SwimSwam will be providing a weekly rundown of the top stories in Olympic sports (outside of swimming) in the lead-up to the 2024 Games in Paris.
KENYAN ANTI-DOPING AGENCY SUSPENDS 33 ATHLETES
The Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) has suspended 33 athletes for doping, including 26 from track & field, Kenyan newspaper Nation reported last week.
The mass suspension comes after ADAK Chief Executive Sarah Shubutse forecasted that 50 athletes would be soon suspended in November 2023.
The 33 athletes are yet to appear on the ADAK website’s list of provisional suspensions, but reports indicate they include Joshua Belet, who won the 2023 Amsterdam Marathon and ranked 12th in the world last year in the event. The Running Channel reports that Belet’s ban comes from “the presence of multiple substances, including steroids and testosterone.”
In addition to the 26 track & field athletes, three basketball players, three rugby players and one handball player were also suspended.
Additionally, men’s 10km world record holder Rhonex Kipruto was given an official six-year ban after he was given a provisional suspension in 2023 due to irregularities found in his biological passport. A disciplinary panel in Monaco ruled abnormalities in Kipruto’s blood samples pointed to “a deliberate and sophisticated doping regime.”
BILES DRAWS MASS TV AUDIENCE AT U.S. NATIONALS
After Simone Biles rolled to a record-setting ninth U.S. title in the All-Around competition at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships last week, television ratings indicated the American public is abuzz for Biles and the Olympic lead-up in general.
On Sunday, June 2, Biles and other female stars such as Suni Lee and Skye Blakely competed live on NBC in primetime (7 pm) and drew 2,285,000 viewers, compared to 724,000 for the men’s finals—though they aired earlier in the day on replay. (The men’s final aired live on CNBC on Saturday, drawing 208,000.)
The mass audience comes despite the event not being a selection event for the Olympics, as the USA Gymnastics Olympic Trials won’t run until June 27-30 in Minneapolis.
However, it’s worth noting that Biles’ return to competition at the 2023 Nationals drew an even bigger audience (2.66 million).
MCLAUGHLIN-LEVRONE NARROWLY MISSES AMERICAN RECORD IN 400M
After putting up a world-leading time in the 400-meter hurdles last week, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone continued to show impressive form in the lead-up to the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials at the USATF New York City Grand Prix on Sunday.
McLaughlin-Levrone ran the third-fastest 400 meters in American history, clocking 48.75 to come within five one-hundredths of Sanya Richards-Ross‘ National Record set in 2006. McLaughlin-Levrone also owns the #2 performance in U.S. history, having gone 48.74 last July.
The 24-year-old defending Olympic champion in the 400 hurdles produced the performance despite incredibly windy conditions in NYC.
“Just wanted to get out there, get a race under me,” she told Lewis Johnson on NBC Sports. “The wind was a little interesting on the back stretch, but I’m happy with the time.”
McLaughlin-Levrone reiterated that she doesn’t plan on racing the flat 400-meter event at the Olympic Trials despite being ranked world #1. She didn’t race the 400 at the Tokyo Olympics either, but was the lead-off leg of the gold medal-winning 4×400 U.S. women’s relay.
“Working on coming home,” she said of Sunday’s race. “Going to need it for those hurdles.”
Noah Lyles also dominated in New York, winning the men’s 200 meters in a time of 19.77 into a 1.6 m/s headwind—the equivalent to running 19.68 with no wind. His 19.77 clocking ranks 5th in the world this year, with fellow American Kenneth Bednarek leading at 19.67.
Lyles has won three consecutive world titles in the 200 after claiming bronze at the Tokyo Olympics.
CAITLIN CLARK’S OMISSION FROM U.S. OLYMPIC TEAM CAUSES MEDIA STORM
American media ran wild after the 2024 U.S. women’s basketball roster was revealed and rising star Caitlin Clark was left off the team.
Clark, who is currently in her rookie year with the WNBA’s Indiana Fever coming off a record-setting NCAA career at Iowa, was not named to the veteran-heavy U.S. team that includes 42-year-old Diana Taurasi going for her sixth gold medal, along with three other women who played on both the 2016 and 2021 teams.
USA Today’s Christine Brennan reported that Clark’s omission may not have been strictly due to her abilities on the court.
This will be a focus of my reporting on this story. I can’t tell you how knowledgeable these sources are. Impeccable. pic.twitter.com/nEmj76p3AY
— Christine Brennan (@cbrennansports) June 8, 2024
Los Angeles Times’ Bill Plaschke also went off on how the team needs someone with Clark’s star power to attract viewership.
“What this team needs is a reason for the casual fan to watch,” wrote Plaschke.
“With the roster as currently constituted, none of that is happening. I can confirm this from experience. I have covered 10 Olympics and rarely did I venture to the women’s tournament because there was little interest and no buzz amid solid veterans playing to a foregone conclusion.
“With Clark, everything changes. With Clark, there will be deafening buzz, overwhelming interest, millions watching.”
Clark has said she’s excited for the women named to the team and will use this as motivation for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
“I know it’s the most competitive team in the world and I know it could have gone either way — me being on the team or me not being on the team,” she said, according to ESPN. “I’m going to be rooting them on to win gold. I was a kid that grew up watching the Olympics, so it will be fun to watch them.
“Honestly, no disappointment. It just gives me something to work for; it’s a dream. Hopefully one day I can be there. I think it’s just a little more motivation. You remember that. Hopefully when four years comes back around, I can be there.”
Clark should’ve been on the team. It’s similar to when Christian Laettner was on the Dream Team. He was a 2x player of the year and a true college standout, but he wasn’t technically a “proven talent”.
I am blanking on the name of the woman, but there’s one athlete who hasn’t played a game yet this season due to injury. I could see her potentially foregoing her spot, and they would seemingly replace her with Clark.
They wouldn’t have been able to leave her off if they didn’t believe they were going to cake walk to the gold medal.
I think we can all acknowledge that Clark is not currently the best basketball player on earth. However, she might be the best shooter on earth, and if you don’t believe that having the best shooter on your team makes that team better, then you haven’t been paying attention to modern basketball.
The head coach of the team sub-Tweeted about Clark during the season opener…showed her hand a bit early.
I feel like the delta in shooting between Clark and Sabrina Ionescu is close enough that they can get away with it.
And Clark’s kinda gassed anyway, she could use a break. Barely any time off after the college season, it’s tough for rookies.
I do agree that this might be the best thing for her WNBA season. Some time to recover, work on some things…
Nowhere close to being the best shooter on earth, male or female. If she took the time to develop a midrange shot and floater, it would help her game immensely in the league.
The only person speaking truth and not “PC” is UConn’s coach Geno.
Why don’t the Kenyan,s just claim contamination from restaurant meals.Good for China good for Kenya.
It’s ironic because the more Kenyan athletes that get suspended the more trustworthy their system is lol