Common Ground: A Tribute To "The Miracle On Ice"
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San Francisco Chronicle
3 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Rowers revel in beach sprints in the run-up to LA's 2028 Olympics
LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) — It's a beach run, a coastal row and a music party rolled into one, and it's about to become an Olympic event. On a sunny Southern California morning, nearly two dozen athletes gathered to try their hand at beach sprints at a camp run by USRowing in Long Beach, not far from where the inaugural Olympic races will be held in 2028. Many were long-time flatwater rowers who wanted to take a shot at something new. Others were already hooked on the quick-paced and unpredictable race format and have been training with an eye on LA28. Two at a time, athletes run to the waterline, hop in a boat, row a slalom course, then turn around and return to shore to jump out and dash across the sand to hit a finish-line buzzer — all in about three minutes. "You don't just have to be a good rower — you also have to be a good athlete, and what that means is you've got to be able to be dynamic and adapt to whatever Mother Nature throws at you," said Maurice Scott, a long-time rower from Philadelphia who moved to Long Beach to prepare for the Olympics. The next summer Olympics will be held in Los Angeles and nearby cities. Interest in beach sprints has risen since the International Olympic Committee announced its inclusion, especially since the games will no longer feature a lightweight rowing category popular among smaller athletes. Rowing officials developed the beach sprint format a little over a decade ago hoping to engage spectators in a sport that's otherwise removed from people watching from the shore. A standard 2,000 meter-flatwater race is typically only visible closer to the finish line. In beach sprints, athletes compete close to the crowds in a dynamic and much shorter race that fans can easily track from the sand. Guin Batten, chair of World Rowing's coastal commission, said the vision is to have a fun, lively event on the beach where spectators can listen to good music, be close to the action and follow their favorite athletes. The entire event runs just an hour. 'It's knockout. It's chaotic,' said Batten, an Olympic rower who helped develop the format. 'Until you cross a finish line, anyone can win that race.' Many traditional flatwater rowers accustomed to steady strokes on calm waterways have no interest in the ups and downs of wind and waves. But other long-time rowers are hooked. Christine Cavallo, a beach sprinter on the U.S. national team, said she loves the unpredictability of the waves, which can humble even the most incredible athletes. 'You could be the best rower in the world and get flipped by the wave," Cavallo said. Coastal rowing has long been popular throughout the world but different cultures have used different boats and rules. Part of the appeal of beach sprints is the boat has been standardized and is provided at competitions, which makes it easier for more athletes to try it. The first major international beach sprints competition was at the 2015 Mediterranean Beach Games in Italy. Head of the Charles, known for its yearly October flatwater regatta in Massachusetts, hosted its first beach sprints event in July. About 100 rowers, twice as many as expected, participated, said Brendan Mulvey, race director. Since the Olympic announcement, Tom Pattichis, British Rowing's head coach for beach sprints, said he now has athletes training full-time in the event. Meanwhile, Marc Oria, the USA Beach Sprint head coach, said camps in Massachusetts, New Jersey and Long Beach aim to bring the race to long-time rowers and others who haven't tried it. Athletes find it exhilarating because it requires them to be agile and adaptive as well as superb rowers, he said. 'It's growing exponentially in the last four years all around the world,' Oria said. 'Our goal for U.S. rowing is to create more events, more opportunities, and to create a good pipeline for 2028.' At the camp in Long Beach, competitors included a teacher, an Olympic rower, a marketing professional who began rowing a few weeks earlier and a high school senior. 'I tried it and I really loved it, so I came back,' said Bridgette Hanson, a 17-year-old rower from Arizona who raced in beach sprints for the first time this year in Florida. 'It requires a lot more brute force.' John Wojtkiewicz, coach of the Long Beach Coastal Team, called out to racers to help guide them through the course. He said he's eager to see how the Olympic venue is set up and hopes spectators can get a good view like they do at surfing events. 'What is great about the beach sprint — and this may have helped its development — is you can watch the entire race,' Wojtkiewicz said. "Anything can happen.'
Business Upturn
3 hours ago
- Business Upturn
Did you know? Olympic hockey hero Dr Vece Paes also shaped Indian cricket with BCCI role
By Aditya Bhagchandani Published on August 14, 2025, 10:10 IST Not many know that Dr Vece Paes — 1972 Olympic hockey bronze medallist and father of tennis icon Leander Paes — had a long-standing connection with Indian cricket too. A stalwart in sports medicine, Dr Paes served as a medical consultant for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Asian Cricket Council for decades, overseeing anti-doping education and player welfare. His expertise was sought at ATP tennis tournaments, Davis Cup ties, and even the Indian Super League (ISL). In 2021, a special cricket tournament — the Dr Vece Paes Cricket Cup — was launched in his honour at the historic Calcutta Cricket and Football Club (CC&FC). Leander Paes himself turned up in pads for the Doctors' XI, teaming up with former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan to celebrate his father's legacy. The event is now an annual Republic Day tradition in Kolkata. From Olympic glory to shaping sports medicine in India, Dr Vece Paes leaves behind a legacy that spans far beyond the hockey field. Ahmedabad Plane Crash Aditya Bhagchandani serves as the Senior Editor and Writer at Business Upturn, where he leads coverage across the Business, Finance, Corporate, and Stock Market segments. With a keen eye for detail and a commitment to journalistic integrity, he not only contributes insightful articles but also oversees editorial direction for the reporting team.
5 hours ago
As Trump-Putin summit nears, family of American held in Russia hopes for another prisoner exchange
As President Donald Trump prepares to travel to Alaska on Friday to address the future of Ukraine with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the family of the Texas man serving the longest prison sentence of any American currently being detained in Russia is hopeful that another prisoner exchange between the two nations will be on the agenda. "We hope for better relations between the U.S. and Russia that will hopefully lead to the release of my brother," Margaret Aaron, one of David Barnes' two sisters, told ABC News anchor Gio Benitez in an interview Wednesday. Barnes, who grew up in Alabama, has been detained in Moscow since January 2022 and is currently serving a 21.5-year sentence. "He's hanging in there," Aaron said. "He has been extremely strong through the last three and a half years. We're extremely proud of him and he has continued to be hopeful that something will happen." Unlike other Americans who have been held in Russia, Barnes is accused by Russian prosecutors of crimes in the United States, not Russia. Yet American law enforcement had no involvement in Barnes' prosecution in Moscow. Barnes was convicted by a Russian judge of abusing his two sons years earlier in Texas, but prosecutors in Montgomery County, Texas, told ABC News that law enforcement in the Lone Star State investigated the claims after they were reported by Barnes' Russian ex-wife and did not find evidence to support them. "I do know that everyone that heard and investigated the child sexual abuse allegations raised by Mrs. Barnes during the child custody proceedings did not find them to be credible," Montgomery County District Attorney's Office Trial Bureau Chief Kelly Blackburn previously told ABC News. "He's been suffering," Aaron said Wednesday. "He's innocent." Barnes' ex-wife, Svetlana Koptyaeva, has maintained that Barnes abused their sons while the children were growing up in the Texas suburbs years ago. Koptyaeva was charged with felony interference with child custody after allegedly taking the children from Texas to Russia in 2019 while a child custody dispute between her and Barnes was playing out. In 2020, a Texas family court designated Barnes as the primary guardian of his sons, but since since Koptyaeva had taken them out of the country, Barnes' family says he decided to travel to Russia after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted to try to fight for similar custody or visitation rights in Moscow's court system. Barnes was arrested weeks after arriving in Russia and has been behind bars ever since. In April, a judge in Moscow denied Barnes' appeal of his conviction. "We really, really need to have him designated as wrongfully detained," Aaron said. "Hopefully, to start that process, we need the help of Trump and Secretary [Marco] Rubio." The upcoming meeting between Trump and Putin on American soil comes four months after Russian officials released ballerina Ksenia Karelina to the U.S. through a prisoner exchange. Following Karelina's return to the U.S., she wrote a letter to Trump calling for the release of Barnes along with fellow Americans Robert Gilman and Andre Khachatoorian. Trump posted the letter on social media. "David Barnes, a Texas father of two sons, has been detained in Russia for far too long under charges already proven to be false, and it is past time for him to be released," U.S. Senator John Cornyn of Texas said in a statement at the time. "I urge President Trump and Secretary Rubio to prioritize efforts to bring David and all wrongfully-detained Americans throughout the world home." Other Americans who were previously held in Russia, like Paul Whelan, Trevor Reed and Brittney Griner, were transferred to penal colonies far from Moscow following their convictions -- but Barnes has been held in Russia's capital since he was taken into custody. "We have visited Mr. Barnes eight times since his arrest in January 2022," a U.S. State Department spokesperson told ABC News. "Our last visit to Mr. Barnes in detention was in May 2025." With all eyes on Anchorage ahead of this week's presidential summit, Barnes' family and friends in the U.S. will be paying close attention. "David's strength keeps us going," Aaron said.
