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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● China ● Reuters reported that the Norwegian Olympiatoppen training organization, a unit of the Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee responsible for elite athlete coaching and support, has informed its athletes not to eat meat in China, stating in its guidelines:

“Studies have shown that athletes have inadvertently ingested clenbuterol when eating meat in China, as some animals are fed hormones to promote growth.

“If a meat-based meal is consumed before a doping test, the athlete may test positive.

“Therefore, Olympiatoppen advises athletes to avoid all types of meat while in China.”

Track & Field athletes were told to be on alter, as the Diamond League openers are in China, in Xiamen last Saturday (26th) and in Shanghai on 3 May, plus the World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou on 10-11 May.

Doping positives from contaminated meat have been seen for many years and avoiding this issue has been difficult for many athletes, even in their own countries.

● Russia ● Bad behavior by parents of young athletes is a worldwide phenomenon, unfortunately also in Russia, where the father of three figure-skating daughters sought out and injured a judge from a regional competition in Yekaterinburg.

The Russian news agency TASS reported:

“Mikhail Slobodchikov, a judge at a regional figure skating competition in Yekaterinburg, was hospitalized after being attacked by the father of one of the tournament participants. This was reported to TASS by Vladislav Utkin, President of the Figure Skating Federation of the Sverdlovsk Region. …

“‘[Adonis] Miroev has a criminal record, including for causing serious bodily harm,’ Utkin explained. ‘It never came to assault on the ice before, but we always interacted with him with caution: the cameras recorded how he tried to break through to the judges, insulted them, called them ‘monkeys,’ shouted from the stands. The children are afraid of him.

“‘Now it came to beating up a judge; Slobodchikov was taken away by ambulance. This happened five days after the competition. Now Slobodchikov is already at work, although his head hurts. A statement has been filed with the police.’”

● Athletics ● The World Athletics Road Running Championships will not happen in 2025:

“Following the decision last month to move the 2025 World Athletics Road Running Championships from San Diego, World Athletics has held discussions with a number of alternative hosts, some with great potential.

“While some of these discussions will continue for other editions of the event, the World Athletics Council has decided not to award the Championships to an alternative host this year due to lack of essential planning and preparation time required to cater for both elite and mass participation race elements.

“The focus instead will be on next year’s World Road Running Championships which will be held in Copenhagen from 19-20 September 2026 and is shaping up to be a great event. Already 100,000 people have shown interest in the 35,000 spots available for the half marathon distance.”

● Football ● U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) sent an angry letter to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Friday, complaining about travel procedures for visitors to the U.S., including:

“Over the past couple months, there have been numerous troubling reports of due process violations, mistreatment, prolonged questioning and detention, lengthy visa interview wait times, visa revocations, and arbitrary denials of entry of visitors and returning residents of the United States. This has turned ordinary travel into a needlessly grueling ordeal for tourists, business travelers, lawfully permanent residents, and U.S. citizens. In fact, I have received significant outreach from my constituents, wrecked with panic, about how difficult it is to travel to and from the United States. They are seeking greater reassurance from the U.S. Government that their rights will be upheld and have requested that I work with your Departments to facilitate timely improvements. …

“The United States is slated to host three major international sporting events in the coming years. These events should be a boon for local economies and the broader U.S. economy, but your actions toward travelers will jeopardize their success. The 2026 Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup is expected to be the largest sporting event in U.S. history, likely bringing five million international visitors and generating $5 billion in expected economic activity. Similarly, the 2028 Summer Olympic and Paralympic games are expected to generate an additional $5 billion in economic activity for the United States.

“Ahead of these events, your Departments will experience a significant increase in travelers seeking entry to the United States, to include extraordinary athletes, support staff, government officials, journalists, business owners, and spectators. If your harsh and unnecessary approaches to travelers continue, foreign-born athletes who have spent their whole lives training for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity may be unable to travel to the United States to participate in these games. Even foreign-born athletes who proudly and lawfully compete for the United States are hesitant to travel for these events, as they are afraid of how they will be treated by your Departments. If these remarkable athletes cannot compete, their enthusiastic fans, including U.S. citizens, will be deeply disappointed and unwilling to attend these games. All of this will once again lead to a loss in revenue for U.S. businesses and further damage the reputation of the United States.”

Congressional hearings have already been held this year on travel bottlenecks, including significant attention to declining efficiency in visa processing and customs over the past several years.

● Gymnastics ● A stark reminder of how much more popular women’s gymnastics is than men’s came with a ratings report on the NCAA Championships held the same weekend of 17-19 April.

Sports Media Watch noted that the women’s NCAA final drew1.0 million on ABC, then was followed by the men’s nationals on ESPN2, which had … an average of 107,000.

≡ RESULTS ≡

● Athletics ● After the wild debut of the indoor World Shot Put Series on Wednesday, the Drake Relays got down to some more traditional track & field over the weekend, with two world-leading performances:

● Men/Decathlon: 8,265, Till Steinforth (GER-Nebraskia)
● Women/Mile: 4:23.69, Krissy Gear (USA)

Gear’s race was noteworthy as it was the first time the women’s mile had been run at Drake in exactly 50 years. Gear had won the Grand Blue Mile – also the USATF national women’s road championship – and had to come from behind to run down comebacking Shelby Houlihan on the final straight to win in 4:23.69 to 4:23.84. Two-time Olympian Karissa Schweizer moved into third in the final 50 m in 4:25.27.

Olympic champ Masai Russell won the women’s 100 m hurdles in 12.74 (-1.4 m/s), taking over in mid-race and fellow Paris gold medalist Tara Davis-Woodhall won the long jump at 6.75 m (22 3/4) on her first attempt, moving to no. 4 on the world outdoor list in her season opener. Brooke Andersen, the 2022 World Champion in the women’s hammer, raised her seasonal best to 75.28 m (247-0) and remained at no. 5 in 2025.

In the men’s 1,500 m, Vincent Ciattei – like Gear – completed a road-track mile/1,500 double, taking over on the final turn to win in 3:39.49, ahead of Damien Dilcher (3:39.99) and Craig Engels (3:40.13). Chris Robinson, the world leader in the 400 m (44.15) won his usual specialty, the 400 m hurdles, in 48.92, now no. 12 on the world list.

The men’s shot was another re-run of the earlier World Shot Put Series, with Roger Steen winning again with his sixth-round throw of 21.62 m (70-11 1/4), this time over Tripp Piperi (21.52 m/70-7 1/4). Olympic champion Ryan Crouser did not throw, but offered some entertaining live commentary on the CBS Sports Network broadcast; Steen moved to no. 2 on the 2025 outdoor world list with the win.

Three-time Olympian Rudy Winkler moved up to no. 2 in the world for 2025 in the men’s hammer, winning at 81.08 m (266-0), his longest since 2021 and his sixth-longest throw ever.

Steinforth, a Paris Olympian for Germany and the defending Drake Relays champ, won the 100 m, long jump, shot, 400 m and 110 m hurdles on the way to his 8,265 world leader and no. 2 score ever.

¶

At the Penn Relays in Philadelphia, a world outdoor lead in the women’s 1,500 m for American Josette Andrews, who won the Olympic Development race in 4:01.76, ahead of Dani Jones (USA: 4:03.21) and Nozomi Tanaka (JPN: 4:05.44).

One of the dazzling relay races was in the boys Championship of America 4×400 m, won by Kingston College of Jamaica, anchored by Marcinho Rose in 45.04. But behind Kingston was a phenomenal anchor leg by Paris 2024 men’s 4×400 relay gold medalist – from the heats – Quincy Wilson of The Bullis School of Potomac, Maryland. He took the stick in fifth place, passing three Jamaican teams by the time he got to the home straight, but unable to get home first, but splitting a sensational 43.99!

Bullis, in second, finished in 3:06.31, a U.S. high school record, ahead of Hawthorne (California)’s famed 1985 mark of 3:07.40.

