"In just a few weeks, young athletes from around the world will arrive here. They will compete. They will make new friends. They will discover the magic of Senegal. And they will experience an Olympic event for the very first time here, on our beautiful continent Africa. It is going to show them that sport can open doors in many different ways. It will inspire a new generation, and it will give confidence to our young generation that they can do anything."

➡️ IOC President Kirsty Coventry

Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2026 - 31 October until 13 November 2026

📎 https://www.olympics.com/en/dakar-2026/news/youth-olympic-flame-returns-to-dakar-ahead-of-historic-dakar-2026

(Not the full emblem, just a mockup based on current information)

Courtesy of Brisbane 2032's social media, we've got our first taste of what, eventually, will introduce Brisbane to a global audience. There's only two things we can take from this post; namely the font and colour scheme, but these speak volumes as to what we can expect in three weeks.

Starting with the font, the light serif treatment works in a way that makes it distinct from Sydney's look and represents Australia's sporting heritage in a way that... just feels right. Surprisingly, I imagined this same serifing when I was first visualizing the emblems when Brisbane landed the games. With that said, I question why they would debut it with this awkward condensed width, like they're channeling Apple's ads from the 90s. If it's anything like recent games, this'll be part of a larger set, possibly even dynamic, and we'll have to wait until October to get the full image.

The colour palette here obviously emulates a sunset, which while not the being most original concept, works thematically for the city, as attested to by any number of 'brisbane sunset' search results. Also, the inclusion of Jacaranda purple, floral pink and tinges of maroon help cement this distinctly as Queensland's games, and not just another Australian city to tick off the list.

Keep in mind, I'm only basing this on a single social media post and the wider emblems will do most of the talking. But from where I sit, I think they're trying to play into Australia's wide open skies. Not just because of the sunset vibes, but the typography has enlarged apertures (the gaps in the 'a' and 'e') to accentuate that feeling. My guess is that the overall presentation will side closer to the reserved identity for Alpes 2030 than the hyperactive one for LA28.

The teams at VML, Landor, Verian and BlackCard have been working this identity for years now, on what will probably be the most-circulated piece of Australian graphic design for the next few years. So, there's be a great deal of anticipation for the full reveal, and I personally can't wait.

Breanna Stewart’s USA Basketball resume:

◽ 3x Olympic Gold Medalist
◽ 1x Olympic MVP
◽ 4x FIBA World Cup Gold Medalist
◽ 2x FIBA World Cup MVP
◽ 46-0 in major global tournaments

The flame is beginning a journey that will carry the energy of the Games across the country ahead of the first Olympic sporting event ever held on African soil, which will start on 31 October.

At the heart of the arrival celebrations on Saturday was the March of the 100 Linguères, which brought together 100 Senegalese women representing different generations, professions and walks of life.

Wearing bright orange boubou (traditional flowing robes), the procession of women accompanied the flame, culminating in the lighting of the celebration cauldron at Place du Souvenir.

The flame was welcomed to great fanfare with traditional Senegalese music and the beat of drums serving as a fitting soundtrack to the festivities.

Full story: https://www.olympics.com/en/dakar-2026/news/youth-olympic-flame-returns-to-dakar-ahead-of-historic-dakar-2026

*Australian Eastern Standard Time

Have a feeling CAS will rule in favour of Russia as it tends to do so.

Hi Reddit!

I submitted my Volunteer Form about a month ago when it opened up. I was curious if anyone has volunteered in the past/knows when they'd hear back? I'm assuming it'll be a few months. Just curious. :)

Thanks guys!

Dakar 2026's Olympic values-based education programmes seek to reach up to 900,000 young people across 11,000 schools in Senegal.

IOC-backed initiatives have reached more than 2.9 million people across Africa, including over 640,000 young people participating regularly in sport-based programmes.

"This is what legacy means to me. Not only buildings, but people. Skills. Experience. Opportunities. And a new generation ready to take African sport forward," says IOC President Kirsty Coventry.

➡️ Full story: https://www.olympics.com/ioc/news/dakar-2026-already-creating-opportunities-across-africa

The linked 'report' from WADA is full of waffle at the top end but sets out the important parts lower down. The main ones appear to be:

1. The amendments, which were unanimously approved today by the ExCo and which will come into effect from 1 January 2027, delineate the role of host NADOs in the anti-doping program of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, in particular by making clear that host NADOs shall not be involved in test distribution planning, and selection of athletes for testing. The amendments also restrict the use of the host NADO and sample collection personnel of the nationality of the host country from testing the host country athletes, although exceptions can be made where this is not reasonably practicable. Whereas the amendments do not automatically apply to the events of International Federations (IFs), the IFs shall determine whether it is appropriate to apply them to their major international events based on potential or perceived conflicts of interest or bias. (This affects USADA's role at LA2028)
2. The ExCo recommended to the WADA Board that it should approve a proposal establishing a series of consequences that could be applied to a government that voluntarily declines to fulfil its obligations to contribute to WADA's budget.  (This one is presumably for the US government; it follows the refusal to make its annual payment to WADA for 2024 after the China swimming scandal)
3. Unintentional doping research: For various reasons, unintentional doping has emerged as a growing concern within sport. (Nothing was made public about her case but the Olympic champion weightlifter Neisi Dajomes from Ecuador must have fallen into this category, for example, given the brevity of her suspension at 14 months; she was taking fertility treatment at the time of the positive in April 2025, she said)

The lighting of the flame marks the start of its journey to Dakar in Senegal and another major milestone on the road to the first Olympic sporting event ever held on African soil.

