Running used to be something Guor Marial did to escape.

Growing up in the south of Sudan, life was a permanent struggle from one day to the next when the only thing that mattered was survival.

But tomorrow, in what is surely one of the great inspirational stories from London 2012, the 28-year-old United States-based athlete – still officially stateless having not yet received a passport – will be hoping to complete the men's marathon as an independent runner.

Competing under the International Olympic Committee (IOC) flag, Marial's tale is an uplifting account of how he made the transition from refugee to Olympian. If the Games is all about the taking part, look no further than this humble man who is just grateful for the opportunity he has been given.

South Sudan seceded from Sudan last July following a peace deal in 2005 that ended the civil war in which some 1.5 million people died. But it has no National Olympic Committee or, for that matter, running water or electricity in many of its towns and villages.

Indeed, Marial hasn't seen his parents since 1993 but there will be no prouder athlete in tomorrow's race.

"When I was growing up, running meant you were running from danger," said Marial. 

"It was the survival of the fittest. I loved football but had no idea what running shoes were. So in 2002 when my teacher said I should start, it took a couple of months to convince me. In Sudan, I used to run to escape with my life."

Sudan refugee Guor Marial training for the Olympics marathon at home in Arizona

By the time he was 10, eight of his brothers and sisters had been murdered. He spent most of his youth in refugee camps and had no idea what life was like on the outside.

After several attempts at fleeing, Marial finally managed to get across the border into Egypt. He arrived in America as a 16-year-old and now lives in Arizona where running means everything to him. "Nowadays, when I get up in the morning if you ask me not to run on a particular day I'd say no."

It is no surprise that when invited to compete at London 2012 for Sudan, Marial refused. He could not face representing a country that made his life hell and which is now South Sudan's uncomfortable neighbour.

Guor Marial is warmly welcomed on his arrival in London by friend and manager Brad Poore

Getting him into the Olympics as an independent athlete was anything but easy. "It took scores of phone calls," recalled his friend and manager, British-born lawyer Brad Poore. "It kind of snowballed but everyone came together to make it happen."

Marial qualified to run in the Olympics in his first ever marathon last year after starting out as a cross-country runner. His best time is 2 hours 12min 55sec – but his goal is not necessarily to complete the course.

"What I want is to raise awareness for refugees across the world," said Marial, who learned only a week before London 2012 that he could compete. "I'm so fortunate to be here and grateful to the IOC and to Brad whom I consider a brother for taking up my case. I'm running for all refugees just like I was. I can't put into words what this means to me."

A young child is given a drink of clean water at a refugee camp during the Sudan civil war

Whether or not his parents can get to watch him on television some 3,500 miles away is doubtful since the nearest city is 30 miles distant and walking the only form of transport. "I hope they can but it's long way," said Marial. "It's the rainy season at the moment so there won't be any vehicles to take them."

IOC spokesman Mark Adams summed up what it means for the entire Olympic Movement to have Marial in the race.

"As we say over here, I'm frankly gobsmacked," he said. "For us this is an incredible story – we have had independent athletes running before but this is an incredibly humbling story because this guy is so unique."

Andrew Warshaw is a former sports editor of The European, the newspaper that broke the Bosman story in the 1990s, the most significant issue to shape professional football as we know it today. Before that, he worked for the Associated Press for 13 years in Geneva and London. He is now the chief football reporter for insidethegames and insideworldfootball. Follow him on Twitter.

There is still something special about Yelena Isinbayeva, even if the deposed Olympic pole vault champion is now the woman who fell to earth.

Having become, by her own admission, bored of competing, she took a year out in 2010 until, by her own admission, she became even more bored with living in Monte Carlo and not competing and re-fashioned her career in company with her original coach, Yevgeniy Trofimov.

As her performance – and it was a redoubtable performance – at the media conference held after the pole vault final indicated, Isinbayeva is a lively and very unpredictable character. As she herself acknowledged in what had the feel of an extemporising comedy riff.

"My plan was to win gold here and retire," she said. "Now, perhaps, I am thinking of Rio [2016]. The 2013 World Championships are in Moscow and of course I will participate there and go for gold. Actually, my plans change every day. I am like a pair of twins. Today, I wake up and say I will stop. Then the next day I say I will continue."  The statement was followed by a burst of wild laughter as she rolled her cat-like green eyes and tossed back her long dark hair. Yep, the stardust still adheres to this fallen star.

Silver medalist Yarisley Silva of Cuba, gold medalist Jennifer Suhr of the United States and bronze medalist Yelena Isinbaeva of Russia

Achieving the unprecedented feat of a third consecutive Olympic pole vault victory was enough to energise the woman who still holds the world indoor and outdoor records, and her competitive instincts meant she got very close to doing that, even though, as she revealed afterwards, her preparations for this competition had been severely hampered by a muscle tear which had prevented her competing and training properly.

Jennifer Suhr, the US gold medallist sitting alongside the Russian – and it did seem that way round – began to look a little nonplussed as Isinbayeva held centre stage. Perhaps the woman who trains with her husband/coach Rick in a wooden shack at the back of their home in Rochester, New York - where it is sometimes so cold that she has to knock the ice off her practice pole – was taking in the full weight of messages being delivered to her left. Which were basically these: You only beat me because I was injured. I will beat you when I am fit.

The more general message going out pretty much corresponded to the diva who would steal the limelight from Eric and Ernie at the end of the Morecambe and Wise Show: "Thank you for watching me and my little old show here tonight. If you've enjoyed it, it's all been worthwhile. But for now, it's goodnight – and I LOVE you all....

Yelena Isinbaeva of Russia practicing ahead of her London 2012 women's pole vault jump

Two days after securing a bronze medal which, in the circumstances – are you listening, mortal pole vaulters? – felt like gold to her, Isinbayeva appeared alongside the International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge in her role as an ambassador for the Youth Olympic Games and confirmed that she would be seeking to earn that third Olympic title in Rio four years from now.

At some point in the day she also gave a comment to Russian news sources in which she criticised the Olympic atmosphere in the capital, saying that once you went outside the Olympic Park there was nothing to show that the Games were on. "There is no feeling of jubilation here," she was reported as saying in contrasting the likely atmosphere around the Sochi Winter Games of 2014.

Perhaps this was meant more as a positive comment for Russia than a negative comment for Britain, but it aroused numerous tweets from outraged Brits – as you might expect.

US' gold medalist Jennifer Suhr, Cuba's silver medalist Yarisley Silva and Russia's bronze medalist Yelena Isinbayeva celebrate with their home flags around the Olympic Stadium

The ride out from Central to East London tonight on the top of a media bus offered a fine viewpoint to assess if Isinbayeva's comments are at least partly true. The massive rings located in the centre of the Thames near Embankment, lit at night, and the iconic rings suspended under Tower Bridge in homage to the symbol of the last London Games of 1948 are a pretty bold statement of engagement on behalf of the host city, but by the time the road signs read Dalston, Hackney and Stratford, then yes, other than Olympic flags on sections of the route, it might appear like Everyday Life As Usual on the approach to the newly created postcode of E20 2ST.

It's just East London – houses, tower blocks, warehouses, industrial units, until the bus crests a rise on the A12 and the hockey floodlights rise into view, lit, and then the whole panorama of the Olympic Park opens up.

The question really is – Yelena, where have you been in the last couple of days? The best immediate rebuttal of her position, I suppose, is to cite the crowds who turned up, of their own accord, to watch the free events such as the cycle road races and time trials, and the men's and women's triathlons. Those crowds were huge.

Fans take photos as Yelena Isinbaeva of Russia kisses her coach Evgeny Trofimov after winning bronze in the women's pole vault

In the aftermath of the men's cycle road race I met up with a very experienced photographer friend who has covered many, many Olympics. Red faced and tired after a long day in the sun around Surrey and outer London, he shook his head in wonder at what he had just witnessed in terms of home interest. "They were four or five deep – all the way round. Everywhere. I've never seen anything like it."

There is a true indicator of interest in these Games, data to set along the statistics of huge oversubscription from home would-be fans for London 2012 tickets.

