phelps

Men's Team Epee (Heidenheim, GER) Final Results Gold: Russia Silver: Hungary Bronze: Italy Semifinals: Russia b. Italy 45-44 Hungary b. Poland 41-32 Bronze Medal Match: Italy b. Poland 45-31 Gold Medal Match: Russia b. Hungary 35-30 Here is the Full Final Ranking (and Results) from Today's competition: http://fie.org/competitions/2019/823/results/rank

Men's 1500m, Final Results Gold: Shaolin Sandor Liu Silver: Shaoang Liu Bronze: Semen Elistratov also making the Final: Denis Ayrapetyan (4th), Vladislav Bykanov (5th), Yuri Confortola (6th), Thibaut Fauconnet (DSQ)

Women's 1500m, Final Results Gold: Suzanne Schulting Silver: Elise Christie Bronze: Sofia Prosvirnova also making the Final: Hanne Desmet (4th), Tifany Huot Marchand (5th), Arianna Sighel (6th), Veronique Pierron (DSQ)

I need to read all the 127 pages of the document to answer your question more properly, but here are a few quick thoughts: as I wrote in the past, I'm pretty much divided between the pride of being a citizen of Milan and the scare of what another Olympic party would mean for the Italian economy and above all for the Italian wintersports (the shame of 1 and 0 gold medals in the 2 Games following Torino 2006)... about the 2026 Olympics, my fear it that they already said that some things may change after we get the Games (one safe bet: the new multi-purpose arena in Milan won't be built and the Hockey tournament flies to Turin, as rumors of the Olympic city from 2006 still getting something despite all the shameful chaos created in the past months by mayor Appendino and the majority of the city coucil have already started)... the other venues to me are more than OK...they are all well established World Cup/World Championships locations and courses...and some of them are among the most demanding and spectacular in the world...so, probably under a strictly technical point of view, if it's going to happen, Milano-Cortina 2026 would feature the best competitions ever (and it will offer the audience some of the most amazing and breath-taking landscapes also)... the finacial part is what I call a "cheat"... basically they say that almost all the venues are already there (but they don't say that their "renovation works" are probably a full rebuilding and they also underestimate the costs of those works or, in some cases, they don't keep any relation to the same kind of works and the Olympics, as they say that most of them are already planned or underway in any case) and the most expensive new one (the new multi-purpose arena in Milan) is...well, they just say it will be built in any case (even if we don't get the Olympics) by private investors... so, I'm really divided...my heart is for Milano-Cortina (and I'm sure it will be a great Olympic edition), my mind is to stay away from it like pestis...

I think it's quite obvious that at least one between Surf and Skateboarding will go (if not both)... hopefully we're gonna get rid of BMX freestyle, too... and I think that Modern Pentathlon and Greco-Roman Wrestling would be put under threat once again... not needed to say that Boxing and (a lot less, but still) Weightlifting are already on the doorstep (Boxing maybe already in Tokyo)... so, there are plenty of opportunities for the IOC to cut some core sport places off...

however, this winter's weather in Collalbo is really anti-climatic (and all the missing good skaters -especially in the men's sprint championship- don't help the competition, too)... p.s. I didn't expect Ireen Wust to be that out of shape (even if I can understand her feelings after Van Deutekom's tragedy...the Italian TV commentators said they were very close friends and that Wust spent a lot of time beside Pauline in the last few weeks)... p.p.s. Lollo...

on a day loaded with surprises and upsets, first senior world cup podium finish for the male epee's brightest talent of the last 20 years or so, Davide Di Veroli... hopefully, the first of many (podium finish)...

Men's Individual Epee (Heidenheim, GER) Final Results Gold: Alexandre Bardenet Silver: Davide Di Veroli Bronze: Georgiy Bruev & Koki Kano Semifinals: Bardenet b. Bruev 15-11 Di Veroli b. Kano 9-8 Gold Medal Match: Bardenet b. Kano 15-7 Here is the Full Final Ranking (and Results) from Today's competition: http://fie.org/competitions/2019/108/results/rank

that doesn't make sense at all... we should only have "complete" sports at the Olympics (with the best among the bests)... otherwise it would be just an "exhibition" with a little bit of this and a little bit of that, discriminating all the athletes of a given sport who don't fit (because of their nature, of their bodyshape and weight...things you just can't decide and control by youself at 100%) the "showcase classes" chosen for the Olympic stage...

in this case I have to disagree... Greco-Roman Wrestling is one of the Founding Fathers of the modern Olympic Games (and "the history" of all the wrestling disciplines)... if something in that field has to be removed, that's Freestyle Wrestling, which is just a later addiction to please the Americans (who have the Pro Wrestling career in mind already when started the College/Olympic Wrestling) and the non-European Nations (Asian more than others)...

wakeboarding can't be performed at sea... its natural stage are the rowing/canoeing basins... meanwhile Surf has a wonderful venue in Landes, Nouvelle-Aquitaine which already hosts a WSL tour stage every year...so, there's no need for any new venue... moreover, France has tradition and (outside) medal chances in Surfing, on the other hand, there's no chance Skateboarding would be a popular nor a successful sport for them... @Nate River Karate is the sport with more chances to stay in 2024...huge popularity and strong medal chances would lead France to go to the war to keep it in the program (actually, I think they would even enlarge the program adding the 2 nowadays missing kumite weights for both men and women)... same for Sport Climbing (whose officials have already said that they will ask for IOC to put the classic 3 disciplines -Lead, Speed and Boulder- instead of the Combined event in the 2024 schedule)...

the problem is that those sports are different from Country to Country... and not only in terms of popularity, but also in terms of chances to win some medals (and sometimes those 2 things are also in contrast between themselves)... so, most likely it would end up in a political battle between powerhouses to protect their own interests and most small Countries would lose their very few chances to get on the world stage once every 4 years...

I don't know why? but for a short while I thought you were going to have some Brazilian waxing... I must have taken 1 or 2 glasses of wine too many at dinner, I fear...

first, drop the ipocracy of gender equality... then, drop entire senseless sports (artistic swimming, trampoline, rhytmic gymnastics, dressage, skateboarding, freestyle BMX, surf, rugby 7s, the current no man's baseball...and of course this weightlifting and the farce of "amateur" -or "Olympic", name it as you prefer- boxing) or some events in some senseless sports (synchronized diving, individual time trial in cycling)... after that, drop most of the places reserved to officials and IOC's guests...actually, this could be the first option... finally, I'm pretty sure that the remaining sports not only don't need quota reduction, but they also have a shot to regain their technical dignity by increasing the number of competitive starters in any event (of any sport)... frankly, I'm really tired of and annoyed by this everlasting buzz of "quota reduction"...it's time to choose an affordable number of sports to appear at the Games and let them have the best and strongest competition possible... stop making most Olympic events a "technical farce" in the name of stupid ipocracy...

how to turn one of the most beautiful days in the Italian Biathlon history in one of the saddest... our young and promising athlete Hannes Breitenberger died earlier today at the age of just 18... the circumstances of his death are still unclear (they first talked of a snowboard incident, but this has been denied)... R.I.P. Hannes