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Kenya’s Agnes Ngetich, the world-record holder in the women’s 10 km road race, got the mark for a women-only 10 km, winning the Adizero Road To Records event in Herzogenaurach (GER) on Saturday (26th) in 29:27.

She was well ahead of Fentaye Belayneh (30:30); Ngetich’s mark is the no. 7 performance all-time, including mixed races, and she has three of the seven.

Two-time World Indoor 3,000 m champ Yomif Kejelcha (ETH) won the men’s 5 km in 12:54, the no. 6 performance ever and he has three of the six! He was also comfortably up on Andrew Alamisi (KEN: 13:03).

Kenya’s Paris 800 m winner Emmanuel Wanyonyi won the mile in 3:52.45, moving to no. 3 all-time for the road mile. He beat Americans Hobbs Kessler (3:54.34) and Nico Young (3:54.50). Fellow Kenyan Nelly Chepchirchir won the women’s mile in 4:23.98, with American Addy Wiley third in 4:30.90 and Taryn Rawlings fifth in 4:40.09.

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U.S. Half Marathon champ Alex Maier won the Dusseldorf Marathon in 2:08:33 on Sunday, smashing his own best of 2:11:24 from Chicago in 2024 and moving to 10th on the all-time U.S. list for record-eligible courses.

Counting the net-downhill Boston Marathon, the U.S. suddenly has five at 2:08:33 or faster this year with Maier joining Conner Mantz (2:05:08), Clayton Young (2:07:04) and Ryan Ford (2:08:00) in Boston and Matthew Richtman’s surprise 2:07:57 at the Los Angeles Marathon.

● Cycling ● The fourth of the five “Monument” races for 2025 came Sunday with the 111th Liege-Bastogne-Liege, with all eyes once again on Slovenian star – and defending champion – Tadej Pogacar.

He started his “Monument” spring with a third at Milan-Sanremo, he won the Ronde van Vlaanderen, was second at Paris-Roubaix and on Sunday, dominated at Liege-Bastogne-Liege, taking off with 35 km remaining on the hilly, 252 km course and won in 6:00:09.

At 26, Pogacar has won the Tour de France three times, the Giro d’Italia in 2024, the 2024 World Road Championship and now nine Monuments: four at Il Lombardia, twice in the Ronde van Vlaanderen and this was his third Liege-Bastogne-Liege, also in 2021. He’s still chasing wins in Milan-Sanremo and Paris-Roubaix.

Pogacar was 1:03 clear of Guilio Ciccone (ITA) in second and Ben Healy (IRL) in third, ahead of the following pack of 39. Neilson Powless was the top American, in 10th (+1:10).

The last Monument of 2025 comes on 11 October with Il Lombardia in Italy.

The women’s Liege-Bastogne-Liege came down to a four-way sprint after 152.9 km, with Kimberley Le Court Pienaar of Mauritius getting her first major race win at age 29 in 4:15:42.

Dutch star – and two-time winner of this race – Demi Vollering was the first to try a final attack, but Le Court and Puck Pieterse (NED) passed her and finished 1-2, with Vollering third and Cedrine Kerbaol (FRA) in fourth. Vollering has now made the podium for five straight years (2-1-2) and six times in all.

Kristen Faulkner was the top American finisher, in 25th.

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At the Pan American Road Championships in Punta del Este (URU), Colombia’s Juliana Londono won a final mass sprint on the flat, 104.8 km course in 2:42:37, just ahead of American Skylar Schneider and Teniel Campbell (TTO) as the first 42 riders received the same time.

Sunday’s men’s road race went to Colombia’s Alvaro Hodeg in 4:56:44 in a six-man sprint at the end of the flat, 209.6 km course, beating Sebastian Brenes and Jason Huertas, both from Costa Rica, to the line.

The U.S. went 1-2 in the women’s Time Trial, with Ruth Edwards covering the 26.2 km route in 34:44 with teammate Emily Ehrlich at 34:54 and Campbell at 35:28. The men’s Time Trial was won by Walter Vargas in a Colombian 1-2; Vargas routed the field in 46:48 over 39.3 km, with Rodrigo Contreras a distant second, 1:57 back.

