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If hostilities come again to Korea, what Saved the U.S. in Honduras: Striker Bobby
happens to the Winter Games? Wood
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Lane One
Thinking the unthinkable: What if the 2018 Winter Games could not be held? 3
On Deck
Canoe-Kayak: World Cup Final this weekend in Spain 8
Cycling: World Tour makes its annual stop in Quebec 9
Karate: Final Premier tournament in Halle this weekend 10
Volleyball: U.S. drops women's World Champions Cup opener 10
Scoreboard
Cycling: Froome nearly doubles his lead in La Vuelta 11
Cycling: U.S. strong in Pan Am Track Cycling Champs 13
Shooting: Russia's Fokeev wins Double Trap gold after 11-year gap 14
L The Ticker 7
K A memorial to the 11 Israeli team members who were murdered by Palestinian terrorists at the
1972 Olympic Games is being dedicated in Munich today (6 Sep.). The Jerusalem Post reported that
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will both be
present at the dedication ceremony. The memorial is in the Olympiapark and is a meeting center
carved like an open wound into the hillside ... K Our next issue will be on Friday, 8 September.
C Lane One C
Thinking the unthinkable:
What if the 2018 Winter Games could not be held?
The world can be a scary place and no more so than on the Korean
Peninsula, with the ongoing drama over North Koreas saber-ratting
rhetoric and public weapons testing.
Elaron via Wikipedia Commons
With the Olympic Winter Games getting set for PyeongChang in South
Korea next February, what contingency plans could possibly be made
in case the area once again becomes a center of live conflict as it was in
the 1950s?
The reality is, not much could be done. And the International Olympic
Committee has been down this road before:
C With the outbreak of World War I in August, 1914, it became clear within a couple of months
that Winter Games in the Black Forest area and summer Games in Berlin in 1916 would not be
held. Offers were made on behalf of U.S. cities such as Cleveland, Philadelphia and San
Francisco and even Havana in Cuba, but no action was taken. The Olympic Century series,
produced in 2000, noted There would not be any formal cancellation of Berlin 1916, the
Olympic Games simply never took place.
There was one important change in Olympic administration due to the war: IOC chief Pierre
de Coubertin moved the organizations archives and headquarters to Lausanne in neutral
Switzerland from Paris in 1915, and it has remained there ever since.
C Despite its invasion of Manchuria in 1931, Tokyo was selected in July, 1936 to host the 1940
Games, with Winter Games in and around Sapporo. After the invasion of China in 1937 and the
ramp-up of war efforts throughout Japan, the Japanese cabinet canceled the Games in July of
1938.
The Winter Games were then given to St. Moritz (SUI), which renounced the award a year later
due to a fight over the eligibility of skiing instructors, who were considered professionals (and
therefore ineligible to compete in the Games). The IOC then transferred the Winter Games to
Garmisch-Partenkirchen (GER), which had held the event in 1936 and had the facilities
available.
Helsinki had volunteered to host the 1940 Olympic Games and was preparing to do so when
World War II broke out in September, 1939. As Finland in a war with the Soviet Union into
1940, Helsinki finally gave up the Games in May of that year. There would be no 1940 Games
Winter or summer anywhere.
C The IOC inexplicably awarded the 1944 Winter Games to Cortina dAmpezzo in Italy (!) and to
London (GBR) for the Summer Games, but neither of these had a chance of happening with the
European theater of war continuing into May of 1945.
A vote by mail in late 1945 confirmed a recommendation of the IOCs Executive Board that the
1948 Games be awarded to St. Moritz (SUI) and London.
C The IOC had a different situation in 1972, when Denver renounced its selection following a
public referendum against government funding for the 1976 Winter Games. With three years
remaining, a number of cities submitted bids, but Innsbruck (AUT), site of the 1964 Winter
Games, was selected thanks to its available facilities.
What we know from the IOCs own history and the hand-wringing over cities whose preparations
looked like they would come up short Athens for 2004 and Rio for 2016 come to mind is that
every effort will be made to hold as and where scheduled.
