There will be three points on the river where swimming will be allowed: Grenelle, west of Paris; Bras Marie in the city and Bercy on the east side. Swimming will be allowed until the end of August and a green-yellow-red flag system will provide a real-time indication of water quality.

● Olympic Games 2028: Los Angeles ● Continuing his push against the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic organizing committee in light of his continuing demand that the sailing competitions be moved from Long Beach to within his district in San Pedro, a motion filed on 4 April by Los Angeles City Council member Tim McOsker will be heard on Tuesday (20th).

The motion notes that an LA28 “Community Business and Procurement Program” plan and “Local Hire Program” plan were both due by 31 March 2025, but not delivered.

So, McOsker is asking City staff to report back in seven days with the status of both plans and “to provide a timeline for production and public release of this information.”

The motion was referred to the Ad Hoc 2028 Olympic & Paralympic Games Committee, but is also being taken up by the Economic Development and Jobs Committee, which will meet on Tuesday (20th), chaired by 9th District Council member Curren Price, Jr. (McOsker is not a member of this committee).

¶

Some L.A. City Council members are not the only ones unhappy with the LA28 venue moves and placements.

In an interview session with reporters last week, International Table Tennis President Petra Sorling (SWE) expressed concern with the assigned space at the Los Angeles Convention Center:

“In Los Angeles we think our venue is too small. The location is excellent but I am sad to say we can only be, maximum, seven thousand.

“We are selling out bigger venues than that. Let’s see what we can do. There is still time.”

Table tennis was held at the South Paris Arena 4 with a capacity of 6,500 per session, mostly full. A true test for the sport will come at the first World Table Tennis U.S. Smash from 3-13 July at the 9,500-capacity Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.

● Anti-Doping ● The U.S. Senate is ready for another salvo in the continuing war of words with the World Anti-Doping Agency, with the Commerce, Science & Transportation Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Technology, and Data Privacy to hold a hearing on 22 May (Thursday) at 10 a.m. Eastern time titled, “WADA Shame: Swimming in Denial Over Chinese Doping.”

The panelists include U.S. Anti-Doping Agency head Travis Tygart, former director of the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy Dr. Rahul Gupta, Tokyo swimming Olympian and women’s 4×200 m Freestyle relay silver medalist Katie McLaughlin, and Prof. Dionne Koller, University of Baltimore School of Law and Co-Chair of the Commission on the State of the U.S. Olympics and Paralympics.

Subcommittee chair Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee) said:

“The World Anti-Doping Agency has allowed Communist China and Russia to lie, cheat, and steal, putting American athletes at risk. When Congress used its oversight authority to investigate WADA’s blatant corruption, they acted like they were above the law. When the federal government investigated WADA’s inaction, they tried to strongarm the United States and threaten our hosting of the [2034] Salt Lake City Games. As one of the largest financial contributors to WADA, the United Sates deserves answers. My colleagues and I refuse to be silenced in our mission to make certain WADA does not turn a blind eye to corruption.”

● Memorabilia ● At the Ingrid O’Neil Auction 98, the top sellers were two Paris 2024 Olympic torches, which went for $24,000 and $20,000, the only items to top $10,000.

Also worth noting was the sale of a 1980 Congressional Gold Medal, given to members of the U.S. team which was not allowed to compete at the Moscow Olympic Games; it went for $1,200.

● Athletics ● “Olympic sports are going to have to be in one category. Let’s figure out how we do that.

“Football and basketball are in another category. That’s where I think the future is, or there will be no Olympic sports. If anyone thinks it can continue to go this way, they’re fooling themselves.”

That’s Carl Lewis, not just the nine-time Olympic gold medalist, but also the head coach of the University of Houston, speaking about the current turmoil over money in college sports. He told a news conference audience last week:

“The number one objective of these college athletes is to get a degree to get a job. Ultimately, we may have three people on our team out of 115, that may run post-collegiate. That’s probably the average, so think about that.

“Two percent; so 98% come here to ultimately get a job, so I think if we continue down this route, we’re going to continue to rob Peter to pay Paul and everyone is going to be broke.”

