Olympic and Athlete updates

The World Figure Skating Championships were held in Milan, Italy from March 19-25, 2018.

USA men's results:

Nathan Chen - Short Program - 101.44, Free Skate - 219.46 - Total - 321.40 - Gold
Max Aaron - Short Program - 79.78, Free Skate - 161.71 - Total - 241.49 - 11th
Vincent Zhou - Short Program - 96.78, Free Skate - 138.46 - Total - 235.24 - 14th

Shoma Uno - Japan - Total Score - 273.77 - Silver
Mikhail Kolyada - Russia - Total score - 272.32 - Bronze

USA women's results:

Bradie Tennell - Short Program - 68.76, Free Skate - 131.13 - Total - 199.89 - 6th
Mirai Nagasu - Short Program - 65.21, Free Skate - 122.31 - Total - 187.52 - 10th
Mariah Bell - Short Program - 59.15, Free Skate - 115.25 - Total - 174.40 - 12th

Kaetlyn Osmond - Canada - Total Score - 223.23 - Gold
Wakaba Higuchi - Japan - Total Score - 210.90 - Silver
Satoko Miyahara - Japan - Total Score - 210.08 - Bronze

USA Pairs results:

Alexa Scimeca Knierim/Chris Knierim - Short Program - 69.55, Free Skate - 112.49 - Total 182.04 - 15th
Deanna Stellato/Nathan Bartholomay - Short Program - 61.48 - Did not reach finals - 17th in Short Program

Ljona Savchenko/Bruno Massot - Germany - Total score - 245.84 - Gold
Evgenia Tarasova/Vladimir Morozov - Russia - Total Score - 225.53 - Silver
Vanessa James/Morgan Cipres - France - Total Score - 218.36 - Bronze

USA Ice Dance results:

Madison Hubbell/Zachary Donohue - Short Program - 80.42, Free Skate - 116.22 - Total - 196.64 - Silver
Madison Chock/Evan Bates - Short Program - 75.66, Free Skate - 111.62 - Total - 187.28 - 5th
Kaitlin Hawayek/Jean-Luc Baker - Short Program - 63.48, Free Skate - 101.80 - Total - 165.28 - 10th

Gabriella Papadakis/Guillaume Cizeron - France - Total Score - 207.20 - Gold
Kaitlyn Weaver/Andrew Poje - Canada - Total Score - 192.35 - Bronze

Several figure skating Olympians from around the world are taking a break or retiring from the sport. Americans Mia and Alex Shibutani will take a year off from figure skating. Mirai Nagasu of the USA will not compete at the 2022 Beijing winter games and is taking a break from figure Skating. USA sensation Adam Rippon has announced his retirement with the slim possibility he will compete again. American Max Aaron has retired from figure skating. Ashley Wagner of the USA is taking a break from figure skating. Patrick Chan of Canada has announced his retirement from figure skating. Meagan Duhamel/Eric Radford, also of Canada have announced their retirement from pairs figure skating and Javier Fernandez of Spain is taking a break from figure skating and possibly will retire after the end of next season. Germans Aljona Savchenko/Bruno Massot will be taking a break from pairs figure skating. Also Canadian gold medal Ice Dancers Tessa Virtue/Scott Moir are likely not to compete again as well.

NBC has retained the rights to broadcast all USA Figure Skating/ISU competitions through 2026. This includes the USA National Figure Skating Campionships, the ISU World Championships and Grand Prix events. NBC and the NBCSN will broadcast a combined 80 hours of figure skating each year, with NBC broadcasting 30 hours of coverage and NBCSN broadcasting 50 hours of coverage. This package includes NBCSN broadcasting four hours of World Championship Short Track and Long Track Speed Skating.

Superstar USA Swimmer Katie Ledecky will forgo her final two years at Stanford University and will turn professional. Ledecky won five medals at the 2016 Rio Olympic games. Ledecky has also set several world records in long distance swimming events competing for the USA.

The cities that will be bidding on the 2026 winter Olympic games are: Milan/Torino/Cortina d' Ampeezzo, Italy; Erzurum, Turkey; Graz, Austria; Calgary, Canada; Sapporo, Japan; Stockholm Sweden and Sion, Switzerland. The USA will not bid on the 2026 winter Olympic games due to USA sponsorships that will last through the Los Angeles 2028 summer Olympic Games. The USA will most likely bid on the 2030 winter games with its leading host city Salt Lake City, Utah. Other USA cities interested in bidding on the 2026 Winter Olympic games are Denver, Colorado and Reno, Nevada.

Three-time USA beach volleyball gold medalist Kerri Walsh Jennings has started a new venture called P1440. 1440 is how many minutes there are in a day. This new concept, according to her website combines the sport of beach volleyball with health and wellness, entertainment and development. There are four 2018 tournament sites and there will be at least five sites in 2019. Chicago will be added.