As far as Isinbayeva is concerned, one is tempted to adapt Samuel Johnson's comment to his devoted friend and recorder James Boswell on the subject of the English capital: "When a woman is tired of London, she is tired of life." Then again, she will probably have changed her mind on the subject by tomorrow.

Mike Rowbottom, one of Britain's most talented sportswriters, has covered the past five Summer and four Winter Olympics for The Independent. Previously he has worked for the Daily Mail, The Times, The Observer, the Sunday Correspondent and The Guardian. He is now chief feature writer for insidethegames. 

As I write this, Edzus Treimanis must be nursing one heck of a headache.

The Latvian BMX rider was going well in today's seeding run for the men's competition when a crash sent his face slamming into the undulating concrete surface of the London 2012 track.

They wear pretty serious crash-helmets in this high-octane, yoof culture branch of the sport of cycling.

So we may still see him in tomorrow's quarter-final runs.

But he appeared to be bleeding from the nose as he made his exit to a sympathetic applause from the noisily good-natured crowd.

Of the 48 riders who made their 2012 Olympic debuts with single runs down the 450-metre track (440-metre for women) this afternoon, Treimanis was one of two – one man, one woman - who suffered crashing falls.

It was just enough to remind spectators that, however exhilarating the best practitioners make the sport seem, you need to be tough to get to the top as a BMX racer.

Latvia's Edzus Treimanis competes in the men's BMX Cycling before his horrific crash

And today, the riders were racing against the clock in solitary splendour; in the competition proper, they will be vying for position through the jumps, bumps and tightly banked corners in groups of eight.

No wonder, Sir Chris Hoy, who started out as a child BMX racer, has since excelled in the keirin, the track cycling sprint event where just about anything goes.

BMX, which made its Olympic debut only in Beijing four years ago, is more important than you might perhaps think to the Olympic Movement.

It is one of the vehicles through which the sometimes staid-seeming International Olympic Committee (IOC) has permitted its flagship event, the summer Games, to venture into the domain of extreme sports, with their proven ability to seduce youngsters away from their computer games consoles.

The significance of this role has been rewarded in London with a place in the Olympic Park, improving the prospects that time-frazzled (OK, lazy) sports generalists such as me will take a few minutes to wonder in and get a feel for what the sport can offer.

Latvia's Edzus Treimanis (left) and Nicholas Long of the US during the BMX cycling seeding phase at the BMX venue at the Olympic Park

And let me tell you, what the sport can offer is all the loud music, in-your-face commentary and adrenalin-soaked daredevilry that a rebellious adolescent can handle.

Also tattoos: one particularly well-embellished Australian rider appeared to have the image of an owl inked to his throat.

Oh, and it appears to be one of those sports where it is de rigueur for the men not to shave on race-days.

But don't let me give you the impression that the teams are not as ultra-serious as in any other Olympic sport.

A United States Cycling official explained to me that they had built a replica track in Chula Vista, California.

"Our replica track is a little harder [than the London original]," she told me.

The US riders think the London track is "easier than last summer at the test event," she added.

Shanaze Reade of Great Britain competes on London 2012's BMX track during the Women's BMX event

As for prospects for the competition proper on tomorrow and Friday (August 10), an Australian rider called Caroline Buchanan set the fastest time in the women's seeding run, with Great Britain's Shanaze Reade - whose pursuit of gold in Beijing four years ago ended with a fall – finished fifth fastest of 16.

In the men's contest, two of the three fastest runs were by Dutch riders, with Britain's Liam Phillips 12th of 32.

These achievements entitle Buchanan and the top ranked Dutchman, Raymon van der Biezen to have first pick of their lanes when the racing proper starts.

However, while an undoubted confidence boost for the riders concerned, this privilege, I am told, confers nowhere near as big an advantage as, say, starting from pole position in a Formula One Grand Prix.

The riders all seem to like the venue, although a windy day might pose extra problems, and Van der Biezen describes the track as "really tough".

Raymon Van Der Biezen of the Netherlands competes during the Men's BMX Cycling

"I didn't expect to win, but somehow I know the fast lines," he said after today's run.

The orange-uniformed rider indicated he would probably choose lane one in tomorrow's quarter-finals, giving him the inside line for the first turn.

For this quarter-final stage, the athletes will race in heats of eight, with each octet taking three runs.

Points are awarded based on finishing positions, one point for first, two for second, and so on.

The two riders with the lowest points aggregate in each heat after three runs will progress to the semi-finals, with the remaining six riding two more races to determine which two further competitors will pedal on to the next stage of the competition.

David Owen worked for 20 years for the Financial Times in the United States, Canada, France and the UK. He ended his FT career as sports editor after the 2006 World Cup and is now freelancing, including covering the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2010 World Cup. Owen's Twitter feed can be accessed here 

This time last year, London was enveloped by riots, now it is wrapped in rapture. What a difference an Olympics makes. London has been friendly and festive, fired up with Games fever and not by petrol bombs.

"The London of a year ago is not one I recognise," says Lord Coe. "I am delighted and relieved that the world is now seeing the London I do recognise."

Barring unforeseen mishaps between now and next Sunday night, Seb will have fashioned an astonishing Games, one of the most successful ever, and unquestionably the finest episode in British sporting history, lapping even England's football World Cup victory in 1966.

He has done so with professionalism and panache and the result, so far, has been beyond anyone's wildest dreams including, I imagine, his own. True, there have been some pockets of discontent, notably the distribution of tickets and the subsequent embarrassment of empty seats at several venues, the one legacy he never wanted.

But otherwise it has been gold all the way, not only for Team GB but for those behind the athletes and those in Coe's team who have masterminded such a brilliant operation. Best of all, I think, has been the response of the public, with smiling faces everywhere and a genuinely welcoming warmth among volunteers and Games makers that matched that in Sydney and even occasionally surpassed it.

Sophie Hosking and Katherine Copeland ecstatically celebrate after adding a women’s lightweight double sculls gold to Team GB's medal tally

Like the woman soldier drafted in after duty in Afghanistan who at a security checkpoint, suggested to my young grandson that before he walked through the X-ray machine he must do his exercises. "Arms stretch, knees bend," she ordered smilingly. "You've got to show me how fit you are before we let you in to watch the Olympics.

Another told my granddaughter to walk through backwards: "Go on just for a change."

A gold for good humour. And what a comparison with the Heathrow Gestapo.

Have these been the best Games ever, as International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge surely will proclaim? Certainly up there with Sydney as the best of the dozen I have attended, and amid the rainstorm of GB medals and plaudits from home and overseas, Coe has sailed through it all taking everything in his stride as elegantly as he did in his supreme running days.

On the day of the Opening Ceremony I encountered him strolling casually through the Olympic Park, ear glued to his mobile. "Good luck Seb," I said. He smiled nonchalantly: "Que Sera, Sera" as if he didn't have a care in the world.

London 2012 fans soak up the joyous atmosphere

When the curtain finally comes down, you can bet they will be dishing out as many gongs as there have been gold medals – Sir Brad, Sir Ben, Dame Jess and maybe even Baroness Victoria and quite a few fistfuls of CBE's, OBE's and MBE's. I expect Sir Keith Mills, the London 2012 deputy chair, to be elevated to the peerage and there has to be a knighthood for chief executive Paul Deighton, who has been the lynchpin of the whole operation.  The ex-Goldman Sachs man is surely one banker not held in opprobrium. He has even bucked the trend of his former trade by not taking his annual bonus, of around a quarter of a million pounds, which he donates to charity. "Hiring him was the best move I ever made."  Coe told me.

And there really must be special K for Dave Brailsford, architect of the most successful team for the past two Olympics running-or rather pedalling- and finally nailing the Tour de France for Britain. This man surely has re-invented the wheel.

As he happens to be the chairman of the Sports Honours Committee, Coe will supervise the list of those who are to receive awards and this is one occasion when he can afford to be generous. But what of his lordship himself?  What do you give the man who has everything? He is already a peer and a knight (he was made a KBE in 2006 in recognition of London winning the bid), so no doubt the powers that will be scratching their heads as to how best to reward him.  One idea is to make him a Companion of Honour alongside the likes of Sir Ian McKellen, Dame Judi Dench and the Queen herself. But there is speculation that he could go even higher and receive the Order of Merit which is limited to 24 living recipients at any one time and is regarded as the most prestigious honour of them all.