● Gymnastics ● At the FIG Rhythmic World Cup in Tashkent (UZB), home favorite Takhmina Ikromova took the All-Around at 112.25, winning a tie-break with Olympic champion Darya Varfolomeev (GER), with Liliana Lewinska (POL: 108.30) in third.

Ikromova won the Hoop final over teammate Anastasiya Sarantseva, 28.50 to 28.15, but Varfolomeev won on Ball (29.35) with Ikromova second (28.70), on Clubs at 30.00 with Sarantseva second (28.30) and on Ribbon at 29.05, with Ikromova at 28.50.

American Evita Griskenas was fourth in Ball (27.00) and Ribbon (27.30).

● Ice Hockey ● The IIHF men’s U-18 Championship is ongoing in Frisco and Allen, Texas, with Canada and the U.S. moving along undefeated.

Defending champ Canada defeated Slovakia, 9-2, in its opener; Latvia, 7-1 on Friday, and Finland by 5-1 on Sunday. The U.S., runners-up in 2024, started with a 4-2 victory against the Czech Republic and then 10-0 over Switzerland and 6-3 over Sweden on Saturday.

Pool play continues through the 28th.

● Judo ● Brazil dominated the Pan American Championships, held in Santiago (CHI), winning nine of 14 classes and taking 16 medals overall. The Brazilian winners included Michel Augusto in the men’s 60 kg, Ronald Lima (66 kg), Gabriel Falcao (81 kg), Rafael Macedo (90 kg), and Leonardo Goncalves (100 kg) in the men’s classes.

Cuba’s Andy Granda, the 2022 World Champion at +100 kg, won his class, and American Jack Yonezuka, 21, took the men’s 73 kg gold, for his first Pan Am title.

Brazil took four women’s classes, with Natasha Ferreira beating Maria Celia Laborde of the U.S. at 48 kg; Shirlen Nascimento won at 57 kg over American Mariah Holguin, Nauana Silva took the 63 kg title, and Olympic champ Beatriz Souza won the +78 kg gold.

The U.S. also won two bronzes, from Jonathan Yang in the men’s 60 kg, and John Jayne in the men’s 90 kg.

● Modern Pentathlon ● The second UIPM World Cup of the season was in Budapest (HUN), and became a showcase for 2024 World Junior Champion Mohamed Moutaz (EGY), who scored 1,576 points to edge home favorite Mihaly Koleszar (HUN) and France’s Ugo Fleurot, both at 1,570.

Moutaz, 20, was only 14th in fencing and 10th in the Obstacle, but won the swimming, to enter the Laser Run in ninth place, 49 seconds behind teammate Mohamed El Ashqar (EGY). But Moutaz dominated the field, rolling through the race in 9:51.74 to claim the fastest time by almost seven seconds! That gave him the win – his first World Cup gold – with Koleszar holding on for second and Fleurot moving up from sixth to race to the line for silver, and coming up just short.

Hungarian fans cheered Michelle Gulyas, the Paris Olympic champion, who was third in fencing, fourth in Obstacle and second in swimming, so she was a close third going into the final event. She started just four seconds behind, but had more than enough to get to the line first in 11:14.56, with prior leader, the 14-year-old Farifa Khalil (EGY) finishing in 11:32.95 to hang on to second.

France’s Coline Flavin moved from fourth to third (1,455) on the Laser Run.

● Sailing ● China and Italy both scored two wins at the Semaine Olympique Francaise regatta off Hyeres (FRA) for the Olympic classes.

● IQ Foil: Kun Bi (CHN) won the men’s medal race with Grae Morris (AUS) and Louis Pignolet (FRA) classified as second and third. Israel’s Tamar Steinberg won the women’s medal race, ahead of China’s Paris fifth-placer Zheng Yan and teammate and Olympic silver winner Sharon Kantor.

