Olympic Trials, Rio 2016 Olympic Trials, Wrestling

USA Wrestling to Determine Olympians This Weekend in Iowa City

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There are 18 potential spots for the US in the Olympic Wrestling events and the athletes who will fill those spots will be determined this weekend in Iowa City. In half of the events the US has already locked up a spot in Rio while in the other half the athletes will have to compete in qualification tournaments over the next month to try to earn a spot.

Only three of the events on Saturday are for spots automatically in the Olympics. The men’s freestyle 125 kg has 11 competitors. The headliners include Tervel Dlagnev who came in 5th in the London Olympics and Zachary Rey who was the US competitor at the 2015 World Championships.

Another event with a guaranteed spot is the men’s greco-roman 85 kg where there are 11 in the field. Ben Provisor, a 2012 Olympian in the 74 kg division, as well as Jordan Holm and Patrick Martinez (who both represented the US at the world championships) are some of the top wrestlers.

The final event with an Olympic spot locked up is the women’s freestyle 63 kg. There is a large field of 16 including 2012 Olympian Elena Pirozhkova and Erin Clodgo, who represented the US in the world championships

Starting off the events without an Olympic spot is the men’s freestyle 65 kg. 14 are competing for the right to try to qualify for the Olympics including three who were at the world championships, Brent Metcalf, Reece Humphrey, and James Green. By the way the reason there are multiple world championships competitors vying for one spot is that there are far less weight classes at the Olympics than the world championships. Green finished third in the 70kg division at the world championships.

Ten men will compete for the greco-roman 59 kg spot. One of those is 2012 Olympian Spenser Mango who also represented the US in the world champions. Another ten in the greco-roman 66 kg class include 2012 Olympian Ellis Coleman and Bryce Saddoris, a world championships participant. The final greco-roman class of the day is 98 kg where only nine are competing. Caylor Williams might be the top name as he represented the US at the world championships.

Finally on the women’s side the freestyle 58 kg spot is up for grabs with a full 16 in the field. Included in the large field are 2012 Olympian Kelsey Campbell, 2015 world championships competitor Alli Ragan, and the 2015 world championship bronze medalist in the 60 kg division, Leigh Jaynes-Provisor.

The final event of Saturday is the women’s freestyle 69 kg, this is a pretty wide open event with 13 competitors but not a single one who competed at the world championships last fall or in the 2012 Olympics.

Preliminaries begin at 10 AM ET tomorrow in Iowa City with finals (a best two-of-three series) starting at 7 PM ET. Live streaming is available from NBC.

ITU World Triathlon Series, Triathlon

14 Americans Will Compete in ITU World Triathlon Series Event in Gold Coast

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A month ago in Abu Dhabi was the start of the 2016 ITU World Triathlon Series. The US had two women and two men finish in the top 50 of the event. Renee Tomlin was the top American finishing in fifth place just 52 seconds behind winner Jodie Stimpson of Great Britain. Tomlin will be one of nine US women competing in Australia. Kaitlin Donner is the other American who was in the top 50 in Abu Dhabi where she finished 21st. Last year in this event Gwen Jorgensen, Sarah True, and Katie Zaferes went 1-2-3 and all are back competing again this year as well. The field is certainly full of US women  who are capable of a top three finish in this event.

On the men’s side the US has only five competitors, Joe Maloy is the top returning finisher from Abu Dhabi where he was 49th and within five minutes of the racer winner. Jarrod Shoemaker is the top returning finisher from last year’s Gold Coast event where he finished 22nd.

The race begins Friday night in America at 7:36 PM ET for the women and 10:36 PM ET for the men.

Cycling, UCI Men's World Tour

Lawson Craddock In Position For Top Ten Finish in Tour of the Basque Country

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We knew that day five would provide some separation in the Tour of the Basque Country and it lived up to expectations. The overall winner was Diego Rosa of Italy who managed to dominate the field by a whopping 3:13 with a time of 4:19:19. With just a ten-mile time trial you might think Rosa has locked up the event, but he was so far back going into today that he is still 11 minutes off the lead and will not be a factor. Lawson Craddock of the US finished in eighth, 3:56 back of Rosa but only 43 seconds behind second place. While Craddock probably won’t have a chance to catch Sergio Luis Henao of Colombia, who he trails by a minute, he sits in seventh place and with a strong time trials he can grab a top ten finish.

Three other Americans snuck into the top 100 on the day. Peter Stetina in 90th, Caleb Fairly in 95th, and Alex Howes in 97th. All three were 22:25 back of the winner. Stetina moved up to 83rd in the overall standings while Joey Rosskpof is 89th and Howes is 98th.

All that’s left is a ten-mile time trial on Saturday. With less than a half hour to go Craddock is set for a fantastic finish.