Coe has certainly come a long way since the days back in the 90's when Princess Anne called him a prat – or a word suspiciously similar. It was when Manchester were making an abortive bid for the Games and the news was relayed to HRH, an IOC member for Britain that Coe was assembling an exploratory group to prepare the bid for London, believing the capital had the only realistic chance. "What a Pratley," she murmured tetchily to those around her.

The Princess Royal and Seb Coe sit together to enjoy the London 2012 Opening Ceremony

Now of course, they are bosom pals – they were even on the dance floor together when London celebrated that winning bid in Singapore seven years' ago and Coe has probably become the nearest thing to Royalty you can get without actually donning a coronet and I am told on good authority that it was actually he who broached the idea of that Bond spoof at the Opening Ceremony to the Queen herself.

And what of his own future once the Games are done and dusted.  He assures me he won't be returning to politics, real politics that is, but sports politics are a different matter. His eye is firmly fixed on the presidency of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) which would lead to an automatic seat on the IOC where, in a decade or so, he could even become President.

He must wait three years for the IAAF opportunity when present incumbent Lamine Diack steps down and will have a fight on his hands with new IOC Executive Board member Sergey Bubka, a mighty iconic Olympian. But after the glories of London, you would expect Coe to win this one.

While waiting he could be put in charge a combined UK Sport/Sport England, a much-needed merger currently being orchestrated by Keith Mills.

Sebastian Coe shows the Queen around the London 2012 Aquatics Centre

And there will be pressure on him to become either President or chairman of the British Boxing Board of Control, not least from his good friend, the promoter Frank Warren who has mounted a campaign, backed by scoress of licence holders, to remove the present chair, Charles Giles. Coe is a great fight fan and a former steward of the Board, but whether he will relish this particular scrap is open to question. Whatever, it is unlikely he will be lining up at the Job Centre alongside the lesser mortals in the London 2012 team who will be seeking fresh employment.

The paramount post-script will be what 2012 will mean to youngsters in Britain. Inspire a Generation has been the buzz-phrase. But will they?

The lessons must be learned, particularly by the Government and its Education Minister Michael Gove, rarely seen here during the Games and who only this week gave the go-ahead to 21 out of 22 applications for the sale of school playing fields.

This is not what these Games were supposed to be all about, for as Coe himself says: "The legacy for school sport is paramount. Space has to be found to make sure that all kids, particularly in the state sector get good, high quality education and sports facilities.  This opportunity is never going to come round again. It is the vehicle of our lifetime. There is inevitably a limited window...We need things in place to capitalise on that spike in interest."

A young London 2012 tennis fan gets his face painted to support Andy Murray at Wimbledon

Vindication has been the name of these Games. Vindication of the money spent on them and of preparing the finest ever collection of British athletes. However, what remains to be seen is how long the feel-good factor will last. The Olympics have given Britain a much-needed make-over as a nation in terms of patriotism and philosophy and the hope has to be that what they have done for the country and for sport will linger long in the consciousness after the first Rooney groin strain nudges the euphoria off the back pages. For once, I might just bet on it.

Alan Hubbard is an award-winning sports columnist for The Independent on Sunday, and a former sports editor of The Observer. He has covered a total of 16 Summer and Winter Olympics, 10 Commonwealth Games, several football World Cups and world title fights from Atlanta to Zaire.

Let's be honest, the best place to be when Scottish cycling legend Sir Chris Hoy picked up his historic sixth gold medal to become, undisputedly, Britain's greatest ever Olympian was the Velodrome itself where the magical moment took place in front of a deafening home crowd.

However, a close second was the London 2012 Scotland House in Pall Mall, where Glasgow 2014 was hosting a special evening to celebrate its hosting of the Commonwealth Games in two years' time – and where I was in attendance.

As per usual with such a function, speeches came from high-profile dignitaries such as Glasgow 2014 chairman Lord Smith and the leader of Glasgow City Council, Gordon Matheson, but, unsurprisingly, everything stopped just after 6pm as the 36-year-old Scottish hero lined up in the keirin final for his date with destiny.

As the action got under way you could hear a pin drop...

At Scotland House it soon began to feel like the defending Olympic and four-times world champion wanted to make things agonising for his supporters as he hit the front with a lap to go before being overtaken by Germany's Maximilian Levy on the back straight.

There was an audible gasp from his Scotland House supporters as it appeared momentarily as though the unthinkable had happened to Sir Chris on what would be his farewell appearance at the Olympic Games.

Sir Chris Hoy (red helmet) on his way to an historic sixth Olympic gold in the keirin

However, the great man produced a superhuman effort round the final bend to snatch the victory and bring his Olympic medal haul to six golds and a silver, surpassing rower Sir Steve Redgrave's collection of five gold medals and a bronze.

As Sir Chris crossed the winning line Scotland House simply erupted with jumping, clapping and hugging that made this Englishman feel almost out of place.

Yes, Sir Chris is a Brit, the greatest ever Brit at the Olympics, but he is firstly a Scot and that means something extra special to the people of that nation.

If it was to be the end of his Olympic career, what an ending it was, and it was Lord Smith who led the tributes at Scotland House.

Supporters at Scotland House watch TV pictures of an emotional Sir Chris Hoy on the podium

"Sir Chris Hoy is unbelievable, what an absolute hero to win six gold medals," he said to cheers from everyone at the venue.

"Ultimately we talk about inspiring youth and a generation but I think this is about inspiring Scotland and the UK behind sport, and he is helping us do that.

"All we want now is for him to be on the track at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome for the Commonwealth Games and win the gold medal there in front of his home crowd."

Shona Robison, Scotland's Minister for the Commonwealth Games and Sport, who arrived at Scotland House straight from the Velodrome, was equally full of praise.

"Sir Chris Hoy is now Scotland and Britain's greatest ever Olympian and an icon to millions across the world," she beamed.

"It's absolutely incredible what he has done here tonight and throughout his career, and everyone back in Scotland is extremely proud of him.

Lord Smith (right) paid tributes to Sir Chris Hoy describing him as "an absolute hero"

"Scottish athletes have now won seven golds at these Olympics and Sir Chris Hoy's triumph crowns an extremely long list of titles and world records.

"The noise in the Velodrome was just unbelievable – no-one representing Team GB has ever won six golds before, and we have never had a sportsman like him."

But almost as emotional as the winning moment itself was seeing Sir Chris on the podium in floods of tears as he collected the sixth Olympic gold medal of his career.

There was barely a dry eye at Scotland House, too, as he wept while the Union Jack was raised, cementing his status as a true legend.

But while it was the end of an era for Sir Chris at the Olympics, there is still one more goal for him and it was fitting to hear his words as I stood with the Glasgow 2014 contingent at Scotland House.

"I'm 99.9 per cent sure I won't be competing in Rio [2016]," he affirmed.

"How can you top this?

"The 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow is another question, though, as that would be the dream ending for me."

The Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow will be opened later this year

It certainly would given that the cycling track in Glasgow has fittingly been named the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome.


With its permanent viewing capacity of 2,500 plus an additional 2,000 temporary seats for Glasgow 2014, what a moment that would be if Sir Chris could bow out with gold for Scotland at his own Commonwealth Games in his own velodrome in the city.

The velodrome will open in October this year and whispers are already beginning to suggest that the legend himself will be there to launch the facility named in his honour.

But that is a different story for a different day.

For now, it is Sir Chris' time in the Olympic spotlight and he has done Britain, and particularly Scotland, very proud.

Tom Degun is a reporter for insidethegames. To follow him on Twitter click here.

It was supposed to be the biggest day in two small nations' Olympic history.

Within an hour of each other, over one lap of the London 2012 athletics track, in front of 80,000 animated fans, two young men with large feet and unfamiliar vests would be carrying the hopes of their respective island nations on their shoulders.

I doubt that everyone in their home-towns of Ponce (Puerto Rico) and Gouyave (Grenada) owns a television-set; but it is hard to imagine that anyone in either place was not watching.

What happened next illustrates the transformative quality, but also the cruelty, of an Olympic competition.

First up was Javier Culson, a chiselled giant from Puerto Rico with a white headband, pierced left eyebrow and a tattoo of the Olympic rings on his upper arm.

Javier Culson prepares himself for the 400m hurdles

His race was the 400 metres hurdles, the event of Ed Moses, John Akii-Bua and David Hemery.

He was favourite to emulate Uganda's Akii-Bua, the 1972 winner, by becoming the first Olympic champion from his country. 

Indeed, to listen to some people, you would have thought that he could not be beaten.

Wiser heads knew better: this was, after all, a hurdle race; anything could happen.

When I asked Hemery, the 1968 champion, who he thought would win, he mentioned four names:

"Javier Culson would be my first bet," the British athletics icon told me.

"I would love to see Dai Greene get to the podium.

"Angelo Taylor is Moses's pick.

"Félix Sánchez was fastest in the heats."

If Culson was in any doubt about the power of the forthcoming 50-second contest to transform his life, it must have vanished with the ceremony that took place in the moments before his start-time.

Usain Bolt, now a dual Olympic 100 metres champion, leapt to the top step of the podium to an oceanic roar and the flash of 50,000 cameras.

Lamine Diack, one candidate for the title of the most powerful man in athletics, hung an Olympic gold medal around the neck of another.

The Jamaican anthem played.

Minutes later, following another almost bestial roar at the introduction of Greene, one of British athletics's main pin-up boys, Culson and his rivals were off.

It started well enough: at halfway, the tall Puerto Rican looked to be in control of the race.

Dominican Republic's Félix Sánchez leading the men's 400m hurdles race

But then the imponderables that can bedevil any hurdle race started to unfold: Culson hit barrier seven; he lost his rhythm; coming off the final bend, it was suddenly clear that nobody was going to catch Sánchez, the runner in lane seven, the 2004 Olympic champion.

That the winner represented the Dominican Republic, a neighbouring country and another smallish island-nation, would have consoled 3.7 million watching Puerto Ricans not one jot.

As for Culson, well, it drains you this event; like many rivals, he spent long seconds splayed on the track before finally removing his bright scarlet running shoes and trudging off.

He had won Olympic bronze, one of just a handful in Puerto Rico's sporting history, but it felt like failure.

Afterwards, he was pitilessly hard on himself.

Javier Culson of Puerto Rico, Angelo Taylor and Kerron Clement of the United States stay on the track after completing the 400m hurdles

"It was a very bad run on my behalf.

"I'm not pleased with it at all.

"I lost my rhythm towards the end of the race and I couldn't get it back.

"I send my apologies to the people back home, but at least I made it to the final."

In the dressing-room, I am reliably informed that there were tears.

His time of 48.1secs was the same as Hemery's in 1968.

Silver medalist Michael Tinsley of the United States, gold medalist Félix Sánchez of Dominican Republic and bronze medalist Javier Culson of Puerto Rico

Come the medals ceremony, the acknowledgement of his achievement had started to take the edge off his disappointment.

Richard Carrión, the Puerto Rican master of the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) burgeoning finances and a possible successor to Jacques Rogge, touched his compatriot lightly but compassionately on both cheeks.

As Culson said later, "I was happy because I did get the bronze medal".

The tears, as seen by scores of millions of television viewers, were tears of relief and of regret and of joy, and they were shed by the winner Sánchez, in memory of his beloved "abuela" (grandmother).

No sooner had the Dominican dried his eyes than the moment of truth for another island athlete arrived.

Kirani James comes from an island called Grenada, far better-known for the production of world-class nutmeg than world-class 400 metre runners.

This self-assured young man, who doesn't turn 20 until next month, has a relentless quality to his running, though.

In the closing stages of a 400 metre race, when others are tying up, he usually looks like he could carry on indefinitely without losing pace.

And this was again how it turned out: spared the inconvenience of having to clear pesky hurdles and exploiting the unprecedented dearth of top-class US opponents, James strode to the win that had seemed his destiny.

Grenada's Kirani James wins the 400m final by a clear margin

It was Grenada's first medal of any description.

Afterwards, staring intently back at his media inquisitors, the teenager appeared preternaturally calm as he fielded questions about the fishing village where he was born and his labourer father.

"There is probably a huge street-party going on now," he speculated.

"I would like to thank my sponsors – Nike, Limetel Communications and Co-op Bank."

Later that evening, a party kicked off at the National Gallery on Trafalgar Square under Horatio Nelson's one-eyed gaze to "raise our glasses in honor of all the great Puerto Rican athletes who are representing the island at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games".

Kirani James holds up Grenada flag to crowds as he celebrates winning gold in then men's 400m

The timing of the event, straight after Culson's final, was plainly significant: the organisers had hoped to toast that first Puerto Rican gold medal.

It is, though, one of sport's most appealing qualities that it refuses to obey any script.

Culson, 28, says he plans to run in Rio in four years' time.

He even smiles at the prospect.

In 2016, he will still be younger than Sánchez is now.

Perhaps Puerto Rico's first Olympic golden moment will finally be celebrated on the Copacabana.

David Owen worked for 20 years for the Financial Times in the United States, Canada, France and the UK. He ended his FT career as sports editor after the 2006 World Cup and is now freelancing, including covering the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2010 World Cup. Owen's Twitter feed can be accessed here 

Any time soon, unless they have done so already, Andy Murray and Serena Williams will pack their bags, leave London 2012 behind and plot the next stage of their individual careers in what – for most of the year at least – is very much an individual sport.

Somewhere in Williams' luggage, as she heads back to the United States, will be two more Olympic gold medals – one singles and one doubles – to go with all those other major titles she has accumulated in a career where winning at the peak of her fitness has become almost second nature.

Murray, in all likelihood, will leave his two medals – one gold and one silver – at home in the safe hands of his girlfriend before beginning his preparation for yet another assault on a maiden Grand Slam title, this time the US Open.

But have no doubt about one thing. Tennis may still be considered by many to be too elitist to be worthy of a place in the Olympics alongside the likes of synchronised swimming and beach volleyball, but neither Williams nor Murray would trade what they have just achieved for anything right now. And who can blame them?

Serena Williams poses on the podium during the medal ceremomy after winning the Olympic gold medal in the singles

For all the money tennis players earn, for all the jetting round the world, staying in first-class hotels and being treated like royalty, nothing comes close to the Olympics in terms of showcasing the accessibility of a sport that is so often all about ruthless, sometimes selfish ambition.

Nothing wrong with ambition, of course, but just as the so-called minor sports have been enjoying their two weeks in the limelight, so the Olympic tennis tournament that ended on Sunday might well inspire those captivated by what they witnessed to take up a sport they may never previously have considered. And, who knows, ending up becoming the next Williams or Murray.

Tennis may have taken the best part of three generations to return to the Olympic fold – it was first introduced at the first modern Olympics of 1896 and was contested every four years until 1924 when it was dropped before becoming a medal event again in 1988 – but there is little doubt it deserves its place once more.

Andy Murray serves against Roger Federer during the men's singles tennis gold medal match 

Don't just take my word for it. When Williams and Murray crushed Maria Sharapova and Roger Federer, respectively, in those two extraordinary, jaw-dropping performances over the weekend, they were playing not for money and not for ego, but for the sheer glory of representing their countries. Well okay, maybe for a few ranking points as well, but certainly not primarily to feather their own nests.

Murray, swept along by a tide of patriotic fervour as he blasted his way through the field, credited Mo Farah's 10,000 metres title for spurring him on to the gold. But also at the back of his mind was what it would do for the future of British tennis, for so long lagging behind the rest of the world. The four Grand Slams may attract dedicated diehard tennis fans, but the Olympics somehow has the power to bring sport – any sport – within the reach of a wider audience.

"That's one of the reasons why the Olympics is so great," said Murray who was hugged by a tearful yet bouyant 11-year-old boy in his moment of triumph.


Laura Robson (right) and Andy Murray during the mixed doubles final at London 2012

"Everyone gets into sports that maybe they haven't watched before. If we can get more kids playing tennis, we have a better chance of producing champions. If we could just get five or ten percent more people playing, we may be able to compete one day with the big countries not just in tennis but all sports."

