Inside the Games (UK)

A delegation led by Viktor Lukashenko, president of the country's national Olympic committee, recently visited Baku to discuss closer cooperation between the two countries, with the Olympic Movement at the centre of talks. Chingiz Huseynzada, vice-president of the National Olympic Committee of Azerbaijan, and Secretary General Azer Aliyev welcomed Lukashenko to the organisation's headquarters on Monday.

Alpes 2030 puts regional leaders in place. The organising committee for the upcoming Olympic Winter Games announced on Thursday who will oversee the four regional competition clusters, marking an operational step forward as the search continues for a successor to former President Edgar Grospiron.

The former fencer and Barcelona 1992 gold medallist will serve another term as head of the country's national Olympic committee until 2030, having secured 164 out of 166 votes after standing unopposed in the presidential election. Vadym Gutsait's re-election took place on 6 October during the body's 43rd Electoral General Assembly, held at the Koncha-Zaspa Olympic Training and Sports Centre under a hybrid format shaped by the martial law currently in force across the country.

The National Coordination Committee for Youth Olympic Games Security conducted a full-scale simulation in the capital this week, mobilising police, gendarmerie, army, firefighters, medical units, and civil administrations. The exercise, held at the Azalaï Hotel in Dakar, was chaired by the Minister of the Interior and Public Security, Mouhamadou Makhtar Cissé. "The Youth Olympic Games open in exactly three weeks in Dakar. Senegal will host them, as the saying goes, and Africa will celebrate.

The defending world champion entered the Judo World Championships in Azerbaijan as the top seed and favourite for gold. However, he had another mission to accomplish on his path to glory. Sanshiro Murao, the world champion in the men's 90 kg category, and Lasha Bekauri, the double Olympic champion from Georgia, had met five times previously, with Bekauri winning all five matches. The most painful defeat came in the final of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Following the confirmation of seven countries interested in hosting the Summer Games, the Asian giant must demonstrate to the International Olympic Committee that its infrastructure, investment and sporting reforms provide a credible foundation for its bid.

Claude-Alain Schmidhalter has resigned as president of the organising committee for the 2027 Alpine World Ski Championships after being temporarily removed from his duties following accusations linked to his private business activities. The Swiss Ski Federation announced on Wednesday that Schmidhalter had also been provisionally suspended from his position as vice-president of the governing body ahead of a court hearing scheduled for 27 October.

Haruka Kaju after scoring the winning ippon against Joanne van Lieshout in the semi-final. The world champion remains unbeaten on the international stage. Heading into the Judo World Championships, she had won eight consecutive tournaments and recorded 35 victories, a remarkable run that continued in Azerbaijan. Haruka Kaju's international debut came a little late. She was 24 when she competed at the Tokyo Grand Slam in December 2024.

From November, the nation will introduce a new mechanism to tackle gender-based harassment. A group of 32 independent investigators will be able to step in at the request of national federations to launch disciplinary inquiries. France is preparing to introduce a new independent mechanism designed to strengthen disciplinary investigations into cases of sexual and gender-based violence across sport.

The European Road Championships race results recently reignited controversy after runner-up Giulio Ciccone called for a 'clear' image of his tight finish with Remco Evenepoel, while the UEC defended the accuracy of the sport's technology.