Ningbo's first LA28 totals, New York's Trials qualifier and Kelowna's Grand Prix: Team USA watch, Oct. 26–Nov. 1
A planning brief for Oct. 26–Nov. 1, 2026: weightlifting's World Championships in Ningbo, where the LA28 qualifying ranking begins, the New York City Marathon as a qualifier for the 2028 U.S. Trials, and figure skating's Grand Prix stop in Kelowna — with the Team USA names to watch and what each event is worth toward Los Angeles.
This issue covers Oct. 26–Nov. 1, 2026. Weightlifting opens the Los Angeles qualifying cycle in Ningbo, the New York City Marathon offers a way into the 2028 U.S. Trials, and figure skating's Grand Prix reaches Kelowna. 12
The heaviest Olympic weight this week sits in China. Every total lifted at the weightlifting World Championships in Ningbo counts toward the ranking that fills the Los Angeles weight classes in 2028. 1
New York is the second door. A marathon run inside a window that opened on Sept. 1, 2025, at 2:16:00 for men or 2:37:00 for women sends an American to the U.S. Olympic Trials in St. Louis on March 25, 2028. 3
Kelowna is the week's series event. Skate Canada's points decide who reaches December's Grand Prix Final in Chongqing. 4
What changed since last week
The American women left Rotterdam with an LA28 team place. They scored 165.531 for team silver, behind China's 165.674 and ahead of Japan's 164.063. The top three men's and women's teams at the championships each take a five-athlete place for Los Angeles. 56
The men finished sixth and now look to 2027. Japan won at 251.928, a Russian team under a neutral banner took silver at 250.329 and China bronze at 249.193. The United States scored 245.161. Nine further men's teams take five-athlete places at the 2027 World Championships. 56
China ended a 16-year American run in the women's team event, holding off the United States by 0.233 of a point. 5
Richard and Blakely took world titles. Frederick Richard won floor exercise at 14.633, the first American men's floor title since Paul Hamm in 2003. Skye Blakely won the all-around at 55.733. 57
The Americans finished Rotterdam with eight medals. Claire Pease won floor exercise at 13.866 and took vault silver; Reese Esponda took floor silver; Blakely added vault and uneven bars bronze. 5
Paula Moltzan won the Sölden giant slalom. Her first World Cup victory came by 0.01 of a second over Lara Colturi, with Emma Aicher third at 0.63 back. Mikaela Shiffrin finished seventh in 2:15.65. 89
Lucas Pinheiro Braathen won the men's giant slalom on Sunday, 0.48 ahead of Loïc Meillard and 0.49 ahead of Marco Odermatt. 8
Carreira and Ponomarenko took bronze in Angers. Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko scored 189.36 for third behind Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron, and Diana Davis and Gleb Smolkin. Leah Neset and Artem Markelov finished fifth, Eva Pate and Logan Bye sixth. 10
Jimmy Ma finished sixth in the men's event at 221.44, three places ahead of Jacob Sanchez at 212.60. Sarah Everhardt was seventh in the women's event at 184.62. 1112
This week's watch list
| Event and governing body | Dates, place and sessions | Tier | Team USA watch | What is at stake | U.S. viewing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IWF World Championships — IWF and USA Weightlifting 13 | Oct. 27–Nov. 8 at the Ningbo Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium, China. American sessions this week: Gabe Chhum Tuesday at 1:30 a.m. ET, Hampton Morris Wednesday at 7 a.m., Miranda Ulrey Thursday at 7 a.m., Edward Ginnan and Ryan Grimsland Saturday at 4 a.m., Sophie Shaft and Katie Estep Sunday at 6 a.m. 13 | IWF World Championships, and the first of the qualifying events in Period 1 of the LA28 cycle 1 | Women: Ulrey at 53 kg, Shaft and Estep at 61, Mattie Rogers at 77, Katie Witte and Ella Nicholson at 86, Caitlin Thilges and Mary Theisen-Lappen at +86. Men: Chhum at 60, Morris at 65, Ginnan and Grimsland at 75, Caden Cahoy at 85, Kolbi Ferguson at 110, Keiser Witte and Aaron Williams at +110. 13 | Totals become ranking points toward the eight places per Olympic weight class. Athletes need five qualifying events across two periods, counting their best three totals from Period 1 and best two from Period 2. 1 | Weightlifting House TV streams the championships. 13 |
