insidethegames

🥋 The International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) is developing a new educational approach to self-defence, looking beyond physical techniques to include threat awareness, conflict prevention and decision-making under pressure. Around 50 practitioners took part in a pilot seminar on 24 October in Lingfield, Surrey, sharing experience and testing the proposed approach. Feedback will help shape a course designed to complement existing training. 📷: Graham Tinney/ITF insidethegames.biz/articles/…

Seven nations are in the early race to host the 2036 Olympic Games: Germany, Hungary, India, Qatar, Republic of Korea, South Africa and Türkiye. The IOC’s four-stage selection process will culminate in a vote in mid-2029, with technical support, financial guarantees and restrictions on promotion guiding prospective hosts under the Fit for the Future reforms. IOC President Kirsty Coventry said athletes must remain at the heart of preparations, with their experience the starting point for every future host. #Olympics #IOC #2036Games 📷: Getty Images insidethegames.biz/articles/…

IOC President Kirsty Coventry witnessed wushu’s Olympic debut at Dakar 2026, attending the second day of competition at the Dakar Expo Centre alongside senior International Wushu Federation (IWUF) officials. The preliminary rounds produced 32 finalists across the competition, with four gold medals to be decided on Tuesday, the final day of action. The event marks a milestone for wushu, bringing its long-standing ambition of Olympic recognition to the Youth Olympic Games programme. @IWUFOfficial #Dakar2026 #Wushu #YouthOlympics 📷: IWUF insidethegames.biz/articles/…

🇸🇳 Dakar 2026 Organising Committee president Mamadou Diagna Ndiaye has placed personal accountability and transparency at the centre of his approach to leading the Youth Olympic Games. Ndiaye said he receives no salary or expenses for the role, covering his own travel, accommodation and other costs. “I pay for them myself,” he told Vie Publique SN ahead of Saturday’s opening ceremony. The IOC member, who has served since 2015, described the decision as a way to address the suspicion that can surround sports administration, while emphasising the importance of ethics and character in his team. #Dakar2026 #YouthOlympics 📷: Getty Images insidethegames.biz/articles/…

Japan secured a breaststroke double and France claimed rugby sevens gold as competition continued on Day 3 of Dakar 2026. Croatia’s Ana Bobanovic won the women’s 100m freestyle in 55.89 seconds, ahead of New Zealand’s Alyssa Lawson (56.13) and India’s Dhinidhi Desinghu (56.27), who earned her country its first-ever Youth Olympic swimming medal. India, Chinese Taipei and Uzbekistan also celebrated their first swimming medals at the Games, while judo and rowing added to Monday’s competition programme. #Dakar2026 #YouthOlympics 📷: Getty Images insidethegames.biz/articles/…

🥋 IOC President Kirsty Coventry visited the karate showcase at Dakar 2026, highlighting the sport’s athletic demands and its role in promoting social inclusion. During the Youth Games’ first Focus Day, Coventry watched Senegalese national team demonstrations of team kata and kumite, accompanied by IOC Sports Director Pierre Ducrey and representatives of the World Karate Federation. She also met Senegalese athletes Moustapha Cisse Mouhamadou and Mbacke Seck Serigne, both recent bronze medallists at the World Cadet, Junior and U21 Championships in Poland. @worldkarate_wkf #Dakar2026 #Karate #IOC #YouthOlympics 📷: WKF insidethegames.biz/articles/…

Munich has approved €8.95 million in funding to advance planning for a proposed Olympic Village district, as the city continues preparations for a potential future Games bid. The investment, spread through to 2030, will support development plans, design competitions, studies, project coordination and legal advice. Most of the funding (€6.9m) is allocated to planning and design work. The approval does not cover construction of housing or sports facilities. 📷: RHEINFLÜGEL SEVERIN/BBZ LANDSCHAFTSARCHITEKTEN insidethegames.biz/articles/…

🥇 Ecuador’s Elvira Espinosa claimed the first gold medal of Dakar 2026, winning the women’s 400m freestyle as the swimming programme got under way on Sunday. Espinosa clocked 4:22.87 in the timed final, ahead of South Africa’s Leah Markgraaff (4:26.13) and Belgium’s Célya Paques (4:28.37). The second day of the Youth Olympic Games also featured medal contests in judo, as competition continued across the host cities. 📷: IOC insidethegames.biz/articles/…

A crocodile sighting near the Fitzroy River has renewed safety concerns over Rockhampton’s proposed role as a rowing and canoe sprint venue for Brisbane 2032. The reptile, estimated to be up to three metres long, was spotted near North Rockhampton Golf Club, just a few kilometres from the area earmarked for Olympic competition. Queensland authorities are investigating the sighting, while questions remain over how potential risks to athletes and spectators would be managed ahead of the Games. 📷: Getty Images insidethegames.biz/articles/…

The sports programme for Brisbane 2032 is expected to be finalised in April 2027, following a revised timetable approved by the IOC Executive Board in Dakar. A further announcement is due in December, when the IOC will identify which existing and potential disciplines remain under consideration. Brisbane 2032 will be the first Olympic Games to use the IOC’s new sports programme methodology under its Fit for the Future reforms, assessing disciplines rather than sports solely as complete entities. 📷: Getty Images insidethegames.biz/articles/…

