As far as culture shocks go, I feel like I’ve been hit by about 250,000 volts!

India is by far the most unique country I have ever been to, but I’m not sure if that’s a good thing.

As soon as I arrived at Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport via London Heathrow, one thought immediately struck me: "How the Hell did anyone ever think this place was meant to host the Commonwealth Games?"

With huge piles of rubbish apparent at every turn, stray dogs, rats and snakes as common as people and busy traffic jams stretching as far as the eye can see, it doesn’t seem to me to be an obvious location for a major multi-sport event to take place.

Although I am half-Indian, I had never been to the country before and my biggest reference for place was the film Slumdog Millionaire.

In that respect, I was not disappointed because Delhi is a crowded, bustling place complete with the dusty, dirty streets depicted in the Danny Boyle film.

Driving around on the packed, potholed roads with cars beeping incessantly feels about as safe as shaving your wrist although I must admit, a ride on the famous tuk-tuk (a cheap three wheeler motor cart that is a cross between a motor bike and a tiny van) represented the most fun I have had in a while.

It was a bit like being on a ride at Thorpe Park only with the very real danger that you may be hit and fatally injured by the cars flashing by just inches away from you.

Another fear-inducing factor in India is the pigeons.

Yes, pigeons.

They are not the same as the timid birds I am used to in England but fearless creatures that walk into you from time to time as if spoiling for a fight.

And due to the enormous size of them, I wouldn’t fancy my chances.

The one thing that had been mooted as troublesome ahead of Delhi 2010 was security, but it appears quite safe to me due to the fact that you can not walk more than ten metres without seeing an armed security guard.

The backdrop to the city is a dark shade of brown which seems to be the colour of many of the worn old buildings, but perhaps the most striking think is the immense poverty apparent almost everywhere.

There are beggars and homeless people lining the back streets or simply washing in polluted streams on the side of the road.

But, bizarrely, they appear rather content and the children are often smiling and joking with each other in what appears to me to be the bleakest of situations.

Closer to the venues for the Commonwealth Games, there is very much a sense that a lot of work has been attempted in a very short space of time and it is a sad sight to see more young children carrying huge piles of bricks or rubble when you are fully aware that they are paid next to nothing for their hard labour.

The Athletes’ Village has been the main talking point at these Games and, at a distance, it doesn’t look all that bad.

However, as you get closer, you begin to see the problem.

Like most of Delhi, it is the sheer heat and dusty terrain that seems to have assisted in leaving dirty marks on the venue.

They are still being cleaned right now despite many of the athletes having moved in to some of the nicer apartments.

It was actually the organising committee secretary-general Lalit Bhanot who made the infamous comment a few weeks ago regarding the appallingly dirty conditions in the village when he said: "Everyone has different standards about cleanliness. The Westerners have different standards, we have different standards."

The comment came as prominent Commonwealth nations such as New Zealand and Scotland were contemplating boycotting the event and Bhanot was heavily criticised for saying what he did.

However, now I’m here, I kind of agree with him. This place is about as far away from modern living standards in the UK, USA or any other Westernised country as possible.

It cannot be disputed that the state of the Athletes’ Village was unacceptable but if the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) were looking for a spotlessly clean Games, they should never have taken it to Delhi.

Another key characteristic of Delhi is the smell of the place, which is a permanent reminder of the spicy cuisine they serve.

I am a big curry fan but seven in the last two days is bordering on the ridiculous.

This coupled with the fact that I am not a huge fan of spicy curries means Delhi’s staple foods and me are a bad mix.

It appears that you cannot make a meal in India’s capital without putting an outrageously spicy ingredient in it which, maybe in winter, wouldn’t be too bad.

But a hot curry followed by the 35 degree heat outside is an unpleasant combination.

However, the spicy food, the lack of cleanliness, the crazy driving and the heat can all be forgiven and in all honesty, aren’t all that awful once you start getting use to them

It is simply a culture shock to a Westerner like me and once I took a step back, I had to admit that I was quite fascinated by this new world.

The thing one thing that can’t be forgiven though is Delhi’s obvious lack of readiness for a Commonwealth Games.

A major footbridge collapsing outside the main stadium just days ahead of the Opening Ceremony tells its own story and although the staff and the volunteers working at the Games are genuinely lovely and very friendly people who are unusually polite in their willingness to help, they don’t actually appear to have been assigned proper roles.

In fairness, they cannot be blamed for this as many of the venues are woefully behind where they should be.

I feel the London 2012 Organising Committee, who still have just under two years to deliver the Olympics and Paralympics, are probably ahead of Delhi at this stage!

The Main Press Centre, where I have spent the majority of my time, is a prime example.

There is no wireless internet access, accreditations are well behind schedule and the head of press operations, Manish Kumar, was removed from his post just days ago leaving the organisation of the place in chaos.

Delhi has something so unique to offer that it had the potential to be one of the great multi-sport events of all time.

It is such a strange city with such wonderful culture that it still might pull it out of the fire at the last minute and I am a big advocate for judging the Games after rather than before they have taken place.

But it seems that the Organising Committee, led by Suresh Kalmadi, has shot Delhi in the foot.

Superficially it may look good but on the ground, things appear like they will be awfully difficult.

This event was meant to be a platform for India to showcase itself as an emerging world power and a potential platform for an Olympic bid in 2020.

They can probably kiss that notion goodbye now, though I do believe they could host an amazing Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) could do a far more stringent job than the much smaller CGF in monitoring the progress of construction and would be able to ensure that a Games is delivered on time, on budget and with a lasting legacy.

CGF chief executive Mike Hooper tried to ensure this with his limited resources and has come under heavy fire in the media for his criticism of the organisers.

But while outspoken, he is not out of line and has said nothing regarding the stuttering progress Delhi has made that can be deemed an outright lie.

I feel the IOC would have ensured that Kalmadi left his post a long time ago and if the Organising Committee in Delhi think Hooper is bad, they wouldn’t know what hit them if an IOC Evaluation Commission turned up to inspect the venues.

Unfortunately, regardless of what happens over the next three weeks, the Delhi Games has not been delivered on time, on budget and will not leave a lasting legacy, which is a huge shame for the poor Delhiites who deserve more.

They, and India, have simply been let down by a small but significant minority.

The city has something amazing to offer the world but I don’t think it will be at these Games because hosting a major sporting event in this city required a lot more work than has been put in.

Anyway, I’ll wait and see what happens and judge afterwards.

It may well be a truly great Games that defies the predictions of even its most vociferous critics.

But such comments come from my half-Indian heart rather than my head.

Tom Degun is a reporter for insidethegames and will be covering the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi

It was just an underplot amidst the tonnage of positive news and themes emerging from the weekend's buoyant United States Olympic Committee (USOC) Assembly in Colorado Springs, but the topic of a possible Denver 2022 Olympic Winter Games bid by the United States came up in media scrums more than once.

To be sure, USOC chief executive Scott Blackmun was clear that a future bid for an American Games by the USOC was secondary to the critical issues of its relationship with the International Olympic Committee and issues related to revenue sharing.