● Formula Kite: Italy’s Riccardo Paniosi, fourth in Paris last year and the 2024 Worlds runner-up, won the final after taking six races during the qualifying and finals series. Singapore’s Maximilian Maeder, the 2023 World Champion, also with six wins, was classified second and Gian Stragiotti (SUI) was third overall. The women’s winner was China’s Wan Li, ahead of teammate Jingyue Chen and France’s Paris silver medalist Lauriane Nolot.

● 49er/49erFX: Americans Nevin Snow and Ian MacDiarmid scored a tight win with 101 net points, with six top-three finishes, to edge Richard Schultheis and Fabian Rieger (GER: 104) and Hernan Umpierre and Fernando Diz (URU: 108). Belgians Isaura Maenhaut and Anouk Geurts took the women’s 49erFX class, over Paris Henken and Helena Scutt of the U.S., 149-151, making the final tally close with a ninth-place finish in the medal race.

● Laser/Laser Radial: Hong Kong’s Nicholas Halliday was a clear winner in Laser, with 48 net points and six top-three finishes; New Zealand’s Thomas Saunders was second with 71. Italy’s Chiara Benini Floriani won the women’s Laser Radial class in a four-way fight with 34 net points, to 36 for two-time World Champion Emma Plasschaert (NED), 39 for Dane Anna Munch and 39 for American Charlotte Rose. Plasschaert and Munch went 1-2 in the medal race to close on Benini Floriani, who was fourth.

● Mixed Crew: In the 470, Paris 14th-placers Simon Diesch and Anna Markfort (GER) had six top-three finishes and 43 net points to win, against veteran star Jordi Xammar and Marta Cardona (ESP: 56). In the Nacra 17, Tokyo silver medalists and two-time World Champions John Gimson and Anna Burnet (GBR) won with 49 net points to 52 for Italy’s Gianluigi Ugilini and Maria Giubilei.

The next major Olympic classes regatta comes on 24 May with the Allianz Regatta in Almere (NED).

● Sport Climbing ● At the IFSC World Cup in Wujiang (CHN), the crowd saw a  home win for Jianguo Long in the men’s Speed final over Hryhorii Ilchyshyn (UKR), 4.88 to 4.98, with former world-record holder Kiromal Katibin (INA) taking the bronze over Paris 2024 bronze medalist, 19-year-old Sam Watson of the U.S.

The women’s Speed final completed a Chinese sweep, with Shaoqin Zhang over Korea’s Jimin Jeong, 6.32 to 6.37, as Zhang got her second career World Cup win. Her teammate, Olympic runner-up Lijuan Deng, got the bronze, 6.34 to 6.39 over American Emma Hunt, the 2023 Worlds runner-up.

The Lead finals on Sunday saw Japan’s 18-year-old phenom, Sorato Anraku – the Paris Olympic silver winner in the Lead-Boulder combined – win again, getting to the top in the final, ahead of countryman Neo Suzuki (40+) and Spain’s Alberto Gines Lopez (39+). Suzuki, in his first World Cup final, had to re-climb after an appeal on his first final run, but managed to replicate his original second-place finish.

The women’s Lead final had a tie for the win between Erin McNeice (GBR) and 2021 World Champion Chae-hyun Seo (KOR), both at 41 (and 4:26!). American Annie Sanders, who won the season opener, was third at 39+.

● Swimming ● At the second leg of the World Aquatics Open Water World Cup, in Ibiza (ESP), Spain’s Olympic 10th-placer Angela Martinez emerged on the final lap to claim a clear win in the women’s 10 km in 1:58:41.4, beating German Celine Rider (1:58:43.3) and Bettina Fabian (HUN: 1:58:45.2).

Italy enjoyed a sweep in the men’s 10 km, with Andrea Filadelli with a decisive win in 1:50:30.9, beating 2022 World 25 km champ Dario Verani (1:50:33.2) and Giuseppe Ilario (1:50:34.9). It was Filadelli’s first World Cup gold.

