More than the ratification of the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz as a phenomenon definitely installed at the highest level of professional tennis, the last weekend of Roland Garros made it clear that, along with the change of command in the ranking, the men’s circuit has definitely found the replacement of the legendary three. Even with some circumstantial events involving great tennis players such as Zverev, Medvedev, Tsitsipas, Ruud or Rublev, the future that has arrived seems to replace the Federer-Nadal-Djokovic axis with that of Sinner-Alcaraz.

It’s not a minor issue if that were the case: in terms of game, audience attendance, audiences and sponsorship, great duels are often the key to the success of a hyper professional show like this.

Of course, even if at the end of the road, the Italian and the Spaniard give us a hand in hand like the legendary one of Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert (the most notable rivalry in this discipline with 80 official matches, of which 60 were finals, including 14 Grand Slam finals), they will hardly achieve the hegemony and excellence of the trio that, with the retirement of Federer, the limitations of Nadal and the somewhat uncertain validity of Djokovic, has marked a milestone difficult to identify in the history of sport.

There are circumstances in which, in order to measure the success of a discipline, it is very useful to compare it with a similar activity.

Even with a certain arbitrariness, to understand why what was done by the Swiss, Spanish and Serbian trilogy is so remarkable, I propose a game of equivalences between tennis and golf.

Just to begin with, since Federer won Wimbledon in 2003 —the first major title of the three chosen—, 66 of the following 83 Grand Slams were distributed among them. Only 17 were left in the possession of 11 other players, which means that in 21 years only 14 athletes won any of the highest trophies in this game. Olympic or Davis Cup titles are discarded from the roster, something that, in singles or doubles, they also won.

During the same period, the formidable professional golf circuit enshrined a total of 50 different players. While the list of great tennis titles of that period was led by Djokovic with 24 crowns, Nadal with 22 and Federer with 20, the distribution of titles between the PGA, the Open, the US Open and the Augusta Masters places Phil Mickelson with 6, Brooks Koepka with 5 and Rory McIlroy with 4 in the same period.

Another important fact. While the three phenomenons won at least one title in each of the Grand Slams, no one surpassed the number of three Majors in that same time frame. And something else. Although the difference in characteristics of the court, for example, between any venue of the Open and the traditional layout of Augusta, is notable, the great crowns of tennis require versatility to stand out on at least three different surfaces; any tennis fan knows the difference between playing on brick dust and on grass.

Of course, none of the above detracts from the formidable success of the professional golf circuit. Quite the contrary, it could be said that the atomization of figures enhances the spectacle and, therefore, the business.

However, in line with how complex it is sometimes to value the women’s tennis circuit, with a large number of high-level players who are sometimes difficult to differentiate in technical, physical and tactical characteristics, men’s competition seemed to be exposed to the great challenge of the empty nest left by the three icons.

I insist. Regardless of the isolated events of any of those that follow, Sinner and Alcaraz seem to have definitely made a qualitative leap compared to the herd. For now, as the player’s lifespan is getting longer and longer, the progress of both at just 22 and 21 years respectively seems like something from the past.

In addition, each one comes with its own thing. The Spaniard has just given an extraordinary display of character, given that his technical capacity was never under suspicion. He did it in the final, when far from being discouraged by the strange third who forcefully let out liquid in the decisive episodes against Zverev. He did it especially in the semifinal when an intractable Sinner started playing a set and a couple of games that seemed to expose the Spaniard to humiliation. In any case, the contribution to Alcaraz’s cause is the unparalleled number of three Grand Slam finals, three won and on three different surfaces.

The Italian has just rounded off an exceptional semester with a Davis Cup title, his first Grand Slam (Australia) and the brand new succession of Djokovic as number one in the world.

Choose each one your favorite. But know that we are facing the threat that men’s tennis has found on the horizon a head-to-head that has already been 9 episodes in just three seasons and that promises to become an all-time classic.

Natalia Partyka was born in Gdansk almost 35 years ago without her lower right arm. She is a six-time Paralympic table tennis champion. On August 13, 2008, at the Beijing University Gymnasium, she succumbed to Hong Kong’s Tie Ya Na and, as a member of the Polish women’s team, became the first tennis player to compete in both the Olympic and Paralympic Games of the same edition. It would repeat in London, Rio and Tokyo.

Partyka would not impose herself as the only one in her discipline to embrace duality: the Australian Melissa Tapper would emulate it in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020. Nor as the only athlete: since the Italian Paola Fantato, in archery in Atlanta ‘96, there would be six repeaters. Five women and Oscar Pistorius.

Six until Paris 2024, a game in which Brazil’s Bruna Costa Alexandre, third in the world’s Paralympic ranking, will stretch the wake of the Polish multi-champion (whom she described as a source of inspiration) and Tapper. At 29 years old, she will be entered in the seventh line of the record. It will compete in the two multi-sports festivals at Arena Sud 4 between July and September.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Bruna Alexandre (@bruninha_alexandre)

The amputation of her right arm due to thrombosis after two months of life placed her for the bulk of her professional career in the orbit of athletes with disabilities, in which she won a world title in Bratislava 2017 and four Paralympic medals: two bronze in Rio 2016 and one silver and one bronze in Tokyo 2020. Broken down, one was placed in the individual test and the rest in the team test in both Games, in which she flirted unsuccessfully with the greater glory.

Her significance in those tournaments provided her with a possibility of privilege among athletes with her condition: the transition to absolute competitions. In October 2023, she became the first parathlete to play a Pan American Game. She won the bronze medal in the team event in Santiago. In February, she represented a Brazilian team dismissed in the round of 16 at the Busan World Championship. The most prominent challenge is already looming on their horizon.

After being included in her country’s women’s Olympic roster together with Bruna and Giulia Takahashi, Alexandre expressed in one of her multiple Instagram posts her euphoria over the call, which she labeled as a “feat”: “This day will mark my career forever. Today I can celebrate, sing and even cry. God’s dreams will never die,” said the first Latin American athlete to delete and rewrite, a handful of days later, the prefix “para”.

A risky lift to the French opponent Paulin Riva with the Argentine defeat in the already unchanged final in Madrid seriously jeopardized the Olympic participation of Rodrigo Isgró, the best player of the year 2023 according to World Rugby.

The passing game specialist and key player in the attack of the leading team of the regular season of the last circuit was sanctioned for five games (initially 10) and, barring a successful appeal from the Argentine Rugby Union within 48 hours leading to a reduction of the penalty, he could only play a potential final or the bronze match in Paris 2024.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Rodrigo Isgró (@rodrigoisgro)

In a statement following the misconduct, the Argentine had stated that “it was not an action in which I wanted to hurt him” and admitted that “I bowed my head and was sick, I overdid it”. After knowing the sanction, he made public a reflection on his Instagram account in which he said: “If I made a mistake I apologize and I will comply with what is determined. Hopefully they can understand what an Olympic Game means for any athlete.”

The rugby 7′s Olympic competition format (it will start on Wednesday, July 24, two days before the opening day), with a group stage and single-elimination crosses starting from the quarterfinals, requires that the maximum number of games played by a national team be six.

Kenyan Rhonex Kipruto, the world record holder for 10,000 meters on the road, was suspended for six years due to irregularities in his biological passport, as ruled by the Disciplinary Court of the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) of World Athletics.

Kipruto, bronze medalist in the 2019 Doha World Cup, had been provisionally sanctioned since May 11, 2023 and now the measure has been ratified, so he will only be able to compete again on May 10, 2029.

The suspension of the Kenyan is due to the fact that abnormal oscillations in his blood values were detected in 32 checks carried out between July 2018 and March 2022. “The athlete’s arguments could not explain the abnormalities in the passport,” said the UIA Disciplinary Court.