If the House vs. NCAA settlement receives Federal court approval, a formula will allow universities to pay their football and basketball players 90% or more of funding from media rights, sponsorships and ticket sales that come into an athletic department, imperiling all other sports. The question is how to achieve Lewis’s goal and what the structure – especially financial – would look like.

The Sports Examiner’s idea on how to do this is here.

● Wrestling ● In the aftermath of his arrest in Columbus, Ohio in a prostitution sting, Rio 2016 Olympic 97 kg Freestyle winner Kyle Snyder was temporarily suspended by the U.S. Center for SafeSport for “Allegations of Misconduct” on 14 May.

According to a WBNS 10TV report on Friday:

“Snyder’s attorney, Eric Hoffman, told 10TV on Friday that the wrestler plans to plead guilty to disorderly conduct, a fourth-degree misdemeanor. He was initially charged with engaging in prostitution.”

Snyder is scheduled for a court appearance on Monday (19th) and is expected to be fined and required to receive counseling.

≡ RESULTS ≡

● Athletics ● A world record in the men’s 35 km walk from Tokyo Olympic 20 km walk winner Massimo Stano (ITA) highlighted the World Race Walk Tour Gold European Team Champs in Podebrady (CZE) on Sunday.

Stano took over at the 23 km mark and marched away with a huge win in 2:20:43, destroying the prior mark of 2:21:40 by Canada’s Evan Dunfee in March. German Christopher Linke was a distant second in 2:23:21 and Spain’s Miguel Angel Lopez was third (2:23:48), both national records.

Spain’s Maria Perez, the 2022 World Champion, won the women’s 35 km in a world-leading 2:38:19, ahead of Tokyo Olympic 20 km winner Antonella Palmisano (ITA: 2:39:35).

In the 20 km walks, Spain’s Paul McGrath won easily in 1:18:08 over defending champ Francisco Fortunato (ITA: 1:18:16), with Gabriel Bordier (FRA: 1:18:23) third. Ukraine’s Lyudmila Olynavovska won the women’s 20 km in 1:27:56, from Clemence Beretta (FRA: 1:28:05).

● Badminton ● Home fans got a thrill at the BWF World Tour Thailand Open in Patumwan in the men’s Singles as top-seeded Kunlavut Vitidsarn (THA) defeated no. 2 Anders Antonsen (DEN), 21-16, 17-21, 21-9.

China’s Tokyo 2020 gold medalist Yu Fei Chen won the women’s Singles over top-seeded Pornpawee Chochuwong (THA), 21-16, 21-12. Malaysian teams won the men’s and women’s Doubles and China took the Mixed Doubles.

● Canoe-Kayak ● The home team put on a strong performance at the ICF Sprint World Cup I in Szeged (HUN), winning seven events: four for the men and three for the women.

Two-time Olympic silver medalist Adam Varga won the men’s K-1 500 m in 1:44.67, Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Balint Kopasz took the K-1 1,000 m in 3:29.65 and Levente Kurucz and Mark Opavszky took the K-2 500 m in 1:36.93. The Hungarian team also won a tight race with Germany to take the K-4 500 m by 1:20.32 to 1:20.53.

Zsofia Scorba won the grueling C-1 5,000 m in 28:11.39, with American Audrey Harper sixth in 30:41.16, and Agnes Kiss and Blanka Nagy won the C-2 500 m final in 1:57.12, ahead of China’s Mengya Sun and Yaran Ma (1:57.48). The Hungarian squad was an easy winner of the C-4 500 m final.

The only double winner was Poland’s six-time Worlds medal winner Anna Pulawska, who took the women’s K-1 200 m in 43.53 and the K-1 500 m in 1:50.77. The Poles added two more women’s wins, with Sylwia Szczerbinska and Dorota Borowska in the C-2 200 m (44.10) and Martyna Klatt and Sandra Ostrowska in the K-2 500 m (1:48.86).

Canada’s nine-time World Champion Katie Vincent won the women’s C-1 500 m, and 2021 World Champion Aimee Fisher (NZL) won the K-1 1,000 m final in 3:55.89.

Brazil’s seven-time World Champion Isaquias Queiroz took the C-1 500 m in 1:47.80, and C-1 1,000 m Olympic champ Martin Fuksa (CZE) won that race by daylight in 3:54.64.