| TCS New York City Marathon — NYRR 14 | Nov. 1 through all five boroughs, on the 50th anniversary of the five-borough course. The first start is 8 a.m. ET, and the five mass waves go off between 9:10 and 11:30 a.m. ET. 15 | World Athletics Elite Platinum Label road race 15 | Conner Mantz, Zouhair Talbi, Joe Klecker, Paul Chelimo, Casey Clinger, Ryan Ford and Joel Reichow lead the men; Weini Kelati debuts alongside Jess McClain, Fiona O'Keeffe, Annie Frisbie, Carrie Ellwood, Erika Kemp and Amanda Vestri. Tatyana McFadden, Daniel Romanchuk and Evan Correll race the wheelchair divisions. 14 | A place at the 2028 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for anyone at 2:16:00 or faster, or 2:37:00 for women, inside a window that closes on Jan. 17, 2028. A top-10 finish at a platinum-label marathon also meets the Trials' A standard, which carries travel support. 3 | ESPN2 carries the race nationally from 8 to 11:30 a.m. ET, with WABC-TV continuing to 1 p.m. and ESPN3 offering a Spanish-language broadcast. 16 |
| Skate Canada International — ISU and Skate Canada 17 | Oct. 30–Nov. 1 at Prospera Place, Kelowna, British Columbia. Men's short program 9 p.m. ET Friday, pairs short 11:15 p.m. ET; women's short 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday, rhythm dance 5:20 p.m., men's free 7:40 p.m., pairs free 9:45 p.m.; women's free 4 p.m. ET Sunday, free dance 6:15 p.m. 17 | ISU Grand Prix, the second of six events this season 17 | Isabeau Levito in the women's event; Liam Kapeikis and Andrew Torgashev in the men's; Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov in pairs; Oona Brown and Gage Brown, Caroline Green and Michael Parsons, and Katarina Wolfkostin and Dimitry Tsarevski in ice dance. 18 | Points toward the Grand Prix Final in Chongqing on Dec. 10–13, where the top six in each discipline compete. 4 | Peacock carries the Grand Prix in the United States, and the ISU Skating Channel on YouTube streams the series internationally. 419 |
The Ningbo arithmetic
Weightlifting decides its Olympic places through a ranking built across two years, and Ningbo is where the count starts. The qualification period opened on July 27, 2026, and runs to May 7, 2028, split into two periods. 1
Every lifter needs five qualifying events across the two periods. The ranking counts an athlete's best three totals from Period 1 and best two from Period 2, with one kilogram of total worth one point. The top eight athletes in each Olympic weight class take the places, and a country can send at most six lifters, three per gender, spread across three weight classes. 1
The classes are 65, 75, 85, 95, 110 and +110 kilograms for men, and 53, 61, 69, 77, 86 and +86 for women. Ningbo offers a first chance to bank a big total in a class an athlete expects to contest through 2028. 1
The American team numbers 16, eight men and eight women, all of them listed on the IWF entry list for Ningbo. 1320
Hampton Morris is the headliner on Wednesday. The Paris 2024 bronze medalist at 61 kg has three senior world medals, including a clean and jerk gold at 61 kg in 2023. He lifts at 7 a.m. ET in the 65 kg class. 13
One name is missing from the roster. Olivia Reeves, the Olympic champion, withdrew while recovering from a stress fracture and plans to return at the IWF qualifier in Doha in December. 13
What New York decides
New York sits inside the qualifying window for the 2028 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, and that is what separates it from an ordinary major. The window runs from Sept. 1, 2025 to Jan. 17, 2028, with entry standards of 2:16:00 for men and 2:37:00 for women. 3
St. Louis hosts the Trials on March 25, 2028, and three men and three women earn the Olympic places there. 2