The AIU has banned Rhonex Kipruto (Kenya) for 6 years, from 11 May 2023 for the Use of a Prohibited Substance/Method (ABP case). DQ results from 2 September 2018 to 11 May 2023

Details here: https://t.co/BKq8zojQHB
Details here: https://t.co/aNSj06HMbM pic.twitter.com/iJVYlvXCcx

— Athletics Integrity Unit (@aiu_athletics) June 5, 2024

As stated in the ruling, the Court decided the maximum sanction by determining that Kipruto underwent a system of “deliberate and sophisticated doping prolonged over time with the objective of artificially improving his performance”.

“Several anomalies found in the athlete’s ABP were linked to important competitions, including the Valencia half marathon in 2020 and the Kenyan Olympic qualifiers in 2021. Blood doping outside of competitions can also be used to gain an advantage by allowing for more intense training and this has an obvious effect on performance, even after a significant period of time. This is corroborated by the fact that in recent years many athletes have been positive for EPO far from competition,” said the panel of experts.

In addition to the suspension, the Kenyan will lose all the awards and brands established from September 2, 2018 to May 11, 2023, so he will be left without the world road record he had set in Valencia, in 2020. He will also lose, among other achievements, the bronze medal in the 10,000 meters at the World Athletics Championship in Doha and the victory in the same distance in the Diamond League in Stockholm 2019. The decision may be appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

From June 15 to 23, in Indianapolis, swimming in the United States will experience an unprecedented moment. For the first time, the qualifying Trials for the Olympic Games will be held in a regular NFL stadium such as the Lucas Oil Stadium and there will be the best representatives of the country looking for a pass to Paris 2024.

The Trials will be held in the same city that hosted them for Paris 1924 and will be the largest stage where a swimming pool will be installed; some 250,000 people are expected to attend during the nine days of competition to see the 700 swimmers who will seek their place to compete in La Defénse Arena in Paris and one of the great attractions will be Katie Ledecky.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by USA Swimming (@usaswimming)

Ledecky is going to his fourth Olympic Games and gigantic his legend. The woman born in Washington 27 years ago has accumulated 10 medals from London to Tokyo, seven of those gold medals, making her the swimmer with the most Olympic titles. And it could have been eight if it weren’t for second place in a test that is now under suspicion in the swimming world.

In Tokyo, the United States 4x200 pole set a new national record (7:40.73), but did not allow it to keep the victory because China won the gold with a new world record (7:40.33). Zhang Yufei and Yang Junxuan, two members of the team, are part of the 23 doping cases reported by China to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in June 2021, prior to the Games in the Japanese capital, and which were only discovered a few weeks ago through the German television program Geheimsache Doping (Top Secret Doping, in Spanish) and the American newspaper The New York Times.

“It’s difficult to go to Paris knowing that we’re going to compete with some of these athletes,” Ledecky said of the case, in an interview with CBS News, and he didn’t hesitate to say: “I think our faith in some of the systems is at its lowest.”

“You try not to think too much when you’re competing, the best thing you can do is go out and try to win,” Ledecky said, although he acknowledged that “it’s difficult when you have in the back of your head that it’s not necessarily an even playing field.”

Katie Ledecky, one of the greatest female U.S. swimmers of all time, calls for "some accountability” after reports of Chinese swimmers testing positive for banned substances before the 2021 Tokyo Games. pic.twitter.com/ksq7rFGaAa

— CBS Sunday Morning 🌞 (@CBSSunday) May 31, 2024

At the beginning of 2021, 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for trimetazidine (TMZ), a prescription medication for the heart that improves sports performance; China argued that it was contamination and the AMA found no evidence to determine anything different, although it also acknowledged that it could not do research “on the territory” due to restrictions due to Covid-19. The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) accused the AMA of “blindfolding its eyes” and stated that “the selective and selfish application of the rules destroys public trust in the authenticity and value of the Olympic and Paralympic Movement.”

“It doesn’t seem like everything has been followed to the letter, I would like to see some responsibility here. I would like to see some answers as to why this happened the way it did and, really, I would like to see that steps are taken for the future, so that we can regain some trust in the global system. I believe that the entire case needs to be independently and thoroughly re-examined, and all information must be available,” Ledecky said.

The American, winner of 21 world titles, will seek to win four more gold titles in Paris, where she will participate in the 400, 800 and 1500 freestyle, as well as in the 4x200 pole. If she succeeds, she will exceed the nine that the Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina has. And the legend can already be imagined in Los Angeles: “I think 2028 would be an incredible end to my career. I don’t even want to say that right now because, who knows? I could go to 2028 and say, ‘No, I don’t want to finish yet. I want to move on! ‘”

A 29-meter-long and 15-meter-high five-ring steel structure will adorn the iconic Paris landmark to commemorate the 50 days of Thursday before the start of the Olympic Games. Located on the south side, overlooking the Seine River in the center of Paris, it will be visible throughout the Summer Games.

The Eiffel Tower is expected to play a prominent role in the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. It has already been known that the original iron obtained during a remodeling of the same will be part of the medals that will be awarded to the great champions.

“The sophisticated lighting scheme for the rings, which allows them to appear in their five colors during the day and in bright white at night, has been successfully tested,” they confirmed from the company in charge of the installation, after tests carried out in eastern France.

The qualification processes for the Olympic Games in artistic and rhythmic gymnastics have ended. The international sports community is faced with a historic and significant fact: there will be no Russian representatives in Paris 2024. This news, which has shaken the world of gymnastics, marks a change in the usual competitive logic and leaves a notable gap in the sport’s most prestigious event.

The decision to exclude Russian gymnasts is framed in a context of international and political sanctions for the invasion of Ukraine. Since March 2022, when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended that International Federations exclude Russia, Olympic qualification processes have been affected. These measures have provoked mixed - and valid - reactions, dividing opinions between those who support a strict stance and those who advocate the opportunity to compete for individual athletes not involved in supporting the war.

The truth is that without participating in the 2022 or 2023 World Cups, the chances of qualifying by team were the first to be diluted. Later, when the International Federation (FIG) opened the doors to gymnasts to compete individually as neutrals under strict requirements, Russia’s decision was not to accept the conditions. The dates of the World Cups and the continental championships passed and the list of participants for Paris 2024 was confirmed. There is no Russian representative.

Faced with the pain and cruelty of war for a moment, it must be said that the absence of these athletes not only affects direct competition for medals, but also has implications for the quality of the sporting spectacle. Over the years, Russian teams and gymnasts have been the protagonists of memorable moments and exhibitions of the highest technical and artistic quality, contributing to the prestige and excitement of the Olympic Games. A quick review of the last Olympic editions confirms this.

In women’s artistic gymnastics, Tokyo 2020 had Angelina Melnikova as a great figure in a young team, which was able to win the Olympic team title when a possibility opened up the day that the American Simone Biles left the competition. Also in those pandemic Games, they managed to get on the podium all around, parallel and on the ground. In addition, Russia has been a medalist in the women’s team event in the last three Olympic Games. His absence will open the door to a historic result for countries such as France, Italy or Brazil.

The device where the absence will be most noticeable will be in asymmetric parallels. After Aliya Mustafina’s two-time Olympic championships in London 2012 and Rio 2016, the legacy continued with a silver medal from Anastasiia Iliankova in Tokyo 2020. For Paris 2024, with China’s Qiu Qiyuan and Algerian Kaylia Nemour as favorites, there is a third step of the podium that could open the door to a diverse group of competitors, including Simone Biles (she doesn’t clearly position her as a medalist, but it brings her closer considering that the finals are open to failure). The North American has won medals in all events, except in asymmetric parallels, an apparatus historically dominated by European and Chinese.

In men’s artistic gymnastics, there was a Russian presence on half of the Tokyo 2020 podiums. Of the eight events, the team led by Nikita Nagorny won team medals, in all around, in jumping and in fixed bar. The dispute with Japan and China had become very attractive and unpredictable, something that will undoubtedly be missed in Paris 2024. As with girls, the stage opens up for a step of the podium that can be occupied by countries such as Great Britain or the United States.

Rhythmic gymnastics is, perhaps, with synchronized swimming, the discipline that Russia has mastered the most since its incorporation into the Olympic program in Los Angeles 1984. It is true that at that premiere and because of the Cold War, the communist bloc boycotted the Olympic Games because they were held in the United States. The first Olympic champion was then Canadian Lori Fung and there was no Soviet presence on that podium. Since Seoul 1988, there has always been a Russian or a Russian team in the first three places of the Olympic Games. There were nine consecutive editions with Russian medalists. He even chained a string of gold singles between Sydney 2000 and Rio 2016 with Julia Barsukova, Alina Kabaeva, Eugenia Kanaeva in duplicate and Margarita Mamum.

With Russia out of the equation, other nations have an opportunity to stand out and fill the gap. This could lead to a diversification of the podiums and an increase in competitiveness among other countries. Hopefully these emerging flags surprise us and make us experience emotions, but it is hypocritical to deny that we will miss a gymnastics style that was key to building the history of this beautiful sport.

The injury to the meniscus of his right knee, which left him out of Roland Garros and without the number one in the world, forced Serbian Novak Djokovic to go through the operating room to accelerate recovery times in order to be able to be present at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

In Monday’s game for the round of 16 against Argentinian Francisco Cerúndolo, Djokovic suffered a torn medial meniscus in his right knee and yesterday he announced that he would not be able to continue in the second Grand Slam of the season, in which he was defending the title. The Serbian had to play in the quarterfinals against Norway’s Casper Ruud.

L’Equipe confirmed the intervention of Djokovic, who will have about three weeks of recovery, so his presence at Wimbledon is practically ruled out. The tournament in London will start on July 1 and the Serbian has to defend last year’s final, so his absence would also be marked in a ranking that will be led by Italian Jannik Sinner starting Monday.

“In the third game of the second set, I slipped, one of the many times that happened to me today. And that affected my knee. My injury could have been prevented. I had no problems in other tournaments, until today. Finishing the previous game so late (he played against Lorenzo Musetti until three in the morning) didn’t help me sleep, for the biorhythms, the recovery,” Novak explained after the match against Cerúndolo and also pointed to the situation on the court: “There were areas where there was no more clay left, only cement; perhaps due to the change in conditions, the sun and the heat, it seemed as if some dirt had been removed. I have fallen many times in my career, but I haven’t slipped as many times in the same game as this time. That’s exactly why the injury happened.”

If everything continues as planned, Djokovic’s return would be precisely on the same stage where he was injured. The thing is that after Wimbledon and a lawn that wouldn’t help his knee either, it will be time for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and that’s where the Serbian, who had his last operation in February 2018 for an elbow problem, points out.

The Olympic Games will officially begin on July 26, so there would be time for Djokovic to recover from the knee injury and try to achieve the only thing that his extraordinary career lacks: the gold medal.

Jannik Sinner came to Roland Garros with the possibility of being number one in the world and succeeded due to the retirement of Novak Djokovic due to a knee injury. In this way, the Italian became the 29th player to achieve the leadership of the ranking and is the first in his country.

Sinner, champion this year at the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the season, had the mathematical option of reaching No. 1 regardless of the situation of Djokovic, who was defending the title won last year while the second in the ranking had barely reached the second round. The injury anticipated everything.

“Every player wants to reach number one in the world, but with Novak’s retirement it’s different, I wish him a speedy recovery. I had been trying, and we have worked for it with my team. It’s a special moment for me, for my team, for Italy, I’m proud,” said the 22-year-old tennis player, who learned the news after getting into the Roland Garros semifinals by defeating Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov 6-2, 6-4 and 7-6 (3).

A sweet first Roland-Garros semi-final 🙌#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/0CkrsBlMJE

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 4, 2024

Sinner was born on August 16, 2001 in San Candido, Bolzano, and ended up leaning towards tennis after playing soccer and skiing. At 16, he began playing professional tournaments and in 2019 he was recognized as the breakthrough of the year after reaching his first ATP semifinal and winning the Next Generation ATP Finals.

In 2020, the Italian won the first of his 13 titles by winning in Sofia and won his first Masters 1000 in Toronto, in 2023, a defining year that ended with the title in the Davis Cup and the final in the ATP World Tour Finals, which he lost to Djokovic. At the beginning of 2024, his first Grand Slam arrived and, now, the dream was fulfilled to be number one in the world.

A special day for me, my first Roland Garros semifinal, and to reach the ranking of world #1.

Grateful for this moment, something we have worked very hard for, but the work doesn’t stop here, forza!!!

1️⃣🦊 pic.twitter.com/cpBX3W4Wd9

— Jannik Sinner (@janniksin) June 4, 2024

“I am very sad to announce that I have to retire from Roland Garros. I played with all my heart and gave everything in yesterday’s game,” Djokovic explained on his social media and confirmed that in the win against Argentinian Francisco Cerúndolo he suffered “a medial tear of the meniscus of his right knee”.

“It’s a difficult decision made after careful consideration and analysis,” acknowledged Djokovic, who will break the record of 428 weeks as number one. Now, the Serbian will aim to recover for the next two major commitments to come: Wimbledon and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Novak Djokovic (@djokernole)

On the grass of the Cathedral and the Parisian clay will also be Sinner, who joins the select group that comprised only Russian Daniil Medvedev (2022) and the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz (2023) as the tennis players who managed to reach number in the world after the dominance of the Big 3 formed by Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Djokovic.

“A special day for me, my first Roland Garros semifinal and reaching the number 1 ranking in the world. Grateful for this moment, something we have worked very hard for, but the work doesn’t end here. Go!!!” , wrote Sinner, who from Monday will officially be the leader of the circuit.

Technically, the cold news announces that the 2023-24 rugby sevens season is over.

Three exciting days, at the Cívitas Metropolitano, home of Atlético de Madrid, in Spain, ranged from the winners of the final competition of the season to the reorganization with promotions, relegations and stays to determine the 12 teams that will play the next stage in the first level and which will be the 12 that will do so in the so-called Challenge, something like a ranking from 13th to 24th place in the circuit.

However, rugby - like athletics, swimming, artistic gymnastics and much of the universe that make up the so-called summer sports - also believes, despite its main annual competition, that the most important thing is yet to come. In Paris and between July 24 and 30 next.

The final round of the regular season was conquered by the Australians and the French. The girls defeat France. And the men, Argentina.

Nothing new among the ladies, considering that, in the Olympic adventure, Australia won the gold medal in Rio 2016 — five years later it fell to Fiji in the quarterfinals — while France won the silver in Tokyo, just below New Zealand.

On the contrary, the scenario among boys is decidedly uncertain.

Just to begin with, it is symptomatic that the wizards of Fiji, those for whom the specialty seemed to have been created for decades, barely obtained two third places in the eight stops of the season. Little and nothing for those who, among other things, are the current champions of Rio and Tokyo. It is true that the last of those third places has just been achieved in Madrid, to the detriment of New Zealand. The All Blacks, who won the silver medal three years ago, seemed to have corrected the course after winning the recent stops in Hong Kong and Singapore, but being left out of the podium of this kind of Masters reserved for the eight best teams of the year opens a question mark.

Ireland, which had an excellent performance starting with, most likely, the best defense on the circuit, was a shadow in Spain where it finished fifth, the worst place for the clover team. They didn’t win any titles but they always came in second and fourth.

The men’s tournament, which will exceptionally start two days before the opening ceremony of the games, still has one box to be defined out of the twelve that will be in France. The event will take place in three weeks, at the Louis II Stadium in Monaco. The news is that, since there is only one place left available, powers such as Great Britain or South Africa will be left out of the Olympic event. If not both, given the growth of teams like Spain, which will also be in the game.

What, then, about the Madrid finalists? The emblematic case is that of France, a historically powerful rugby 15 nation that barely scored 20 points in the first three phases of the year - a sixth place in Perth had been its best - but which, since then, has won four podiums in the following five stages.

On the one hand, it should come as no surprise that France strives to the point of having a favorite performance in its own land in a sport that is extremely popular in its territory. On the other hand, and in line with the essence of their project, France incorporated Antoine Dupont, the current scrum half of Stade Toulousain, considered by many to be the best rugby player of today. Winner of two Top 14s and one European Cup, he could find compensation in the Games for the upset of not being able to play the last world cup of 15 due to injury. Clearly, the inclusion of Dupont has been decisive in raising the game and self-esteem of a team that, even though Antoine doesn’t usually play much more than one of the seven-minute periods - often without being part of the starting team - seems to be a much more confident and determined team after the arrival of the tremendous strategist.

Finally, Argentina. Los Pumas. Defeated severely in the final, not without a dose of controversy due to some mischievous failures of the English referee, they closed a brilliant circuit - they were the winners of the season by sum of points - with an unpleasant image after an end of the match with pushes and some fist blows, an episode that ended with the expulsion of Rodrigo Isgró, chosen as the best player of the year in the specialty.

Beyond the ugly image of the closure, Los Pumas, bronze medal winners in Tokyo, are going through the best moment in their history. Although they performed from lowest to highest starting with three titles and a second place, the final reached in Madrid after beating Australia, Great Britain, New Zealand and France itself in the qualifying phase, placing them back as the rival to beat.

No minor detail is that of the absences of Marcos Moneta, the tryman of the moment, and Matias Osadsczuk, one of the leaders of the squad, who are not at risk for Paris but were out of shape for Madrid. What’s more, for the final they dispensed with Joaquin Pellandini, a player who established himself as a point guard and starter during this brilliant year.

In any case, whatever good or bad they have left for each team this season, the stage for Paris is absolutely open. And exciting. All the more so considering that the men’s Olympic champion will celebrate the first day of competition after the inauguration.

In this regard, the team that achieves a better cross for the quarterfinals will have an important advantage. It gives the impression that, in that instance, there will be great candidates who will fall by the wayside.

After all, there seem to be no less than five favorites. And only three places on the podium.

Renewed, the Rugby Sevens World Series stepped on the in-goal of the season. The innovative format of “Final 8″ promoted the award of two teams that had not broken through either as leaders of the annual table or the dominators in terms of the number of stages won: the men’s team from France and the women’s team from Australia won the cup at the Civitas Metropolitano Madrid stadium 51 days before the start of the Olympic tournament.

Sixth in the overall position, France, boosted in 2024 by a glorious appearance by Antoine Dupont, chosen as the “Rookie of the season”, author of seven tries in three contested stages (in all of them he got on the podium) and a breakthrough in the second half of the final in which he ranked the team and provided key assistance, minimized and beat Argentina 19-5 (who didn’t have Marcos Moneta), the best placed team after the previous seven stages, the top scorer of tries (156) and points (1016), to be crowned for the first time on the world circuit and double their status as a candidate for the Olympic title in their capital.

SILKY from Antoine Dupont.#HSBCSVNSpic.twitter.com/vTjcN8d1xI

— Tight Five Rugby (@TightFive_Rugby) June 2, 2024

Four are now the Seven Series trophies won by the Australian women’s team. The Olympic champions in Rio 2016, second in a regular season that included the two initial awards and whose least auspicious performance was the fourth place in Vancouver, were crowned undefeated and with the record of 150 tries on the circuit achieved by Maddison Levi (the athlete who did it the fastest, at the age of 22), chosen as the best of the 26-7 victory against France in the final and the top gunner in the competition.

Fiji and New Zealand won the bronze medals in the men’s and women’s categories. The men from Uruguay and Kenya and the women from China were promoted from the Challenger Series and will compete in the next edition of the competition in the top flight.

The ultimate winger 🤩

Here's how Maddi Levi completed her hat-trick in the Championship Final 👇#HSBCSVNS | #HSBCSVNSMAD | @Aussie7s pic.twitter.com/AkP2gRcULX

— HSBC SVNS (@SVNSSeries) June 2, 2024

In keeping with the world circuit, the Olympic tournament will bring together 12 men’s teams and an equal number of women’s teams. The first will be played between Wednesday 24, two days before the opening ceremony (same starting date as football), and Saturday, July 27. There will be no activity on the opening Friday 26th. Three days of action will also be proposed by the women’s tournament, to be held between Sunday 28 and Tuesday 30 July.

The dispute system equalizes them: three groups of four teams, of which the first two from each zone and the two best third will qualify for the quarterfinals. The four eliminated teams will pursue ninth place. Those who are defeated in the quarterfinals will compete for fifth place. The last two places - one per branch - will be up for grabs in the Monaco repechage tournaments between June 21 and 23, in the most important event on the remaining road to the French capital.

The men of Fiji will try to impose their nickname of two-time defending Olympic champion while the women of Australia and New Zealand, enshrined in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, climbed to the highest step of the podium since the reappearance of rugby in the Games and will seek to repeat at the Stade de France, the imminent Olympic stadium that appears to host two contests with open favouritism.

The winner of the last two achievements of the Tour de France, Jonas Vengenaard, who is on the final part of the rehabilitation of his fractured left collarbone and multiple ribs, was left out of the Danish Olympic team and will not compete in Paris 2024.

The Scandinavian country’s federation announced on Saturday a squad consisting of Mikkel Norsgard Bjerg, Mads Pedersen, Mattias Skjelmose and Mochael Morkov, the representatives in the French capital between July 27 and August 4.

🚨 ¡Atención! Imágenes exclusivas de la caída de tres de los mejores ciclistas del mundo y favoritos para ganar la Vuelta al País Vasco: Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel y Primoz Roglic.

Sigue esta importante competencia ciclística por @SenalColombia, la señal de la paz. 📺🕊️ pic.twitter.com/dzr13kM0S5

— RTVC Noticias (@RTVCnoticias) April 4, 2024

Vengenaard, 27, was discharged on April 16 after spending 12 days hospitalized after a fateful fall in the Tour of the Basque Country and is already preparing for the purpose of being physically fit to defend the two-time championship in the Tour de France, to be held between June 29 and July 21.

In November of last year, the best athlete of 2022 in Denmark had expressed his willingness to be part of the national contingent at the Olympic Games for the first time, although he had anticipated that “I don’t think the route is particularly suitable for me” and that coach Anders Lund had not guaranteed his presence according to the characteristics of the circuit in Paris.

Ecuador won five medals in its history at the Olympic Games and two of those were gold medals, both won in Tokyo 2020. Neisi Dajomes will defend the title won in weightlifting in Paris 2024, but the cyclist Richard Carapaz will not have the same luck.

In the midst of a controversy caused by the criteria used by the Ecuadorian Cycling Federation (FEC) to choose its representative, Caparaz was left out of the Olympic Games and who will go will be his partner in Tokyo, Jhonatan Narváez.

“The points have been taken into account since January, but the regulations were not published until the month of March when there was a difference in points between the athletes,” the 2019 Giro d’Italia champion explained in the midst of the conflict and noted: “It is clearly biased and lacks the fundamental principles of justice and sports equity.”

Comunicado oficial: JJOO París 2024 pic.twitter.com/TKBomzzopG

— Richard Carapaz M (@RichardCarapazM) May 20, 2024

Carapaz asked the Ministry of Sports to intervene to establish a selection process “completely free from any favouritism or discrimination”, but the FEC did not accept the request to postpone the decision and explained that the Ecuadorian representative was elected “as requested by the Ecuadorian Olympic Committee (COE), on the basis of federative autonomy and issued regulations.”

Narváez, who will participate in both the road race and the time trial, acknowledged that “I didn’t like the statements Richard made because I think we have to have mutual respect between both runners” and said: “The authorities are in their place for a reason, it’s a regulation that was made this year, I had nothing to do with it.”

In the last few hours, Carapaz put an end to the controversy and wished “the best of luck to Jhonatan, that he does his best and that he represents us in the best way”, although at the same time he stressed: “Never stop raising your voice for a fair sport”.

The International Boxing Federation (IBA) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) added a new round to their long fight and in the middle were the next Paris 2024 Olympic Games, which will be held from July 26 to August 11.

The IBA, away from the Olympic boxing organization since it was suspended by the IOC after Rio 2016, announced that it will give a monetary prize to medal winners in Paris 2024 and will also guarantee them future fights for world titles.

The body chaired by the Russian Umar Kremlev announced that the objective is “to support athletes, coaches and National Federations, as well as to highlight the commitment of the IBA to provide the best support to its athletes, based on their hard work and dedication to the sport of boxing. Our athletes and their efforts should be appreciated. The IBA offers opportunities and invests considerably in our boxers, they remain the focal point and we will continue to support them at all levels.”

The IBA will disburse 100,000 dollars for each gold medal, half for the athlete and the other half will be distributed equally to the National Federation and its coach. The silver medal will have a total prize of 50 thousand dollars and 25 thousand dollars for the bronzes, distributed with the same logic as the gold one. “The athletes who lost in the quarterfinals and finished fifth will each receive 10,000 dollars from the IBA, making the total commitment of the prize fund equal to more than 3.1 million dollars (2.8 million euros) distributed to more than 100 boxers,” said Kremlev.

The International Boxing Association (IBA) leadership has taken a bold decision to award all Olympic champions and medallists of Paris 2024 allotted prize money.https://t.co/s91zQJi82A

— IBA (@IBA_Boxing) May 29, 2024

After learning about this decision by the International Boxing Federation, the International Olympic Committee picked up the gauntlet and issued a quick counterattack, once again focusing on economic transparency.

“As always with the IBA, it’s not clear where the money comes from. This total lack of financial transparency was exactly one of the reasons why the IOC withdrew its recognition from the IBA,” said the body chaired by Thomas Bach.

The IOC also issued a warning for the next Olympic Games, where boxing has not yet been confirmed to be present: “It is clear that any boxer whose National Federation joins the IBA will not be able to participate in the LA28 Olympic Games. The respective CON will have to exclude said National Boxing Federation from its membership.”

The IOC has taken note of the decision by the International Boxing Association (IBA) with regard to prize money.

As always with the IBA, it is unclear where the money is coming from. This total lack of financial transparency was exactly one of the reasons why the IOC withdrew… pic.twitter.com/W7qjuTFLYB

— IOC MEDIA (@iocmedia) May 29, 2024

After the message from the International Olympic Committee, the International Boxing Association launched a coup again and defined the response as a “shameful lack of respect”.

“Following the unprecedented announcement by the IBA about awarding cash prizes to our Paris 2024 Olympic champions, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) immediately responded by issuing an ultimatum to all National Federations and their boxers. Essentially, the heavy-handed message is clear: if you don’t leave the IBA for the change of the next Olympic cycle, then your athletes won’t be able to compete in the Games. This is an absolute parody and embarrassment of supposedly one of the world’s leading sports organizations,” the new statement said.

The IOC had already assured that if boxing is present in Los Angeles it will not be with the IBA and that is World Boxing, with the United States and Great Britain at the helm and led by former candidate for president of the IBA Boris van der Vorst, the new organization that will seek recognition to try to keep the sport in the Olympic Games. The deadline is early next year. Olympic boxing is on the ropes.

His abandonment in the US Classic had left some clue that it was not easy for him to return to the first international level. An all-around champion in London 2012 and a member of the team gold winning quintet in Rio 2016, Gabrielle Douglas returned to training last year with the intention of joining the North American Olympic team for the third time. However, that objective has, in principle, been postponed.

During training before the United States National Championship, which will take place next weekend in Texas, the 28-year-old gymnast suffered an ankle injury that leaves her out of the selection process for Paris 2024.

Had she competed in Paris 2024, Douglas would have become the oldest American woman to participate in artistic gymnastics since the 1950s. Anyway, Gabby expressed her desire to begin her rehabilitation and prepare for the 2028 Los Angeles games, games for which she will be 32 years old.

The competition to host the 2036 Olympic Games will be intense, with numerous cities and countries willing to invest in infrastructure and present innovative proposals to attract the most important sporting event in the world. Doha has a strong intention, driven by the success of the 2022 World Cup and other international competitions it has organized, such as the 2019 World Athletics Championship, the 2024 World Swimming Championships and the future 2027 Basketball World Cup. It has been hosting major events for more than a decade and getting closer to the main international sports federations. These first-rate events were interspersed with other annual events in tennis, Formula 1, motorcycling and World Cups in different sports. The capital of Qatar also has experience in multisport events, such as the 2006 Asian Games, which it will host again in 2030, in what may be a general rehearsal of the 2036 Olympic Games.

There is one point in favor of the Qatari candidacy: the 2036 Games coincide with an edition where, in the unwritten rule of the rotation of continents, an Asian nation would be chosen after Europe (Paris 2024), America (Los Angeles 2028) and Oceania (Brisbane 2032), waiting for a powerful option from Africa. Doha meets this condition, although Bombay and Jakarta are also positioned in this regard.

In contrast, there are very powerful arguments that do not quite convince within the IOC: the extreme climate, human rights violations, social and cultural restrictions and the environmental impact of its massive constructions. These factors present significant challenges for Doha in its aspiration and will need to be effectively addressed to improve its chances of success.

Members of the International Olympic Committee confirmed to the Spanish media outlet Relevo that the Qatari candidacy will be the one chosen to the detriment of the other cities that have shown interest in organizing the 2036 event. The truth is that until the official announcement scheduled for 2026 or 2027, there will be no confirmations.

Among the candidate cities, many pointed to India’s potential and the impressive sports complex planned in Ahmedabad as a venue of the International Olympic Committee’s liking. In fact, the election and celebration in Bombay of the 141st Session of the IOC, at the end of 2023, added followers to this commitment, which became even stronger with the inclusion of cricket as one of the five new sports starting in Los Angeles 2028.

The other solid option on the table was always Germany. A joint bid between Berlin and Tel Aviv was considered to commemorate and symbolize the 100th anniversary of the 1936 Olympic Games. But within the German Olympic Committee, this route was not contemplated. Spain would also enter into that battle, if a candidacy from Madrid, a city that still owes an appointment with Olympism, is formalized.

After the titles won in Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008, Argentina will seek its third gold medal in men’s football in Paris 2024 and is preparing a team full of figures, including some of the world champions in Qatar 2022.

The regulations offer the opportunity to bring three players over 23 years old to their rosters and Javier Mascherano, coach of the Argentine national team in Paris, will have Nicolás Otamendi and Julián Alvarez in the Olympic Games.

The main drawback for negotiating with clubs (they are not required to transfer them) is that from June 20 to July 14, the Copa América will be played in the United States, so clubs will be unable to count with the players for a long time if they are in both competitions.

Benfica of Portugal gave the go-ahead for Otamendi to play in the Olympic Games in addition to the Copa América, the same happened with Manchester City of England in relation to Alvarez and now it remains to be seen who will be the third oldest that Mascherano will have.

Although Lionel Messi has not yet officially ruled out his absence, the Argentine star will not be in Paris and the last spot, if Aston Villa agrees, will go to goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez. Meanwhile, another open negotiation is for Enzo Fernández, Chelsea’s midfielder.

Mascherano won two gold medals as a soccer player, the first in Athens and the second in Beijing, where he played as one of the over 23 years old. The other Argentinian who managed to hang two golds on his chest in the history of the Olympic Games was the polo player Juan Nelson, in Paris 1924 and Berlin 1936.