● Cycling ● Things got crazy over the weekend at the 108th Giro d’Italia, starting on Friday with the first climbing stage of the race. It was expected that 2023 winner Primoz Roglic (SLO) would have the overall race lead by the end of the day, and he did.

But in a position to win the stage, Roglic was unable to master the uphill finish to Tagliacozzo at the end of 168 km and fell back to fourth as 22-year-old rising Spaniard Juan Ayuso – who won the Tirreno-Adriatico earlier this year – got away in the final 400 m to win in 4:20:25. Seven others were in the chase pack, including Roglic, finishing four seconds back.

So Roglic took over the “maglia rosa” leader jersey, but where he had an 18-second advantage over Ayuso coming into the stage, it was only four seconds going into Saturday’s 197 km, triple-climb stage to Castelraimondo.

Australia’s Luke Plapp, a six-time national road champion, attacked with 45 km to go and won his first Grand Tour stage in 4:44:20, leaving Wilco Kelderman (NED) and Diego Ulissi (ITA) – both +0:38 – in the dust. Ayuso and Roglic finished 11-12, but 4:49 and 4:50 back of the winner, so Ulissi took over the race lead over countryman Lorenzo Fortunato (+0:12), with Roglic third (+0:17) and Ayuso fourth (+0:20).

Sunday’s hilly course from Gubbio to Siena over 181 km, saw Belgian star Wout van Aert – in his first Giro – followed Mexico’s Isaac Del Toro on a late attack and then managed to cross first in 4:15:08, almost a minute ahead of the rest of the race. Ayuso finished 1:07 back in seventh and Roglic – after a fall on an early gravel sector and a later flat tire – ended up 19th in a pack that finished 2:22 behind the winner.

That completely scrambled the leaderboard and Del Toro – at age 21 and also in his first Giro – became the race leader by 1:13 over Ayuso, 1:30 over Antonio Tiberi (ITA) and 1:40 over Richard Carapaz (ECU). American Brandon McNulty is in eight (+1:59) and Roglic fell all the way to 10th (+2:25). Crazy.

Tuesday brings the second Individual Time Trial of the race, a flat 29.6 km course from Lucca to Pisa.

¶

The three-stage UCI Women’s World Tour Itzulia Women in the Basque Country of Spain saw Mischa Bredewold (NED) win the mass-sprint finish of stage one and then repeat her win in stage two.

Sunday’s third stage had two moderate climbs on the 112.9 km course in and around Donostia, and Dutch star Demi Vollering put her foot down and crushed the field by 55 seconds, winning in 2:55:35, with Canada’s Sarah van Dam second.

That moved Vollering from sixth to first in 9:55:54, with Bredewold second by 48 seconds and van Dam third at +1:01.

¶

At the UCI Mountain Bike World Series for the first Downhill of the season in Bielsko-Biala (POL), five-time World Downhill champ Loic Bruni (FRA) led wire-to-wire and won the men’s race in 3:04.867, ahead of Oisin O’Callaghan (IRL: 3:05.023) and France’s Amaury Pierson (3:05.675). American Richard Rude Jr. was fourth in 3:06.463.

Britain’s Tahnee Seagrave, a four-time Worlds medalist, won the women’s race in 3:34.340, also leading all the way, over Anna Newkirk of the U.S. (3:36.051).

● Diving ● The USA Diving National Championships finished Friday in Auburn, Alabama, with a sensational championship run from 13-year-old ElliReese Niday.

A seven-time U.S. junior champion, she won a tight battle with 19-year-old Bayleigh Cranford to take the women’s 10 m Platform title by 721.40 to 711.40! Said the winner, the youngest to win this event since 2016:

“It doesn’t feel real. I just tried to stay focused on my own dives and celebrate after.

“It’s really crazy. Maybe one day when I grow up, I’ll make the Olympic team possibly.”

Niday has the background: her mother, Lauryn McCalley Niday was a U.S. national springboard champion in 2000 and 2001.

First-time titles ran through the women’s events, as Sophie Verzyl won her first U.S. Nationals in the 3 m at 626.65, ahead of Lilly Witte (586.45), and Anna Kwong won her first individual national gold in the 1 m, scoring 534.85, beating Tokyo Olympian Hailey Hernandez (522.65) and Verzyl (518.30).