Gymnastics

USA Gymnastics Competes in Pacific Rim Championships This Weekend

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USA Gymnastics will compete in the Pacific Rim Championships this weekend in Everett, Washington this weekend and things kick off on Friday with men’s team competition headlining Friday night. The USA men’s team of John Orozco, Sam Mikulak, Jake Dalton, Donnell Whittenburg, Alex Naddour and Eddie Penev will compete in the team competition and the individual all-around competition on Friday night at 10 PM ET. This will also serve as qualifying for Sunday’s individual finals.

At 4:30 PM ET the women’s team trampoline event will occur with Jessica Stevens, Alyssa Oh, Shaylee Dunavin and Charlotte Drury competing for the US. Stevens and Oh are junior competitors but the team event combines their scores with their senior counterparts. For the men, who compete at 10 PM ET, the junior competitors are Tristan Ackerson and Isaac Rowley while the senior competitors are Steven Gluckstein and Jeffrey Gluckstein.

Starting at 5 PM ET the rhythmic gymnastics competition will begin as well with the first of two days of team and all-around competition. US competitors are Lili Mizuno, Heather Chan, Brigita Budginas, Nicole Kaloyanov, Aliya Protto, and Camilla Feeley.

Live streaming of the event is available at the Pacific Rim Championships site.

Canoeing, Olympic Trials, Rio 2016 Olympic Trials

First Round of US Slalom Canoe Olympic Trials Begin Friday

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The US Slalom Canoe Olympic selection format is not the easiest to understand. Spots might be determined on Friday and Saturday in Charlotte, North Carolina… or they might not. The results from this event along with a second Olympic Trails event in Oklahoma next month are combined with the results from the last World Championship to determine who gets the Olympic spot. Additionally the worst of your three scores is dropped meaning that athletes who were strong at the World Championship can clinch their spot this weekend with a top finish.

The US has guaranteed spots in the men’s C1 and K1 while men’s C2 and women’s K1 may have spots in Rio. A competition for the women’s C1 event is being held even though it is not an Olympic event at this point.

In the men’s C1 event Casey Eichfeld will have the advantage heading in after grabbing a fourth-place finish at the World Championships. Eichfeld, who was the 2012 Olympian in the event for the US, need only finish in the top two this weekend or in the next Olympic Trial event to clinch his spot.

The men’s K1 event is where Michal Smolen has an even bigger advantage after finishing third at the World Championships. Smolen, a 22-year old rising star who won the 2014 U-23 World Championship, will only require a third place finish at this event to lock up his spot.

The women’s K1 competition starts from scratch as no American was able to earn points at the World Championships. Ashley Nee and Dana Mann both finished with nearly identical times in the quest for top American at the World Championships so they are two to watch here. The spot can not be clinched this weekend.

The men’s C2 competition also has a clean slate as none of the three teams were able to accumulate points at the World Championships. It’ll all come down to the two Olympic Trials events. Both Eichfeld and Smolen will be attempting to qualify in two events as Eichfeld teams up with Devin McEwan while Smolen is paired with Zachary Lokken.

Finally in the women’s C1 event that is not for an Olympic spot four women will compete: Willa Mason, Lois Betteridge, Sage Donnelly, and Tracy Hines.

Competition begins with two runs on Friday starting at 11:50 AM ET. There will be two more runs on Saturday to determine the final results.

HSBC Women's Sevens Series, Rugby, Rugby Sevens

USA Women Look to Keep Momentum From Brazil as They Head To Atlanta Sevens

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The USA Women’s Sevens team got off to a poor start this year in Dubai back in December when they went just 1-4 and finished ahead of only Ireland. With only five events in the series and the bottom two teams being relegated it was important that they got going in round two and they did that in Brazil as they went 3-3 and finished 4th with all of their losses to Australia or New Zealand.

They look to improve on that finish this weekend on home turf as they host the Atlanta Sevens. Things look solid for the US to advance to the cup quarterfinals this weekend as their pool contains New Zealand as the big dog but Japan and Spain as the other competition. The US is ahead of both teams on the series this year and you’d expect them to hold them off for second in the group.

The US kicks off play on Friday with pool matches against Spain at 2:20 PM ET, Japan at 5:04 PM ET, and finally New Zealand at 7:26 PM ET. Knockout round competition will take place on Saturday.

HSBC Sevens World Series, Rugby, Rugby Sevens

Australia and Argentina Await US in Tough Pool at Hong Kong Sevens

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After coming in 6th in the Vancouver Sevens in mid-March the US will face tough competition in their quest to advance to the Cup quarterfinals for the ninth straight tournament. While bottom feeders Portugal represent what should be an easy win for the US in their first match of the weekend the next two matches against Australia and Argentina will provide real tests. Australia, the US, and Argentina, currently sit 4-5-6 in the season standings. Argentina last week missed the Cup quarterfinals for the first time this year while Australia is riding the same eight-tournament streak as the US. Something will have to give in Hong Kong and while Argentina won’t be favored to finish in the top two it will be no shock if they do.

