| CURATING THE BEST IN SPORT Global Edition |
| October 6-12, 2020 |
Enough for a lifetime ban?
| There are different conceptions on what justice should look like. The paradigm of restorative justice tries to repair harm, to make offenders understand their harm and allow them to redeem themselves, whereas a retributive system is principled on making an offender suffer in proportion to their actions, so as to deter and potentially rehabilitate the offender. A complexity in both paradigms is that it is difficult to assess both when damage has been repaired or when a punishment is deemed proportionate. In both cases it is also difficult to determine when a person has been rehabilitated. Sport’s institutions should consider the same when determining punishment. Since sports are games and are inherently good for individuals to practice, we prefer a restorative paradigm. This weekend we saw one of the most egregious acts of violence in motorsport. Driver Luca Corberi abandoned the CIK-FIA KZ Karting World Championship race at the Lugano karting track -owned by his father- (Racefans.net), he decided to ignore the marshalls to literally attack Paolo Ippolito by throwing a bumper at him from the side of the track, which fortunately did not hit anyone (Ippolito was also disqualified, leading to speculation that he originally also had an unsportsmanlike behavior). He then refused to follow a marshall’s instructions and physically assaulted Ippolito in parc fermé. Others also attacked Ippolito. It is believed his father was among those. The images went viral. Motorsport figures have called for a lifetime ban and CIK-FIA President, Felipe Massa -a former F1 runner-up-, has vowed serious action will be taken (The-Race). Lifetime bans have been given in sport for actions such as doping, which in perspective do not necessarily put others at risk, while Corberi’s actions could have resulted in the worst possible consequences for Ippolito and other drivers that were not involved. It is also, however, important to consider that this is a first offence and that we have previously seen other drivers that have been violent redeem themselves and continue on with their successful careers, such as with Kyle Busch, Dan Ticktum and Santino Ferrucci. For the moment, Corberi -who is 23 and had already stopped competing full-time- has apologized and announced that he will not compete in motorsport again, saying “that’s not a self justice, it’s simply the right thing to do” (Autosport). Ten years ago, Angelo Lancellotti was suspended for six months after crashing Marcel Tiemann into the wall, ending his career with life-changing injuries. The consequences last weekend were not as bad, but could have been as bad if not worse. Persons must not be lynch-mobbed, but in an already inherently dangerous sport, putting someone else at risk is unacceptable and under both, restorative and retributive justice, the consensus will be that the punishment should be exemplary. Let’s this victory not overshadow the great KZ World Championship triumph by Jeremy Iglesias (FRA) and the KZ2 Super Cup win by Simone Cunati (ITA). Both have been in karting for years and have their victories well deserved. |
| Five things to know from last week |
- Disabled. Too much happened in Horse Racing. Enable (ENG) was not able to take a historic third Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe with Frankie Dettori (ITA). They only managed a 6th place. The race was dominated by French horses including the winner, Sottsass, trained by Jean-Claude Rouget. Aidan O’Brien had initially retired other-favorite Love (IRL) due to changing weather conditions and then his four other entries (Mogul, Japan, Serpentine and Sovereign), after they were found positive to a banned substance, presumably for contaminated food (BBC). Also in Longchamp, One Master (ENG) became the first triple winner of the Group 1 Prix de la Forêt, all under Pierre-Charles Boudot (FRA). In America, Luis Sáez (PAN) mounted three Grade I winners, at the Juddmonte Spinster Stakes, the Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity, and the Darley Alcibiades Stakes. In Japan,
Gran Alegria (JAP) won the Sprinters Stakes, a third Grade I title. In New Zealand, Melody Belle (NZL) won the Windsor Park Plate and took her 11th Group 1 victory, second of all-time for a New Zealander horse. The Preakness Stakes had an upset winner in Swiss Skydiver (USA), mounted by Robby Albarado (USA), who had not won a major race in three years. This was the sixth win for a filly and the second fastest time in Preakness ever, in the current distance. The Beyer Speed was 105. Not among the best ever, but fast. (DRF).
- Upset. Another upset in Europe was that Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) was defeated for the first time since 2013, having been defeated by Shura Kitata (ETH) in the London Marathon, which was held in St. James Park and only with elite athletes. Kipchoge said he suffered of cramps and a blocked ear. The women’s race was comfortable won by World-Record holder Brigid Kosgei (KEN). World Champion Ruth Chepngetich (KEN) was defeated by Sara Hall (USA) on the last sprint for second place. Brent Lakatos (CAN) and Nikita Den Boer (NED) won the wheelchair races. Track legend, Kenenisa Bekele (ETH), pulled out of racing in the last moment due to an injury (AllAfrica).