Much has been made, and rightly so, of how the quality of Murray's Olympic triumph was a crucial springboard in terms of his growing confidence and future title prospects. Just as important, however, was witnessing first hand what it meant to the Scot himself. You can say all the right things in public about what the Olympics means when you are surrounded by team mates. But to go out and prove it is a different matter.

"I know when I lost in Beijing in the first round how much that hurt," said Murray whose partnership with Laura Robson in the mixed doubles final was played out to an equally enthralled full house as his crushing defeat of the shell-shocked Federer. "You take a mixed doubles first round of a grand slam and there may only be a very few people watching," said Murray. "Here, they were there throughout."

Andy Murray in action at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games 

Williams, the first player in history to win two Olympic singles and doubles crowns as well as all four grand slams, may not be regarded by some as the most modest of sportswomen. But she, too, showed moments of heartwarming humility, not least with that endearing impromptu rap dance in the aftermath of victory on Centre Court.

"Words can't describe how satisfied I was," said Williams, who has defied the laws of physical recovery to re-emerge at her very best after months of injury and self-doubt. "To play for a gold medal alongside the swimming greats and gymnastic greats is the biggest prize there is. I lived or died with every match involving the American team."

Serena Williams hits a return to Russia's Maria Sharapova during their final at London 2012

So for those still doubting whether tennis merits its place in the Games, take a look at again at how Murray and Williams performed to see what it meant to them. And check out how many of the top players head down to Rio in four years' time. Does an Olympic gold medal represent the pinnacle of success compared to the Grand Slams? Let's not kid ourselves. Probably not. But it is getting closer and closer every four years to being equally special.

Andrew Warshaw is a former sports editor of The European, the newspaper that broke the Bosman story in the 1990s, the most significant issue to shape professional football as we know it today. Before that, he worked for the Associated Press for 13 years in Geneva and London. He is now the chief football reporter for insidethegames and insideworldfootball. Follow him on Twitter.

It was one of those special moments when the very start of a sporting contest warranted loud applause.

At this cavernous East London exhibition centre, at 1.30pm, two athletes climbed through the ropes of the Olympic boxing ring and struck a huge blow for the cause of gender equality in sport.

The seconds stepped out. The bell was rung. And, a small matter of 108 years after women's boxing made it fleetingly onto the Games programme as a demonstration sport in Saint Louis, Missouri, the first two female athletes finally bestrode an Olympic boxing ring.

The draw had decreed that a North Korean flyweight called Hye Song Kim and Elena Savelyeva, a former kick-boxer and cross-stitching aficionado from Russia, would share the honour of battling out this ground-breaking fight.

It was a tame affair, with Savelyeva winning 12-9 and the North Korean boxer enjoying unexpectedly vociferous support from a small red-tracksuited group of her compatriots, but that was hardly the point.

Not for the first time at this Olympic Games, history had been made.

North Korea's Hye Sing Kim and Russia's Elena Savelyeva make history as first women boxers to compete at the Olympics in 108 years

The point, of course, was not lost on the watching C K Wu, President of AIBA, the International Boxing Association.

"After so many years' work, I am so touched finally that women are inside the ring at the Olympic Games," Wu told me.

"This is an historical moment.

"All the effort has now become reality.

"Yes, I'm very proud, but also very, very pleased.

"There have been so many boxing fans every day in this arena.

"It is the first time women's boxing has appeared in public openly.

"I can see many people share my pride."

The arena was perhaps 80-85 per cent full and oddly subdued for that opening encounter, but this soon changed with the appearance in the third bout of Chungneijang Mary Kom Hmangte, the Indian star who represents one of her vast country's best hopes of winning a gold medal at these Games.

Fighting on her son's fifth birthday, in a heavier weight category than those in which she had won her five world titles, Hmangte delighted the crowd by boxing with pace, skill and aggression to outclass Karolina Michalczuk, her much bigger Polish opponent.

Poland's Karolina Michalczuk the only woman to compete at an Olympic Games in a skirt instead of shorts

"This is my 12th year of fighting and I came back out of retirement and changed my weight because I had to play at the Olympic Games," Hmangte said afterwards, underlining he sense of occasion.

"This is very important."

"It is a very big day for Indian boxing," concurred Indian coach Gurbaksh Singh Sandhu as a partisan section of the crowd celebrated raucously.

Michalczuk at least had the consolation of a footnote in Olympic history as the first woman to box at the Olympic Games in a skirt.

That was loud, but it was nothing compared to the thunderous reception given the first British woman boxer to take the Olympic stage, lightweight Natasha Jonas.

Jonas's opponent, Quanitta "Queen" Underwood, is a good fighter and Jonas's passage to a quarter-final match-up with Irish gold medal hope Katie Taylor was far from assured.

But in probably the best bout of the afternoon, the Liverpudlian fought with courage and panache to outbox her muscular opponent by a score of 21-13.

America's Queen Underwood defends against Britain's Natasha Jonas

The announcement of the winner produced, well, bedlam, a taste no doubt of what is in store should any of the three British women make it to their respective finals.

"How could you not enjoy it in front of 10,000 home fans?" Jonas said later, as her achievement in becoming the first British woman to win an Olympic boxing match started to register.

"It's unbelievable to finally be here.

"It's like a dream come true.

"It's always brilliant to make history.

"I'm proud of myself, but first and foremost I came here to box."

Britain's Natasha Jonas celebrates after beating American Queen Underwood at ExCeL

The verdict on this first Olympic session of 12 eight-minute bouts has to be that it was a resounding success – and should help to defuse some of the controversy that still attaches in some circles to the idea of women trading punches.

One small personal regret is that there are no women from Cuba, the Olympic boxing nation par excellence, at London 2012.

Make no mistake though, on this showing, Olympic women's boxing is here to stay.

David Owen worked for 20 years for the Financial Times in the United States, Canada, France and the UK. He ended his FT career as sports editor after the 2006 World Cup and is now freelancing, including covering the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2010 World Cup. His Twitter feed can be accessed at here 

Danny Boyle's remarkable Opening Ceremony got the London 2012 under way in truly spectacular style and the first week of sporting action suggest that it could well turn out to be a classic Olympic Games.

But, despite that, the media rumblings about Games sponsors continue. That's in part because they have been wrongly accused of responsibility for thousands of empty seats at venues but also because allegations of the heavy-handed policing of sponsors' rights refuse to go away.

It appears that the public, already robbed of the choice of which card to pay for tickets and merchandise, is confused and uncertain about what can be worn, eaten or drunk in and around Olympic venues without incurring the wrath of the brand police whose remit is to protect the interests of the companies which have paid millions to be either domestic or global partners of the Games.

That protection is, of course, vital for all concerned as without it sponsorship has no value. A property owner who is unable to protect a sponsor's rights simply has nothing to sell and the fact is that the fees paid by commercial partners are a vital revenue stream both for the Local Organising Committee (LOC) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Corporate sponsors have been blamed for scores of empty seats at Olympic venues

However, there is a feeling around London 2012 and previous global events, including the FIFA World Cup, that things have gone too far and that the overzealous policing of rights may well harm both the events and the brands which support them.

Sponsorship works best when a partner is fully committed to the brand and values of the property in which they are making a significant investment. In the case of the Olympic Games that means buying into The Rings and all it stands for. Sponsors become part of a festival of sport and humanity, an event which is great fun and a celebration of the best things in life.

So how does that tie in with the lunacy of brand policing which determines which soft drink you can consume or who can serve chips and what logo can be seen on a T-shirt?

Sponsors of the Olympic Games have to buy into the values of The Rings

I am concerned that unless event organisers and brands begin to look beyond the contract they will experience a significant public backlash. The situation as it exists today is just a short step away from being an attack on personal liberty and surely no brand or event wants to be a part of that. Overzealous policing makes the brand concerned look paranoid and ridiculous while negatively impacting on the way the public views the event itself. Ultimately that will have a damaging effect on the value of the sponsorship rights.

I think that the problem lies with some executives within certain brands who don't fully understand what sponsorship is about and what makes it work. In the 1980s and '90s sponsorship changed radically and I am proud to have played a part in that. But back then the senior people in brands and sports governing bodies or LOCs understood that successful sponsorship was about empathy and playing a positive part in something amazing.