2018 P1440 tour schedule:

San Jose, CA - Sept. 28-30
Las Vegas, NV - October 19-21
San Diego, CA - November 30-December 2
Huntington Beach, CA - December 14-16

The IAAF has announced a controversial rule that takes effect on November 1, 2018. After that date, any female athlete that competes in races between 400 meters and one mile will not be allowed to compete if their testosterone levels are higher than the IAAF will allow. the IAAF says that increased testosterone levels in women give them an unfair advantage against women who are considered to have normal testosterone levels. This new rule will likely affect South African 800 meter runner Caster Semenya. In order to compete after this date, women will have to reduce testosterone levels down to what the IAAF testosterone standards say(below 5 nmol/L) for six months in a row via hormonal contraceptives and maintain that level for the rest of her track and field career.

This will be the final track season for 2008 100M Hurdles gold medalist Dawn Harper-Nelson. Harper-Nelson has announced her retirement at the end of the 2018 track and field season. Harper-Nelson won silver at the 2012 olympics in the 100M hurdles.

USA short track speed skating 1000M Pyeongchang silver medalist John-Henry Krueger will now compete for Hungary. Krueger will obtain Hungarian citizenship and move to Hungary to compete. Krueger blames lack of financial support from USA Speed Skating for the move. His approval to be released from the USA has been granted.

USA Alpine Skier Andrew Weibrecht has announced his retirement. Weibrecht won Olympic medals at the 2010 Vancouver games and the 2014 Soci games. He also competed at the 2018 Pyeongchang games but did not medal.

The lawsuits keep coming, former USA Gymnastics national team coordinators Martha and Bela Karolyi are suing USA gymnastics and the USOC for a million dollars saying they did not know about any sexual abuse taking place at the Karolyi ranch in Texas by Larry Nassar. The Karolyi's and USA Gymnastics are being sued by several gymnasts alleging the Karolyi's did know about the abuse and did not report it.

USA World Champion figure Skater Nathan Chen will study at Yale this fall. Chen will try to balance figure skating and college as he competes ahead of the 2022 Beijing games. Chen finished fifth in the men's figure skating competition at the 2018 Pyeongchang games.

USA 100M hurdler Brianna Rollins McNeal has returned to track and field after a yearlong suspension for missing three drug tests in a 12 month period. Rollins-McNeal last competed at the 2016 Rio games, winning gold in the 100M hurdles and leading a USA sweep.

USA men's curler Tyler George is taking a break from curling. George will not compete this coming season. George will be replaced by Chris Plys on the USA curling team(Team Shuster). Also Joe Polo, the alternate in Pyeongchang will miss half of the upcoming season due to a shoulder injury. Team Schuster won the gold medal in men's Curling at the 2018 Pyeongchang games beating Sweden 10-7.

USA Olympic medalist diver David Boudia suffered a concussion and did not compete at the USA National Diving Championships and FINA World Cup. Boudia suffered a crash off of the 10M board that caused concussive symptoms. Boudia was returning to diving after skipping the 2017 diving season and had him pondering retirement. Boudia last competed at the 2016 Rio games.

An ACL Tear in October 2017 in a celebrity rugby match has sidelined 2016 gold medalist and 2017 world champion 400M South African runner Wayde van Niekerk for the entire 2018 outdoor track season. Van Niekerk set a world record in the men's 400 at the 2016 Rio games.

Michigan State University has agreed to pay 500 million dollars in damages to 332 victims of sexual abuse by Larry Nassar. This settlement is only through Michigan State University and not USA Gymnastics and the USOC.

More fallout from the Larry Nassar USA Gymnastics sex scandal..Rhonda Faehn no longer works for USA Gymnastics, Faehn had been the head of USA women's gymnastics since 2015. Faehn was asked to resign by current USA Gymnastics CEO Kerry Perry.

Ariana Kukors Smith is suing USA Swimming for allegedly not reporting sexual abuse by a former coach, Sean Hutchison. Kukors Smith alleges sexual abuse by Hutchison when she was a minor. Kukors Smith is also suing coach Mark Schubert for failure to report abuse. Kukors Smith finished fifth in the 200IM at the 2012 London Games.

2018 Olympian Figure Skater Adam Rippon was the winner of the athletes version of Dancing with the Stars. 1994 Olympian Tonya Harding was a finalist. Other Olympians who competed were, 2018 Olympic Luger Chris Mazdzer,2004 and 2008 Olympic Softball star Jennie Finch, 2014 & 2018 Olympic Slopestyle star Jamie Anderson and 2018 Olympic Figure Skater Mirai Nagasu.