In the women’s Synchro events, Kwong and Verzyl tied with Witte and Bailee Sturgill in the 3 m at 534.12, with Taylor Fox and Hernandez third (515.88). Daryl Wright and Cranford won the 10 m at 569.43, beating Lanie Gulch and Anna Lemkin (554.40).

The men’s diving featured two wins for Joshua Hedberg, 18, who took his third individual national crown scoring 891.50 in the men’s 10 m final, beating Jordan Rzepka (866.45). He had already teamed with Carson Tyler to win the 10 m Synchro at 818.91, winning by more than 146 points.

Lyle Yost won the men’s 1 m at 766.70, ahead of Nicholas Harris (745.45) and Collier Dyer (740.70) and Max Flory took the 3 m title at 922.00, with Dyer at 894.70. Jack Ryan and Grayson Campbell won the 3 m Synchro decisively at 782.19.

In the Mixed Synchro events, Luke Hernandez and Kyndal Knight won the 3 m t 284.10, with Ryan and Krysta Palmer second (282.72). Cranford got a second synchro win in the 10 m, with Tyler Wills at 312.06; they had previously won this event at the 2023 USA Winter Nationals.

● Fencing ● At the FIE Foil Grand Prix in Shanghai (CHN), Hong Kong’s 32nd-ranked Chun Yin Ryan Choi took the men’s title from Italy’s 2023 World Champion, Tommaso Marini, 15-12, for his first major international victory.

In another women’s classic, 2023 Worlds bronze winner Martina Favaretto (ITA) managed another win over Olympic champ Lee Kiefer of the U.S., by 15-11. It’s Favaretto’s second straight win over Kiefer this month, but the American retains a 4-3 career edge in their one-on-one match-ups.

● Gymnastics ● At the second FIG Artistic World Challenge Cup, in Koper (SLO), Brazil, Chinese Taipei and Slovenia all scored two wins.

Slovenian women won both first-day events, with Teja Belak taking the Vault over Tijana Korent (CRO), 13.516 to 13.199. Lucija Hribar got the gold on the Uneven Bars, scoring 14.000 to 12.666 for Brazil’s Gabriela Barbosa.

Brazil got two wins on Sunday, with Julia Coutinho winning on Floor at 13.100, ahead of Barbosa (12.733), and then Lucas Bitencourt winning the men’s Horizontal Bar at 13.500, barely ahead of teammate Patrick Sampaio (13.466).

Chinese Taipei’s Min-Han Chiou won the men’s Floor title at 13.833 and Wei-Sheng Tseng won on Vault, scoring 13.883.

In the other men’s events, Diyas Toishybek (KAZ: 14.033) won on Pommel Horse, 2019 World Rings champ Ibrahim Colak (TUR: 14.033) won his specialty, and Cameron-Lie Bernard (FRA: 13.800) won on Parallel Bars, ahead of Colak (13.366). British Olympian Georgia-Mae Fenton on the women’s Beam, at 13.166.

● Ice Hockey ● Nearing the close of group play at the IIHF men’s World Championship in Denmark and Sweden, three of the four qualifiers from Group A are set, with Sweden (6-0), Canada (5-0) and Finland (4-1) all set to advance. Latvia (3-3) is in fourth position, but needs to beat Austria on Tuesday.

In Group B, the U.S. skated past Germany on Saturday, 6-3, and defeated Kazakhstan on Sunday, 6-1, to also clinch a berth in the quarterfinals. Switzerland leads the group at 6-1, with the Czech Republic at 5-0 and the U.S. at 5-1 all through to the playoffs. Germany and Denmark are tied on points, 9-9, and will play on Tuesday.

Group play will finish in Tuesday (20th) and the quarterfinals will begin on the 22nd.

● Sailing ● The 2025 Laser (ILCA 7) and Laser Radial (ILCA 6) World Championships in Qingdao (CHN) had light winds for most of the week, but then a howling squall on the final day on Saturday.