French 2016 Olympic bronze winner Marc-Antoine Olivier was fourth (1:50:37.7) and American Joey Tepper was fifth (1:50:37.8). Olympic champ Kristof Rasovszky (HUN) was eighth and Dylan Gravley of the U.S. finished 11th.

In the new 3 km Sprints, featuring two rounds of eliminations over 2,500 m, then 1,500 m and a final round of 500 m, Olympic men’s 10 km silver winner Oliver Klemet won the men’s final in 4:50.5, over David Betlehem (ITA: 4:51.6) and Olivier (4:53.5), with Rasovszky fourth. Germany’s Lea Boy won the women’s final (500 m) in 5:18.5, with Fabian second (5:22.1) and Ichika Kajimoto (JPN: 5:22.2) in third.

● Wrestling ● Four veteran stars earned U.S. Open titles in Las Vegas, Nevada, topped by Rio 2016 Olympic champion Kyle Snyder at 97 kg, who won his second U.S. Open gold with an 11-0 technical fall over Jonathan Aiello.

Four-time World Champion Kyle Dake was beaten in the 86 kg final by 2023 Worlds bronze winner Zahid Valencia, who won the final by 8-4 and also won his second career U.S. Open. Valencia was named the Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament.

Yianni Diakomihalis, the 2022 Worlds runner-up, won at 70 kg with an 8-2 victory over two-time Worlds medal winner James Green, and 2018 U.S. Open winner Joey McKenna took the 65 kg gold over Jesse Mendez by 3-1 in the final.

That left the other six crowns to first-time winners at the Open: top seeds Luke Lilledahl (57 kg), Evan Wick (79 kg), and Trent Hidlay (92 kg), second seeds Mitchell Mesenbrink (74 kg), and Wyatt Hendrickson (125 kg) and sixth-seed Jax Forrest (61 kg).

Hendrickson, famed for his NCAA title win over Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion Gable Steveson, won his final by 14-3 over Demetrius Thomas.

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All 10 women’s Freestyle winners were determined in Friday, with Paris Olympic silver winner Kennedy Blades taking the 68 kg division with a 10-0 technical fall against Solin Piearcy, and 2024 Worlds 72 kg bronze medalist Kylie Welker dominating the 76 kg final with an 11-0 win over Yelena Makoyed. Welker was named as the outstanding wrestler of the tournament.

Two-time Worlds silver winner Kayla Miracle won her fifth U.S. Open title with a 4-0 win over Adaugo Nwachukwu in the 62 kg final, and former World U-23 team member Amanda Martinez won at 57 kg when 2019 World Champion Jacarra Winchester could not compete in the final.

There were lots of other surprises. Seventh-seeded Brianna Gonzalez won at 53 kg, World U-20 champ Cristelle Rodriguez took the title at 55 kg, third-seed Abigail Nette triumphed at 59 kg, Aine Drury (no. 3) at 65 kg and no. 2 Alexandria Glaude at 72 kg.

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In the men’s Greco-Roman finals that also served as the U.S. World Team Trials, London 2012 Olympian Ellis Coleman defeated Tokyo Olympian Ildar Hafizov, two matches to none at 63 kg; Tokyo Olympian Alejandro Sancho won the 72 kg class over Aliaksandr Kikiniou Jr., 2-0, and at 77 kg, Paris 2024 Olympian Kamal Bey took the 77kg class, 2-0, over Aliaksandr Kikiniou, the father!

Jayden Ramsey took the 55 kg title by forfeit to make his first national team; Max Black won two close matches to take the 60 kg crown over Zane Richards, and Alston Nutter won at 67 kg via two pins of Otto Black.

On Saturday, the four remaining World Team Trials matches were completed, with Paris Olympian Payton Jacobsen defeating Spencer Woods, two matches to one at 87 kg; sixth-seed Michial Foy won the 97 kg class by 2-1 over Olympian Josef Rau, and second-seed Cohlton Schultz won the 130 kg class after no. 1 Adam Coon was injured during the first match and had to retire. At 82 kg, second-seed Bela Melelashvili also won as no. 1 Jesse Porter could not continue after the first match.

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