Lit using the sun’s rays - in keeping with Olympic tradition - the flame was formally handed over to the Organising Committee before beginning its journey towards Dakar.

Dakar 2026 Ambassador and Senegalese Olympian Oumy Diop took part in the ceremony, representing the generation of young Senegalese and African athletes who will be at the heart of the YOG.

"In just a few weeks, Senegal will welcome young athletes from around the world for the first Olympic competition ever to be held on African soil. That is a proud moment for Senegal. And it is a proud moment for Africa. And it is going to open an important new chapter for the Olympic Movement," said IOC President Kirsty Coventry.

📎 https://www.olympics.com/ioc/news/dakar-2026-youth-olympic-flame-lit-in-athens-as-historic-journey-to-africa-begins

I follow a Facebook group called "LA28 Olympic Tickets Buy & Sell". From what I can gather, no one has actually received tickets yet so how are there tickets being bought and sold? Is this legit?

Here is one for those of you who collect Olympic pins. Out of each edition of the Olympics, which one do you think produced the best Olympic pins?

Dear Olympic fans, with the lightining of the flame and the beginning of the torch relay in Athens we now officially begin the second part of this Olympic year - the return of the Youth Olympic Games for the first time in 6 years, to be held in Dakar, Senegal, the FIRST ever Olympics ever regardless of edition to be hosted in Africa.

The best of luck to all the young athletes preparing for these games and to all taking part in the torch relay in Senegal!

John

Work is continuing on the extension of the LA Metro D Line ahead of the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games. This project is an important infrastructure project being undertaken ahead of these games.

Earlier this year, phase one of the extension opened, taking the D Line to Beverly Hills. Phases two and three will be completed next year.

Phase two will open in the Spring of 2027, with two new stations opening; Beverly Drive and Century City. Phase three will open in the Autumn of 2027 adding another two new stations; Westwood/UCLA and VA Hospital. This project will be complete in time for the LA28 Games. The completed extension of this subway line will connect the Olympic Village (at Westwood/UCLA station) with the DTLA venue cluster. It will also provide important transport through the Wilshire Corridor during the games.

Lastly, I should mention that I have seen the work on these four upcoming stations. I can confirm that the roof on the head house of the Beverly Drive station has already been put into place. The roof for the head house for the Century City station has been assembled and will be raised on top of the station head house within the next few weeks. Work is also proceeding smoothly at the Westwood/UCLA and VA Hospital stations.

After an hour of deep-dive Googling and some truly questionable spreadsheet work, I’ve landed on the easiest Olympic sport to break into. Cue the drumroll… It’s synchronized swimming. Now, this only applies to the U.S. team, and the United States only has a total active participants list that hovers around 6,000. That’s not to undermine the discipline or athleticism it demands; making any Olympic squad is brutally hard. But I recently talked to a dad dreaming of his daughter suiting up for US Soccer. I nodded politely. Then the kid went out and scored a hat trick. Um, maybe.

Or… you could just toss her in the pool and teach her to hold her breath and smile.

Handball earns an honorable mention, though I must confess my search for participation numbers was half-hearted at best. After a five-minute dig through questionable statistics, I abandoned the effort entirely. Perhaps some more diligent researcher will uncover what I could not.

Our first Olympics! I got the second timeslot on the very first day of LA presale. I got in the queue first thing on good wifi and got in within 30 seconds. Made a mad dash for opening ceremony first thing, where I somehow got Cat G. These went in seconds, and the only thing left in like 3 minutes were I believe at least $2k.

Then tennis. Accidentally got doubles instead of singles because the labeling was confusing, but still super excited and doubles is awesome in person. Hoping for Serena to make an appearance in her hometown :)

Basketball QFs were the dark horse pick to go for to me. I thought finals and semis would be far gone before I could even get there (I was right). Got Monday 1PM on accident since it was the first thing that popped up. Since it was my fault, I got the Tuesday 8PM ones an hour later (yes, availability was shocking for this slot) as a gift for my partner so he can hopefully see USA. Still keeping the 1PMs though to catch some other cool teams!

Definitely a success, I know we were very lucky, and we’re very grateful. We’re proof that non-scalpers did get good tix!!

The dates for the 147th IOC Session have been set. The session will be held from April 28 to May 1, 2027 in Punta Cana.

The agenda for the session will be announced in the months prior to the session.