The US was boosted ahead of Hong Kong by the news that Zach Test and Maka Unufe would rejoin the team after missing out on the Vancouver Sevens. The same was also said of Carlin Isles but he is a late scratch for the US and will be replaced by New England Patriot safety Nate Ebner. Ebner just signed a 2-year $2.4 million contract with New England in the last month and is certainly taking a chance with his foray into rugby sevens. He was an exceptional rugby player as a youth making the Sevens team at age 17 (though apparently never playing on the tour). Surely he will get a chance to play this weekend and it will be a moment to watch.

Things begin bright and early on Friday with the US taking on Portugal at 6:54 AM ET. They’ll be back in action on Saturday with Argentina up first at 12:48 AM ET and Australia to close the pool at 5:10 AM ET. Live stream is available on the World Rugby Website.

Olympic Trials, Rio 2016 Olympic Trials, Shooting

Much Still to Be Determined After Day 2 of Competition at US Olympic Shooting Trials

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Day two of competition in Ft. Benning set things up for an exciting final day of competition on Friday. In one event there is a heavy favorite to hold their lead and claim an Olympic spot, in another event the margin is much slimmer, and in the third event where an Olympic spot is a possibility but not a certainty the race is dead even.

In the men’s rapid fire pistol event 2012 Olympian Emil Milev dominated the day with the top qualifying score and a win in the final to expand his lead on Alexander Chichkov from six points to 17. It would certainly be a shock if he didn’t finish off the win and clinch the Olympic spot tomorrow. Sitting 22 points behind the leader in third is Brad Balsley.

In the women’s sport pistol event Enkelejda Shehaj and Brenda Silva both shot matching 574’s in qualifying. They both finished outside the top two in the final but with Shehaj one spot ahead of Silva and thus expanding her lead to six points going into the final day. Sandra Uptagrafft was able to post the top qualifying score of 579 and came in second in the final as she cut made a big move from 13 back of Shehaj to just seven back. She is certainly not out of the race.

Finally in the contest for the 50m three position rifle event, where the US may or may not have a spot for the winner. Dempster Christenson, was your first day leader by eight but George Norton made up all of that ground and even led briefly before Christenson won the final. The two sit tied at 2351 heading into the final day. It’s a huge gap of 23 points back to a third place tie between Daniel Love and Daniel Hermsmeier.

Shooting wraps up and two more Olympians will be decided on Friday with qualifying rounds at 9 AM ET and finals at 3 PM ET.

Cycling, UCI Men's World Tour

Lawson Craddock Finishes 9th on Day Four of Tour of the Basque Country

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The best day of the Tour of the Basque Country so far for Lawson Craddock saw him finish in 9th place among a group of 17 riders that finished with a leading time of 4:13:12. Today’s winner was Samuel Sanchez of Spain while Wilco Kelderman of the Netherlands now holds the overall lead by four seconds. Craddock jumped from 14th to 13th and is 21 seconds behind the leader.

Peter Stetina finished 61st , 7:26 back, while Joey Rosskopf was 11:10 back in 81st. Stetina is back in the top 100 for the overall event as he finds himself 31:57 behind the leaders in 96th.

With all that’s left a 99-mile mountain stage tomorrow and a ten-mile time trial on Saturday separation is sure to occur soon. It will be interesting to see how Craddock fares over the final couple days.

Olympic Trials, Rio 2016 Olympic Trials, Shooting

Early Favorites Emerge After Day 1 of Competition at US Olympic Shooting Trials

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Day one of competition in Ft. Benning saw early favorites emerge in the second group of events to be contested. In the men’s rapid fire pistol where there are only three competitors, lowest of any event, 2012 Olympian Emil Milev used a strong 585 in qualifying to open up a 6 point lead on Alexander Chichkov. Milev furthered his lead by winning the final and now leads by 8 with 591 points. Chichkov is a 21-year old former Junior World Champion and even if this is not his year you would expect him to be a favorite to make the Olympics in the future. He is two points ahead of third place Brad Balsley.

In the women’s sport pistol event Enkelejda Shehaj, an Olympian for Albania in 1992 and 1996, has the early lead after posting a 582 in qualifying and coming in second in the final. She had the only 100 of the day in the event and sits at 589 points. 2008 Olympian Brenda Silva won the final to pull within just five points. It’s another former Olympian in third, Sandra Uptagrafft who was the US competitor in this event in 2012, trailing Silva by eight points.

There is also a contest for the 50m three position rifle event though the US is not sure if they will have a spot for the winner. Dempster Christenson, who was second in the prone rifle after day one, is your first day leader having the top qualifying score by a full ten points and coming in third in the final to sit at 1179. George Norton won the final to cut the deficit to eight points between first and second while Lucas Kozeniesky is in third with 1166.

Shooting continues on Thursday with qualifying rounds at 9 AM ET and finals at 3 PM ET.

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