Games and Rings
  • A Blog for Olympic Sports Fans

News Recap:  Week Ending July 12 2015

7/12/2015

 
Picture
Team USA Gets Ticker Taped
The FIFA Women's World Cup champion USA team was bestowed the honor of a ticker-tape parade down the Canyon of Heroes in Manhattan this week. It's an honor that hasn't been given to a specific women's sports team before, although women have been cheered with the ceremony in the past, whether Amelia Earhart, or the collective members of the US Olympic Teams. As in past successes (1999 World Cup, the last three Olympics), let's hope this team has some role power in making some women's sports popularity stick.

Beach Soccer World Cup Starts
Meanwhile, FIFA turned its attention to the Beach Soccer World Cup, which started this week in Portugal. Group stage for the competition will finish over the next two days; in the sixteen-team tournament, so far Italy, Switzerland, Brazil, Russia, and Tahiti (!) are 2-0 and leading the tables toward the next round.

UEFA Has Another Tournament
'tis the season for football, indeed. After holding the men's U-21 tournament (Sweden won), the men's U-17 tournament (France won), and the women's U-17 (Spain), UEFA now has the men's U-19 event happening in Greece, with the group stage at its end as well tomorrow. Greece and France have already qualified for the semi's, while from the other group, Russia, Spain, the Netherlands, and Germany all have opportunity to move on. And, oh...the women's U-19 is starting soon, too...

And...More Football in the Gold Cup
The premier tournament for the men's teams in North and Central America's, and the Caribbean (CONCACAF) kicked off this week also. In the twelve-nation event, the United States and Trinidad & Tobago are the only two-win teams, with the group stage continuing into this week. The tournament winner earns the region's spot to the 2017 Confederations Cup.

Picture
The Pan American Games Start
Amidst some reports that the Games are not excitedly received, the Pan American Games opened in Toronto this week. Touted as a much needed exposure and experience for regional pan-American athletes in a multi-sport event ahead of the Olympics, the Pan Ams also carry Olympic qualifying opportunities in multiple sports, such as triathlon, field hockey, diving, and more. Let's hope the enthusiasm grows there. As Canada tops the medal table at the close of the first weekend, perhaps the hometown fever will catch.

The Pacific Games Continue...with a Big Controversy

Meanwhile, The Pacific Games continue in Papua New Guinea after their start last weekend. Usually, the Games fly under the radar with big powers Australia and New Zealand not fully participating at full strength across all sports. However, the football tournament, which doubles as the region's Olympic qualifying event, earned widespread attention as heavy favorites New Zealand (Australia plays football in Asia) were ruled ineligible after their semifinal win over Vanuatu, due to fielding an illegal player, South African-born Deklan Wynne. So...the Olympic tournament will feature Fiji, winners over Vanuatu in the revised final. That's great for the regional exposure of spreading some wealth around, but probably bad for the Olympic tournament without the higher quality New Zealand. Rules being argued in these situations, just what legality of the disqualification is under dispute - was Wynne ineligible in FIFA or IOC rules, and how is a continuing argument. But not sure what matter it is at this point. Here's to Fiji!

A Budapest Olympics?
Hungary and Budapest officially announced their candidacy for the 2024 Games this week. While one of the most successful Summer Olympic nations, Hungary has never hosted before - and at this point likely presents a more optimistic support outlook than bid competitors Boston and Hamburg.

European Triathlon Championships Held
Geneva hosted the annual triathlon championships over this weekend, with David Hauss winning his first title after taking bronze in 2010. This is France's 5th overall title since 1985. On the women's side, Switzerland's Nicola Spirig defended her title, for her fifth overall gold. Swig already qualified for the Olympics, where she is the defending titleist there, through her victory at the European Games earlier this summer.

Picture
Wimbledon Fireworks
Another two weeks of great tennis over, and two already-great champions remained standing. On the women's side, Serena Williams won the title over newcomer Garbine Muguruza of Spain , and earned the 'Serena Slam' for the second time, holding all four Grand Slam titles at one point. Onto the US Open next, where she is in prime position to win the true Grand Slam, holding all titles through one season. And on the men's side, Novak Djokovic won over a rejuvenated Roger Federer, in a tight four-set match. And in a bid for old-timers, Martina Hingis made a splash, winning the women's doubles and the mixed doubles (both with veteran Indian partners!). Good to see her name back up in lights!

Sailing Laser Worlds Continue
Nick Thompson of Great Britain won the Laser World Championships in sailing this weekend, after leading the field into the final race. Philip Buhl of Germany moved up from fifth to second in that final race, with a victory there. By virtue of their third and fourth place finishes, respectively, in the 2014 Worlds, they are qualified for Rio already. Competition in Kingston continues with the Master events this week, followed by a youth event later in the summer.

Nacra 17 Worlds End
Also in sailing, the Nacra 17 World Championships ended this week in Aarhus, with France's Billy Besson and Marie Riou winning their third straight title. The pair won Olympic qualification with their won last year.

Picture
Summer Universiade Set to End
With just two more days left in the World University Games, the host South Koreans have made a strong showing, second in the medal count with 102 overall medals to Russia's 115. To close out the week, the Koreans did make a strong show, though, in the traditionally Russian strong suit of rhythmic gymnastics, with Yeon-Jae Son winning the title, adding to her list of firsts for a Korean in the sport. 