- Two-peat. That was the case for Nick Catsburg (NED), who had won the 24 Hours of Nurburgring last week and now won the Intercontinental GT Challenge’s inaugural Indianapolis 8 Hours, with Augusto Farfus (BRA) Connor De Philippi (USA). BMW took that overall victory and also the GT4 class win, with Bill Auberlen (USA), Chandler Hull (USA) and James Clay (USA). The GT World Challenge America race within the race (3 Hours in) was won by George Kurtz (USA) and Colin Braun (USA), followed by Martín Fuentes (MEX) -who clinched the Pro-Am Championship- and Alessandro Balzan (ITA). Trent Hindman and Shelby Blackstock (USA) were third and took the SIlver Championship. In IndyCar it was also a two-peat, as Penske took both races, also in Indianapolis, with Will Power (AUS) and Josef Newgarden (USA), respectively. Read ESPN’s report
- Don’t celebrate before winning. Newly-crowned World Champion Julian Alaphilipe (FRA) threw away the Liège-Bastogne-Liège (World Tour) Classic win by celebrating before crossing the line and being passed by Primož Roglič (SLO). The Frenchman was demoted to fifth due to a dangerous move on the final sprint, anyway. Lizzie Deignan (ENG) took the women’s race, and Mathieu van der Poel (NED) rode to an impressive 6th 24 hours after having won the BinckBank (World Tour) with a solo 50 kilometer run. Marc Hirschi (SUI) took the men’s Flèche Wallone. The Giro D’Italia has started and favorites Geraint Thomas (ENG) and Adam Yates (ENG) are virtually out of contention after a poor stage 3 concluding in Mount Etna – read (Cyclingnews).
- Good news on the dirt. The FIM Flat Track World Championship started after the long break but things are as familiar as always: Francesco Cecchini (ITA) won. He has not been beaten on FIM competitions since 2016. In Speedway, Max Fricke (AUS) took his first win on race 1 in Torun as Bartosz Zmarzlik (POL) took the World Championship and race 2. In Superbike, Jonathan Rea (NIR) won two of three races but Scott Redding (ENG) took race 3 in Magny-Cours, France, to make sure the World Championship goes to the wire in Estoril, Portugal. In Motocross, Antonio Cairoli won a Grand Prix race for a 78th time but Tim Gajser (SLO) took the Grand Prix of Europe. Meanwhile, Arminas Jasikonis (LIT) was woken up from his coma and was able to talk in Lithuanian and English, and was without pain, after his accident last week. (Cycle News)
| GLOBAL PODIUM OF THE WEEK |
 Gold: Anna van der Breggen (Netherlands, Road Cycling) Anna just seems unstoppable. After winning both the Time Trial and Road Race at the UCI Road Cycling World Championship last week and the Giro Rosa two weeks ago, she travelled to Belgium to take La Flèche Wallone Fémenine for a record sixth time -all of them consecutive- facing the other best female riders in the world. Watch the Highlights (Eurosport) |
 Silver: Bartosz Zmarzlik (Poland, Motorcycling) Bartosz Zmarzlik won the won the 2020 FIM Speedway Grand Prix World Championship in the best way he could have: by winning the Final Round of the season at home, in Poland. Bartosz won four of eight World Championship races plus a third and a fourth place (this week too) en route to his second consecutive FIM Speedway World Championship. Watch his World Championship run and GP win in Torun (FIM Speedway GP) |
 Bronze: Henrique Avancini (Brazil, Mountain Bike) The Mercedes-Benz UCI Mountain Bike World Cup had two rounds in Nové Město na Moravě, Czechia. The first one was not good for Henrique Avancini: he fell down in the short course and only managed to finish 12th, in a race won by José Gerardo Ulloa (MEX), who had beaten him at the Pan-American Games when the Brazilian had mechanical issues. Then he came back to finish 5th in the Olympic distance race. But he then redeemed himself by taking both the Short-track and Cross-Country Olympic races in the second round with spectacular sprints. Watch the Round 2 Short-track highlights (Red Bull TV) |
| GLOBAL SPORTS AGENDA Week Preview This could be the most important week in basketball, as the WNBA Championship (Seattle Storm leads Las Vegas Aces 2-0) will conclude their best-of-five Finals, and the NBA could see their best-of-seven Final come to an end as well, unless they need to go to seven games. Los Ángeles Lakers leads the series over Miami Heat, 2-1. Australian Horse Racing has an important week with five Grade I’s, with Verry Elleegant (AUS) fresh from winning the Turnbull Stakes looking to take the Caulfield Cup, and Montefilia coming off taking the Flight Stakes looking to win the Champion Stakes Cup. Spectacular Emmanuel “Vaquero” Navarrete (MEX) will have his first official Featherweight fight straight for the World Title against natural Featherweight Rubén Villa (MEX/USA). Motorcycling sees the season finale for the Superbike family of World Championships. Jonathan Rea (NIR) or Scott Redding (ENG) will win the Superbike World Championship. The Australian Supercars Championship will have its season finale at the famed Bathurst 1000. Major League Baseball’s Divisional Series are taking place. Tampa Bay Rays face a tough opponent in the New York Yankees, who have DJ Le Mahieu (USA), first player in the modern era to be Champion bat in both the American and National Leagues, as well as Home Run Champion, Luke Voit (USA). Mountain Bike will have its World Championship after two exciting World Cups in Czechia, which saw Henrique Avancini (BRA) take both the Short course and Olympic distance wins in Round 2, while Evie Richards (ENG) took both short track wins and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (FRA) took a win, two seconds and a third in four races. Australia’s Women’s ODI Cricket team remains number 1 in the world and if they were to beat New Zealand on their Game 3, they would tie the record of most consecutive wins in history, Australia’s 21. Novak Djokovic (SRB) and Rafael Nadal (ESP) are still alive at Roland Garros but the top 3 seeded female players are out: Simona Halep (ROU) was defeated by Iga Świątek, #48 in the world. She faces Martina Trevisan (ITA) in Quarterfinals. The Italian comes from the Qualifying tournament and defeated #5 seeded, Kiki Bertens (NED). #2 Karolína Plíšková (CZE) was eliminated in the second round by Jelena Ostapenko (LAT) -who is also out- and #3 Elina Svitolina (UKR) was eliminated by Qualifier Nadia Podoroska (ARG). It is possible that two players come from the Qualifiers to face each other in semifinals. American Football: NFL Regular Season Association Football: FIFA International Match Days Athletics: Virtual Bank of America Chicago Marathon Aussie Rules Football: AFL Playoffs Auto sport: 24H Series Europe (Pergusa, Italy) BOSS GP (Mugello, Italy x2) British Touring Car Championship (Croft, England) European Le Mans Series (Monza, Italy) FIA Formula 1 Eifel Grand Prix (Nürburgring, Germany) FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies (Rallye du Maroc) FIA World Rallycross Championship (Montalegre, Portugal) FIA World Touring Car Cup (Slovakiaring, Slovakia x3) Formula DRIFT Japan (Okayama, Japan) GT World Challenge powered by AWS (Catalunya, Spain x3) IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (Charlotte, USA) Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (Zolder, Belgium x2) NASCAR Cup (Charlotte, USA) Supercars Championship Bathurst 1000 (Australia) Turismo Carretera (San Nicolás, Argentina) USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Series (Wayne County Speedway, Tri-State Speedway, USA) World of Outlaws Sprint Cars (Port Royal Speedway, USA x2) Baseball Major League Baseball Divisional Games Nippon League Regular Season KBO Regular Season Basketball: NBA Finals WNBA Finals Billiards: World Snooker Tour English Open Boxing: vacant World Boxing Organisation World Feather Title – Emanuel Navarrete (MEX) vs Rubén Villa (MEX/USA) interim World Boxing Association World Light Heavy Title – Dominic Boesel (GER) vs Robin Krasniqi (GER) Chess: 20th IPCA World Individual Chess Championship 2020 Cricket: Womens’ ODI – Australia vs New Zealand 3 Darts: PDC BoyleSports World Grand Prix eSports: Arena of Valor (Garena Challenger Series Summer 2020, RoV Pro League 2020 Winter, Arena of Glory Winter 2020) Hearthstone Gold Team Championship Season SMITE Pro League/2020 Season/Phase 2 Starcraft II Gold Series Team Championship 2020 Fall Season Global StarCraft II League Season 3 Quake Pro League Season 2: Stage 1 World Cyber Games 2020 Connected Group Stage League of Legends World Championship Group stage Warcraft King of Battles: KB International Championship Overwatch League Grand Final Golf: LPGA KPMG Women’s PGA Championship PGA Tour Las Vegas Horse Racing: Caulfield Guineas, Thousand Guineas, Toorak Handicap, Spring Champion Stakes, Caulfield Stakes, (Australia) Clásico Mil Guineas Maria Luisa Solari Falabella, Clásico Dos Mil Guineas (Chile) Darley Dewhurst Stakes, Bet365 Fillies’ Mile (England) Raffles Cup (Singapore) Karadeniz, Ankara Kalesi (Turkey) Queen Elizabeth Challenge Cup Stakes, Champagne Stakes, Flower Bowl Stakes, Frizette Stakes (USA) Motorcycling: FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship (Rallye du Maroc) FIM MotoGP, Moto2, Moto3 World Championship, MotoE World Cup (Circuit Bugatti, France) FIM Motocross World Championship (intu Xanadú, Spain) FIM Superbike, Supersport, Supersport 300 World Championship (Estoril, Portugal x2) FIM Trial-E Cup (Tolmezzo, Italy) FIM Trial World Championships (TrialGP / Trial2 / Trial125) (Tolmezzo, Italy) Hixpania Hard Enduro (Spain) Mountain Bike: UCI Mountain Bike World Championship Pigeon Racing: Hoosier Classic Million Dollar Race Polo: WPT Tortugas Open Road Cycling: UCI World Tour Giro D’Italia Simracing: eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series GPVWC SRO E-Sport GT Series Asia The Race IndyPRO Championship (x2) Tennis: Roland Garros Wheelchair Tennis: Roland Garros |
Sport’s best values
| Sportsmanship: Vince Carter |
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“I’ve made history. I want to say to all the mums that we can do it. Be strong.”
Jessica Marcialis (ITA)
Qatar Prix Marcel Boussac Criterium des Pouliches (G1) Winner
After becoming the first woman to win a Grade 1 Horse Race in France, riding Tiger Tanaka (IRL). Via: Bloodhorse