In the women’s tournament, it was Paris 10th-placer Louise Cervera (FRA) who surprised even herself with the victory, winning two races and finishing fourth twice to end with 11 net points, ahead of 2021 silver medalist Agata Barwinska (POL: 24) and Eve Mcmahon (IRL: also 24). Charlotte Rose was the top American, in eighth (39).

The men’s ILCA 7 regatta was a nail-biter, coming down to the wind-blown final race, with Willem Wiersema (NED) getting his only win of the week. But that was enough to give him just 11 net points, enough to win over two-time Olympic silver medalist Pavlos Kontides (CYP: 12) and Zac Littlewood (AUS) and Jonatan Vadnai (ITA: both also 13).

Wiersema’s best prior finish in a World was 50th, in 2021!

● Sport Climbing ● Olympic silver winner Sorato Anraku (JPN) won his third IFSC World Cup of the season in Curitiba (BRA), taking the Boulder title with 69.7 points in the final. That was good enough to win over France’s Mejdi Schalck (58.9) and two-time World Boulder champ Tomoa Narasaki (JPN: 39.0.

The women’s Boulder competition was a French 1-2, with 2021 World Youth champ Naile Meignan scoring 99.6 in the final to edge countrywoman and 2023 Worlds runner-up Oriane Bertone (99.5). American Nekaia Sanders finished eighth at 34.8.

● Triathlon ● Luxembourg isn’t one of the power countries in the World Triathlon Championship Series, but it was on Saturday in Yokohama (JPN), as Jeanne Lehair, 29, who formerly competed for France, won her first career WTCS race, beating three long-time stars, in rainy conditions.

She was second out of the water, but only 31st in the bike phase, nevertheless one of four leading into the run. Even in the presence of other excellent runners, Lehair – who transferred allegiance from France in 2023 – had the second-fastest run on the day, in 33:41, to finish at 1:51:34.

That was enough to hold off 2023 World Champion Beth Potter (GBR), who ran 33:38 and 1:51:38, and Paris Mixed Relay gold medalist Lisa Tertsch (GER: 33:47 and 1:51:40).

American star Gwen Jorgensen, the Rio 2016 Olympic champ, had her usual strong run in 33:48 to finish fourth in 1:51:52.

Australian Matt Hauser, seventh at the Paris Olympic Games, got his second career Championship Series victory in the men’s race, outlasting Vasco Vilaca (POR) in the closing stages of the run, winning in 1:41:08. Vilaca was a clear second in 1:41:14 over Miguel Hidalgo (BRA: 1:41.29).

Hauser earned the win with the fastest 10 km in the field at 29:43, with Vilaca exactly six seconds behind, which was the final margin. Chase McQueen was the top American, in 13th (1:43:29).

● Wrestling ● The next step in naming the U.S. Freestyle team for the 2025 World Championships was the USA Wrestling World Team Trials Challenge in Louisville, Kentucky, with wrestle-offs to determine the remaining contestants in the “Final X” selection meet on 14 June in Newark, New Jersey.

One of those trying to qualify was Olympic women’s 68 kg and two-time World 72 kg champ Amit Elor, in her first competition since Paris in 2024. Back at 72 kg, she fell behind 1-0 in the first period against U.S. Open runner-up Skylar Grote and had to win two second-period points to advance, 2-1.

At 59 kg, 2019 World Champion Jacarra Winchester moved on with a 7-3 win over Alexis Janiak. U.S. Open silver medalists who did advance to Final X included Erin Golston (50 kg), Felicity Taylor (53 kg), Everest Leydecker (55 kg) and Adaugo Nwachukwu (62 kg).

In the men’s bouts, two-time Olympic bronze medalist Kyle Dake won a high-profile battle at 86 kg with Carter Starocci on criteria after a 3-3 score.

At 79 kg, Levi Haines beat Dean Hamiti, the U.S. Open runner-up at 79 kg by 10-2, and U-20 Worlds runner-up Josh Barr won at 92 kg over Aeoden Sinclair, 7-3.

At 97 kg, Hayden Zillmer, a 2022 U.S. Worlds team member, won at 97 kg by beating U-23 Worlds bronzer Jonathan Aiello, 5-3. Trent Hillger took the 125 kg title over U.S. Open runner-up Demetrius Thomas, 10-4.

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