After a week of sleep, I’ve just about revived from one of the most successful Olympic Games I’ve attended (beginning in Munich ’72). Even hard core cynics like me got caught up in the wave of enthusiasm which attended the … Read more

A world record is, by its nature, extraordinary. But there are some performances which go beyond that limit, inspiring awe and even reverence. David Lekuta Rudisha produced such a performance in the London 2012 stadium on Thursday night, winning the … Read more

Largely overlooked in the admiration for, if not astonishment at 19 year old Kirani James’ convincing victory in the 400 metres on Monday evening was the absence in the final of any US one-lapper; for the first time in over … Read more

Maybe it is testimony to the self-confidence of the middle distance runner; maybe it’s a collective delusion; or maybe it’s just plain stupidity. One the strangest anomalies of championship qualifying rounds is that, even when athletes know exactly the minimum … Read more

Following one particularly arduous conclusion to an Olympic decathlon – ie big guys running 1500 metres – an Italian colleague turned to me and said, ‘This is heavy gold’. What he meant was that here was a gold medal won, … Read more