The example of Yu Zidi, who is competing in the 200-metre medley final at the World Championships in Singapore today, has reignited the debate: how young can a professional athlete be, and how old must they be to compete in major competitions? What constitutes child labour? What should be banned?
Triathlon corruption is now attracting considerable interest among athletes and some of the biggest names in the sport. Rightly so: be outraged! Demand an independent investigation and new elections! For anyone who missed my reports in late 2024, here are the facts that describe a mafia-like system.
Perhaps you would prefer to listen to the story about corruption in World Triathlon that I published this afternoon? Some people find that more convenient. So here is a podcast – in English and Spanish. Enjoy! All you have to do is sign up for the newsletter; no paid subscription is necessary.
EXCLUSIVE: The head of the American confederation, Liber García (Uruguay), rigged elections with other continental princes and the then secretary general Antonio Arimany. The new triathlon boss Arimany is also ICAS vice president. An opposition is calling for an investigation and new elections.
Kirsty Coventry is putting the bid process on hold for the time being, but will still host a delegation from India next week in Lausanne. The Indians believed they had already secured the 2036 Olympics, and Coventry is their most important asset. Now, the opaque procedure is to be thoroughly revised
3,649 days ago, I had a meeting with a source. That meeting and the upcoming investigations caused a huge stir. Known as the ‘summer fairy tale affair,’ the revelation has been occupying the judiciary in several countries since 2015. The verdict against the German FA has just been handed down.
With the narrowest possible result of 104:102 votes, IOC member Petra Sörling from Sweden won the election in the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) against Khalil Al-Mohannadi from Qatar. For now. The Congress has been suspended. Qatar and its allies will take the matter to court.
Lunch break at the ITTF Annual General Meeting 2025 in Doha. The elections have not even begun, but the attacks by Khalil Al-Mohannadi's faction have already started. His supporters make wrong claims, are questioning everything and cast doubt on the integrity of the ITTF's Integrity Unit.
Are five-figure sums and value-in-kind promises being offered for votes at the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) election congress in Doha? Whistleblowers are said to have informed ITTF's Integrity Unit. A preliminary investigation is apparently underway. Elections take place on Tuesday.
About one of the few journalists who tirelessly investigated the criminal empire of FIFA and made the US indictment in 2015 possible in the first place. About journalism that was called "brainless", "unpatriotic", "betraying", "frustrating" and "cretinous" by media and politicians in the UK.
The World Olympians Association (WOA) is not the first organisation that the IOC has dissolved or arranged to be dissolved. In autumn 2022, the more important GAISF was killed off – the trail led to the IOC headquarters. The WOA case is much better documented. Read the most important correspondence!
Is he the most corrupt official on the planet? He distributed bribes using funds from OCA and ANOC. He supported Kirsty Coventry's election as IOC president. This weekend, he is hosting OCA's GA. He is trying to save himself by negotiating the 2036 and subsequent Olympics between Qatar and India.
Shortly after Nita and Mukesh Ambani successfully supported the enthronement of IOC president Kirsty Coventry, their busy daughter Isha was given a board position in the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB). Another small step towards the Ambani Games in 2036.
I have been asked by IOC members and leading officials from Olympic IFs what this alleged German bid is all about. So I thought I should provide this information to thousands of non-German readers. To put it bluntly: Germany's so-called Olympic bid is, unfortunately, still a laughing stock.
Play the Game published a paper for an entity called ClearingSport. On the one hand commendable, on the other hand, after a variety of consultations, core problems are only insufficiently described in it. Compromises beyond recognition. Can an agency be forced on the sport system ruled by the IOC?
This newsletter is exclusively for you, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. You are no longer an IOC member – not even one suspended. You have not been a member at all since the closing of the 144th session. Allow me to look back, respectfully, on the many years we spent together.