But what if this becomes impossible? Or if so many countries become worried about the security of
their athletes, officials and fans that participation is severely reduced. In February, six countries
Australia, Canada, Great Britain, New Zealand, Switzerland and the U.S. declined to participate in
the IAAF World U-18 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya last July due to security concerns. The meet
went off anyway and without incident. These things still happen today.
The IOC would have several choices. It could cancel the Games and incur a major financial hit,
possibly softened to some extent by insurance (if the insurers dont go bust). Or it could look for a
replacement at the last moment, which is really impossible due to two major factors: (1) the lack of
time for broadcast and communications infrastructure installations and (2) even for sites with the
sports facilities (there are several), theres no way to get anything resembling an Olympic Village set
up for the athletes and teams, as well as hotels for media, officials and spectators. Or the IOC could
postpone the Games for a year and hope to have PyeongChang Games in 2019, hopefully after the
political situation has calmed down.
The latter is the most workable scenario, as the IOC could also name a back-up city at that time and
agree to confirm PyeongChang in six months, or go to the back-up, which would have had the time to
organize the accommodations issues and work with their broadcasters to figure out how to handle the
load for an Olympic Winter Games. All or much of which the IOC would have to pay for.
The IOC is right to say it has confidence the Winter Games will move forward as planned, but that
they are monitoring the situation. But that doesnt mean they arent considering their options.
Rich Perelman
Editor
Football:
Bobby Wood saves U.S. in Honduras
As with the listless loss to Costa Rica last Friday, the U.S. found itself down, 1-0, to Honduras and
running out of time to get some kind of score, avoid another shutout and falling deeper into the
CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying standings.
Thanks to a brilliant free kick by Kellen Acosta that almost found the net, Honduran keeper Luis
Lopezs save resulted in a loose rebound in front of goal. During the ensuing scrum, U.S. forward
Jordan Morris headed the ball forward, and U.S. striker Bobby Wood was able to bring the ball
down and score the equalizer in the 85th minute as the U.S. managed a 1-1 draw at Honduras.
It was a happy ending more or less to another frustrating U.S. offensive performance, which
created a grand total of nine shots in the game, only four of which were on target. Honduras, also
struggling to get to the 2018 World Cup, managed 11 shots and six on U.S. keeper Brad Guzan.
Although Romell Quitos seeing-eye shot off the post and into the U.S. goal in the 27th minute was
the home teams only score, Honduras mounted multiple dangerous attacks on counters and after
dispossessing U.S. midfielders and defenders.
The draw gave the U.S. and Honduras nine points each in the race for third place in the CONCACAF
standings. Mexico and Costa Rica tied, 1-1, thanks to a late goal by Costa Ricas Marco Urena,
leaving them at 18 and 15 points, respectively and well on their way to the World Cup next year.
Meanwhile, Panama clubbed Trinidad & Tobago in Panama City, 3-0, to take over sole possession of
third place with 10 points with two games to go:
The U.S. has the easiest schedule of the three contending teams, but it needs to win. For that, its
going to have to figure out how to generate more offense. Both Costa Rica and Honduras exposed the
U.S. weaknesses: (1) limited playmaking ability outside of Christian Pulisic, now heavily marked,
pushed and shoved at every occasion and (2) unreliable defense against counter-attacks where
American midfielders and defenders come forward.
The U.S. drew with Panama, 1-1, in their World Cup Qualifier match in late March in Panama City,
with Clint Dempsey getting the goal. The U.S. will get striker Jozy Altidore back for the October
matches, as he sat out the Honduras match due to a accumulation of yellow cards.
Athletics
Even though she didnt win a medal at the World Championships in London, Jamaicas double
Olympic champ Elaine Thompson ended up being the big winner in the Diamond League with
$134,000 in total winnings according to Mathew Hanratty of track-stats.com.
According to the list, a total of 607 athletes won some money on the circuit. But only 38 made
$50,000 or more and just 14 collected more than $75,000. Thats not a lot.