These people seem to have been replaced by those suffering from a sort of corporate myopia and who are driven only by a desire to enforce the details of a contract no matter what the long-term cost. For them sponsorship is about dictating and controlling rather than being an integral part of an event and an experience which generates goodwill.

Superbrand Coca-Cola is a Worldwide Olympic Partner and sponsor of London 2012

Of course the policing itself is done by the Organising Committees which, in their determination to protect their partners' interests, run the risk of shooting themselves in the foot.

It is worrying that there is an apparent lack of understanding within the industry of the nuances of sponsorship. Rights agreements don't have to be applied rigidly and not everything is black or white.

If sponsorship is to remain an effective marketing and brand-building discipline both sports governing bodies and the brands which support their events need to get back to basics and re-discover what sponsorship is really all about, and how you create value by sharing the public's passion for sport and being a positive part of their experience.

Patrick Nally is the entrepreneur and specialist consultant widely acknowledged as the founding father of modern sports marketing. He is arguably the principal pioneer of today's sports business industry.

I spent this morning at the Home of Archery.

You could smell the history: from the spirit of that great bearded bowman, W G Grace; to the figure of Old Father Tell, the world-famous weather vane on the roof of the stand; to the Long Bow Room with its distinctive flamingo pink cushions; to the spectators in the coveted white members' seats, most sporting the traditional T-shirt and shorts – there was just no mistaking that we were in archery's holy of holies.

And just in case you still weren't sure, there were the historic black, blue, red and yellow windsocks billowing loud and proud on the square.

I jest, of course.

For the purposes of London 2012, the world's best-known cricket ground has been borrowed from the sport that brought us "bouncers" and "silly mid-offs" and colonised by the Olympic archery competition.

It makes for an interesting juxtaposition.

Spectators enjoy the Olympic archery at Lord's Cricket Ground

The archers, two at a time, shoot away from the elegant pavilion towards the Nursery End.

Some elements of the competition do not look out of place: white lines on the grass – the "shooting line" and the "waiting line" – might almost pass for a popping crease.

And most of the archers wear floppy white hats not dissimilar to those first popularised, I think, by Greg Chappell, the great Australian batsman.

But other details must have the ghosts of former MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club) President Sir Pelham Warner, whose portrait still adorns the pavilion staircase, and his ilk wailing.

A big screen urging spectators to "Make Some Noise" would not, one suspects, have been high on his wish list when he presided over the glorious game, which, sadly, is no longer an Olympic sport.

Japan's Ren Hayakawa competes in the London 2012 team archery at Lord's Cricket Ground

Nor, I think, would he have tapped so much as a little toe when the strains of Katy Perry's Firework came screeching out of the loudspeaker system.

Admittedly, the master of ceremonies had the wit to include Maroon 5's Moves Like Jagger, a tribute to the Stones front man and celebrity cricket fan, on the soundtrack, as well as Moving On Up by MCC People. (OK, sorry for that last one.)

Oh and the camera boxes, camouflaged with artificial turf and, with their long rectangular apertures, bearing a passing resemblance to sub-machine-gun nests, might have given Warner pause for thought.

This must also, I imagine, be the first time in recorded history that the flags of Estonia, Cuba and North Korea (yes, I checked) have fluttered over St John's Wood's premier sporting venue.

As for the sport, well, with my inexpert eye, I can attest that the targets are an awfully long way away – three cricket-pitch lengths or so – and that the athletes, nevertheless, sink their arrows into the bullseye with impressive regularity.

General view of the Olympic archery at Lord's Cricket Ground

Based on my morning's viewing, I would suggest that South Korea is an archery superpower – an enthusiastically supported one at that – and that Mexico's bow women are also exceptionally talented.

The spectators, mainly in temporary stands at right angles to the pavilion, were close to the action and gave every appearance of enjoying themselves.

I am not sure, on balance, though that this experiment has worked, other than as a fertile source of material for snarky feature-writers like me.

Most glaringly, the venue's wonderful press centre has been rendered almost redundant, except as yet another billboard for the Olympic rings: it is simply in the wrong place for this Olympic archery set-up.

Plus, the association with cricket is so strong, that any other presence inevitably feels like an interloper.

Ki Bo Bae of South Korea competes in the London 2012 women's individual archery match at Lord's Cricket Ground

Incidentally, for all the marketing know-how that has been poured into the Games, is there a single London 2012 souvenir as quirky as the Sir Donald Bradman Candle Extinguisher (price £155 [$241/€197]) I saw showcased in the pavilion basement?

I am not sure local tradespeople will have appreciated the interlude from Middlesex and England cricket matches either.

The operative in one local coffee shop told me that a typical daily take on coffee during the cricket season was £1,000 ($1,553/€1,267), but that this had now dropped to around £300 ($466/€381).

"My boss is having a thrombo over it."

David Owen worked for 20 years for the Financial Times in the United States, Canada, France and the UK. He ended his FT career as sports editor after the 2006 World Cup and is now freelancing, including covering the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2010 World Cup. Owen's Twitter feed can be accessed here 

In the wake of the bans imposed on eight Asian women's doubles badminton players – four from South Korea, two from China and two from Indonesia - who tried to manipulate their draw by losing round robin matches at the London 2012 Olympics, the Chinese news agency, Xinhua, asked: "Is it more important for us to ensure a gold-winning opportunity, or to protect China's image and to spread the Olympic spirit?"

A very good question.

The Badminton World Federation, which imposed the bans after concluding disciplinary cases against the players for violations against its code of conduct in the matter of "not using one's best efforts to win" and "conducting oneself in a manner that is clearly abusive or detrimental to the sport", clearly inclines towards the latter option.

The first errant match occurred between China's Yu Yang and Wang Xiaoli and South Korea's Jung Kyung-eun and Kim Ha-na, and it saw the Chinese pair booed off the court after a 21-14, 21-11 defeat which meant they avoided playing their compatriots Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei in their next match.

No rally in this match went beyond four shots.

"The Chinese started this," said South Korean coach Sung Han-kook. "They did not want to meet each other in the semi-final."

Crowds booed Wang Xiaoli and Yang Yu of China and Ha Na Kim and Kyung Eun Jung of South Korea for lack for effort

A subsequent game between South Korea and Indonesia, again won by the South Koreans, provoked similar activity – or lack of it - with the referee briefly disqualifying the players for lack of effort before relenting on his decision.

Once again the South Koreans, whether they wanted to or not, came away with a win.

The Chinese may have provided the most cogent answer to the question in announcing that they will not contest the decision; but both South Korea and Indonesia appealed unsuccessfully against it.

The question at the heart of this matter was re-stated here in the women's football competition, where it transpired that the Japanese side had been told by their coach, Norio Sasaki, not to win last night's match in Cardiff against South Africa – which finished goalless – because to do so would mean having to travel to Scotland for their quarter-final.

The result means the Japanese will now be able to remain in the Welsh capital.

Japan's Kyoko Yano during their goalless draw against South Africa

But while the international badminton authority has come down hard on their players, the world football authority, FIFA, has said it will not be disciplining the Japanese team.

It may not surprise you to hear that we have been here before in world sport.

A similar turn of events, for instance, took place at the 2009 Asia Pacific Bowls Championships in Kuala Lumpur, where a New Zealand four skipped by Gary Lawson – who had earned himself the title of "the bad boy of New Zealand bowls" – were accused of throwing their last group game, against Thailand, in order to avoid meeting arch-rivals Australia in the next round.

In the wake of their defeat, Canada missed out on progressing – and duly asked Bowls New Zealand to investigate.

The New Zealand four had raised suspicions of misconduct in January of the previous year when, again skipped by Lawson, they were found to have deliberately dropped shots against Ireland, for which they received a reprimand.

A year on, the New Zealand authorities acted more decisively, fining the skip $NZ5000 (£2,600/$4,000/€3,300) and banning him for six months, and also fining the other team members $NZ1000 (£520/$800/€700) each.

After legal action the fines were rescinded, but the ban on Lawson – who accepted that the team's actions had been "contrary to the rules" – remained.