🔥 The Olympic flame has been lit in Senegal as Dakar 2026 officially opened with a historic ceremony at Abdoulaye Wade Stadium in Diamniadio — the first Olympic event ever hosted on African soil. The two-hour show celebrated African heritage, identity and aspirations, drawing on Senegal’s tradition of teranga, or hospitality, through music, dance and storytelling. Titled “The Rise of Sitoé”, the production traced the continent’s past, present and future through three generations, reflecting the ambition to tell Africa’s story in its own voice. 📷: Getty Images insidethegames.biz/articles/…

Senegal made a winning start to Dakar 2026, with both its men's and women's beach volleyball pairs securing victories on the opening day of competition. Nafi Segnane and Fatou Thiam defeated Cape Verde 2-0 (21-16, 21-9), while the men's duo of Mouhamed Moustapha Sidibe and Souleymane Seck Ciss also won 2-0 against Palau. Saturday featured action across beach volleyball, table tennis, baseball5 and coastal rowing, ahead of the opening ceremony celebrating the first Olympic event hosted on African soil. 📷: Getty Images insidethegames.biz/articles/…

IOC President Kirsty Coventry placed African identity, pride and young people's self-belief at the heart of her address during the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games opening ceremony. Speaking at Abdoulaye Wade Stadium in Diamniadio, Coventry celebrated the historic occasion as the first Olympic sporting event held on African soil, eight years after Dakar was selected as host city. She thanked Senegal’s government, the organising committee, volunteers and local communities for making the Games possible, highlighting the role of young Senegalese people in this landmark edition. 📷: IOC insidethegames.biz/articles/…

Wushu will make its official medal debut at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, marking a major milestone in the international development of the Chinese martial art. A total of 48 young athletes from 47 delegations will compete across four events from Sunday, representing five continents. After appearing in the Sports Lab at Nanjing 2014, wushu’s inclusion in Dakar’s official programme fulfils a long-standing ambition of the International Wushu Federation and opens a new chapter for the sport. @IWUFOfficial 📷: IWUF insidethegames.biz/articles/…

Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux has described leading the French Alps 2030 Organising Committee as “the job of a lifetime”, pledging to move preparations forward following his appointment. Taking over after Edgar Grospiron’s departure, the new president sought to reassure stakeholders about the timeline, saying: “We’re not behind schedule, and we may not be ahead of it either, but we’re on track.” Roux de Bézieux now faces the task of building organisational momentum and delivering the Winter Games amid high expectations and mounting time pressures. 📷: Getty Images insidethegames.biz/articles/…

🏒 The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has ruled in favour of Russia’s return to international ice hockey, ordering the IIHF to readmit Russian national teams to five World Championships. The decision covers junior, under-18, men’s and women’s competitions, including the 2027 senior World Championships in Germany and Canada. The IIHF must now address how Russia can be accommodated in events whose groups and schedules have already been established. Germany’s federation has opposed the return, while Belarus remains subject to existing restrictions. 📷: Getty Images insidethegames.biz/articles/…

🇸🇳 IOC President Kirsty Coventry has promised an “incredible show” at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games opening ceremony, scheduled for Saturday. After attending rehearsals and visiting venues since arriving in Senegal on Monday, Coventry praised preparations and expressed confidence in the smooth running of the event. The Games will mark a historic first: the first Olympic event held on African soil. “It is time for Africa, time for Senegal,” Coventry said. 📷: IOC Media insidethegames.biz/articles/…

Dakar 2026’s Youth Olympic Games opening ceremony will celebrate African identity, talent and inclusion, with artistic direction led by Senegalese creatives. Ceremony director Kdady Niang said the organising committee chose an African-led production to reflect the continent’s cultural realities and give Africans the opportunity to tell their own story on the global stage. The ceremony, scheduled for Saturday at Abdoulaye-Wade Stadium, will mark a historic milestone as the first Olympic ceremony held on African soil. 📷: Getty Images insidethegames.biz/articles/…

🇿🇦 Durban has been selected as South Africa’s preferred candidate to host the 2036 or 2040 Summer Olympic Games, ahead of Johannesburg and Cape Town. The decision by the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) followed an independent assessment of proposals and potential venues across the three cities. Plans envisage Durban hosting 60–70% of competitions, the Olympic Village and both opening and closing ceremonies, with Johannesburg and Cape Town staging other events. Organisers aim to use facilities nationwide while keeping the Games compact for athletes and spectators. 📷: Getty Images insidethegames.biz/articles/…

🇧🇷 Brazil’s Ministry of Sport and Olympic Committee have been invited to a Supreme Federal Court public hearing on gambling restrictions, scheduled for 3 November in Brasília. Justice Luiz Fux added the two institutions in a ruling dated 27 October, bringing the number of participating organisations to 28. The hearing will examine the implications of Provisional Measure 1,394, signed by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on 25 September, which prohibits the operation, offering, intermediation and advertising of betting platforms. 📷: Getty Images insidethegames.biz/articles/…