Comments are closed.
    Above: Athens' Kallimarmaro, the site of the 1896 Summer Olympics


    About This Blog

    An Olympics fan blog celebrating all things Olympic sport athletes

    Picture
    Read about me.

    Navigate It

    Celebrating Olympic sport athletes with news links, social media peeks, and more, seen through the cheeky lens of this particular, passionate fan.

    ​Check out:
     A Little Roundup
    Get caught up on the athletes of Olympic sports with a collection of links to recent news and feature stories

    Let's Get Social
    Taking a look at what some of your favorite Olympic sport athletes are up to on social media away from competition.

    They are the Champions
    Congratulations to the world champions of Olympic sports!

    Athletes Worth Watching
    Who are some emerging Olympic sport athletes worth keeping an eye on for the future?

    ​Ramblings and Things
    ​
    I have my own comment and opinions sometimes!

    A Quick Review
    Quick thoughts on Olympic sports-related films, art, books, TV, etc. that I've come across .
    p.s. see my Bookshop!

    Picture
    Me at Rio 2016's Barra Olympic Park


    Follow Me

    Twitter
    Instagram
    ​
    Spotify
    Medium
    ​
    Bookshop
    Post.
    Mastodon
    Tumblr

    Favorite Sites

    The IOC
    The Olympic Museum
    Olympic World Library
    ​Intl Olympic Academy
    ​Team USA
    World Athletics
    ​Athletics Integrity Unit
    WADA
    Court of Arbitration
    Around the Rings
    Inside the Games
    GamesBids.com
    The Sports Examiner
    ​AP Olympics
    ​AP Winter Olympics
    NBC Olympic Talk
    NY Times ​Olympics
    USA TODAY Olympics
    Wiki Summer Olympics
    Wiki Winter Olympics
    ​Athlete365
    ​
    Global Athlete
    ​Olympic Historians
    World Olympians Assoc.
    ​Games Architecture​
    Art of the Olympians
    Olympic.org Results
    ​Olympedia
    ​Olympstats
    ​
    Olympian Database
    ​On This Day in Sports
    ​Coubertin Speaks
    ​Olympic City Project
    ​
    Keep the Flame Alive
    Off The Podium
    The Games Odyssey
    ​Totallympics
    ​Qualifying to the Games
    ​Lost Olympians
    ​
    Olympians 1964 to 2020
    All Sports Books Reviews
    Outsports
    ​
    Queerstory Files
    ​Paris 2024
    ​Milan Cortina 2026
    Los Angeles 2028


    Categories

    All
    A Little Roundup
    Alpine Skiing
    Amsterdam 1928
    Ancient Olympics
    Aquatics
    Archery
    Artistic Swimming
    Athens 1896
    Athens 2004
    Athlete Spotlight
    Athlete Worth Watching
    Atlanta 1996
    Badminton
    Baseball
    Basketball
    Basketball 3x3
    Beach Volleyball
    Beijing 2008
    Beijing 2022
    Berlin 1936
    Biathlon
    Bobsled
    Boxing
    Breaking
    Canoe/Kayak
    Cross Country Skiing
    Curling
    Cycling
    Cycling BMX
    Cycling Mountain Bike
    Cycling Road
    Cycling Track
    Demonstration Sports
    Diving
    Equestrian
    Fencing
    Field Hockey
    Figure Skating
    Freestyle Skiing
    Golf
    Gymnastics
    Handball
    Helsinki 1952
    Ice Hockey
    Innsbruck 1976
    IOC
    Judo
    Karate
    Let's Get Social
    London 1908
    London 1948
    London 2012
    Los Angeles 1932
    Los Angeles 1984
    Los Angeles 2028
    Luge
    Melbourne 1956
    Mexico City 1968
    Milano Cortina 2026
    Modern Pentathlon
    Montreal 1976
    Moscow 1980
    Munich 1972
    Non-Olympic Sports
    Nordic Combined
    Olympics
    Olympic Sports Media
    On This Date
    Other
    Paralympics
    Paris 2024
    Pyeongchang 2018
    Rhythmic Gymnastics
    Rio 2016
    Rome 1960
    Rowing
    Rugby Sevens
    Sailing
    Salt Lake City 2002
    Sarajevo 1984
    Seoul 1988
    Shooting
    Short Track Speedskating
    Skateboarding
    Skeleton
    Ski Jumping
    Ski Mountaineering
    Snowboarding
    Soccer (football)
    Sochi 2014
    Softball
    Speed Skating
    Sport Climbing
    Squash
    Stockholm 1912
    Summer Olympics
    Surfing
    Swimming
    Sydney 2000
    Table Tennis
    Taekwondo
    Tennis
    They Are The Champions
    Tokyo 1964
    Tokyo 2020
    Track And Field
    Trampolining
    Triathlon
    Volleyball
    WADA
    Water Polo
    Weightlifting
    Winter Olympics
    Wrestling


    Archives

    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014


    To opt-out of cookies, and to read this site's privacy policy, read the Policy page.

    The following link is listed for Mastodon site verification purposes only:
    Mastodon

    RSS Feed


Proudly powered by Weebly