After all, Berlin has been the site for the last six world marks in the marathon, beginning in 2003 with
Kenyas Paul Tergats 2:04:55. And three men with incredible resumes are lined up to compete:
C Kenenisa Bekele (ETH), the three-time Olympic gold medalist and five-time World
Champion in the 5,000 m and 10,000 m on the track, who won last year in Berlin in 2:03:03,
just six seconds behind Kenyan Dennis Kimettos world mark of 2:02:57 from 2014.
C Kenyas Eliud Kipchoge, the World Champion at 5,000 m in 2003 as a teenager and Rio
Olympic champion in the marathon last summer. And the man who ran 2:00:25 in a specially-
arranged time trial in Monza (ITA) in May!
Said Kipchoge, In Monza I was so close to breaking the two-hour barrier. The Berlin Marathon
represents for me the right opportunity to attack the official world record.
Bekele won the 2016 race in 2:03:03 with Kipsang second in 2:03:13. Kipchoge has won six
marathons in a row and is undefeated from 2014 until now. Can he keep the streak going?
Basketball
We took the competition very seriously, van Gundy said after the final, 81-76 win over Argentina.
Our team was into it. They wanted to do something special together, and we knew going on the road,
both to Uruguay, which was an outstanding team, and here at Argentina which is a great, great team
that we would have to play well and be mentally strong. To me, that was the greatest thing about the
win tonight. We grew in our mental strength. We stuck together and we fought together. Ultimately,
we won together.
I think our experience playing in Uruguay against Uruguay on the road we got down after one
quarter in that game by, I think, nine and we found our way back into that game, as well. I think
that gave our team some confidence. As far as defensively, I think USA Basketball has produced some
great, great defensive teams. Obviously, we are not the same players as the national team usually puts
together, but our guys can be as proud of this moment as the national team guys that have won
Olympic gold medals. This is a significant competition. Its a significant experience for our guys, and
they are going to be bound together now as gold medalists forever.
Darrun Hilliard of the Detroit Pistons was equally enthused about the U.S.s comeback win in the
final. This is something that you will never forget. Its really something that you tell your grandkids.
You take this with you forever, no matter where you go. That sense of pride knowing you are never
counted out, no matter what the circumstances you are up against. Theres nothing you cant do and
nothing you cant get by. Doing that with these guys, in such little time, its amazing. Its really
amazing.
He was asked whether the defense was the key. It was always the key. We knew they were a great
team - a fantastic team. Those guys have been together a long time. They have a lot of great players.
We knew coming into this game that our defense would carry us and help us win this game. We didnt
come out too hot in that first half. In the second half, we bunkered down and got the job done.
C On Deck C
Previews of upcoming international competitions of note
For our detailed calendar of events, click here
Canoe-Kayak
Points are awarded 60-55-50-46-44-42-40-38-36-34 for the top 10 places in most of the events and
on down to as little as two points (click here for the points chart), but will be doubled this week only
for those in the semi-finals and finals. That means the World Cup title is up in all of the events.
In the mens C-1, leader Sideris Tasiadis (GER) is the only one to win more than one World Cup
this season (two) and he won last week in Ivrea (ITA). Vit Prindis (CZE) has won three of the four
The mens C-2 is really close, thanks to all three of the top pairs winning three medals of various
colors in the World Cup so far.
Australias Jessica Fox has been on fire in the womens C-1, winning three of four races and she
could win both the C-1 and K-1 titles with a strong performance this weekend and less-than-stellar
action from Germanys Ricarda Funk, who has won the last three World Cups in K-1.
You can access the live results from the ICF here.
Cycling
C In Quebec City, the race will be 201.6 km in all, with 16 laps of a 12.6 km circuit, which features
5 km of descent, 4 km of flat racing and then 3.6 km of climbing up to 91 m before descending
again.
C The Montreal course is similar, with 17 laps of a 12.1 km loop, with a 132 m climb over the first
2 km, then a descent over the next 4 km, a short rise once again and then a descent over the
last 5,5 km of each loop. The total distance is 205.7 km.