A similar incident took place in football at the 1982 World Cup finals, although on this occasion both teams – West Germany and Austria – benefited from apparent collusion in their final Group B qualifying match.

West Germany went on to play Italy in the final of the FIFA World Cup Finals 1982 where they lost 3-1

Because it was the last match in the group, each team knew exactly what was required to progress. A 1-0 win for the Germans, for instance, would suit both perfectly.

So when Horst Hrubesch put West Germany ahead after 10 minutes and the match then degenerated into a spectacle so feeble that the crowd were roused to boos and whistles – with one German fan setting fire to his national flag in protest – it seemed just a tad suspicious.

During the game, one German television commentator simply ceased commentating and allowed the "action" to progress in silence. Meanwhile one Austrian television commentator was suggesting to viewers that they might like to turn off, or turn over. Algeria, the team who missed out on qualification in the same group, protested to FIFA, but to no avail.

The Xinhua agency went on to point out that the players involved in the badminton controversy "did not break any rules", though they accepted that their behaviour had damaged "sportsmanship and ethics."

Part of this problem is the relatively simple one of how competitions are structured, and to this extent the responsibility for such outbreaks of distressing pragmatism lies with the organisers of the event.

In the badminton, it seems, the players were simply taking advantage of a newly introduced round-robin stage which offered scope for manoeuvring.

Here, it seems obvious, those responsible for determining the structure of the Olympic event need to change the format in the same way that FIFA acted in the wake of the 1982 World Cup finals to ensure that the last round of qualifying matches took place simultaneously henceforth.

Japanese fans show support during their draw against South Africa at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff

It would be nice to think that such safeguards were unnecessary and that all those competing in the Olympics were automatically imbued with the spirit of fair play and sportsmanship in which their founding father, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, conceived them.

But history tells us this isn't what happens.

On this occasion the Badminton World Federation should be applauded for the principle of their action. FIFA's decision, by the same token, should be deplored – after all, were not the spectators at the Japan v South Africa cheated just as those watching the contentious badminton matches?

The viewing public have spent much money and many pains to get hold of London Olympics tickets, and they should expect a full and genuine return for every penny of their investment.

Mike Rowbottom, one of Britain's most talented sportswriters, has covered the past five Summer and four Winter Olympics for The Independent. Previously he has worked for the Daily Mail, The Times, The Observer, the Sunday Correspondent and The Guardian. He is now chief feature writer for insidethegames.

Thirteen years ago, during a trip to California, I watched the United States beat China in a nail-biting penalty shootout at the famous Rose Bowl to clinch the women's World Cup amid intoxicating euphoria.

It was an awesome spectacle in front of a staggering 90,000-plus crowd – made even more so by Brandi Chastain becoming an overnight celebrity by ripping off her shirt at the finish and swinging it in the air, pictures of which were immediately flashed around the world.

A moment of insanity, she called it, saying she had simply lost her mind.

No-one among the Team GB women's team went to quite such impulsive lengths at Wembley last night but the atmosphere in their showpiece fixture against Brazil, despite being on the other side of the Atlantic and played in far cooler conditions, somehow reminded me of that landmark afternoon in Pasadena.

Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine, when I saw the Americans lift the World Cup almost a generation ago, that British women's football - for so long watched by the proverbial two men (or rather two women) and a dog - would capture the same imagination quite so wildly.

Brazil's top player Marta battles with Team GB's Alex Scott

But that's exactly what Hope Powell's team has done, last night's sensational 1-0 win over Brazil marking the pinnacle of years of improvement and sending Team GB into an eminently winnable quarter-final against Canada with maximum points after three straight wins.

And they thoroughly deserved it in front of a record crowd of 70,584 for a women's game in the UK that every one of the players will remember for the rest of their lives.

Team GB, remember, had never before fielded an Olympic team. Brazil, playing the same kind of samba football as their men – one-touch, fluid, easy on the eye - went into the tournament as gold medal favourites and, in Marta, had the best player in the world.

Both sides had already qualified for the last eight but do not let that take anything away from Team GB. They took the lead after a mere 90 seconds through Steph Houghton – who has now scored in every game – and never looked back.

Stephanie Houghton skips over Brazil's Andreia to score the opening goal

They could even afford to miss a second half penalty and although they were under the cosh at times – Alex Scott heading against her own post - they had the best chance from open play of the second half when Kelly Smith planted a free header straight at the Brazilian keeper.

In the end Houghton's effort from an acute angle after great work from Karen Carney was enough to top the group. The celebrations at the final whistle said everything about how they showcased their sport like never before in front of a crowd that was only 6,000 short of the Olympic record set in 1996.

Women's football may have struggled for recognition in the UK, and probably still will when the new Premier League season begins. But the sport has advanced a long way with a Women's Super League launched last year and 1.38 million players participating at various levels.

Team GB celebrate after their 1-0 win over favourites Brazil

London 2012 has provided a platform for Powell's team to step into the limelight. They have grown in stature with each outing and suddenly, remarkably, a medal is now a realistic possibility.

When Dame Kelly Holmes gave a speech to the team on their first day in the Athletes' Village, she told them: "You are not just footballers, you are now Olympians." How they have embraced that sentiment.

Andrew Warshaw is a former sports editor of The European, the newspaper that broke the Bosman story in the 1990s, the most significant issue to shape professional football as we know it today. Before that, he worked for the Associated Press for 13 years in Geneva and London. He is now the chief football reporter for insidethegames and insideworldfootball. Follow him on Twitter. 

"Are we going to go on about my family the whole time?"

With this sharp riposte to an opening question by Martyn Ziegler, the intrepid PA correspondent, Zara Phillips ensured that the media conference, which followed the conclusion of the three-day event in Greenwich, was not dominated by the British Royals.

You could see her point: the families of her teammates were present in the Park too; and it must be galling the way some photographers appeared to have eyes only for Will, Harry and Kate in the stands, and not the drama unfolding in the arena.

But there is no getting away from the fact that the British royal family was a legitimate part of the London 2012 eventing story.

Not only did Phillips herself compete, finishing eighth after a brilliant cross-country phase yesterday, but she and her teammates received their silver medals from her mother, Princess Anne, a current International Olympic Committee (IOC) member and former Olympic athlete.

Prince William, the Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry show their support to Team GB at today's equestrian

More than that, her hopes of an individual medal, and the team's aspirations of winning gold, took a hit when her mount High Kingdom dislodged a pole forming part of a fence – Post Boxes and Penny Black – that bore an image of her great-great-great-great grandmother (Queen Victoria, depicted on the famous stamp).

Horses and royalty go together like, well, Germany and sporting dominance over England/Great Britain.

If one needed further evidence, there was Princess Haya, President of the International Equestrian Federation (FEI), presenting the flowers to the medallists, to the strains, yes, of Chariots of Fire, omnipresent at London 2012, but more appropriate, if you stop to think about it, for equestrian events than other
Olympic sports.

Team GB celebrate their silver medals in team eventing

Such was the back-music, but the day's sport that ended with Germany winning its first two gold medals of the Games, along with Sandra Auffarth's individual bronze, was in every way worthy of this grand stage.

It says something about the keenness of the competition that the destiny of the individual gold medal in an event that lasts as long as an English county cricket match was not decided until the very last fence of the very last round.

Until Sweden's Sara Algotsson Ostholt turned to address this fence on Wega, her spring-heeled grey mare, the individual gold had been heading in her direction.

Sweden's Sara Algotsson Ostholt narrowly missed out on winning gold with a mistake at the last fence

But something was wrong; Wega had flown too fast through the preceding Stonehenge triple and now Algotsson Ostholt was fighting furiously for control.

A final effort, a high-pitched shout from the rider, and disaster struck.

The first red white and blue pole of the fence, entitled London montage and featuring four evocative old-fashioned Narnia-style street-lamps, wobbled ominously in its cups and agonisingly toppled to the ground.

This handed the gold to Germany's Michael Jung on his 30th birthday, riding a horse whose name was simplicity itself: Sam.

(In an event many of whose equine competitors were lumbered with names such as "Apollo WD Wendi Kurt" and "Tom Bombadill Too", it is hard not to feel that other riders might think about following Jung's – and Algotsson Ostholt's – example: simple names please.)

