Games and Rings
  • A Blog for Olympic Sports Fans

News Recap:  Week Ending May 17 2015

5/17/2015

 
Picture
Sebastian Coe, IAAF President?
The New York Times took a look this week at Sebastian Coe. He's an Olympic athletic legend, and an Olympic organizing legend, and making a run at the presidency of track and field, the IAAF. He has the success of London 2012 guiding him, but in a potentially tough battle against Sergey Bubka, an athletic legend in his own right. The election will be held over the summer.

Speaking of the IAAF...
Their signature Diamond League started this week, with the first stop in Doha. The Diamond League, the IAAF's version of a world cup of track and field, features 14 stops across the globe for one-day competitions in 32 events. This year figures to be particularly competitive, with events likely used as both World Championship and Olympic tune-ups. And, judging by my horrendous start in the IAAF's Diamond League Fantasy Game, a tough one for the usual star names (Shelly-Ann - fifth place??)

And in some negative press for track...
The U.S. relay team that won silver behind Jamaica at London 2012 has been officially disqualified, due to Tyson Gay's doping admission. It's not the first time that the U.S. has lost a relay medal due to a single member's drug infraction, and it's a needed step in the right enforcement direction.

Picture
The World Taekwondo Championships Begin
On the 12th, the World Taekwondo Championships opened in Chelyabinsk, Russia. And they started in dramatic style, with the first gold medalists coming on the following day of competition, awarded to athletes from Thailand (Panipak Wongpattanakit, in the women's 46kg) and Iran (Farzan Fallah, the favorite in the men's 58kg event). By the time the Championships end next week, seven gold medals will be awarded to both men and women. Typical of most of the tournaments, South Korea was the top overall medalist in the 2013 Championships.

Laís Souza, Heartbreaking Tale of an Athlete's Risk
The New York Times is at it again, with a compelling, tragic and inspiring story of Souza, former Olympic gymnast who was attempting to become Brazil's first aerial skier in the 2014 Winter Games. It's not just a must-read for anyone who follows sports and the Games, but for anyone who appreciates a drama of rise and fall. The road to the Olympics is paved with many, many stories of injury and disappointment - those who make it to the Games is just a tiny portion of those who try, and Souza's story is a particularly dramatic one. And captivatingly told.

More Sports in 2020?
Taking advantage of the IOC's 2020 agenda allowing host cities to supplement the Olympic schedule with additional sports, the race is now on for international federations to bid for inclusion. With bids accepted until early June, likely applicants are baseball / softball, karate, and the frequent bridesmaid squash. I can imagine, given the sport's popularity in Japan, that baseball will have a leg up in the final vote next year. But really, can squash be included finally??

A Haile Tribute
Following his retirement announcement, Tony Casey provides a nice tribute to Haile Gebrselassie and his career. Class piece for a class career.

An Oly Medal for Fiji?
The inaugural rugby sevens tournament at the 2016 Games is shaping up, with the first five nations qualified in the men's event qualified. After the host Brazil's entry, the tournament will also feature Fiji, South Africa, New Zealand, and Great Britain after the latter four's top placements in the 2014-15 Rugby Sevens World Series, which ended this weekend. For those of you that like underdog stories, note that this sets Fiji up for a great story in Rio, as the winner of the World Series, they should be a favorite for the gold next year. That would be their first medal of any kind at the Olympics (all it takes is the right sport!), as well as the first medal for the sport at the Games. I'm rooting for you!

Picture
Team Canada Still #1 in Hockey
After 17 days of competition, the World Ice Hockey Championships ended in Prague with Canada winning the gold, after a 6-1 defeat of Russia in the gold medal match. The U.S. won the bronze, over the Czechs. With the Worlds usually conflicting with the late stages of the National Hockey League post-season, many top players, particularly Canadian and U.S., are not available in the Championships. But Team Canada rose above, winning the title to reclaim - what many like to think (um, including me) - their rightful place on top of the sport.


Comments are closed.

    About This Blog

    Highlights from the world of Olympic sports, focused on the athletes, and as seen through the cheeky lens of this one particular, passionate fan.

    Navigate It

    ​A Little Roundup
    Biweekly links to select Olympic sport headlines and news, with a focus on the athletes

    Let's Get Social
    Biweekly selection of intriguing, provocative social posts from Olympic sport athletes
    ​

    Athletes Worth Watching
    Weekly roundup of features on emerging Olympic sports athletes to keep an eye on

    ​Ramblings and Things
    ​
    I have my own thoughts on Olympic sport news and athletes sometimes!
    Read more about me.

    Picture
    At Rio 2016's Barra Olympic Park
    Header: Kallimamaro stadium in Athens, site of the first modern Olympics in 1896

    Follow Me

    Picture
    Tweets by @GamesandRings

    Picture

    Picture

    Favorite Sites

    The IOC
    The Olympic Channel
    The Olympic Museum
    Olympic World Library
    ​
    Team USA
    World Athletics
    ​Athletics Integrity Unit
    WADA
    Court of Arbitration
    Around the Rings
    Inside the Games
    GamesBids.com
    ​AP Olympics
    NBC Olympic Talk
    NY Times ​Olympics
    USA TODAY Olympics
    Wiki Summer Olympics
    Wiki Winter Olympics
    ​Athlete365
    ​Olympic Historians
    World Olympians Assoc.
    ​Games Architecture​
    Art of the Olympians
    Olympic.org Results
    ​Olympedia
    ​Olympstats
    ​
    Olympian Database
    ​On This Day in Sports
    ​Olympic City Project
    ​
    Keep the Flame Alive
    ​Totallympics
    ​Qualifying to the Games
    ​Lost Olympians
    ​
    Olympians 1964 to 2020
    Outsports
    ​
    Queerstory Files
    Tokyo 2020
    ​Beijing 2022
    ​Paris 2024
    ​Milan Cortina 2026
    Los Angeles 2028


    Categories

    All
    A Little Roundup
    Alpine Skiing
    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
    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
    Ice Hockey
    IOC
    Judo
    Karate
    Let's Get Social
    London 1908
    London 1948
    London 2012
    Los Angeles 1984
    Los Angeles 2028
    Luge
    Melbourne 1956
    Mexico City 1968
    Milano Cortina 2026
    Modern Pentathlon
    Montreal 1976
    Moscow 1980
    Munich 1972
    Nordic Combined
    Olympics
    Olympic Sports Media
    On This Date
    Other
    Paralympics
    Paris 2024
    Rhythmic Gymnastics
    Rio 2016
    Rome 1960
    Rowing
    Rugby Sevens
    Sailing
    Seoul 1988
    Shooting
    Short Track Speedskating
    Skateboarding
    Skeleton
    Ski Jumping
    Snowboarding
    Soccer (football)
    Sochi 2014
    Softball
    Speed Skating
    Sport Climbing
    Squash
    Summer Olympics
    Surfing
    Swimming
    Sydney 2000
    Table Tennis
    Taekwondo
    Tennis
    Tokyo 1964
    Tokyo 2020
    Track And Field
    Trampolining
    Triathlon
    Volleyball
    WADA
    Water Polo
    Weightlifting
    Winter Olympics
    Wrestling


    Archives

    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


    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly