OLYMPICS
Dancing added to 2024
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Tuesday voted to approve the addition of break dancing, skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing to the Paris 2024 Games. Break dancing is the only of the quartet making its Olympic debut, with the other three due to appear for the first time at next year’s Tokyo Games. The decision at the IOC session in Lausanne, Switzerland, must still be rubber-stamped by the IOC’s executive commission in December next year. “The four sports that Paris has proposed are all totally in line with Olympic Agenda 2020, because they contribute to making the program more gender balanced and more urban, and offer the opportunity to connect with the younger generation,” IOC president Thomas Bach said in a statement.
OLYMPICS
AIBA officially suspended
The IOC yesterday officially took over the boxing qualification and competition for next year’s Tokyo Olympics and suspended the International Boxing Association (AIBA) following a vote at its session. The council voted unanimously to implement a recommendation of its executive board to oust AIBA from the Games over issues surrounding its finances and governance, and suspend the body until the issues are resolved. Serbian IOC member Nenad Lalovic earlier yesterday delivered a damning report, saying that the association could reach a debt of as much as US$29 million. He also said AIBA had failed to reform at the top of the organization.
RUGBY UNION
Anger over Folau support
The Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission (ACNC) has fielded complaints over the Australian Christian Lobby’s decision to host Israel Folau’s fundraising efforts for his legal battle against Rugby Australia. The former Wallaby’s GoFundMe page was taken down this week for breaching the platform’s terms of service. The lobby’s fundraising drive yesterday afternoon stood at almost A$1.8 million (US$1.26 million), but it says it has not breached federal laws governing charity operations. “Generally, the ACNC can investigate where there are concerns that a registered charity has breached the ACNC Act or our governance standards,” the commission said in a statement. “This may include if a charity is not pursuing its charitable purpose, not operating in a not-for-profit manner or giving private benefits to its members.”
COLLEGE
Coach influence exposed
More than one-third of trainers have said that coaches influence the hiring and firing of sports-medicine staff, a finding that counters National Collegiate Athletic Association protocol urging medical staff to independently make decisions about athlete health. Among the 1,796 athletic trainers who answered a survey, more than 48 percent said their school was not following the guidance. Nearly one in five respondents said a coach had played an athlete who had been deemed medically ineligible to participate. Nearly three in five of 537 athletic trainers who answered questions about whether they received pressure from non-medical personnel about medical decisions said they did. Of those, 28.8 percent said they received pressure at least twice a month and 2.56 percent said they received pressure daily.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was