The big names in one-day racing are getting ready, including Olympic Road Race champ Greg van
Avermaet (BEL), the current World Tour leader with 3,032 points. His only serious pursuer is
Dutch star Tom Dumoulin (2,515), also entered. Van Avermaet has won four times on the World
Tour this season, and has been runner-up in Quebec City in 2012 and 2016. Dumoulin has won twice
on Tour and was runner-up in Quebec in 2014.
Defending Quebec City champ Peter Sagan (SVK) is in the field, along with prior winners Simon
Gerrans (AUS, 2012, 2014) and Colombias Rigoberto Uran (2015).
In Montreal, van Avermaet was the winner in 2016, with Sagan second and Italys Diego Ulissi
third. Gerrans won this race in 2014 and 2015 winner Tim Wellens (BEL) is ready to go as well.
Wild card? How about Belgiums Dylan Teuns, winner of the Tour de Pologne in early August?
Karate
Men
C Kata: 1. Damian H.Q. Capdevila (ESP), 1,575 2. Issei Shimbaba (JPN), 1,550
C Kumite -60 kg: 1. Sadriddin Saymatov (UZB), 2,525 2. Aykut Kaya (TUR), 1,575
C Kumite -67 kg: 1. Andres Madera (VEN), 1,625 2. Dionysis Xenos (GRE), 1,300
C Kumite -75 kg: 1. Tom Scott (USA), 1,675 2. Stanislav Horuna(UKR), 1,625
C Kumite -84 kg: 1. Ryutaro Araga (JPN), 2,025 2. Ilya Granovesov (RUS), 1,300
C Kumite +84 kg: 1. Sajad Ganjzadeh (IRI), 2,225 2. Gogita Arkania (GEO), 1,100
Women
C Kata: 1. Sandra Sanchez Jaime (ESP), 1,875 2. Hikaru Ono (JPN), 1,550
C Kumite -50 kg: 1. Serap Ozcelik (TUR), 1,625 2. Ranran Li (CHN), 1,050
C Kumite -55 kg: 1. Tzu-Yun Wen (TPE), 1,300 2. Anz. Terliuga (UKR), 1,200
C Kumite -61 kg: 1. Xiaoyan Yin (CHN), 2,250 2. Jovana Prekovic (SRB), 1.575
C Kumite -68 kg: 1. Irina Zaretska (AZE), 2,550 2. Alizee Agier (FRA), 1,300
C Kumite +68 kg: 1. Ayumi Uekusa (JPN), 2,075 2. Dom. Tatarova (SLO), 1,100
Scott is the top-ranked American man at no. 1 at 75 kg; the top-ranked U.S. women is Maya
Wasowicz, third in the +68 kg category with 875 points. They are the only Americans ranked in the
top 15 in the World Cup standings.
There are five reigning World Champions entered in Halle, including Ryo Kiyuna (JPN) in mens
Kata, Araga (JPN) in mens Kumite -84 kg, Kiyou Shimizu (JPN) in womens Kata, Alisa
Buchinger (AUT) in womens Kumite -68 kg and Uekusa (JPN) in womens Kumite + 68 kg.
Volleyball
The games are being held in Tokyo and Nagoya, with six teams playing a round-robin and the
standings based on games won and then on points earned per victory (3-0 and 3-1 wins are worth
three points, 3-2 wins are worth two points for the winner and one point for the losers).
The U.S. has never won this tournament, but was second twice, in 2013 and 2005. You can follow all
of the scores here.
There are two pools, with the top two teams advancing to the championship semifinals, while the
third- and fourth-place teams moving into a classification round for places 5-8. The pools:
C Scoreboard C
Summaries of major international & U.S. competitions
Cycling
His 47:00 time over the 40.2 km course was 29 seconds better than runner-up Wilco Kelderman of
the Netherlands, but more importantly, 57 seconds ahead of his primary challenger, Italys Vincenzo
Nibali. That gives Froome a stranglehold on the race with five stage left, up 1:58 on Nibali and 2:40
on Kelderman. Short of a crash, hes going to be the winner.
The remaining stages include a mountain stage on Wednesday, two hilly stages, one last mountain
stage next Saturday and a flat stage on Sunday. Profiles of the stages are here.
NBC has coverage of La Vuelta on NBCSN, the NBC Olympic Channel or online; click here for the full
broadcast schedule. Stage summaries:
The U.S. totaled eight wins, plus three silver medals and two bronzes for 13 medals in all, ahead of
Canada with 11 (4-4-3) and Colombia with 10 (4-4-2).
Valente won the Points Race, Scratch Race and Omnium for top honors in the meet, and the U.S. also
got wins from Eric Young in the mens Points Race, the team of Zachary Carlson and Zachary
Kovalcik in the Madison, Madalyn Godby and Mandy Marquardt in the womens Team
Sprint, Kelly Caitlin in the Individual Pursuit and the team of Ariane Bonhomme, Kinley
Gibson, Devaney Collier and Meghan Grant in Team Pursuit.
Results were not available from the Trinidad & Tobago Cycling Federation, so our reference was the
Pan American Cycling Federation.
Shooting
Fokeev was the 2006 World Champion, but had not won a Worlds medal since. Matched up with
Indias Arthur Mittal just 25 the pair were tied with four targets remaining in the 80-shot final.
Despite windy and cold conditions, Fokeev hit three of four, while Mittal could hit only one, for a 68-
66 win for the Russian.
As you can imagine I'm very happy to be the winner, he said afterwards. Its a special feeling to win
in my home country. I felt the responsibility during the match, and now I feel very honored.
During the final I felt the support of the crowd, they were with me. Everybody told me that it has
been an amazing competition. Its great. It's a very important moment in my life!
Italy continued its winning ways in the tournament with a gold medal in the Double Trap team
competition, collecting 418 points to 416 for China and 415 for Russia.
The shooters are off until Friday, when the Skeet events are on:
Summaries so far:
Fatima Galvez (ESP), 27; 5. Marika Salmi Smith (AUS); 2. Antonio Bailon/Beatriz
(FIN), 22; 6. Ashley Carroll (USA), 16. Martinez (ESP); 3. Derek Haldeman/Ashley
Womens Team Trap: 1. United States Carroll (USA); 4. Jack Wallace/Catherine
(Carroll, Caitlin Barney Weinheimer, Corey Skinner (AUS); 5. Alexey Alipov/Tatiana
Cogdell), 203; 2. Finland (Salmi, Makela- Barsuk (RUS); 6. Alberto Fernandez/Fatima
Nummela, Veromaa), 203; 3. Italy (Rossi, Galvez (ESP). Fifth: Alipov/Barsuk d.
Stanco, Iezzi), 203; 4. Australia, 201; 5. Fernandez/Galvez, 27-22. Third:
Spain, 201; 6. Great Britain, 199; 7. Haldeman/Carroll d. Wallace/Skinner, 41-38.
China, 199; 8. Russia, 195. Final: Grice/Smith d. Bailon/Martinez, 33-
32.
Mixed Team Trap: 1. Thomas Grice/Penny
Agenda:
Competition Calendar
Highlights of the top-level (Championships ~ Grand Prix ~ World Cup ~ National Teams)
competitions in Olympic sports for the coming weeks:
Sport Date(s) Type ~ Event Site
These athletes deserve the comprehensive coverage given to a fairly small number of sports which are
the most popular in individual countries, such as baseball, basketball, football (several kinds), ice
hockey and others. Why not offer an all-in-one briefing, available online, which can provide fans with
a 360-degree view of the top-level meets, matches and tournaments in world sport?
Although the 2016 Games are a memory, sport does not stop. Tell your friends to join us for free by
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The Sports Examiner for 6 September 2017: Vol. 2, no. 122. Copyright 2017 by Perelman, Pioneer &
Co.; All rights reserved.
The Sports Examiner (ISSN 2574-6235) is published by Perelman, Pioneer & Co.; Rich Perelman,
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