Tribunal rightly denies Ukrainian skeleton racer legal 'miracle on ice'

Tribunal rightly denies Ukrainian skeleton racer legal 'miracle on ice'

MILAN — Vladyslav Heraskevych, the Ukrainian skeleton racer disqualified for insisting he wanted to race in a helmet adorned with the faces of athletes killed by Russia, had said he was hoping for a new “miracle on ice.”

Instead, and predictably, came this ruling: the IOC was right to disqualify him because Olympic rules “state that freedom of speech is a fundamental right of any athlete competing in the Olympic Games, but limit the right to express views during competitions on the field of play.”

Rules, IOC says. Ukrainian skeleton racer says, this is more important

Rules, IOC says. Ukrainian skeleton racer says, this is more important

MILAN — The International Olympic Committee had no choice, really, but to disqualify the Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych. Rules are rules.

For his part, Heraskevych, by putting himself at the center of a frenzy he could know with unequivocal certainty would explode to become the centerpiece of this first week of the 2026 Milano-Cortina Games, delivered a master class in orchestrating a media strategy to maximum effect.

This controversy threatens to become one of the defining storylines in the history — the telling — of the 2026 Winter Games. If it’s about rules, it’s equally — if not more — about narrative and, in this context, narrative’s increasingly frequent traveling partner, raw emotion.

The 2026 Winter Games as a Milan take on Oakland -- there's no here here

The 2026 Winter Games as a Milan take on Oakland -- there's no here here

MILAN — For those who know about California, and those who don’t: Oakland is east of San Francisco, across the Bay Bridge. The author Gertrude Stein grew up in Oakland. She would later write, famously, about her hometown: there is no there there.

In Milan, as it relates to the 2026 Winter Games: there is no here here. 

These Games have, like, zero buzz. 

In XC ski, Ben Ogden wins a medal no one saw coming

In XC ski, Ben Ogden wins a medal no one saw coming

MILAN — The great thing about sports and in particular the Winter Olympics is that predictions mean, literally, nothing.

In a medal almost no one saw coming, Ben Ogden took silver Tuesday in what in cross-country skiing is called the sprint — the first American medal in men’s xc ski since Bill Koch in 1976.

Fifty years of nothing and, in just over three minutes, bang. 

“It’s a dream, you know?” Ogden, 25, who grew up in Landgrove, Vermont (2020 U.S. Census: population 177), said afterward.

Lindsey Vonn crashes, as Teddy Roosevelt so famously said, 'while daring greatly'

Lindsey Vonn crashes, as Teddy Roosevelt so famously said, 'while daring greatly'

MILAN — The buildup to Sunday’s women’s Olympic downhill, Lindsey Vonn’s comeback story, had been extraordinary.

Then, just 13 seconds into the race, she crashed in an explosive shower of ice and snow. For the second time in 10 days — the fall Jan. 30 in Switzerland that destroyed the ACL in her left knee — she was airlifted off the mountain.

“It’s like the man in the arena,” Vonn’s sister, Karin Kildow said, citing Teddy Roosevelt’s famed speech from 1910. “She dared greatly. She put it all out there.”

Now, perhaps the most profound image that will linger from these 2026 Winter Games will be that helicopter framed against the sky — Vonn, in a red body bag, suspended, with what’s next a complete unknown.

In which the IOC meets the African philosophy 'ubuntu'

In which the IOC meets the African philosophy 'ubuntu'

MILAN — In her remarks Friday at the Milano-Cortina 2026 opening ceremony, IOC president Kirsty Coventry invoked the African philosophy called ubuntu.

The essence of ubuntu, linked in particular in history to Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Demond Tutu, is that one’s humanity is inextricably connected to the humanity of everyone else. 

What might ubuntu mean for the way the IOC operates, as a touchstone for key decisions, the way the organization — which dates to 1894 — positions itself in these middle years of the 21st century? The IOC is, has always been, Eurocentric. And now this rooted-in-Africa philosophy? Can Kirsty Coventry get ubuntu buy-in?

The Russians are not coming to Milano-Cortina. After that? LA28?

MILAN — These Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Games, which opened Friday night to ceremonies across northern Italy, including a traditional and spectacular show at the iconic San Siro stadium in Milan, would seem the last at which the Russians are not coming. 

At least under their flag, anthem, colors, all that.

To be clear: the war in Ukraine is horrific, the carnage almost unimaginable, the toll upon thousands upon thousands of lives immeasurable. All of it is awful beyond words, cause for profound heartache.

The issue the war - any war - presents in an Olympic context is essential: should an athlete be responsible for what his or her government does? If so, why?

IOC 'new norm' and what 'uncomfortable' next steps await

IOC 'new norm' and what 'uncomfortable' next steps await

MILAN — Perhaps the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Games will be prove a welcome distraction.

The International Olympic Committee could use it.

The IOC president, Kirsty Coventry, in a news conference at the end of the group’s Milan assembly, said it is “at a pivoting point.”

Challenges with both the Olympic business model and the human resources culture in Lausanne and perhaps beyond now seem to be surfacing at multiple levels and at a rapid pace. That would suggest symptoms of way bigger issues.

Insider "systematic theft" of $1.75 million shakes World Athletics

Insider "systematic theft" of $1.75 million shakes World Athletics

Insiders at World Athletics are believed to have stolen about $1.75 million over “a period of several years,” prompting the federation to pursue criminal cases while launching “a set of enhanced internal financial controls,” it said in a statement.

The federation said it discovered the “systemic theft” earlier this year. The focus, it said in the statement, centers on two former employees and a contracted consultant. At issue: fake or doctored invoices.

One of the two ex-employees left before the theft was discovered. The other, and the consultant, “had their contracts terminated,” the federation said in that statement, offered in response to an inquiry about the matter.

The Olympic Charter is clear: all means all

The Olympic Charter is clear: all means all

The immediate past president of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, served for 12 years with this elegant guiding notion: “unity in diversity.”\

Six years ago, Bach wrote a column published in The Guardian, the British newspaper, that read, in part: “The Olympic Games cannot prevent wars and conflicts. Nor can they address all the political and social challenges in our world. But they can set an example for a world where everyone respects the same rules and one another.”

The new IOC president, Kirsty Coventry, elected in March, faces enormous challenge in delivering on the aspirational promise of the Olympics that Bach articulated so eloquently.