Professional soccer players were only able to participate for the first time in the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games (only if they were under 23 years old) and since Atlanta 1996 there has been this possibility of including three over that age. France dreams of having another world champion like Kylian Mbappé, although Real Madrid, the club where he would continue his career, has already announced that it will not give in to its international figures. Will it be Antoine Griezmann?

On July 28, 2023, the world of athletics spoke again -once again- of the appearance of a “new Bolt”. At 18, Issamade Asinga won the South American Championship in São Paulo with a time of 9.89 and set a new junior world record. He also had the absolute best time in South America, which Brazilian Robson da Silva had, since 1988, with 10 seconds.

The Vila Clementina Olympic Center in São Paulo witnessed the new brand established by the boy born on December 29, 2004 in the United States, who is competing for Suriname for his father, Tommy, a three-time Olympian. Issam broke the one he had established on August 2, 2022, in the U20 World Cup in Cali, another that was also considered the “new Bolt”, Letsile Tebogo, now one of the candidates to fight for a medal in the next Olympic Games in Paris 2024.

Less than a year later, Asinga no longer holds the world record because he was stripped of all his victories and times for having tested positive for an anti-doping test carried out a few days before the South American Championship in Brazil. The sprinter had been provisionally suspended and now the Unit for Athletics Integrity (AIU) confirmed the four-year sanction, which began to take effect on August 9, 2023.

The control they carried out on Asinga out of competition was on July 18, 2023, and they found metabolites of GW1516, which, according to the AIU ruling, “modifies the way in which the body metabolizes fat and was originally synthesized and evaluated for the treatment of obesity, diabetes and other disorders caused by metabolic problems, but is now not approved for human use. The AMA has warned of its risks to the health of athletes.”

The AIU has banned Issamade Asinga (Suriname) for 4 years from 9 August 2023 for the Presence of a Prohibited Substance (GW1516 sulfone, GW1516 sulfoxide). DQ results from 18 July 2023

Details here: https://t.co/lvpVsq1W24
Details here: https://t.co/DKHh9ubJ0w pic.twitter.com/mXmR8EYqJ3

— Athletics Integrity Unit (@aiu_athletics) May 27, 2024

The sprinter argued that the cause was the contamination of “recovery gummies” given to him at a ceremony on July 10, eight days before doping control, after winning the Gatorade National Boys Track award. However, the Disciplinary Court stated that Asinga “failed to establish that they were the source of the detected GW1516 metabolites.”

“I know I didn’t do anything wrong and I’m not going to give up on my dream. It’s simply scandalous to ignore the facts and simply try to distort the narrative against me,” said Asigna, who said he was “devastated” by what he is experiencing and defended himself: “The containers they gave me were later tested in a laboratory accredited by the AMA, which identified that the product they gave me was contaminated with GW1516, the same substance that tested positive in small quantities.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Rori (@fitzdunk)

For his part, David Howman, director of the AIU, explained that “the requirement for an athlete to demonstrate how a prohibited substance entered their body is very simple and this test should not be based on speculation, but on specific and objective evidence. All explanations based on contamination must be thoroughly examined. And this strict review is essential to protect clean athletes and ensure a level playing field.”

As reported by the AIU, “the Disciplinary Court took into account the fact that the Gatorade Recovery Gummies provided in unsealed containers by the athlete for testing contained significantly more GW1516 outside than inside, practically excluding any contamination by raw materials during the manufacturing process”.

“We just want to save Issam’s career, he just wants to get his life back,” Asinga’s lawyer, Paul J. Greene, told The Associated Press. The decision of the Disciplinary Court may be appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (TAS).

Among the many reasons we could argue to explain why the Olympic Games captivate so many millions of people around the planet, some go through both their contemporary energy and their profound traditions with equal intensity.

There is some strategic guile in including certain sports. Arbitrarily placing Atlanta ‘96 as its starting point, Olympism has since updated its list of sports and specialties so that today we are familiar with talking about beach volleyball, both race and freestyle BMX, skateboarding, rugby sevens, 3x3 basketball, surfing or climbing. Soon something similar will happen with Breakin’, regardless of any controversy.

The intention to seduce younger audiences, of those that until recently followed the so-called X Games with attention, is eloquent. But there is also some inclusion. This is an undeniable phenomenon that crosses our society on an infinite number of terrains and that in the games is not only manifested in the fact that Paris will be the first competition with gender equality in terms of the number of participants, but will also be honored from the mixed positions in swimming and athletics to the novel phenomenon of male participants in some artistic swimming teams. No minor historical detail: this, which was originally known as synchronized swimming, was a sport that, they say, was originally only reserved for boys.

Obviously, it is no longer interesting to remember that, when it comes to counting medals, one of the massive disciplines is worth the same as those with the lowest level of popular roots. A powerful message in this regard is that of the coexistence in the dining room of the Olympic village of a billionaire NBA champion or a Wimbledon champion with an enthusiastic athlete from one of the many countries that would never hope to climb a podium.

By the way, in the realization of the fact that all that matters is winning or that no one remembers who comes second, there is, before every game, an extremely powerful message from you, the fans. Dozens of countries whose medal aspirations are far from the mainstream, maintain extraordinary levels of audiences for up to 14 hours a day based on the logic of dynamic broadcasts in which those sports that captivate us as well as those that we discover day after day coexist. The logic would be something like maintaining the expectation that, those who wait for artistic gymnastics or horseback riding, will in the meantime be amazed to discover the best exponents of sports that, perhaps, they never thought of paying attention to.

On the other side of the balance of the battle for new audiences are those traditions that Olympism will never give up: in these ancient symbols lies much of its sometimes mysterious charm.

Strangely enough, or not so much, some of these traditions don’t come from that far; hardly any, from the time of the ancient Olympic Games.

In recent days, Paris 2024 released images of the podiums that will be used for each of the awards.

The term podium comes from “Podi”, foot in Greek. What doesn’t come from Greece is the podium itself as a crowning space for champions. It was in 1932, first in the winter of Lake Placid and then in the summer of Los Angeles that this custom made its debut.

Nothing too different from what happens with other elements that, since they are installed in the hearts of fans of Olympism, it doesn’t matter to us that they were almost a marketing work of the 20th century that started from an ancient rite.

For example, with such coveted Olympic medals. That there were no gold medals in Athens 1896 - only the first two were awarded silver, copper or bronze medals - but the contemporary habit was only installed in St. Louis 1904.

For example, the Olympic anthem created by Spyridon Samaras and Kostis Palamas for the 1896 games but whose final adaptation, as we know it, premiered in Rome 1960.

For example, the very emblematic flag of the IOC, which premiered the five rings only in Antwerp 1920.

For example, the Olympic torch.

We know of the historical references regarding the transfer of fire between citizens who announced the arrival of competencies in Ancient Greece.

However, it was necessary to wait until Amsterdam 1928 for the sacred fire to be present in the Olympic Stadium. It was thanks to the work and grace of the architect Jan Wills that a space was available at the top of the emblematic tower of the historic arena in the Dutch capital.

And the transfer of torches? This characteristic ritual, whose starting point is one of the most traditional celebrations in tribute to the creators of Olympia, had its premiere only in Berlin 1936.

As will be seen, even what seems older to us was installed over time.

Nothing to question. Those of us who love Olympism do not stop at calendar whims. Modern, old or not so old, games are much more than those details. As captivating as they seem to us.

Among the different formulas to increase the popularity of a sport and with it the possibilities of catapulting itself to the Olympic program, there is one that in modern life has been established as the most accepted: using the Youth Games as a platform for takeoff. At least until Paris 2024. This gradual growth was visibly manifested in sport climbing and skateboarding, first exhibition sports among minors, then official and, since Tokyo 2020, consolidated in the catalog of seniors of the five rings.

A different path is traced by Muay Thai, Thai kickboxing, a discipline that, without having passed through the filter of YOGs (such as lacrosse or flag football, which will be in LA28), will have its place in the margins of the schedule in the French capital, like beach handball, in a milestone that fuels their aspirations to consolidate their inclusion in the official program, perhaps in place of boxing, a combat sport with constant references to the management.

This was stated by Sakchye Tapsuwan, the president of the International Federation of Muaythai Associations (IFMA), an internationally recognized entity composed of 152 associations, with representatives from five continents. “This is a monumental step towards the dream of Muay Thai becoming an official Olympic sport,” Tapsuwan said last Thursday at a press conference in Bangkok.

A total of one thousand athletes from 24 countries on five continents will be present at Club France’s Muay Thai stadium, one of the playful and festive hearts of Paris 2024. On August 5 and 6, there will be more than 10 hours of combat and the most notable participation will be that of the Thai world champion Buakaw Banchamek, who will perform the traditional wai khru ritual. In addition, spectators will be able to access workshops on the discipline in the Olympic Park.

Martial art with Thai roots is a fixture at the World Games and saw action at the 2023 European Games. Since 2021, it has been part of the portfolio of sports classified as “Olympic” by the IOC, despite not being part of the official program. This status has allowed him to apply for admission to it within three years. Prior to the gala in the French capital, the next World Championship will be held in Greece between May 31 and June 9.

In harmony and in a world-class event. With these two characteristics, the implementation of the new control tower in Teahupo’o, the headquarters of surfing in Paris 2024, was completed, whose construction had been completed in March, almost two months ahead of schedule, and had been one of the main friction axes during the last weeks of 2023.

The official ring in an international event took place in the Tahitian stage (SHISEIDO Tahiti Pro) of the World Surf League, ongoing from Wednesday, May 22 to Friday, May 31 and which functions as a general rehearsal two months before the Olympic competition. .

“We did things well, the tower was named in a traditional way and the situation here has calmed down,” described Max Wasna, president of the Tahitian Surf Federation, in reference to the incipient aluminum structure that replaced the historic wooden and It was accused of damaging the reefs and marine fauna of the peninsula, a premise supported by surfers, the local population and different associations, which came to paralyze the works.

“The coral suffered minimal damage,” said Tim McKenna, an Australian researcher at Teahupo’o. 15,700 kilometers from Paris, the two surfing competitions – men’s and women’s shortboard – will be held between July 27 and 30. It is the only discipline that does not have ticket sales to the general public.

The world record set by marathon runner Tigist Assefa, on September 24 last year in Berlin, Germany, was confirmed when it was ratified by World Athletics.

Assefa won the BMW Berlin Marathon with a time of 2:11:53, which allowed her to lower the world record that Kenyan Brigid Kosgei had set when she won in Chicago on October 13, 2019, with a record of 2:14:04.

“I hope that my performance will be a motivation for young athletes in Ethiopia,” said the runner and hoped “that the world record one year before the Olympic Games will give our country a boost for Paris”.

Now, just over two months before the start of the Olympic Games, Assefa starts as the big favorite to win the gold medal and will lead a team in Paris that is completed by Amane Beriso (her best record was in Valencia 2022 with 2h 14:58) and Megerte Alemu (best record of 2:16.34 in London 2024), while the world champion in Eugene 2022 Gotytom Gebresilase and Buze Diriba were left as reserves.

Meanwhile, the Ethiopian Athletics Federation confirmed the presence of Kenenisa Bekele among men, who at 41 is second in the London Marathon with a time of 2h 04:15 and will seek in Paris to add one more medal to the four she has in her career, although in other distances: in Athens 2004 he won the 10,000 meters and was second in the 5,000, while in Beijing he became Olympic champion in both events.

The other representatives of Ethiopia will be Sisay Lemma, who won the Boston Marathon this year with 2h 06:17, and Deresa Geleta, also winner of the Seville Marathon in 2024 with 2h 03:27. Tamirat Tola and Eusedin Mohammed remained as reserves.

Rafael Nadal and Roland Garros meet again. And, without a doubt, it will be special. Although the Spanish tennis player did not want to confirm it, many believe that this may be the last time he will be seen playing the Grand Slam, which he won no less than 14 times. The king of brick dust returns to Paris and everyone hopes that it will not be his last time this year in the French capital, where in a couple of months the Olympic Games will take place.

The injury to the psoas did not allow Nadal to be present last year at Roland Garros to defend the title won in 2022 and even questioned whether he would return to the courts this season. Rafa returned and, at 38, it is quite possible that he will have his “Last Dance” on a stage that he took over to the point of losing only four games (one for no performance) in 18 years. And that will be the same in Paris 2024.

The return for Nadal will be far from easy, not only because of the logical physical question. The 276th place he currently holds in the ranking put him at risk for the draw and as luck would have it that in the first round he would have to face one of the best, the German Alexander Zverev, number four in the world and a semifinalist in the last three editions.

Nadal raising the intensity before the Zverev matchup 👊#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/ckTEypHQmW

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 23, 2024

Nadal won seven of the 10 matches against Zverev and the last one was precisely at Roland Garros, a couple of years ago, a very painful memory for the German because he had to retire due to a serious ankle injury that kept him away from the circuit for almost a year. The Spaniard went to the final and then won the 14th title in Paris by defeating the Norwegian Casper Ruud in the final with a categorical 6-3, 6-3 and 6-0.

“It was a shame,” said Amélie Mauresmo, former number one in the world and current director of the tournament. Of course, everyone wants to see as much as possible of Nadal on the court and to prevent the tribute they prepared for him from being early. Later in the table, the Danish Holger Rune could appear in the eighth round, the Russian Daniil Medvedeev in the quarterfinals and the Serbian Novak Djokovic, who will begin defending the title against the Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert and will defend the number one in the world to which the Italian Jannik Sinner also aspires.

Sinner, second in the world and winner of the first Grand Slam in Australia, will face the American Christopher Eubanks and is in the same place in the table as the third-seeded Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, who would face in a hypothetical semifinal.

Welcome back, @RafaelNadal 👍🇪🇸#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/5FQMzRFy1F

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 20, 2024

Rafael Nadal’s dream of the last Olympic medal

Just as Roland Garros may be the last in Nadal’s career, Paris 2024 could also be the Spanish tennis player’s Olympic farewell after having played Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and Rio de Janeiro 2016. The fact that it’s in Paris also makes it special.

Rafa won the gold medal in single in Beijing after defeating Chilean Fernando González in the final and eight years later he was crowned in Rio de Janeiro with Marc López after beating the Romanians Horia Tecau and Florin Mergea in the definition.

In the doubles there is the possibility that Nadal will be present in Paris and could form a couple with none other than Alcaraz. “It’s a great illusion and I’ve been told it’s for him too. It would be a good thing for both of us and I think also for the Spanish team,” said Rafa and Carlos was excited: “As I have said many times, if everything goes well, we are going to play doubles there”.

Nadal’s season started in January in Brisbane (he fell in the quarterfinals to Australian Jordan Thompson) and only returned to play in April in Barcelona (he lost in the second round to fellow Australian Alex de Miñaur). His other two tournaments were the Masters 1000 in Madrid (he was eliminated by the Czech Jiri Lehecka in the eighth round) and Roma (he fell in the second round with the Polish Hubert Hurkacz). The time has come for Roland Garros. Will it be the last?

The Argentinian Lionel Messi and the Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce received the Laureus Award for the best athletes of 2022, in a ceremony in which the Argentine National Team, the Spanish Carlos Alcaraz, the Danish Christian Eriksen, the Swiss Catherine Debrunner and the American Eileen Gu, were also awarded.

Messi, world champion with the Argentine National Team in Qatar 2022, won the election against the Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal, the French soccer player Kylian Mbappé, the Dutch pilot Max Verstappen, the American basketball player Stephen Curry and the Swedish pole vaulter Armand Duplantis.

