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A Little Roundup 03.25.21

3/25/2021

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The Nathan Chen - Yuzuru Hanyu duel is the marquee event at the World Figure Skating Championships this week. Who has the edge?
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Meanwhile, get to know Anna Shcherbakova - and her jumps - as she heads to the ladies' finals in the lead.

Indian table tennis player Sathiyan Gnanaseskaran reaches Tokyo 2020, completing a comeback from Rio 2016 qualification heartbreak and a deep personal loss.

"Sexism isn't a women's issue, any more than racism is a Black issue." Tennis champion Venus Williams opens up for Vogue in a personal op-ed.

More tennis: count Simona Halep as another star looking for Olympic success this year.

Champion biathlete from Germany Arnd Peiffer announces his retirement.

Field hockey: Great Britain's top Olympic scorer Ashley Jackson "steps away" from the team.

For Chinese Taipei boxer Chen Nien-Chin, success at the Olympics will be another in a career of challenges to overcome.

Tokyo 2020-bound sport climbing star Adam Ondra chats with El Capitan-free solo star Alex Honnold.

Congratulations to New Zealand's Olympic sports athletes who were recognized by the ISPS Handa Halberg Awards for a decade of excellence, including rowers Hamish Bond & Eric Murray and Nathan Cohen & Jason Sullivan, golfer Lydia Ko, and canoeist Lisa Carrington.

The Irish Field (paywall): Equestrian Cian O'Connor finds success with his partner horse, Kilkenny.

More Ireland: Arthur Lanigan-O'Keefe maintains a composure over what he can control as he approaches the start of his modern pentathlon season.
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Olympic 49er sailor Pawel Kolodinski is in the thick of competition again and targeting Tokyo 2020, after a long recovery from a broken leg.

Yukiko Ueno, Yamada Eri, and Yukiyo Meno - all holdovers from the gold medal-winning team 13 years ago at Beijing 2008 - named to Japan's softball team for Tokyo 2020.

Get to know Laurent Dubreuil, recent speed skating world champion, who has finally channeled family experience in the sport into elite success.

Sweden's women's handball team went from 11th at last year's world championships to an impressive qualification this past weekend. It took a new approach with a younger team to do it.
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R.I.P. to two-time Olympic snowboarder Julie Pomagalski of France, who passed away at age 40 after an avalanche accident.

And, Barcelona 1992 champion judoka Toshihiko Koga passes away at age 53, after a long battle with illness.

Weightlifter Yulduz Jumabayeva gets a hero's reception in Turkmenistan for a belated gold medal award.

​Fredrik Samuelsson leads a community of decathletes and heptathletes in a campaign to preserve combined events' place in athleteics.

Contribute your thoughts on World Athletics growth in their landmark survey.
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Passionate about motherhood not impeding opportunities, former Olympic runner Alysia Montano launches "&Mother", to help support professional athletes.

​Even more Ireland: 
Relive Irish legend Eamonn Coghlan's rise to elite running, via key development in the United States, courtesy of Buzz.ie.
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A Little Roundup 03.22.21

3/22/2021

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A very happy 30th birthday, indeed, as alpine skier Alexis Pinturault wins both the overall World Cup and giant slalom titles this weekend. Petra Vlhova is the women's first Slovakian overall winner. Congrats!
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It's three in a row for the 2021 Nordic Combined overall World Cup winner, Jarl Magnus Riiber.

Alexandra Escobar leads a talented group of Ecuadorian female weightlifters with Olympic dreams ahead of the Pan American Championships next month. (in Spanish)

New Zealand boxing gets a boost as heavyweight David Nyika, recently turned professional last month, is officially selected for Tokyo 2020.

The Olympic Channel: gymnast Larisa Iordache, back last year from injury setback, is determined for an Olympic return.

Missing the birth of his first child might be worth it if Ryan Seaton can qualify for his third Olympics in 49er sailing this week.

With Olympic qualification secured, Daria Dimitrieva shares how Team Russia's women's handball is determined to repeat as gold medalists.

Yang Jiayu continues China's recent dominance in women's race walking with a world record race, bettering the previous mark by 49 seconds.

After a setback of a year in 2019, veteran heptathlete Anouk Vetter is back on track to tackle Olympic qualification this spring.
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R.I.P., Katherine Diaz Hernandez, Olympic-hopeful surfer who passed away in a freak lightning accident.

Nevin Harrison: though she may be a world champion, she's only 18, and has only raced once in the last two years...but she's earned her way onto Team USA's canoeing team.

Meet Alicia Lucas, Australian gold medalist from Rio 2016 in rugby sevens, in the latest Female Athlete Project podcast. She's 'Quirky'!

Tokyo 2020 profiles Cat Osterman, star player for Team USA softball, who's come out of retirement for another go at Olympic gold.

For swimming champion Adam Peaty, it "isn't just about winning, it's about dominating" as he looks to the Tokyo Olympics.

Washington Times: Meet Jason Kozeniesky, Team USA shooter working toward his second Olympics. Can he win the USA's first gold in air rifle?

Find out "Ten Things Rafael Nadal Can't Live Without" along with GQ.

Giorgio Di Bonaventura: 3x3  basketball player can make moves off the court, too, as a contestant on Italy's dating show "Uominni e Donne".
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A Little Roundup 03.15.21

3/15/2021

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In a preview for the event's Olympic debut at Paris 2024, Gil Cohen and Noam Homri make history as the first-ever mixed 470 world champions at Vilamoura, Portugal this weekend.
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Ahead of Brazil's successful push for Tokyo 2020 qualification, IHF spoke to Thiagus Petrus of the men's handball team for a quick Q&A.

Figure skating champion Brian Boitano gets a feature in Mr. Feel Good, discussing life after competition, using his athletic experience, and more.

Meanwhile, current men's world champion Nathan Chen is ready to defend his title despite lingering Covid-19 concerns.

Dustin Johnson: the world's top-ranked men's golfer doesn't have Tokyo on his calendar this year.

Forbes asks if Zoi Sadowski-Synnott is the "world's best all-around female snowboarder"? 

Argentine tennis great Juan del Potro, double Olympic medalist, is using Tokyo 2020 as motivation to return from injury.

Habiba Marzouk looks forward to representing Egyptian gymnastics at Tokyo 2020, after securing her nation's place on the rhythmic program in 2019.

Two of the standout performances from the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships came from Matthew Boling's fastest 200 meters this year and JuVaughn Harrison's rare high jump/long jump double (!).

The 14th seeded pair of Czechs Ondrej Perusic and David Schweiner take down some goliaths en route to their maiden FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour win.
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No poles and a broken hand? No issue for star freestyle skier Eileen Gu as she wins two golds at the World Freestyle Ski and Snowboarding Championships.

57 (!) players are finalists for the United States' men's basketball team for Tokyo 2020. The final selection will be down to 12, to be determined during the late-ending NBA season this summer.

Can trampolining "legend" Dong Dong make it four Olympic podiums in a row at Tokyo 2020?

From Mongolia and the Philippines to the United States and France (and more), FIBA3x3.com shares 10 women and 10 men to watch in 2021.

Weightlifting: the Covid-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc on Olympic qualification and preparation goals.

Volleyballer Ivan Zaytsev and his power for aces is the latest "Roster 100" feature from FIVB.

Six-time Olympic fencing medalist Valentina Vezzali gets a new challenge...overseeing sports in Italy.

Brothers Attlia and Miklos Ungvari make a special visit to inspire aspiring judokas in Uzebkistan.

​World-ranked John Epping and his club scored more than a curling victory at the 2021 Tim Hortons Brier last week, with an opportunity to raise LGBT awareness.
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A Little Roundup 03.01.21

3/1/2021

 
It's a landmark win for Gyda Westvold Hansen, with her gold medal performance in the first-ever women's Nordic Combined world championship, leading a Norwegian sweep to mark history.
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Also at the FIS World Championships, Therese Johaugf's Skiathlon win on Saturday earned her the title of the most-medaled ever in the event, now with 3 gold, 1 silver, and 1 bronze.

Ahead of the World Championships for snowboarding's parallel slalom and giant slalom in Rogla, go Behind the Scenes with Benjamin Karl. He's a coffee lover!

Already an Olympian at only age 24, Simone Giannelli is a key player for Team Italy's men's volleyball team for Tokyo 2020.

Oliver Dingley - at Rio 2016, the first Irish Olympic diver since London 1948 - is the latest feature interview on the Olympipod podcast.

Veteran Laura Gallagher found renewed passion for trampolining ahead of Tokyo 2020 through...hockey.

ISU: Frenchman Sebastien Lepape continues his short track speed skating career after pandemic restrictions eased, as he targets a third Olympic appearance.
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San Francisco Chronicle: Star swimmer Katie Ledecky bemoans the athletic program cuts at Stanford University,  her alma mater.

Three-time Olympic medalist Pau Gasol continues to prepare for a post-basketball career in helping others. Might he be on the IOC Athletes Commission, too?

Married track & field stars Shaunae Miller-Uibo and Maicel Uibo share thoughts on their relationship and Olympic goals on the latest Olympic Channel podcast.

The USA's Athing Mu is still at it...setting indoor 800 meter WU20 and collegiate records this weekend just weeks after setting the WU20 indoor 400 mark.

Yohan Blake declines to step up as a health role model, despite operating a wellness center.

Alfredo Quintana: a star handball player unexpectedly passes away at age 32. R.I.P.
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Athletes Worth Watching 02.17.21

2/17/2021

 
Alex Dujshebaev, along with his brother Dani, hopes to make team handball's podium at Tokyo 2020...as his father did at Barcelona 1992.
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Can speed skater Diego Amaya bring Colombia to a Winter Olympics podium?
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Could we see Satou Sabally help power Germany through 3x3 basketball Olympic qualification? regardless, Sabally sees a bright future for the sport.
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He's the surprise of the Australian Open, after becoming the fifth qualifier to make it to a Grand Slam semifinal in the Open Era. Can Aslan Karatsev maintain his breakthrough play? Will we see him represent Russia in Tokyo 2020?
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