World Triathlon to Elect President - Federation Focus

(ATR) Incumbent Marisol Casado and challenger Mads Freund square off in the World Triathlon presidential election this weekend.

World Triathlon, which changed its name from International Triathlon Union on Oct. 1, will hold a virtual election during its Congress on Nov. 29.

Casado is running for a fourth four-year term. She ran unopposed in winning a third term in 2016.

Casado says she brings experience, respect, dynamism and teamwork to the table and promises "to keep working to lead this organization towards an even brighter future".

Freund, the Triathlon Denmark president, says it’s time that World Triathlon "recreate a link of trust between our members and our umbrella organization". He wants to change the political structure of World Triathlon to give more power to the continental associations.

Casado has served as the federation president since 2008. She is the only woman leading an international summer sport federation and one of only two, along with Kate Caithness of the World Curling Federation, in the entire Olympic program.

She won election to the IOC in 2010, with her membership tied to her continuing to serve as the president of World Triathlon.

ICC Elects New Leader

Greg Barclay of New Zealand has been elected as the new Independent Chair of the International Cricket Council (ICC).

He defeated Imran Khwaja in a second round of voting, securing the 11th vote required to reach the two-thirds majority of the 16-person ICC Board.

Khwaja had been serving as interim chair since Shashank Manohar stepped down in July after two, two-year terms in office..

Barclay, an Auckland-based commercial lawyer, has been a director of New Zealand Cricket (NZC) since 2012 and is currently NZC’s representative on the ICC Board. He will step down from his position at NZC to lead the ICC in an independent capacity.

"I hope we can come together to lead the sport and emerge from the global pandemic in a strong position and poised for growth," Barclay said in a statement.

BWF and Special Olympics Unveil Joint Plans

Badminton World Federation (BWF) and Special Olympics International (SOI) publish their Global Development Strategy to grow badminton while providing "meaningful opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities to be involved in all aspects" of the sport.

This is the latest step in a process that began in 2019 with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the two organizations.

The new strategy will be implemented with the assistance of regional and national partners of both the BWF and SOI.

"In line with our motto that badminton is a sport for all, we are committed to providing avenues of participation for everyone,"BWF President Poul-Erik Høyer said in a statement.

"We have enjoyed great success collaborating with SOI over the past 12 months and numbers suggest the uptake of badminton among Special Olympics athletes is increasing globally."

Over the last year, 16 new national-level federation partnerships between national Special Olympics programs and national badminton federations were formalized. Five of the new national federation partnerships supported the introduction of badminton to a Special Olympics program (Special Olympics Fiji, Special Olympics Guam, Special Olympics Papua New Guinea, Special Olympics Lithuania, and Special Olympics Norway).

Beijing 2022 Luge Test Event Postponed

Beijing 2022 and the International Luge Federation (FIL) have jointly decided to postpone the luge test event and the international training week which was planned in February 2021.

The Covid-19 pandemic, which prevents travel in many parts of the world, was given as the reason for the postponement. The IOC supports the decision.

The new plans are to hold the international training week and the subsequent test event at the Yanqing National Sliding Center in autumn 2021.

"We think that the circumstances will be better in the autumn of 2021, and we saw during the pre-homologation in October 2020 that the track is very well planned and built and that the conditions are excellent even in the fall," said FIL president Einars Fogelis in a statement.

The FIL says it is trying to find another venue for the EBERSPÄCHER Luge World Cup final from February 19 to 21, 2021.

Extreme Canoe Could Debut at Paris 2024

If the International Canoe Federation gets its way, extreme slalom will be on the program for Paris 2024.

The ICF Board voted to include men’s and women’s extreme slalom in its proposal approved on Tuesday during a virtual meeting.

To make room for the new discipline, the ICF has decided to cut two canoe sprint events so that the total number of events remains at 16. The IOC has already indicated that no new medal events will be added for 2024.

ICF President Jose Perurena said it was a tough call to make but "This decision allows the ICF to keep its core strengths, and at the same time bring innovation and diversity to the 2024 Olympic program," he said.

"Extreme slalom can be part of our sport’s future, and we know it will be a great fit in the Olympic Games.

"It’s fast, popular with athletes and spectators alike, and comes across very well on television. It sits nicely inside the IOC brief to introduce new, adrenalin-charged events that appeal to younger audiences."

The ICF says the addition of the new discipline would not require any extra athlete quotas, with many of the canoe slalom competitors likely to also contest the extreme competition.

The IOC announces the Paris 2024 program next month.

Homepage photo: World Triathlon

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Written by Gerard Farek

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