“The World Cup came at the end of my career, but it was the nicest thing. It cost me a lot, almost my entire career. I want to share it with all of Argentina,” Messi said after receiving the award at the Pavillon Vendome in Paris and acknowledged: “I had a lot of joy with Barcelona, sadness with the National Team. It was a lesson, with many stones in the way, to overcome myself, together with family and loved ones”.

Messi, who had already won this award in 2020 (he shared it with Lewis Hamilton), had a double distinction because the Argentine National Team also won the Laureus Award for best team of 2022 ahead of Real Madrid, Golden State Warriors of the NBA, the women’s soccer team from England, the French rugby team and the Red Bull Formula 1 team.

The Sports Oscar, as is also considered the Laureus Award, had athletics legend Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce as last year’s best athlete. The Jamaican beat Spanish soccer player Alexia Putellas, American swimmer Katie Ledecky, Polish tennis player Iga Swiatek, American skier Mikaela Shiffrin and fellow American athlete Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.

Fraser-Pryce, 36, was crowned world champion in the 100 meters for the fifth time in 2022 and the gold medal she won in Eugene (United States) came 13 years after the first one she won in Berlin (Germany). Among those two, one of the great sprinters in the history of athletics also won in Moscow 2015, Beijing 2015 and Doha 2019.

“I always believe that the best is yet to come. I don’t put more pressure on myself than necessary. In any case, let it be for my rivals. I have confidence that comes from my daily work,” the Jamaican woman highlighted before winning the prize, who in her career has eight Olympic medals (three gold) and 14 world medals (11 gold), and last season she ran, on seven occasions, under 10.7 seconds in the 100 meters.

Meanwhile, the 2022 Laureus Award for New Athlete was awarded to tennis player Carlos Alcaraz, who last year won the United States Open and became the youngest number one in history.

Alcaraz competed with Kazakh tennis player Elena Rybakina, the Morocco soccer team, American skater Nathan Chen, Nigerian hurdler Tobi Amusan and American golfer Scott Scheffler.

In addition to the US Open, Alcaraz won the Masters 1000 in Madrid and Miami last season and won the titles in Rio de Janeiro and Barcelona, to which he added finals in Umag and Hamburg.

The Winter Olympic Games held in Beijing in 2022 were one of the most important events of the year. Eileen Gu was one of the great figures and for her performance she was awarded the Laureus Award for the best athlete in a discipline considered extreme.

Gu was born in the United States but competes for China and in Beijing she became the youngest Olympic champion in the history of freestyle skiing: she won two gold medals (big air and halfpipe) and one silver (slopestyle) medals when she was only 18 years old.

The Laureus Para-Athlete of the Year Award went to the Swiss Catherine Debrunner, who broke four world records in the Nottwil World Para Athletics Grand Prix in 2022: 100, 200, 400 and 800 meters in the T53 category.

In addition, last year Debrunner also made his Marathon debut and won the traditional races in Berlin and London (including the competition record).

Danish soccer player Christian Eriksen, who returned to play after suffering a cardiac arrest in June 2021 during a European Championship match against Finland, won the Laureus Prize at the return of the year.

Meanwhile, the TeamUp initiative won the award in the “Sport for Good” category. The winner is a joint collaboration between War Child, Save the Children and UNICEF The Netherlands that helps children affected by war conflicts and in 2022, on the initiative of former soccer player Andriy Shevchenko, it provided support to those affected by the war in Ukraine.

This was the 23rd edition of the Laureus Awards and in the last two years the ceremony had not been able to be in person due to the pandemic. Tennis players Roger Federer (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2018) and Serena Williams (2003, 2010, 2015, 2016 and 2018) won the best athlete award five times and the first, in 2000, were the American Tiger Woods and Marion Jones.

(ATR) Around the Rings tracks top athletes and Olympic stakeholders on Twitter in a new weekly feature ahead of the London 2012 Summer Games.

Britain's Kelly Sotherton, Athens 2004 bronze medalist on heptathlon training

I hate speed endurance. #fact it's got to be the worse thing ever. I get strange body experiences everytime I do them. #london2012

US Women's Team Beat Mexico 4-0 in CONCACAF 2012 Qualifying

.bbpBox{background:url(http://a1.twimg.com/profile_background_images/217965572/Concacaf_logo.jpg) #f0fafa;padding:20px;}

#USWNT improves all-time #CONCACAF WOQ record to: 11 wins, 1 draw, 0 losses (68 GF, 4 GA). @ussoccer_wntWed Jan 25 05:35:36 via webCONCACAF

CONCACAF

Olympic champion Allyson Felix on loving what you do:

.bbpBox{background:url(http://a0.twimg.com/profile_background_images/159114853/allyson_obsessed_capri_ho10_high.jpg) #9AE4E8;padding:20px;}

Sprint days on the track make me smile. I love this part of the job.Tue Jan 24 18:14:23 via webAllyson Felix

allysonfelix

BBC 2012 on the British government’s ticket-buying patterns:

.bbpBox{background:url(http://a2.twimg.com/profile_background_images/298344635/portal_template_twitter.jpg) #5b88c4;padding:20px;}

Government insists it's "coincidence" it bought twice as many tickets for Olympic beach volleyball as for athletics http://t.co/iQgSMdh8Tue Jan 24 15:23:41 via webBBC 2012

BBC2012

LOCOG on its latest employment opportunities:

.bbpBox{background:url(http://a3.twimg.com/profile_background_images/58341417/twitterbackground1372x1263.jpg) #0099ff;padding:20px;}

Apply for jobs @London2012! http://t.co/B2WqarWG Plus, the Be Part of It Recruitment Road show is visiting co host cities around the UK...Tue Jan 24 11:19:55 via webLondon 2012

London2012

Olympic swim champion Janet Evans, 40, on her comeback bid:

.bbpBox{background:url(http://a0.twimg.com/images/themes/theme1/bg.png) #C0DEED;padding:20px;}

@xtinagorczynski Training hard until Olympic Trials in Omaha at the end of June. Let me know how Kona goes. Good luck with your training!Mon Jan 23 22:19:22 via Twitter for iPhoneJanet Evans

janetbevans

Beijing 2008 bronze gymnast Louis Smith on sacrifices we make:

.bbpBox{background:url(http://a3.twimg.com/profile_background_images/294859374/16368.jpg) #C0DEED;padding:20px;}

Guy my twitter will be inactive for a while cus I'm currently in Mexico-cancun training and getting browner. Will holla when I'm bk xMon Jan 23 00:17:24 via Twitter for iPadLouis Smith

louissmith1989

Team GB's chef de mission on BBC'S series about 2012 preps:

.bbpBox{background:url(http://a0.twimg.com/images/themes/theme1/bg.png) #C0DEED;padding:20px;}

Well done @BBC2012 another great Olympic Dreams. I'm in Cheltenham so brilliant to see @Team_GB @ParalympicsGB from the West.Sun Jan 22 17:42:49 via Twitter for iPhoneAndy Hunt

AndyHunt_TeamGB

USA Basketball on the newest women’s Olympic team members:

.bbpBox{background:url(http://a1.twimg.com/profile_background_images/385191277/Twitter-flag.jpg) #021836;padding:20px;}

Marynell Meadors (left), Jennifer Gillom (middle) and Doug Bruno (right) were presented today with USA jerseys... http://t.co/0NqfPdsQFri Jan 20 19:49:19 via FacebookUSA Basketball

usabasketball

ArcelorMittal Orbit on the view from the top:

.bbpBox{background:url(http://a0.twimg.com/profile_background_images/327128320/AM_Orbit_Background_v3_Twitter_smaller.jpg) #981a29;padding:20px;}

View from the top of the ArcelorMittal Orbit, amazing! @MayorOfLondon @BalmondStudio @anishkapoor @London2012 http://t.co/xozdU7LMFri Jan 20 12:27:46 via webArcelorMittal Orbit

AMOrbit

Compiled by Matthew Grayson and Mark Bisson.

20 Years at #1: