phelps

well, tbh tonight we have a great battle between Paternoster and Wild, but this is not normally the case, with the Dutch overlapping all of of her opponents in the previous couple of years... and in any case, I'm not a fan of this competition...I rather prefer standalone Points Race and Elimination Race (not to say that not having the individual pursuit at the Games is just insulting towards the history of track cycling)...

surprising loss by Di Veroli and Favaretto... good for Italy that at least the girls' gold medal went to another of our representatives, Serena Rossini...

Filippooooo!!! 3rd world title for him...and he's only 22 (not to mention he did ride 4.07 twice in 5 hours or so)... p.s. and what a point race! definitely one of the most exciting ever, full of action from start to finish with all the riders not trying to save energy at all... well done, boys! and congrats to Van Schip, who dominated the race by winning a lot of sprints and gaining good 3 laps (which rarely happens)... but all the show we just saw, it won't happen in Tokyo, thanks to the geniuses running UCI and IOC, who think that those 2 events don't deserve the Olympic stage (meanwhile we will see amazing events like team sprint and omnium)...

Women's Junior Individual Foil Final Results Gold: Serena Rossini Silver: Anna Udovichenko Bronze: Martina Favaretto & Adelina Bikbulatova Semifinals: Rossini b. Favaretto 12-11 Udovichenko b. Bikbulatova 10-4 Gold Medal Match: Rossini b. Udovichenko 15-11  Here is the Full Final Ranking (and Results) from Today's competition: https://www.fencingtimelive.com/events/results/C8B889879782439A996F4C415242B182

Men's Junior Individual Epee Final Results Gold: Mate Tamas Koch Silver: Alexander Biro Bronze: Davide Di Veroli & Topias Tauriainen Semifinals: Biro b. Tauriainen 15-11 Koch b. Di Veroli 15-12 Gold Medal Match: Koch b. Biro 15-8  Here is the Full Final Ranking (and Results) from Today's competition: https://www.fencingtimelive.com/events/results/D3EC5CAA379844F8A03E7C049D9E8873

fireworks in the men's individual pursuit... Weinstein was first credited with the unbelievable world record of 4.05.x and then saw his time corrected by good 4 seconds (still, 4.09 is a great time, indeed)... then came the heat with the current world record holder Ashton Lambie and Filippo Ganna...and our star destroyed the American, riding a 4.07.456, just a couple of tenths slower than the WR... and in the meantime, John Archibald (sea level WR holder since just a few weeks ago) rode a disappointing 4.16 and he's out of everything... so, the Gold Medal ride will be between Ganna and Weinstein, meanwhile the Bronze medal ride will surprisingly feature Davide Plebani and Alexandr Evtushenko... and the regrets for the unlucky outcome of the men's team pursuit grows and grows and grows...

yeah, he already took some risks against Nurykau (despite the win by superiority) and then he had nothing to give against the American...

Jacobs: 3 fouls in 3 jumps in a competition with 10 starters and 8 places for the final up for grabs... Fabbri: 20.69 last week...19.71 this morning = already on the plane towards home... just our usual athletics results...

once again...all but one are just amateurs or, at least, not part of any National Team program...3rd/4th tier athletes, at best... the only "top" name is Andrea Carlino, who tested positive at last year's world champs in Azerbaijan...and, as it's also written in that statement from NADO Italia, he was able to prove contamination (so, he wasn't really guilty of anything), but still those idiots managed to give him a 12-month ban... and once again this shows what kind of reliability has NADO Italia and what kind of respect their sentences should have... THEY ARE JUST PUBLIC MONEY WASTERS! SHUT THEM DOWN!!!

it took quite a while, but at the end of the negotiation Philadelphia finally broke their piggy-bank and signed Bryce Harper... the contract is not official yet (pending the so-called "physical"), but it's only a matter of (very short) time... and it's the most lucrative contract in the whole North-American sports history: 330 million US $ for 13 years (with no opt-out clause, full no-trade clause in favor of Harper and no deferred money)... https://www.mlb.com/news/bryce-harper-deal-with-phillies https://www.mlb.com/news/all-you-need-to-know-about-bryce-harper-phils

In Italy there's a specific law about doping crime, with many profiles of illegality... the main one for the athletes is of course the fraud they put on when they false the results of sports competitions by alterating their performance through illegal drugs, but there are a few others... they could be charged with misdemeanor of unauthorized/uncertified playing of the role of the medical profession if they get caught for auto-emotransfusion or helping someone else doing that... p.s. in Italy even the use of the Hypo-Baric Room is forbidden by law (meanwhile for WADA and IOC it's perfectly legal)... then there are the points about coaches and doctors, who normally are charged with things like abuse of their role and professional tasks and/or injection of unauthorized/uncertified/not required medicines/theraphy and many others... not to mention all the crimes related to the financial aspects of this thing (because normally you don't pay regular taxes and because of the way you get those medicines, as many of them are not freely available on the market here -they're just for medical use and available only at the hospital most of the times)...

pretty disappointing quarters, yesterday...all of them with the eventual winner never in doubt, just 4 one-man show after another... and now, when it really matters, we're down to the usual Egyptian domination with 3 of them against a lone European hope in both the women and the men's competitions... congrats to Egypt... but a bit more balance and "diversity" would only be a plus for the game...

2019 PSA Squash World Championships (Chicago, USA) Quarterfinals, Part #2 Men Simon Rösner b. Saurav Ghosal 3-0 (11-8, 11-6, 11-7; 50m) Ali Farag b. Paul Coll 3-1 (11-8, 11-7, 4-11, 11-1; 57m) Semifinals Pairings Mohamed El Shorbagy vs Tarek Momen Simon Rösner vs Ali Farag

2019 PSA Squash World Championships (Chicago, USA) Quarterfinals, Part #2 Women Camille Serme b. Joelle King 3-0 (11-7, 11-8, 11-4; 37m) Nour El Sherbini b. Tesni Evans 3-0 (11-7, 11-5, 11-7; 31m) Semifinals Pairings Raneem El Welily vs Nour El Tayeb Camille Serme vs Nour El Sherbini

it's frustrating when you discover that your hopes were totally not justified... there's no way that our girls of the team pursuit would eventually be competitive for the medals in 18 months time... and there's no way our boys can get even close to Australia's 3.48...

and this is also the only surprising situation so far (I wouldn't call exactly "surprising" the 2-0 lead of Dynamo Moscow against Jokerit, despite being the Finns seeded better than the Russians)... another thing to be noticed is that only 1 series out of 8 (Metallurg Magnitogorsk vs Salavat Yulaev Ufa) is tied 1-1 after 2 games in this first round of the KHL playoffs...and this is not so good for us, neutral audience...

always related to the KHL...this is very, very interesting... Technology in action, smart pucks on the ice in Helsinki https://en.khl.ru/news/2019/02/26/433193.html

finally one day like it should always be...

Men's Junior Individual Sabre Final Results Gold: Matteo Neri Silver: Vladislav Pozdnyakov Bronze: Nika Shengelia & Galin Genov Semifinals: Neri b. Shengelia 15-7 Pozdnyakov b. Genov 15-13 Gold Medal Match: Neri b. Pozdnyakov 15-7  Here is the Full Final Ranking (and Results) from Today's competition: https://www.fencingtimelive.com/events/results/51627FB975354FD2929650FAA93BB902

Women's Junior Individual Epee Final Results Gold: Federica Isola Silver: Evgeniya Zakharova Bronze: Elvira Martensson & Manana Saumova Semifinals: Zakharova b. Martensson 15-12 Isola b. Saumova 15-7 Gold Medal Match: Isola b. Zakharova 15-10  Here is the Full Final Ranking (and Results) from Today's competition: https://www.fencingtimelive.com/events/results/0FE38F9661374F878A4EB475F529F798

Tokyo 2020 announce that smoking and vaping will be banned at all venues Tokyo 2020 today confirmed that smoking will not be allowed at any venues being used for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The ban will extend to heated tobacco products and other vaping devices, they announced. insidethegames had reported yesterday that Japanese organisers had previously considered prohibiting smoking inside the buildings where events will be held, while setting up smoking areas on venue grounds for spectators and staff, but were now set to ban it altogether. Japan is due to introduce an amendment to its Health Promotion Law on April 1 next year along with new regulations to reduce the incidence of passive smoking. Tokyo 2020 has decided to fully enact the guidance. Officials claim smoking areas were available on venue grounds at London 2012 and Rio 2016. Tokyo 2020 would be the first Summer Olympics to ban smoking anywhere on venue grounds. "Based on the development of the law and regulations and guidance from the IOC (International Olympic Committee), Tokyo 2020 has decided to adopt a stricter non-smoking policy to protect the health and safety of athletes, spectators and officials and will ban smoking in indoor venues, outdoor venues and in venues’ secure perimeters operated by Tokyo 2020 - a similar policy to that enacted during the Olympic Winter Games Pyeongchang 2018," they said in a statement today. "Tokyo 2020 aims to leave a legacy of improved public health for the country at large." Then Tokyo Governor Yōichi Masuzoe had called for a ban on smoking at the Olympics and Paralympics as long ago as 2014, shortly after the Japanese city had been awarded the Games. It is estimated that more than 20 million people smoke in Japan and the country remains one of the world's largest tobacco markets. Japan approved its first national smoking ban inside public facilities last July, but the watered-down measure excluded many restaurants and bars and were largely seen as ineffective. The legislation aimed to lower second-hand smoking risks ahead of Tokyo 2020 follows calls for a smoke-free Games. It is still legal to smoke in many public places in Japan, despite the introduction of new legislation. But ruling party lawmakers with strong ties to the tobacco and restaurant industries opted for a weakened version. In June 2018, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government had separately enacted a stricter ordinance banning smoking at all larger eateries to protect diners and employees from second-hand smoke. But the law still allowed many exceptions and there had been fears that Tokyo 2020 may not have been totally smoke-free. Until now, Japan has had no binding law controlling second-hand smoke and is ranked among the least protected countries by the World Health Organization (WHO). The new national law introduced last year prohibited indoor smoking at schools, hospitals and Government offices. Smoking is still allowed at existing small eateries, including those with less than 1,076 square feet of customer space, including more than half of Japanese establishments. Larger and new eateries must limit smoking to designated rooms. Violators can face fines of up to JPY ¥300,000 (£2,000/$2,700/€2,400) for smokers and up to JPY ¥500,000 (£3,400/$4,500/€4,000) for facility managers. It is due to be implemented in phases through to April 2020. In Japan, almost a fifth of adults still smoke. The rate for men in their 30s to 50s is nearly twice as high, according to a survey in 2017. In Japan, about 15,000 people, mainly women and children, die annually because of second-hand smoke, according to Government and WHO estimates. More follows. Credits: insidethegames.biz

German decision scales back powers of IOC's Rule 40 A major ruling in Germany has significantly scaled back the advertising restrictions placed on athletes by the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) Rule 40. The country's Federal Cartel Office (FCO) - or Bundeskartellamt - has moved to provide further opportunities for athletes and has received "commitment" from both the IOC and the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB). Rule 40.3 of the Olympic Charter warns that "no competitor, team official or other team personnel who participates in the Olympic Games may allow his person, name, picture or sports performances to be used for advertising purposes during the Olympic Games". It is seen as major reason why companies are willing to sign up as part of the lucrative The Olympic Partner sponsorship scheme which guarantees huge exposure during Games-time. However, it has often caused contention with athletes who claim that they are unable to make money during the most important time of their career. Under the new rules, the list of banned Olympic terminology is now "considerably smaller" and will apply to advertising and social media platforms. It has also been judged that sporting sanctions must not be applied in any disputes, with hearings having to take place in civil courts. The Federal Association of the German Sports Goods Industry, the German athletes group Athleten Deutschland and two athletes brought the case forward. Andreas Mundt, President of the Federal Cartel Office, said: "We ensure that the advertising opportunities of German athletes and their sponsors during the Olympic Games, which the DOSB and IOC significantly restricted in the past, are extended. "While athletes are the key figures of Olympic Games, they cannot benefit directly from the IOC's high advertising revenue generated with official Olympic sponsors. "However, as the Games mark the height of their sporting careers, self-marketing during the Games plays a very important role. "Our decision grants German athletes more leeway when it comes to marketing themselves during the Olympic Games, for example as far as the use of certain 'Olympic' terms or their pictures taken in sports events, or social media activities are concerned. German athletes have been provided with further opportunities. The Office said both the IOC and DOSB should be subject to competition law and that Rule 40 as it stands is "too far reaching" and "abusive conduct". Investigations began in 2017 which led to eased rules before the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics, but a survey of athletes and sponsors last year revealed the changes did not improve things to "a sufficient extent". As a result, the Office reopened its inquiry with help from the IOC, which is headed by a German in Thomas Bach, and the DOSB. This has led up to today's announcement with fencer Max Hartung and canoeist Silke Kassner among the German athletes to have previously called for change. Advertising activities taking place during the Olympic Games will no longer have to be cleared by the DOSB, while terms such as "medal", "gold", "silver", "bronze", "Summer Games" and "Winter Games" are allowed to be used. Certain photographs of athletes competing are now also allowed, for example those where no Olympic symbols are used. The new rules apply to ongoing advertising campaigns and those that could be launched in the future. As things stand the rules only apply in Germany but there is a chance the decision could act as a precedent and spread elsewhere. "The IOC has agreed that these new guidelines take priority over the IOC rules with regard to Germany," the Office, who conducted its investigation with the European Commission, said. Rule 40 normally comes into operation nine days before the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games and continues for three days after it. Both the IOC and DOSB told insidethegames that they welcomed the ruling. DOSB President Alfons Hörmann said the deal did "justice to both sides". "On the one hand the athletes profit by the extension of their personal rights, on the other hand the solitary financing model of the Olympic Games which is existential for worldwide sport is secured," he said. An IOC spokesman added: "The IOC takes note of the commitment decision of the German Federal Cartel Office," an IOC spokesman told insidethegames. "Following this decision, the IOC welcomes the fact that the revised Rule 40 and social media guidelines of the German Olympic Committee will be valid in Germany at least until the end of the Olympic Winter Games 2026. "With its decision, the FCO recognised that there are legitimate reasons for restricting individual athletes' advertising opportunities in order to ensure the ongoing organisation of the Olympic Games. "At the same time, any implementation of Rule 40 at the national level necessarily has to take all applicable laws and regulations as well as pertinent case law into account, in this instance, particular German case law. "The revised Rule 40 and social media guidelines of the DOSB are the result of a mutual agreement reached by the FCO, the IOC and the DOSB. "Rule 40 is the fundamental basis for the solidarity model of the Olympic Games. "This model is in the interest of athletes from all around the world and the Olympic Movement. "It ensures that the whole world can come together at the Games. Alfons Hörmann said the deal did "justice" to both sides. "It helps to offer athletes from all 206 National Olympic Committees an equal opportunity to train and qualify for the Olympic Games. "Through this model, the Olympic Games can also continue to be a platform for a wide range of sports. "The IOC redistributes 90 per cent of its income to the wider sporting movement, which means that every day the equivalent of $3.4 million (£2.5 million/€3 million) goes to help athletes, Organising Committees of the Olympic Games and sports organisations at all levels around the world. "in addition, Rule 40 helps ensure the stability of the financing of the Olympic Movement, in particular the Olympic Games and Olympic teams around the world. "The Rule helps protect the rights of the entities that provide funding: primarily the IOC's Worldwide Olympic Partners, the NOCs' sponsors, and the sponsors of the Organising Committees of the respective Olympic Games. "The Games take place in a largely non-commercialised field-of-play environment. "As a result, the Rule helps by limiting advertising measures undertaken by non-Olympic sponsors with participants in the Olympic Games, which create an unauthorised association with the Olympic Games without the sponsors in question having made a financial contribution to the organisation of the Games." Credits: insidethegames.biz

Nine arrests made after police smash "international doping network" at World Nordic Skiing Championships A doping ring has been targeted by police raids at the International Ski Federation (FIS) Nordic Skiing World Championships, currently underway in Seefeld in Austria. Nine people - five athletes and four others - have been arrested as part of a targeted operation against a worldwide drugs network. Two of the athletes are Austrian, while one is from Kazakhstan and two are from Estonia. They have not yet been formally identified. Raids also took place in Erfurt in Germany in a coordinated operation involving both Austrian and German officials. Two people were arrested there, one of whom is a doctor with reported links to doping in cycling. According to a statement from the Austrian Federal Police Office (FPO), one athlete was caught "in the act". "He was picked up with a blood transfusion in his arm," the FPO's Dieter Csefan is quoted as saying. In a statement published on their website, the FIS said five cross-country athletes have been arrested during a "surprise raid". "FIS is working closely with the Austrian public authorities in view of today's events and will follow up the cases and take the necessary actions in accordance with the FIS and World Anti-Doping rules," they said. "FIS will fulfill its mandate as the governing body to ensure that the integrity of the sport remains intact and to protect all clean athletes." It follows a recent documentary published by ARD, in which Austrian skier Johannes Dürr, who was convicted of doping after the Sochi Olympics in 2014, confessed he had doped in Germany. In the piece titled "Doping Top Secret: Confession, Inside the mind of a doper", Dürr revealed how he cheated, admitting to blood transfusions and taking EPO and growth hormones. Dürr confessed to having his blood manipulated at hotels near Munich Airport and in other places across Germany including Oberhof and Irschenberg. The raids follow a confession from convicted doper Johannes Dürr that he often had his blood manipulated in Germany. He did not name anyone who helped him dope, with the raids instigated at least in part as an attempt to find co-conspirators. "To what extent German athletes are suspected, was not known," a report in the German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) reads, while German coaches and athletes have reportedly criticised Dürr's statements, suggesting, SZ says, that he was merely "seeking attention". The Austrian police confirmed at a press conference that 16 properties had been raided across Austria and Germany. "The BK, Office for Combating Organised Crime, succeeded in smashing an international doping network in cooperation with the Zollfahndungsamt Munich, Branch Lindau," they said. "In the morning hours of 27 February 2019, in a coordinated action in Seefeld and in Germany, a total of nine people were arrested and 16 house searches executed by orders of the Attorney General Munich and the STA Innsbruck." They said it follows months of investigations into a "German based criminal organisation" formed around a doctor named as "Mark S". "This Erfurt-based criminal group is strongly suspected of having been doping top athletes for years to increase their performance in domestic and international competitions, thereby gaining illegal revenues," the police statement continued. "In the course of a coordinated intervention in the presence of the German public prosecutor and German investigators, two members of the criminal group and five top athletes were arrested in Seefeld on the basis of orders granted by the court, and house searches were carried out. "The arrested athletes are two Austrian, one Kazakh and two Estonian top athletes. "Among the detainees are also two police athletes from the national squad cross country/national team, who are currently undergoing basic police training. "At the same time, the 40-year-old sports physician Dr. med. Mark S. and another 40-year-old German accomplice [were] arrested and house searches [were] carried out. "The investigations are still ongoing." In a statement sent to insidethegames, the President of the Austrian Ski Federation (OSV) Peter Schröcksnadel said he is "shocked" that the Championships has now been "overshadowed" by a doping scandal. "At the same time, the ÖSV would like to thank the investigating authorities for uncovering this obviously international doping network, which has been operating for years, and hopes that the backers and masterminds will be held accountable," he said. "Nothing is more vile than buying better results through illegal performance-enhancing methods. "I am deeply annoyed that some athletes seem to have learned nothing from the past. "In the ÖSV zero tolerance applies to doping." Austrian Ski Federation President Peter Schröcksnadel said the authorities have uncovered an "obviously international doping network". He also stressed that there is "no indication", OSV officials have been implicated. "Regardless of that, I will suggest to the Bureau to completely reorganise cross-country skiing in the ÖSV after this season," he said. "The ÖSV guarantees to do everything in its power against doping. "But we can not guarantee that every individual will comply with the strict regulations. "The responsibility is borne by each individual athlete, the consequences also. "It is clear, who doped is immediately excluded from the ÖSV. "The legal consequences will attract the authorities." The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has released a statement saying they are aware of the raids and are in "close communication with law enforcement authorities". "The raids were part of a wider police operation targeting criminals from a number of European countries, and WADA's Intelligence and Investigations Department has been providing information and other assistance to the authorities in the course of their operation," a spokesperson said. "This latest cooperation with Austrian law enforcement follows a WADA investigation into activities of the International Biathlon Union (IBU), which last year resulted in the initiation of a criminal investigation by police in Austria and Norway. "Given the operation is ongoing, WADA can make no further comment at this time." Last year Austrian police also carried out raids on the IBU headquarters in Salzburg. That action followed evidence that former IBU President Anders Besseberg and secretary general Nicole Resch had been involved in a cover-up surrounding the doping of Russian athletes. The raid was sparked by tip-off by WADA, who were investigating information provided by whistleblowers, including ex-Moscow Laboratory director Grigory Rodchenkov. Austrian prosecutors revealed in a statement that the alleged wrongdoing covered a period from 2012 until the 2017 World Championships in the Austrian resort of Hochfilzen. Besseberg and Resch were also accused of accepting bribes amounting to $300,000 (£211,000/€243,000) and other benefits in return for a favourable stance towards Russia - though they both deny wrongdoing. Austrian police also raided the Kazakh team hotel at the World Championships in Hochfilzen.

for what's known so far, Baldauf is 1 of the 5 athletes arrested by police (in total, 9 people ended up in jail)...

the situation before the world championships is this: men 1 ITALY 3800 2 GREAT BRITAIN 3660 3 AUSTRALIA 3580 4 NEW ZEALAND 3500 5 DENMARK 3440 6 CANADA 3350 7 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 3260 8 SWITZERLAND 3080 9 GERMANY 3050 10 BELGIUM 3020 11 KOREA 2950 12 FRANCE 2860 13 RUSSIAN FEDERATION 2630 14 POLAND 2590 15 JAPAN 2480 women 1 GREAT BRITAIN 4200 2 AUSTRALIA 3800 3 NEW ZEALAND 3780 4 ITALY 3780 5 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 3450 6 GERMANY 3360 7 CANADA 3360 8 KOREA 3200 9 FRANCE 2790 10 BELGIUM 2780 11 PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA 2710 12 POLAND 2700 13 JAPAN 2700 14 RUSSIAN FEDERATION 2120 once the World Champs race is over, then you can make the calculation by yourself... or you just can wait for UCI to update their Rankings page, where all the standings are available... https://www.uci.org/track/rankings