(ATR) The International Surfing Association creates a balance of Olympic surfing qualifying events between the federation and the World Surf League.
The first Olympics to feature surfing, Tokyo 2020 will showcase 40 surfers on the coast of Japan seeking their first taste of Olympic gold.
In order to get into the Olympics, surfers will need to either qualify via the WSL Championship Tour, the 2019 or 2020 ISA World Surfing Games or the Lima 2019 Pan American Games. Japan will automatically receive qualifying spots for a man and woman as host of the Games.
The agreement reached Dec. 20 between the ISA and WSL means up to 18 of the 40 qualification slots will be reserved for the WSL event while the remaining 22 are designated for the ISA events, Pan Am Games and Olympic hosts.
"We are happy to reach this historic agreement with the WSL on the participation of their top stars in the Olympic Games and ISA World Surfing Games," said ISA President Fernando Aguerre. "The support, endorsement and collaboration of the WSL and its top professional surfers have always been an important part of our Olympic pathway to Tokyo 2020 and beyond."
The qualification process now moves to the International Olympic Committee for final approval during the Session preceding the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Games.
IOC Identifies Sole Vancouver 2010 Doping Retest
The IOC names the athlete behind the one doping positive discovered in retests of urine samples from the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics as biathlete Teja Gregorin.
The Slovenian competed in five biathlon events ranging from individual distance races to pursuits and relays, never placing higher than fifth in any of the events. The IOC has disqualified Gregorin and ordered the return of the diplomas earned from the Games.
In October, the IOC released that only one doping retest had resulted in a new positive out of more than 1,000 samples tested. All Russian athlete samples from the Games were retested as well as all medal winners.
The results are a stark contrast to the amount of doping positives found in retests from the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Summer Games, with 65 and 46 adverse findings respectively. London 2012, Sochi 2014 and Rio 2016 retests are still ongoing.
The doping retests for Vancouver 2010 were completed four months prior to the end of the statute of limitations imposed by the IOC of eight years. The IOC says it retested 1,195 urine samples, 70 percent of the total available.
"This wide ranging re-analysis is another demonstration of the IOC’s commitment to fight against doping and to protect clean athletes," said IOC President Thomas Bach.
New Shooting Sport Rules Ring in New Year
The International Shooting Sport Federation approved its new sport rules for the next three years during its Administrative Council meeting in Munich on Dec. 18.
Gender equality was one of the primary focuses of the rule changes, allowing the ISSF to officially implement the IOC’s decision regarding the addition of mixed team events at Tokyo 2020. Women’s events will also feature more shots so the events are equal to those of the men’s.
The remaining minor changes to the disciplines of air pistol, air rifle and trap were made to clarify interpretation issues and address questions of the rules sent to the ISSF.
The new guidelines will cover all shooting sport competitions through the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The rules will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2018.
Judo Fed President Lunches With Prime Minister of Hungary
International Judo Federation President Marius Vizer met Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for a working lunch Dec. 19 in Budapest.
Vizer says the meeting is an "honor for judo". He says they talked about the 2017 judo World Championships held in Budapest and issues related to judo in Hungary and at international level.
"Hungary is one of the countries which most invests in sport: mass sport, high-performance and the best international sports events in Hungary. The impact of this investment is beneficial for all Hungarian sport and not only judo," says Vizer.
Vote now for your favorite sports city! The Sports City Poll closes Dec. 31. The poll ranks the top 50 cities most strongly associated with sport. Results January 2018.
Written by Kevin Nutley
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