A time at standard is one route in. The Trials' A standard, which adds travel and accommodation support, can also be met with a top-10 finish at a platinum-label marathon inside the window, and New York holds that label. 315
The field gives an American man a realistic shot at the top ten. Conner Mantz holds the American record at 2:04:43, and Zouhair Talbi ran 2:03:45 in Boston in April. Joe Klecker, Paul Chelimo, Casey Clinger, Ryan Ford and Joel Reichow fill out the American men's entries. 14
For the American women, the race is a debut and a test at once. Weini Kelati, the American half marathon record holder, runs her first marathon against Jess McClain, Fiona O'Keeffe, Annie Frisbie, Carrie Ellwood, Erika Kemp and Amanda Vestri. 14
The LA28 read
Ningbo is the week's only event that builds an Olympic ranking. The championships hand out world titles in China, and the totals behind those titles become points in the qualifying ranking that closes in May 2028. 1
New York builds a Trials field. Every American inside the standards moves closer to St. Louis in 2028, and a top-10 finish at platinum level adds the A standard and its support. 3
Kelowna builds a Grand Prix season. The points decide places at the Final in Chongqing. 4
Rotterdam left the American men a two-year path. The 2027 World Championships carry nine more five-athlete team places for men and nine for women, taken on team qualification results by nations that missed the top three in 2026. 6
Calendar order
All times are Eastern, converted from the organizers' schedules.
- Tuesday, Oct. 27 — Ningbo: Gabe Chhum lifts in the men's 60 kg class at 1:30 a.m. ET. 13
- Wednesday, Oct. 28 — Ningbo: Hampton Morris lifts in the men's 65 kg class at 7 a.m. ET. 13
- Thursday, Oct. 29 — Ningbo: Miranda Ulrey lifts in the women's 53 kg class at 7 a.m. ET. 13
- Friday, Oct. 30 — Kelowna: the men's short program starts at 9 p.m. ET and the pairs short program at 11:15 p.m. ET. 17
- Saturday, Oct. 31 — Ningbo and Kelowna: Edward Ginnan and Ryan Grimsland lift in the men's 75 kg class at 4 a.m. ET. In Kelowna the women's short program starts at 3:30 p.m. ET, the rhythm dance at 5:20 p.m., the men's free program at 7:40 p.m. and the pairs free program at 9:45 p.m. 1317
- Sunday, Nov. 1 — Ningbo, New York and Kelowna: Sophie Shaft and Katie Estep lift in the women's 61 kg class at 6 a.m. ET. The New York City Marathon starts at 8 a.m. ET with coverage on ESPN2, and the mass waves follow from 9:10 a.m. In Kelowna the women's free program starts at 4 p.m. ET and the free dance at 6:15 p.m. Clocks in the United States move back an hour that morning, so the Pacific-to-Eastern gap stays at three hours. 131517
Next week the weightlifting championships run on to Nov. 8, with Caden Cahoy, Mattie Rogers, Kolbi Ferguson and the American superheavyweights still to lift. 13 Figure skating moves to the Cup of China in Shenzhen on Nov. 6–8, and the Rolex Paris Masters, the last Masters 1000 of the tennis season, runs Nov. 2–8. 1821
References
- 1Road to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games
usaweightlifting.org
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 52026 World Gymnastics Championships results
nbcsports.com
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10ISU GP Grand Prix de France 2026, ice dance result
results.isu.org
- 11ISU GP Grand Prix de France 2026, men's result
results.isu.org
- 12ISU GP Grand Prix de France 2026, women's result
results.isu.org
- 13U.S. Ready for Senior World Championships, Start of Olympic Qualifying
usaweightlifting.org
- 14
- 152026 TCS New York City Marathon
nyrr.org
- 16Watch the race
nyrr.org
- 172026 Skate Canada International
skatecanada.ca
- 18U.S. National Team 2026 Grand Prix assignments announced
usfigureskating.org
- 19Figure skating TV schedule
sportsmediawatch.com
- 20
- 21Rolex Paris Masters, tournament overview
atptour.com
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