The Brazilian gold medal winning beach volleyball duo of Alison/Bruno have split up. Alison will partner with Andre and Bruno will play with Pedro. Another Brazilian team will now consist of Evandro and Filipe. In the USA there have also been several beach volleyball team changes. On the women's side, Sara Hughes will partner with Summer Ross, Alix Klineman will partner with April Ross, Betsi Flint will partner with Emily Day, Caitlin Ladoux will partner with Geena Urango, Lauren Fendrick will partner with Sarah Sponcil, Kerri Walsh Jennings will partner with Nicole Branaugh on FIVB tournaments, Lane Carico will partner with Karolina Marciniak and Kelly Claes will partner with Brittany Hochevar.
On the men's side, Taylor Crabb will partner with Jake Gibb, Billy Allen will partner with Ryan Doherty, Casey Patterson will partner with Stafford Slick, Chase Budinger will partner with Sean Rosenthal, Trevor Crabb will partner with John Mayer, Theo Brunner will partner with John Hyden and Jeremy Casebeer will partner with Reid Priddy. Still going strong is Nick Lucena and Phil Dalhausser.

The AVP has added another stop to this years AVP tour. The AVP will stop in Hawaii on September 14-16, 2018. The tournament will be held in Fort DeRussy, Waikiki Beach. The AVP will partner with the Hawaii Tourism Authority.

1984 and 1988 Gold medalist women's basketball star and coach Anne Donovan passed away from heart failure in June at the age of 56. Donovan coached the 2008 USA women's team to a gold at the 2008 Beijing games.

USA men's Olympic bronze medalist Alex Naddour has been banned from USA Gymnastics for possible sexual misconduct. USA Gymnastics has not given a specific reason for the suspension. Naddour has contacted the US Center for Safesport which handles these matters.

Tom Forster is the new head of the USA women's Gymnastics national team. Forster succeeds Valeri Luikin. Luikin resigned in February 2018 as head of the USA women's gymnastics national team. Forster has been with USA Gymnastics in an Elite Development role since 2010.

British sprinter Christine Ohuruogu has announced her retirement from track and field at the age of 34. Ohuruogu won gold at the 2008 Beijing games and silver at the 2012 London games in the women's 400. Ohuruogu also won silver and bronze medals in the women's 4 by 400 relay at the 2008 Beijing games and 2016 Rio games.

Graz, Austria and Sion, Switzerland have withdrawn from bidding on the 2026 winter Olympics. Graz's bid withdraw is due to lack of political backing and Sion's bid ended after voters rejected the bid.

The 2020 Tokyo Games will take place from July 24 to August 9. The torch relay will begin on March 26, 2020.

The USOC has named Sarah Hirshland as its CEO effective August 2018. Hirshland is the first permanent woman CEO in USOC history dating back to the 1950's. Hirshland replaces acting USOC CEO Susanne Lyons. Lyons has been acting USOC CEO since February 2018. Lyons replaced CEO Scott Blackmon, who resigned in February 2018 due to prostate cancer and the fallout from the Larry Nassar sex abuse scandal.

Seven new events have been added to the Beijing 2022 winter games.
Women's Monobobsled, Short Track Speed Skating mixed team relay, Freestyle Skiing men's and women's Big Air, Arials mixed team event and Snowboard Cross mixed team event. That brings the total number of events to 109. Also women's hockey teams will increase to 10 from 8. Changes will increase the number of women athletes to 45 percent. The number of total athletes will drop from over 2900 in Pyeongchang as some events will have fewer competitors.

Kazakhstan Figure Skater Denis Ten was killed in a dispute over a car mirror in Almaty. Two suspects were arrested after stabbing Ten. Ten was 25 years old. Ten won bronze in figure skating at the 2014 Sochi games. Ten did not medal in Pyeongchang.

USA swimmer Madisyn Cox has been suspended by FINA for two years for ingesting Trimetazidine, which is a banned substance. Cox believes she ingested the substance through drinking tap water. Cox's Suspension began in March 2018 and will end on March 2, 2020. Cox's suspension was reduced because of low levels of the illegal substance were found in her system. Cox won bronze at the 2017 World Championships in the 200IM.

USA star swimmer Ryan Lochte has been suspended by USADA for 14 months for infusing himself with too much Vitamin B complex. The limit is 100 milliliters in a 12 hour period. Lochte posted about it on social media. The suspension started on May 24, 2018 and will end in July 2019. Lochte will miss the USA Championships in late July 2018, the Pan Pacific Championships in August 2018 and the 2019 World Championships.

Three-time gold Beach Volleyball medalist Kerri Walsh Jennings has split with her partner Nicole Branagh. The were beach volleyball partners for a year. Walsh and Branagh only were partners for FIVB tournaments as Walsh-Jennings is not under contract with the AVP. Nicole Branagh has partnered with Canadian Brandie Wilkerson this AVP season. Walsh-Jennings has not announced who her next beach volleyball partner will be.
Walsh-Jennings has also announced that she will retire from beach volleyball as an athlete after the 2020 Tokyo games.

USA Women's Gymnastics has secured a temporary training facility in Sarasota, Florida. The facility is Evo Athletics and will be used by USA Gymnastics for the rest of the year..