Michael Jung celebrates after becoming the first person to hold world, European and Olympic individual eventing titles

With British riders lying third and fourth going into the event's second and final show jumping phase, there was still plenty to interest the partisan home supporters, whether members of the Royal Family or not.

Alas, both Tina Cook – now a triple Olympic medallist - and Mary King had the very first fence down, all but ending their chances.

They finished just ahead of Phillips in fifth and sixth places.

There was no Greenwich fairy tale either for Kiwi veteran Mark Todd, striving to win his third individual Olympic eventing gold medal 28 years after his first.

His first show-jumping round on his young horse Campino did not go well and he dropped back to finish 12th, although, like his teammates, he had the very considerable consolation of the team bronze – not bad for a man who is six months older than Seb Coe, the London 2012 chairman.

The German flavour of the medal proceedings was accentuated when IOC member Thomas Bach, a man seen as a possible successor to IOC President Jacques Rogge, presented the individual medals.

Who knows? Perhaps there will be another German victory next year in Buenos Aires, when Rogge's successor is set to be elected.

David Owen worked for 20 years for the Financial Times in the United States, Canada, France and the UK. He ended his FT career as sports editor after the 2006 World Cup and is now freelancing, including covering the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2010 World Cup. Owen's Twitter feed can be accessed by clicking here.

Daley Thompson was only six-years-old when Mary Rand became the original Golden Girl of the Olympics, but it is good to see that he believes her as one of Britain's greatest–ever Olympians.

Indeed, in his personal rankings list he puts her in second place only behind his big mate Sebastian Coe – and mischievously seven places ahead of  the man with whom he has had a right old ego-clashing ding-dong over the respective merits of their own Olympic achievements, Sir Steve Redgrave.

I am delighted that Rand is rated so highly by someone who knows exactly what sacrifice and dedication it takes to be an world class all-round athlete because hers was the first gold medal story I wrote when I made my own Olympic reporting debut in Tokyo in 1964.

So it was great to catch up again with the happily not forgotten superstar for whom the phrase Golden Girl was invented.

The first British woman to win a track and field gold medal, breaking the world long jump record in the process, she also took silver in the pentathlon, the five-event forerunner of today's seven-event heptathlon, and bronze in the 4x100 metres relay.

Now an elegant and lively 72-year-old, the one-time blonde bombshell of British sport is currently back from her home in California for the Games and to visit relatives. And she says she can't wait to cheer on the girl who has already been labelled 2012's Golden Girl, Jessica Ennis.

But she warns that fate should not be tempted by prematurely hanging the phrase, like the medal itself, around the neck of the Sheffield star.

She worries that so much pressure is on her to win the Olympic title this weekend.

"Golden Girl" Mary Rand en route to long jump gold at Tokyo 1964

"I love Jess, she's wonderful," Rand tells me. "But will she win gold? Let's just say I am as confident as I can be that she will do Britain proud. I'll be cheering for her and she will have the crowd behind her.

"But you have to appreciate that every single athlete out there is the best in their country and anything can go wrong when you have all those events. Look what happened to me in Rome."

At those 1960 Olympics, as 20-year-old Mary Bignal from a council house in Wells, Somerset, she was favourite to win the long jump and led the qualifying with a personal best of 6.33m (20ft 9¼in), a distance that would have won her the silver in the final. But she then struggled with nerves, botched her run-ups and crashed out of the competition, running through the pit on her first two jumps and managing only 6.01m (19ft 8¾in) with her third attempt to finish ninth.

Rand admits that there were also quite a few romantic distractions. "We were young, we were single, we were in Rome,'' she recalls with a smile,  a smile the world came to love, not least four years later when she won the gold in Tokyo, shattering the long jump world record with her fifth leap of 6.76m (22ft 2¼ in). "It was my day of days," she declares.

By 1964 she was no longer single. She had met the first of her three husbands, the British Olympic oarsman Sidney Rand, in 1961, agreed to marry him after three days and did so five weeks later. By the Tokyo Games, she was a mother as well as a wife, but still very much a 5ft 8in blonde sex-bomb with stunning good looks.

Heptathlete Jessica Ennis is poised to join Rand as an Olympic "Golden Girl"

"Marilyn Monroe on spikes," is how the former national athletics coach, Tom McNab, described her.

After the Games pin-up girl was named BBC Sports Personality of the Year, wore a mini-skirt to collect her MBE from the Queen and Mick Jagger nominated her as his dream date in a pop magazine. Asked at the time if, had she not been married, she would have taken up the Rolling Stone frontman's offer she giggled: "Well, he has got those great big lips."

A newsman's delight, she was always ready with a quip and a quote. After beating a Spanish girl in a photo finish, she gasped: "Just as well my nipples were bigger than hers."

In the run-up to the 1968 Olympics in Mexico she was injured and did not make the team. It was the end of her Olympic dream but she was approached by a model agency and was considering a fashion career when her five-year marriage broke up. Shortly afterwards she fell for American Olympic decathlon champion Bill Toomey and moved to the United States, remarrying another American, John Reese, in 1969. She now lives with him in him in Atascadero, California.

Last weekend she received the Freedom of Wells, her Somerset birthplace. "We re-enacted the parade when I came back from Tokyo with the gold medal, it was fantastic," she says. Crowds welcomed her back in their own Somerset style with a banner reading "We be turrible proud of 'ee".

"This has been a very poignant visit for me," Rand comments. "During the parade they had the original Olympic music playing and I was thinking, 'Oh my god, this is so moving.' My brother is 82 and when I left he said, 'I'll probably never see you again.' It was very emotional."

Her old school, Millfield, where she won a scholarship but was later expelled after going off to Paris with her then Thai boyfriend, a fellow pupil, gave her a lifetime achievement award.

For the Games she is staying in Hertfordshire with Jean Pickering, widow of her former coach, Ron, the BBC commentator. Four of Rand's nine grandchildren are in this country and she has one great-granddaughter.

Mary Rand, now 72, proudly shows off her Olympic gold medal

She has stayed in touch with Jean since Ron's death in 1991. "She's just a fantastic person," smiles Rand. "She does so much for charity and young athletes, and doesn't get the recognition she deserves.

"I had a great rapport with Ron. He died far too young because he had so much left to offer and I find it such a shame now that all these young athletes don't know who is was and what he did for the sport.

"Yet so many kids have benefitted from his memorial fund. I think it's about time they all got together and celebrated what a great guy he was. Ron was so anti-drugs and, as it turned out, he was right."

Rand was always super-fit but all the punishment her body took training and competing eventually took its toll and she has had both hips and her right knee replaced. "I've also had my shoulder done," she adds. "You name it I've had it. I 'm okay, but I have to be a bit careful. I do creak rather a lot. Now I'm like any other 72-year-old."

Comparing her days to the present, Rand offers: "The big difference between 1964 and now is that we were all genuine amateurs. We were really struggling athletes. No-one got rich through sport then. When I won gold I was a working mum. I had a job in the post-room with Guinness and they were very kind because they allowed me time off for international meetings, and at least I got a three-course lunch every day, with a free half a pint of Guinness.

"Today, they have such superb medical back-up. I see them having personal masseurs and I think, 'That would have been great.' We dealt with aching limbs ourselves. If one of us needed a backrub, one of the other athletes would do it.

"I wish we could get back pay for all the time and effort we put in, but I am not envious, that's the way the world goes. I think there was more camaraderie then and we certainly had more fun."

Her room-mate in Tokyo, Ann Packer – who, incidentally, Thompson puts sixth on his all-time list – later won gold in the 800m. She says: ''Mary was the most gifted athlete I ever saw. She was as good as athletes get, there has never been anything like her since. And I don't believe there ever will be.''

Unless Ennis comes good in London. "I'm keeping my fingers crossed for her," says Rand. Gold fingers, naturally.

Alan Hubbard is an award-winning sports columnist for The Independent on Sunday, and a former sports editor of The Observer. He has covered 16 Summer and Winter Olympics, 10 Commonwealth Games, several football World Cups and world title fights from Atlanta to Zaire.