From Antwerp With Love

A Little Roundup

The Olympic Museum showcases 2020 as the 100th anniversary of Antwerp 1920, which was the 1st Games edition after Berlin 1916 was cancelled due to World War I. As TOM blog puts it, "The world of 1920 reminds us of our world today. Because of the coronavirus, we need to rebuild our confidence in the future. Lockdown has created a tremendous feeling of unity and solidarity...The Olympic flag is still aloft, an invitation to help build a better world through sport."

Condolences to the family, friends, and community of short track-er Lara van Ruijven, who passed away last week after an extended illness struck last month. She is the defending world champion at 500 meters, and an Olympic medalist from 2018. Lara van Ruijven was only 27.

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The ISU learned of the tragic news that Lara van Ruijven, the Dutch Short Track Speed Skating World Champion, passed away on July 10, 2020.⁣ ⁣⁣ ⁣The 27-year-old had been in a hospital in Perpignan, France, since 25 June, after falling ill during a training camp in the Pyrenees. She was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder, placed in a coma and underwent surgery.⁣ ⁣⁣ ⁣The ISU family shares its heartfelt condolences with Lara's family, friends and teammates ? #ShortTrackSkating #panterlara

A post shared by ISU Speed Skating (@isuspeedskating) on Jul 10, 2020 at 1:55pm PDT

The New York Times has a compelling profile of Kyle Merber, an Olympic hopeful runner who found himself re-evaluating his goals upon Tokyo 2020's postponement.

World Athletics' Diamond League continued last Thursday with its unique attempts at competition, with Zurich "hosting" across three global locations. While I applaud the effort to create attention and drive some needed contests, it'd be better to assuage skeptics if remote organizers didn't bungle key logistics...

You can’t be playing with my emotions like this....
got me in the wrong lane smh □□‍♂️

— Noah Lyles (@LylesNoah) July 9, 2020

Olympic Hockey: Really hard to imagine the NHL passing on promotion in China...

ESPN examines the effect on budding Olympic sports athletes that the rising tide of program cuts have within  the unique university system in the United States.

Gymnastics: On the heels of turmoil in the U.S., female elite athletes in the United Kingdom, including Francesca Fox and the Downie sisters, are finding their voice to fight abuse at home.

On a positive note: Tokyo 2020-qualified gymnastics stalwart Oksana Chusovitina is still going, on track to be the oldest gymnast at any Olympic Games after debuting at Barcelona 1992. CNN shares her story.

Hooray! Canadian Olympian Martha McCabe comes out publicly as lesbian to "be an example for young female swimmers".

Planet Canoe checked in with Peter Kauzer, three-time Olympian aiming for Tokyo 2020 despite pandemic complications.