Blackmun was candid that the USOC would also look at the possibility of bidding for other important international events that made sense, in order to establish itself as an international friend and supporter, such as the Youth Olympic Games.

In attendance at the Assembly were representatives of the Reno-Tahoe area, which continues to shadow the USOC with its interest in a future Olympic Winter Games, and there are whispers that Salt Lake City has interest in another host role, which would be three decades after its magnificent 2002 triumph.

It’s no secret that the Metro Denver Sports Commission has made landing the Games a mission, and President KieAnn Brownell and her team were on hand at the Assembly. The Denver group has been aggressive in seeking international events to bolster a platform for an Olympic bid, securing the 2009 Sport Accord and working to land the 2018 or 2022 FIFA World Cup. The city will also host the 2012 NCAA Basketball Women’s Final Four.

"We are interested in looking at all types of events that we can bring to Denver for economic impact," Brownell told John Meyer of the Denver Post on Saturday, "At some point, if the USOC says we're going to get back in the [Olympic] bid game, we would be interested in sitting down and talking to them and seeing what that looks like."

That said, dreaming that I would happily be watching a 2022 Denver Olympic Winter Games on NBC Sports at my home in Kennebunkport, on Maine’s Down East shores, here’s my own, speculative, afternoon nap vision of a Denver Games 12 years on down the road of life:

Opening Ceremony - In front of 58,000 at Denver Olympic Stadium and a beautiful light snowfall, Coors Field as we know it, the home of the Rockies, but under IOC regulations, re-named because of sponsor sensitivity. The massive Invesco Field at Mile High was not available because the Denver Broncos and the NFL could not commit to the time and work to retrofit the stadium during the season and with the potential of the league’s playoff dates.

Main Press/Broadcast Center - The Colorado Convention Center in downtown Denver. 584,000 square feet of space for news agencies, a 5,000-seat theatre and 63 meeting rooms for IOC briefings and assorted USOC and National Olympic Committee media events and announcements. Numerous restaurants and amenities for the accredited media and the hub of the media transportation system for the venues.

Media accommodation for the more than 9,000 accredited news media and broadcast partner personnel at more than 75 Denver-area hotels selected by the IOC and the Denver Olympic Organising Committee with a varied rate schedule related to location and services.

Main Athlete Villages - Accommodation for the 3,000 athletes and 1,000 delegation support personnel at Denver University, Metro State and CU-Denver student housing for Denver events, modeled on the Los Angeles 1984 campus housing system at USC and UCLA. The students of the three institutions get a Games-long holiday.

Figure Skating - The 18,000-seat Denver Ice Center, also known as the Pepsi Center, but possibly re-named during the Games to support longtime Olympic sponsor Coca-Cola.

Men’s and Women’s ice hockey - At the Magness Arena at Denver University, capacity 8,000 for the sport, which now features non-NHL and collegiate players from competing nations after the NHL withdrew from the Games under pressure by team owners after the 2010 Vancouver Games.

Alpine Skiing - Beaver Creek, 120 miles from Denver and home of previous World Cup and other major international ski events. Athlete housing in designated hotels/motels. Ski jumping at brand-new venue with seats for 12,000 below the jump and for more than 25,000 at the Downhill and other Alpine events.

Nordic Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Biathlon - Winter Park, 67 miles from Denver with a specially-constructed Nordic stadium for the events seating 15,000 at the finish line. Seats are temporary and removed after the Games.

Bobsled, Skeleton, Luge, Snowboard/Freestyle skiing - At the new Colorado Olympic Park, 20 minutes west of Denver, in Genesee Park, Denver’s largest mountain park. Housing for athletes at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden. Refrigerated run for sliding sports with temporary seating and for the other venue events which will be removed after the Games. Funding from the state’s special Olympic lottery.

Curling - At the 1stBank Center in nearby Broomfield, called the Olympic Curling Center for the Games, just up the pike from Denver.

Speed Skating - At the new, 8,000-seat Denver Olympic Oval, near the Denver University campus and the home of the DU Pioneers WCHA ice hockey team, with Magness Arena now devoted to the school’s men’s and women’s basketball gymnastics and other sports only.

Short Track Speed Skating - At the Colorado Springs World Arena, just 60 miles south of Denver, with 7,500 seats and athlete housing at the U.S. Olympic Training Center and University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.

Medals Plaza - At the Denver Civic Center near the Capitol, where almost 10,000 can enjoy the official medals presentations to the athletes each evening after sundown, with the lights and sights of the city, music, nightly fireworks and pageantry. The athletes arrive in horse-drawn, vintage carriages.

This and that- The Official IOC headquarters hotel is the historic Brown Palace.

There is almost nobody alive (or coherent) who can recall that Denver was awarded the 1976 Olympic Winter Games but gave them back to the IOC, which turned to Innsbruck. It's not an issue now as this superb city hosts the Games.

Former USOC chief executive Scott Blackmun is the chairman of the 2022 Denver Olympic Organising Committee after retiring from the USOC in 2015 and helping to return the organisation to prominence and credibility. William J. Hybl of Colorado Springs and USOC President Emeritus, is the Governor of Colorado, and joins the Mayor of Denver, Tim Tebow, Blackmun and the President of the United States as she declares the Games officially open at the Opening Ceremony.

Citius, Altius, Fortius!

Mike Moran was the chief communications officer of the USOC for nearly 25 years before retiring in 2003. In 2002 he was awarded with the USOC's highest award, the General Douglas MacArthur Award. He worked on New York's unsuccessful bid to host the 2012 Olympics and is now director of communications for the Colorado Springs Sports Corporation.

"The International Olympic Committee has the honour of announcing that the Games of the 30th Olympiad in 2012 are awarded to the city of London."

I can still see the despair etched on the faces of the French delegation after this declaration by IOC President Jacques Rogge in Singapore five years ago.

Not only had Paris been widely expected to win, but it was their second consecutive disappointment after losing out to Beijing in the race for the 2008 Olympics.

But might France end up having the last laugh?

I first started to wonder about this last month, studying results from the European Athletics and Aquatics Championships.

If you remember, we in the UK got pretty excited about the hauls achieved by the British teams - 19 medals from both Barcelona and Budapest - and justifiably so.

The thing was though, I couldn’t help noticing amid the laps of honour and back-patting that the French - with 16 golds against Britain’s 12 and 41 medals in all - had done even better.

Fair enough, but perhaps nos amis from across the Channel were in danger of peaking too early - as, arguably, they had in the contest to host the 2012 Games in the first place.

Plus British athletes still had the Commonwealth Games to negotiate and had no doubt calibrated their own preparation regimes accordingly.

So I put out feelers to ascertain whether there appeared to be anything underpinning these French performance levels.

And - what do you know? - there is.

In a sentence, the French National Institute of Sport and Physical Education (INSEP), located in the Bois de Vincennes just east of Paris, is being transformed with more than €200 million of new investment.



The Institute, which caters for the vast majority of Olympic sports, is a veritable hothouse of talent, working with 630 top-level athletes, just under 400 of whom are lodged there and 150 are under-18.

The fencing contingent alone is more than 80-strong.

According to Thierry Maudet, the body’s director-general, more than half of the French team in at the European Athletics Championships in Barcelona were INSEP athletes.

And while the best French swimmers tend to be based with outside clubs, some of these have still been to INSEP for short-term courses.

Anew pool, the last phase of the current renovation, is scheduled to be ready in mid-2013.

As Maudet (pictured right) explained to me, the Vincennes site is divided into two zones: the south zone, where the sports facilities themselves are located; and the north zone, containing support buildings.

Renovation of the north zone, costing €100 million, was completed in mid-May and was something of a flagship project, being, according to Maudet, the French state’s first public-private partnership.

In the south zone, hockey and synchronised swimming facilities have been completed, along with a 13,000 sq metre fencing, gymnastics, wrestling and taekwondo centre.

One recent visitor described this as "an incredible training facility, with each training space adjacent to coaches’ offices and video feedback rooms".

Between now and 2012, said Maudet, facilities for a string of other sports - including basketball, badminton, archery, tennis, judo, table tennis, shooting and boxing - are scheduled for renovation.

In some ways, the most interesting thing of all to me was that the new INSEP, as Maudet tells the story, is a genuine legacy of the failed 2012 bid.

When the renovation plan was approved in April 2004, he told me, the then Sports Minister Jean-François Lamour was helped by the unusual degree of unity stemming from the notion that Paris at that time was considered "sure and certain" to get the 2012 Games.

At the Beijing Olympics, according to Maudet, just over half of French medallists were either at INSEP or had spent at least two years there.

So if the upgraded facilities result in a further generalised uptick in French athletes’ performance, the impact on the London 2012 medals table could be highly significant.

Now France was only 10th on the Beijing medals list because its haul of 41 included just seven golds.

What is more Great Britain will field a monster team of 500-plus in London - and will have home advantage.

Though it will do well to improve much on its astonishing 47-medal haul (including 19 golds) in the Chinese capital, I think Team GB will improve a little, bursting through the 50-medal barrier for the first time in more than a century.

With Germany and Australia also in the mix, fourth-place in London will take some achieving.

Certainly, Maudet is far too canny to predict it: "We hope we will be au rendez-vous," he told me, a formulation I would perhaps convey, in this context, as "up to speed".

Nonetheless, given the way French athletes are already performing in the two core Olympic sports and the potential for further acceleration as the new INSEP facilities come onstream, I think they have to be seen as a serious threat.

Fourth place in London? Not a bad way to bounce back from the catastrophe of Singapore.

Don’t say you weren’t warned.

David Owen is a specialist sports journalist who 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 the 2010 World Cup. Owen’s Twitter feed can be found at www.twitter.com/dodo938

It has taken over three decades for Colorado Springs to fully understand the value and the impact for its quality of life, national and local reputation and image that being the hometown of America’s Olympic Movement and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) has created. Now, perhaps our good citizens and leaders will truly embrace it during this special weekend of the US Olympic Assembly.

As more than 400 men and women from across the nation, representing the USOC and its extended family - media, sponsors, member associations, national governing bodies, athletes and 80 cities who don’t have the USOC’s national headquarters but desire its events and a relationship - gather, a stunning report details in the most obvious manner what the USOC means to the city in economic impact alone.

It underscores how critical it is to have retained the organisation’s national headquarters here for the next three decades. The fact-based report, conducted by Deloitte, one of the world’s largest professional services firms, concluded that Olympic-related organisations and businesses have an annual combined $215 million (£136 million) economic impact and helped employ more than 2,100 people in the Pikes Peak region in 2009.

"Part of our obligation to the people of Colorado Springs for their 30 years of support is ensuring that we’re making a positive impact in every way we can," said US Olympic Committee chief executive Scott Blackmun. "This study allows us to quantify the positive economic impact that Olympic-related organisations have on the community and is a benchmark for us to use as we look to grow in the future."

Using accepted industry economic principles and modeling approaches, combined with dozens of interviews with key area stakeholders, Deloitte analysed the direct, indirect and induced economic impact that the USOC, the 22 local National Governing Bodies (NGBs) and other associated businesses have on the El Paso County economy, based on 2009 data.

Key findings of the Deloitte study indicate that the USOC and NGBs employ a combined 719 people in the region, providing an estimated $1.4 million (£884,000) in local tax revenue and $1.15 million (£726,000) in local property taxes. All told, local tax receipts in 2009 total $4.9 million (£3.1 million) from activities associated with the USOC.

As the home of the USOC, the Colorado Springs area drew more than 13,000 athletes and staff to the US Olympic Training Center (USOTC) which provided an additional $15 million (£9.5 million) to the local economy in out-of-facility expenditures. Today, there are more than 90 total companies in the region’s sports sector, 50 of which conduct regular business with the USOC.



On top of that, The Colorado Springs Convention and Visitors Bureau lists the USOTC sixth in its top-10 list of top El Paso County attractions. That rating is supported by the fact that the USOTC plays host to more than 78,000 out-of-town visitors per year and 130,000 total guests to tour the facility, with their impact accounting for $1.67 million (£1.05 million) in visitor spending.

The study also took into effect the qualitative contributions of the USOC, including the economic development opportunities that exist for the region based on its association with the Olympic Movement and a healthy lifestyle. Also contributing to the qualitative impact of the USOC is the indirect exposure and visibility the city receives from the national and worldwide publicity the organization and the athletes training and competing in Colorado Springs provide.

As the hundreds of respected Olympic family visitors enjoy the hospitality and amenities of our remarkable city this weekend, the findings of the report are uplifting and welcomed by those of us made up the first wave of the USOC to arrive in Colorado Springs in 1978 from 57 Park Avenue in New York City, where the organisation had headquartered for decades.

The city had embraced and welcomed the USOC after only one other, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, had formally recruited the small organisation. Only ten people made up that first USOC staff, all packing up and heading West to create a new beginning for an organisation thrust into the limelight in 1978 by Congress and the Amateur Sports Act, and charged with control of the Olympic Movement in the United States in the aftermath of a decade of problems and showdowns between the old AAU and the NCAA over athlete rights and countless other political issues and overall control of amateur sports.

Executive Director Col. F. Don Miller’s cast that first day at Olympic House included his assistant, Marty Duncan, Baaron Pittenger, chief financial officer Bill Bachert, office manager Jim McHugh, attorney Doug Dunlop, marketing chief Arthur I. Kuman, operations director Jerry Lace and his assistant, Larry McCollum, and press chief and tireless historian C. Robert Paul, Jr.

Miller and Pittenger brought me on board as the USOC’s media guy and spokesman in December from CU, where I had spent a decade as the Buff sports information director. Our first contribution to the city’s economic impact and image was the 1978 National Sports Festival, which brought 4,000 athletes in 28 sports to the city for a competition that previewed the future for scores of top competitors who would go on to Olympic glory.

Our annual budget was only about $10 million ($6.3 million) at the time, and yet we were treated to warmth and affection by the citizens and elected officials of our city, who were delighted that the USOC had chosen to relocate. From those humble beginnings, the USOC has grown and prospered, survived the buffeting and damage of boycotts, controversies and upheaval to enjoy the news this week that it now ranks as the most positively-viewed sports organisation in America, and that Olympic and Paralympic athletes are viewed with more respect and admiration than all others in our country.

Now, the USOC is returning in a most palpable way the affection and support it has received over 32 years in the city, and the best lies ahead for the community.

A month ago, the Sports Corp and the Economic Development Corporation hosted a special lunch at the Broadmoor International Center tagged “Building A Great City Through Sports". A sold-out crowd of 500 heard keynote speaker Jim Morris, who led the way in the 1980s as Indianapolis re-built its image and economy through amateur sports say, "Every top-tier city in the United States would kill to have the United States Olympic Committee."

This weekend, as the Olympic Assembly is held for the first time here, Colorado Springs has the USOC and the others don’t. We are known worldwide as "The City Where Olympic and Paralympic Dreams Begin" for hundreds of thousands of the best and brightest of our youth who share the dream of being the best they can be in amateur sport.

What we have here is the most special of marriages, one based on sportsmanship, values and the Olympic ideals. Time to celebrate!

Mike Moran was the chief communications officer of the USOC for nearly 25 years before retiring in 2003. In 2002 he was awarded with the USOC's highest award, the General Douglas MacArthur Award. He worked on New York's unsuccessful bid to host the 2012 Olympics and is now director of communications for the Colorado Springs Sports Corporation.

They call him "Mr Heineken" because he gets to the parts others cannot reach. For almost 17 years, Geoff Thompson has done more than anyone in Britain to make sport an antidote to the culture of guns and gangs in troubled areas such as Manchester's Moss Side and Liverpool's Toxteth.

The work of the five times ex-world karate champion's Youth Charter has been largely unheralded and only superficially funded, but its contribution to keeping kids off the street through sport has been immense. Thompson, its executive chairman, has seen what can be achieved in deprived areas and believes it can - and should- be extended to the rest of the country. But is anyone up there listening?

He is not hard go hear. Not to be confused with the other Geoff Thomson -  the "Invisible Man" who chaired the FA and is now with FIFA's executive,  he is big, black and voluble. Unfortunately he has long been viewed as a loose cannon (though he seems to hit the target); someone who asks too many awkward questions. Which may be why, apart from a brief spell on the board of Sport England some years ago, ago, he seems to be regularly overlooked when it come to appointments  where his obvious talents could be employed advantageously. 

Thompson’s Moss Side story began in 1993 when he started the Youth Charter following the gunning down in Manchester of a 14-year-old Afro-Caribbean kid. "I can accept losing medals but I cannot accept losing lives," he says. He has always believed sport is an intrinsic part of the rehabilitation process, helping to set up sports programmes in a dozen prisons and young offenders' institutions.

He says he finds it hard to see so much potential sporting talent "banged up". "The sad thing is that most do not have the option to get involved further in the sort of programmes that inspired them while they were inside. But at least sport gives them a chance. If you use its unifying power in the widest social and cultural sense you start to find some of the answers."

In the jails and on the streets they look up to him, affording him the respect he surely deserves from the top brass in sports administration. Successive Sports Ministers have promised they would find a worthwhile national role for him, but none have materialised. However there are hopes that the present incumbent, Hugh Robertson, a decent guy who knows the value of such commitment, will come up with something.

Having watched the 52-year-old Thompson (pictured) at work over the years it is evident he has more street cred than other sports administrators, by a distance. Ironically, he originates from the new Olympic heartland of Hackney but so far 2012 has not formally embraced him. In view of Seb Coe's vision of sport as a legacy for youth and the community, that almost seems a crime in itself.

And scanning down the list of appointees to the sports quangos, I find it hard to believe there is anyone more in touch with sport at community level.

Yet he continues to be ignored as someone who could greatly assist the so far less than successful efforts to take sport into the increasingly mean streets as an antidote to youth crime. At least the ambassadorial credentials of the man who, almostb single-handedly, runs the Manchester-based Youth Charter on a shoestring have been recognised in academia by an honorary doctorate of laws from Roehampton University. 

UK Sport’s appointment of one-time netball international Liz Nichols, stepping up from CEO to replace John Steele, now rugby’s head honcho at Twickenham, as chief executive, is a welcome indication that another female foot has stepped through the glass ceiling. She beat a fistful of men to the post and will work alongside chair Baroness Sue Campbell, thus giving the body which distributes Olympic cash a firm women’s grip on the purse strings.

Girl power is also increasingly evident at sport’s highest level, but how many executives hail from the ethnic minorities? Look around the annual CCPR conference and how many black faces would you see? And this is the gathering of the 200-odd constituent bodies of sport’s "parliament".

Offhand I can think only of the inappropriately-named Densign White, who chairs British Judo, and Nigel Walker, the former Welsh hurdler and rugby international who is the newly-appointed national director of the English Institute of Sport, who have senior administrative jobs in sport. Considering the huge contribution black and Asian competitors make to British sport on the track, in the ring, on the pitch and the playing field, this is hardly representative.

So when someone as as able and well-connected as Thompson comes along surely he should be valued, and not so obviously undervalued. Over to you, Hugh.

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 and 10 Commonwealth Games.

I’ve just come back from a holiday in Prague with my boyfriend and still have a little down time before I go back to my fulltime training. One of the events in my diary is the British Olympic Ball this Friday.

I’m very excited to be going as the Ball is a critical fundraising event for the British Olympic Association in support of Britain’s current and future Olympic athletes.

I want to be able to give back after the fantastic experience I had as part of Team GB at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. My boyfriend will be joining me - we are just hoping that my brother’s tux will fit him…

The 1,000 or so people attending the British Olympic Ball are directly contributing to Team GB’s future success so it will be awesome to be a part of that. It will be my first Olympic Ball and I will enjoy rubbing shoulders with the likes of Sir Steve Redgrave, Jessica Ennis, Zara Phillips and golfer Nick Faldo. Zara and I were part of a sailing team racing for charity around the Isle of Wright last summer. Another first for me; good fun but I will have to discover seasickness tablets before I sail again!

The British Olympic Association is privately funded, so they receive no funding from the Lottery or Government. This basically means that their success is entirely dependent upon the income they receive from fundraising and events such as the British Olympic Ball, presented by BT.

This year over 60 Olympians, together with the Sugababes, Jamie Cullum and Mark Ronson, will be helping make the event a success. There will be a red carpet and you can come along and get pics and autographs of all the celebs and VIPs in a dedicated area. So if you are interested come to the Grosvenor House Hotel at 6pm on Friday (September 24).

I said it when I helped launch the London 2012 Games Makers - the programme which recruits volunteers for the Games - but it is worth repeating: the Olympics coming to London presents the opportunity of a lifetime and Olympic success for Team GB will unite the nation in excitement, pride and celebration.

I experienced this firsthand in Canada. Fundraising events such as the British Olympic Ball are crucial to delivering the hopes and dreams of Team GB’s athletes and ensuring we make the most of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. And it is partners like BT who help make this happen.

Amy Williams is the Olympic bob skeleton gold medallist

The two-hour marathon is a little like the four-minute mile was 57 years ago, before Roger Bannister broke the mark.  An impossibility according to some; a distant accomplishment to others.

But our analysis shows that a sub two-hour marathon is possible this fall if runners examine how they run, rather than concentrating exclusively on how they train.

Several myths that have gained credence among otherwise intelligent athletes, coaches and scientists are that African runners dominate middle and long distance races because of genetic gifts, running to school as kids, and being born and trained at high altitudes.

When we actually measure how Africans run, however, we see that their success is largely due to superior stride efficiency, and not some unobtainable inborn talent or special childhood experiences. Our analysis further shows that if American and UK runners are willing to improve their efficiency, they can run the marathon under two hours this autumn, mainly because they are already much more fit than their African counterparts.

It’s all a matter of examining assumptions.

Take, for instance, the strenuousness of the marathon. It is assumed to be due to the horizontal distance of 26.2 miles. But even mere mortals can easily walk, bike or rollerblade this distance without fatigue.

It turns out that it is the vertical distance of the marathon that makes it so grueling.

I’m not talking about the slight changes in elevation on a non-flat course. I’m talking about the vertical distance every marathoner runs during the marathon.

Every runner bounces up and down while running. This bounce can be anywhere from half-to-four inches. Since runners take 1,000 strides per mile, any bounce will be multiplied 26,200 times during a race.

Let’s say a runner bounces up four inches with each stride. Multiplied 26,200 times, this adds up to 8,725 feet or 1.65 vertical miles. This is equal to 6.4 former World Trade Center buildings, or 2.6 Mount Snowdens! That’s a lot of work, and would tire anyone of any level of physical fitness - even Haile Gebrselassie (pictured).

But there’s more. What goes up must come down. So a runner with a four inch bounce drops down four inches with each stride, adding another 8,725 vertical feet, or 1.65 vertical miles, 6.4 World Trade Center buildings, or 2.6 Mount Snowdens. As any runner will tell you, running uphill is hard on the heart, but running downhill is much harder on the legs. With just a four inch bounce, our elite marathoner is running a total additional 3.3 vertical miles.

Imagine if he reduced his bounce to just one inch, as Gebrselassie's compatriot, Belayneh Densamo, did at Rotterdam in 1988 when he ran 2 hours 06min 50sec - a world record that lasted 10 years. 

It means Densamo did quarter of the work that our hard-working and exhausted modern marathoner is doing. When quizzed about how he felt at the end of his marathon, Densamo responded that he felt like he could run another five miles.

If our modern runner reduced his bounce to one inch, he would "only" run a total of .83 vertical miles, putting him well under two hours for the marathon.

But there are other problems as well, which you can see here.

Unfortunately, we find there is little interest on the part of coaches, runners or sports scientists to improve stride efficiency. Instead, the emphasis has been entirely on training. This completely ignores the fact that most of the current UK middle-distance runners, for instance, actually have a smaller stride angle (maximum opening between the front and trailing legs, and the major determinant of speed) than Sebastian Coe or Steve Cram did 26 years ago when they dominated their events. You can see our analysis of UK runners here.

If the UK does not change its emphasis from training to efficiency, chances are excellent that it will host a wonderful party in 2012 and glumly watch their ungrateful guests abscond with all the gold and silverware.

Bob Prichard is the President of Somax Sports Corporation. He is the author of "The Efficient Golfer" - he first golf book to show readers how to use their home camcorder to videotape, measure, analyse and improve their swing mechanics -and he developed and patented the Somax Power Hip Trainer, the first aerobic exercise machine to increase the strength and speed of hip rotation for golf, tennis, football and swimming

After 16 weeks of rehabilitation I am back training, at last, with my GB team mates in Lilleshall. It is a really exciting time for the GB team with section process over for the World Championships.

The places were fiercely fought over, with the members of the junior team, who did so well at the European Championships all vying for places. This is a crucial team selection as we need to secure qualification through to the next round of qualifiers for the London Olympics.

With the selections made, a very strong team has emerged:

• Louis Smith - Olympic, European, world medallist on pommel and European team medallist

• Daniel Purvis - European medallist on Floor and seventh all round and European team medallist

• Kristian Thomas - World Championships all round sixth and European team medallist

• Sam Hunter - European team medallist

• Theo Seager - Junior European team gold medallist and fifth on vault

• Ruslan Pantelymonov - Fourth on Vault at this year’s World Cup Grand Prix in Portugal and the current English champion on rings.

I have every confidence that team GB will have an extremely successful World Championship and get through to the next Olympic qualification stage - I wish them every success and will supporting from the side lines.

On a more personal front my own training is going from strength to strength. My programme at Lilleshall was split into two separate programmes; in the morning session I spent four hours focused on my strength and recovery and in the afternoon I worked alongside the rest of the GB team training some new skills and key elements of my routines.

I am continuing to build on my general strength and fitness and am currently focusing on individual moves on pommel, parallel bars, high bar and rings. On parallel bars I have been working on some new exciting moves that will really increase my start value on this apparatus.

It’s really good to be back with the rest of the squad and a huge motivator!

There have been some exciting developments in the junior team: Britain also has a new Olympic champion - Sam Oldham - who won the high bar gold medal at the inaugural YouthOlympic Games in Singapore in August. Sam also went on to claim silver on the pommel horse and finished fifth in the all round competition, fifth on floor and fourth on p-bars. This is a huge achievement for Sam and GB, he is definitely someone to keep an eye on for the future – well done!

Daniel Keatings, who is powered by Opus Energy, made history last October when he became the first British gymnast to win a medal in the all-round event at the World Gymnastics Championships. To find out more about his sponsorship deal with Opus Energy click here.

As I go past the Olympic Park on the train on an almost daily basis, I have become somewhat immune to its undeniable magnificence. What used to be a baron wasteland in the form of an empty marsh now looks a 21st Century sporting masterpiece in the making with the giant Olympic Stadium and revolutionary Aquatics Centre towering proudly over the East End of London.

Everyday, the building site that is the Olympic Park looks visibly closer to completion but to be honest, I have become rather too accustomed to the stunning back drop being part of my daily commute. While some on my carriage, who I assume do not regularly take the train that offers the scenic view of the Olympic Park, audibly gasp when they see the Olympic venues in Stratford or press their noses up against the window to get a closer look, I, like many other regular commuters from East Anglia to Central London, barely look up from my daily newspaper.

Therefore, I didn’t think I would get too much out of a walking tour of the Olympic Park Area I had been booked on despite the tour sounding rather interesting. The tour involved a walk through the River Lee Valley, the area of the London 2012 Games, and is led by London Registered Blue Badge Tourist Guides who in addition to the London qualification; have undergone a training course for the 2012 Games itself.

Opened by Kate Hoey, the London Mayor’s Sports Commissioner, the walking tours take place at 11am every day - including Christmas Day - until the start of London 2012. The tours last roughly one-and-three-quarter hours and begin at Bromley-by-Bow tube station. Bromley-by-Bow was therefore my first port of call and I arrived at the tube station early to meet my Blue Badge Tour Guide Marc Belben.

Marc, who turned out to be a delightful and interesting individual - which thinking about it is probably a prerequisite if your occupation is a tour guide - immediately surprised me by taking me on a route around the Olympic Park that I had never knew existed. We started on a bridge resting over the River Lea Valley which offered a fantastic view of the Canary Warf and more specifically the large Barclays tower located there which is the home of both the London 2012 Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) and the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA).

Marc informed me that the River Lea Valley, which runs right through the Olympic Park, has been completely decontaminated because of the 2012 Games and that many of the old trolleys and rubber tyres that resided in there had been removed so that the water could be used as a way for boats to transport materials to build the venues with.

We carried on our walk, which passed Britain’s oldest surviving tidal mill, until we came to the famous 3 Mills Studios. This is the location used by famous musicians, such as Lady Gaga and Craig David, and where major blockbuster films have been shot including last year’s children’s hit film Fantastic Mr Fox.

Perhaps more relevantly to London 2012, 3 Mills Studios was the venue used to rehearse the London Bus sequence at the Beijing 2008 Closing Ceremony that featured Jimmy Page on the guitar, Leona Lewis singing and David Beckham completely miss-kicking a ball into the crowd.

It will also be the location that Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle uses to rehearse the London 2012 Opening Ceremony he is in charge of as well as the venue where the Closing Ceremony and Paralympic Games Opening and Closing Ceremonies will be perfected.

We carried on our pleasant walk further, with Marc enthralling me with his encyclopedic knowledge London and the previous Olympic Games the city hosted in 1908 and 1948, until we rather quickly came to the impressive climax of the tour - The View Tube which overlooks the Olympic Stadium.

The View Tube is situated on The Greenway and is almost in the middle of the Olympic Park itself. A remarkable piece of engineering that was built using recycled shipping containers; The View Tube is home to a delightful café which is open seven days a week and even though I admitted earlier that I am not all that impressed by the Olympic Park anymore, the ridiculously close proximity of The View Tube to the Olympic Stadium did make me rethink me statement because no matter how well you think you know it, a close-up view of an 80,000 seat-stadium rarely fails to impress even the most cynical.

It was the perfect way to end the tour and Marc and I sat down for a coffee when a suddenly, a tall man walked by that I instantly recognised. It was no less than Australian David Higgins, the chief executive of the ODA and therefore the man primary charged with ensuring that the Olympic Park is delivered on time and on budget.

Higgins, from what I could gather, was actually giving a VIP tour himself to Tim Phillips, the chairman of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. The two looked deep in conversation but being a journalist - and with the help of Marc -  I interrupted their conversation have a general chat. Fortunately, the pair are exceeding pleasant - or unbelievably polite when interrupted - and were more than happy to speak to us.

Phillips explained that they were also stopping for a coffee at The View Tube as it was "the VIP box of the Olympic Park".

As a nice memento of the walk, I asked Higgins if I could have a photograph with him in front of the Stadium he is building and with a slightly surprised look, the likeable Australian and highest paid Government quango boss in the UK (with an annual salary of £394,999) said it would be no problem at all.

Higgins and Phillips soon left, the former telling me he is looking forward to reading this very blog, and my surprising enjoyable tour with Marc was over.

I assure you that I have no obligation to say this but I would strongly recommend the daily walking tour to anybody. The tour can take place in over 40 languages and at just £8 for adults and £5 for children it is an absolute bargain.

And in today’s society, a one full of television, fast-food takeaways and video computer games, it makes a very pleasant change having a scenic walk in the most interesting of areas. It will also probably be the best opportunity you will have to see the Park before London 2012 itself and if you’re not already sold on the Games, you either will be after this tour or you simply never will be.

The only thing I can’t guarantee is that you’ll bump into the chief executive of the ODA but as the VIP box of the Olympic Park. But you never know, if one Lord Sebastian Coe or fellow celebrity, might be lurking around for an opportunistic picture opportunity.

For further information or to book a walking tour click here. 

Tom Degun is a reporter for insidethegames

Just as I was saying here last week that compared to certain other sports boxing is as clean as the proverbial whistle, along comes Ricky Hatton to sneeze white power all over the argument.

The former world champion, arguably the best-loved boxer in Britain since Frank Bruno and before him Henry Cooper, is currently in rehab and the tender care of Max Clifford, as the victim of yet another News of the World sporting sting.

Now those of us who follow boxing have known for years about The Hit Man’s carousing, the booze and the bingeing and how he happily became the self-parodying Ricky Fatton between fights who couldn’t pass a pub without grabbing a pint and a pie. What a card, eh?

There was rumours of late that he had fallen foul of the cocaine habit, as did his former stablemate Joe Calzaghe (and dear old Broooo-no  too). All had distinguished amateur careers before they found fame and wealth in the prize ring, and started sniffing around with the showbiz set, so to speak.

Hatton, of course will never be allowed to fight again even if he so desired, and it is possible that the Board of Control will suspend his newly-gained promoter’s licence. Alas, most in the game knew he was an accident waiting to happen, but no-one did or said anything. But they sure are rallying to support him now.

There has always been something of a fistic freemasonry between fighting men which decrees that when they are not in opposite corners ready to belt bits off each other they are steadfast in support of a brother boxer who may be taking a battering without a punch being thrown.

Which us why none of Hatton’s contemporaries are bad-mouthing him now his reputation is in tatters.

Prominent among those standing firmly by Hatton (pictured) is the former Olympic silver medallist and current holder of Hatton’s old world light-welterweight title, Amir Khan, a friend who, in different circumstances, also might have been his foe in the ring. But such a prospect is now out of the window.

Khan tells us: "If Ricky needs help, myself and my team are here for him. I have been his friend and I will always be his friend. I am one hundred per cent supportive. There’s no point in me telling him he’s been a fool, he knows that himself. I think he realises he’s let everybody down and he has just got to overcome this. We’ll do anything we can to help him, whatever he needs.

"Who knows what sort of pressures he’s been under, depression or whatever? In a way I find it hard to understand because I’ve never touched alcohol or drugs myself - and I never will - that’s because of my religion which keeps me away from stuff like that. It seems to me that it’s the drink problem that leads to the drugs. He and Joe have been elite sportsmen all their lives, as Frank was, on top of the game and role models but it seems it’s the crowd they get in with."

Khan acknowledges that he had his own problems earlier this year and like Hatton and Calzaghe, featured in a tabloid expose in the same newspaper, although in his case, it was claimed he had sent sexy text messages.

"Of course I regret it and have learned from my mistakes. I am a better person for it. It’s made me much wiser. I realise now that I’m someone people look up to, particularly young people and I want to be a role model. I’ve got an image and I want to keep hold of it.  You learn that you have to be careful what you do." A lesson no doubt re-inforced by a rollicking from his dad Shah.

Those of us who have followed the career of the immensely likeable Khan, since, aged 17 as Britain’s sole fistic representative, he won Olympic silver in Athens against the masterful Cuban Mario Kindelan were deeply disappointed at his behaviour and it is good to see he recognises  how foolish he was.



Yet despite their occasional aberrations, there is still much to admire about fighting men, particularly their work for charity. Khan, for example, was hosting an swish event in Bolton this week to raise money for a number of charities including and Bolton’s Gloves Community Centre in which he has invested £700,000 ($1.1 million) of his own money to offer youngsters the chance to box, keep fit and stay off the streets. He has also just returned from an emotional visit to Pakistan, birthplace of his parents, where, as an Oxfam ambassador, he gave hands-on assistance at the flood disaster area.  

What he saw, he says, hit him harder than any opponent ever has."You don’t realise the extent of the damage until, you see it with your own eyes, thousands of people who have been left with nothing. We were at a place called Charsadda in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It was total devastation. You couldn’t help but be moved. It was heartbreaking, unimaginable. I was in Pakistan after the earthquake too. but this was something else.  It’s put the country back years. I wanted to do whatever I could to help people rebuild their future."

With his father, brother and uncle Khan collected and distributed clean water, pitching tents and handing out money and food tokens. "We went into the camps and I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. An area the size of England has been obliterated and people face no present and no future. This tragedy has cut me deeply. It makes you feel so inadequate. I intend to go back again after my next fight because these people need all the help they can get."

Khan, 23, who has already helped raise over £1 million ($1.5 million) for the flood relief victims, says he will dedicate his next fight, which looks set to be against the leading contender for his WBA belt, the big-punching  Argentinian Marcos Maidana, in Las Vegas in December, to the relief fund, to which he will be contributing part of his purse.

Khan’s 19-year-old brother Haroon has remained in Pakistan, for whom he will be boxing in the Commonwealth Games, despite having represented England. "I think he has made the right decision," says Amir. "Every young fighter’s dream is to go to a Commonwealth or Olympic Games and Haroon had set his heart on that but he wasn’t picked for either the development or podium squads, even though he had beaten one of the guys who was.

"Just as I did before the Athens Olympics, Haroon had the choice to box for Pakistan. As it happened, I got selected but it was obvious Haroon wasn’t going to be so he had to take this option because he needs the experience of boxing in a major tournament.  England didn’t seem to want to help him at all.  We didn’t want to argue with them. Haroon has duel nationality - both our mum and dad come from Pakistan and he wanted the chance although it would be a bit ironic if he ends up boxing the English guy at some stage in the tournament - maybe even in the final. 

"He’s looking good boxing at super flyweight and he’s enjoying the atmosphere of the training camp in Pakistan. There’s a chance he’ll go professional afterwards, depending on how he does. It’s like I keep telling all young boxers: if you eventually want to turn professional, you’ve got to maximise all your amateur experience, so you can cope with all different styles. That’s what I did."

But back to the original question. Has the Hatton scandal besmirched boxing? I don’t think so. The sport remains clean - it’s just that some  in it occasionally behave like jerks.

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 and scores of world title fights from Atlanta to Zaire.

With generalist volunteering applications opening today, the search begins for our 70,000 Games Makers - people who will give their time, energy and expertise to help make London 2012 a success.

This is a watershed moment for the hospitality sector - it marks the start of the volunteers’ journey to 2012 but also what is shaping up to be a golden decade for hospitality.

There’s a stream of international sporting events coming to Britain, from the London 2012 Olympics to the Rugby World Cup and even the Super Bowl, and we’ll need one million more people in the sector by 2017 to support this growth.

That is why I’m so encouraged by the public’s reaction to the quest for our 2012 Games Makers. We have already witnessed huge appetite to get involved, with thousands of people having registered their interest in the run-up to applications opening.

But how will we create a team of volunteers that demonstrates our first-class credentials in hospitality and service? We can learn a lot from Beijing, where the volunteers were consistently efficient, polite and helpful, but I want the London 2012 Games Makers to go above and beyond, bringing to life the vibrancy, energy and warmth that is Britain’s service industry at its best.

Imagine the impact of millions of visitors to the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games going home with an indelible memory of 70,000 warm welcomes. An achievable dream, but one we’ll only realise if we can build a dynamic and diverse team. A team that reflects the true Britain.

And, once we’ve found the 70,000 Games Makers who will help us sparkle as we host the greatest show on earth, it will be vital to give them the right support. We need to train and prepare the volunteers - providing them with the skills and confidence required for the once-in-a-lifetime challenge of the Games.

To ensure we get this right, for the first time in the history of the Games an organising committee has looked to sponsors to support the volunteers - sending out a clear signal that Britain is taking hospitality seriously.

This sponsorship marks a step change in the approach to volunteering and at McDonald’s we’re proud to be the first Presenting Partner for the Games Maker programme. It means the London 2012 Games Makers will receive an unprecedented level of support to prepare for the crucial role they will play and I’ve seen firsthand the difference this can make to the quality of the customer experience.



Providing quick and consistent customer service is a challenge our people face day in day out and we have a proven track record in developing our 80,000-strong workforce to thrive in this kind of fast-paced, busy environment. We serve over two million customers each day in our restaurants, and we strive to ensure that each one leaves feeling positive about their experience with us.

Similarly we want every single one of the 10 million people visiting the Olympic Park in 2012 to be welcomed and looked after in a way that makes them feel special - whether that’s reacting quickly and going the extra mile to resolve an issue, or simply making the effort to smile and make eye contact with everyone you greet.

And by investing in preparing the Games Makers for London’s moment in the world’s spotlight, we will ensure we give them the valuable and transferrable skills they will need - for their time as a volunteer but also for life and work beyond the Games.

Many of our Games Makers will continue to be the face of Britain’s service industry beyond 2012 and we want to provide them with an experience that delivers something tangible for their CV, as well as a skills legacy that will deliver long-term for the growing hospitality sector. 

So if you think you’ve got what it takes - you’re not afraid of hard work and you want to be a part of something special, from today you can apply to be a Games Maker at www.london2012.com.

Good luck. If you make it through, we’ll see you soon to help prepare you for an unforgettable experience.

David Fairhurst is the Chief People Officer of McDonald's, the Presenting Partner of the London 2012 Games Maker programme

It would be nice to think that the Commonwealth Games which are shortly to get underway in Delhi will offer us another sporting memory to rank with the 1500 metres final that took place in Christchurch, New Zealand in 1974.

I have watched a fair few 1500 metres races, and there is something about the distance which engenders a particular fascination for spectators.

It’s long enough for a sporting drama to play out with a few twists and, more often than not, a late turn.

The 1500m final at the 1992 Barcelona Games was a thriller, with home runner Fermin Cacho eventually bursting clear of the opposition to cross the line as King Juan Carlos looked proudly on.

The 1500m from the 1980 Moscow Olympics was unforgettable for the personal drama of Sebastian Coe, whose earlier 800 metres final had been the stuff of nightmares - it’s the biggest race of your life, for this you came, but no, no, you’re boxed in, you know it’s not right but you can’t stop it happening, run, run to make it better but it’s too late.

As he crossed the line to win the gold he thought he was going to win at the shorter distance, Coe, so controlled in all he says and does, blazed with emotion. It was like looking into a furnace.

Still, the memory of that race in Christchurch endures.

The finishing straight saw a dramatic struggle between men moving into territory they had never been in before, with three crossing the line in personal best times.

But all this was rendered into a sub-plot by the overarching drama of the race. For these men were not racing, but chasing. They were in pursuit of a man who had set out ahead of them and, simply, remained there.

For seven years, the world 1500m record had belonged to Jim Ryun, the American who shared the unhappy distinction of other great runners such as Ron Clarke of never winning the medals his supreme talent deserved. It stood at 3min 33.1sec.

When Filbert Bayi toed the line on that day in February, he was not seeking to beat Ryun’s time, but to win a race. The method he chose to achieve that, however, was boldness itself. He went to the front, and stayed...

Among those in the chasing pack were two home runners, John Walker and Rod Dixon, and Kenya’s Ben Jipcho.

The contest reached its full intensity in the final straight as Walker came through to win his race-within-a-race and cut down the distance on the African, only to see time and distance run out for him.



In an event where the world’s best had been pared down by fractions of seconds, Bayi, barely showing any sign of stress, had done something astonishing, taking almost a full second off Ryun’s mark in clocking 3:32.2.

Walker, too, had broken the old record, finishing in 3.32.5, with Jipcho taking bronze in 3.33.16 and Dixon finishing fourth.

Tanzania’s part in the African boycott of the 1976 Montreal Olympics meant that Bayi did not have the chance to add an Olympic to his Commonwealth gold, although a pre-Games bout of malaria would hardly have left him in top form. Four years later in Moscow he did win silver in the 3,000m steeplechase.

For Walker, that glorious defeat on home soil presaged three years of glorious victories as he became the first man to break 3: 50 for the mile as he ran 3.49.4 in Gothenburg the following year and won the Olympic title his ability so richly merited a year after that in
Montreal.

But Walker was never destined to convert his talent to gold in the Commonwealth arena.

Having missed the 1978 Games, he reached the 1500m final at the 1982 Games only to be beaten by the rapidly emerging talent that was Steve Cram.

Four years later, in Edinburgh, he finished fifth in the 5,000m. When the Games returned to New Zealand in 1990, Walker – then in the closing days of his career - was desperate to sign off with a flourish in the 1500m. But fate was against him.

Shortly before the Games got underway in Auckland I covered a warm-up meeting in the nearby town of Hamilton at which Walker was due to be running.

When his event came up, it was clear that the local hero was not taking part. But shortly afterwards I discovered him leaning against a fence watching the action. He explained that he had been put out of the running after being kicked in the leg by one of his horses.
Being spiked is one thing for a track athlete. Being hoofed is another.

Walker, being Walker, still turned up to race - and duly reached the 1500m final, only to be tripped early on in a race that was eventually won by Britain’s Peter Elliott.

Walker, being Walker, had not remained on the track, but got back to his feet to finish 12th. Elliott subsequently persuaded the great New Zealander to accompany him on a richly-merited lap of honour.

What can Delhi offer to match these deeds? We’ll soon see...

Mike Rowbottom, one of Britain's most talented sportswriters, has covered the last 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

The ephemeral moment, two decades ago this week, is still an exquisite, glass of good wine flashback.

September 18, 1990, packed and headed to the Colorado Springs airport with my USOC colleague, Dave Ogrean. But, before closing  the front door, we watched on CNN as IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch approached the podium in a Tokyo hotel with an envelope in his hand, within it the name of the city that would host the Centennial Olympic Games in 1996, the 100-Year anniversary of the birth of the Modern Games.

Athens was the consensus favorite, the city that had hosted those 1896 Games at ancient Olympia, where a team of just 14 Americans arrived by boat to join 245 athletes from 14 nations. Toronto was favoured by others with a respected, longstanding organisation and resources.

Atlanta was America's candidate, joining Athens, Toronto, Melbourne, Manchester and Belgrade in the chase to host the Games. But the world knew that Athens was the likely winner and that the others would be disappointed.

Atlanta was a maverick, a city best-known to many Europeans as a movie set in Gone With The Wind. We had selected Atlanta to carry America's hopes over Minneapolis-St. Paul on April 29, 1988, in a tension-filled ballroom at the Washington Hilton where the USOC Board of Directors, still energised by the startling success of the 1984 Games in Los Angeles, was basking in the USA-led renaissance of the Games.

The evening before the vote was memorable, with both cities hosting the USOC Board in separate ballrooms with food, drink and arm-twisting with backdrops themed  to tell their stories and the character of their cities. There was an old-fashioned "taste of Atlanta" in one room with its distinct Southern charm and in the other, the flavor of the Land of Lakes and the hardy citizens of the Twin Cities.

The Minnesota group had expended some $350,000 (£227,000) on its campaign with the USOC over 15 months, while Atlanta dropped just $250,000 (£162,000) on its quest, led by the charismatic Billy Payne, a former Georgia football star who said that he had been in church in 1987 when the vision of an Atlanta Olympics came to him.

He had  pursued the USOC doggedly for almost two years with his improbable dream. Even on the day the USOC chose Atlanta as its candidate in Washington, there was doubt.

"It would be an upset of major proportions," if an American city wins the 1996 Games, said USOC Executive Director Baaron Pittenger to a group of reporters, and many USOC officials felt that the bid would be too close on the heels of the Peter Ueberroth-led Los Angeles success to be favorably received.

"We don't believe that in Atlanta," said an irritated Payne (pictured), and he and his formidable team, men and women including Andrew Young, Charlie Battle, Horace Sibley, Ginger Watkins, Linda Stephenson, Shirley Franklin, Maynard Jackson and others, set out on a three-year odyssey that spanned the globe, meeting IOC members and international sport leaders to tell their story, wherever it took them.

Young was a compelling force as he met with IOC members from African, Middle Eastern and Asian nations with the heady prospect of their votes on the line.

The regal former pastor, civil rights leader and colleague of Dr. Martin Luther King was a huge player in a game that would cost the six finalist cities almost $100 million (£65 million) total, a modest  sum when placed next to the reported $26 million (£17 million) alone that London spent to garner the 2012 Olympic Games.

But on this early September morning in 1990, this was all behind, and thousands gathered on a plaza in downtown Atlanta in front of a giant screen to see Samaranch approach the podium in Tokyo with his envelope. It was quiet enough to hear the sound of gum being chewed among that throng, or the pounding  hearts of Atlanta's citizens and those of Payne and his delegation in the Japanese ballroom.

The aristocratic Samaranch tore at the envelope, looked at the card that emerged in his hands with a bemused look, and spoke softly into the glare of the lights.

"The 1996 Olympic  Games are awarded to the city of At..." (I swear to this day, watching the big screen in my home, his lips were forming the word "Athens,"), but then, after a pause, came "Atlanta." (final tally, Atlanta 51, Athens 35).

Atlanta erupted, and I locked the front door and headed off to New York for something now forgotten, stunned and delighted  by what had taken place and what lay ahead for all of us at the USOC, another home Games and all the good things that would come with that, the hard work, frustration and joys.

The 1996 Olympic Games remain an enigma today, a resounding success, unfairly hammered by European journalists for "commercialism" and breakdowns in some systems, particularly their own media transportation and housing.

For those of us at the USOC then, most of our memories centre around the marvelous success of our Olympic team, which returned to the top of the medal count among the 197 participating nations with 101, to 65 for Germany and 63 for the new Russia.



It began with the inspiring appearance of Muhammad Ali to light the Games' flame at the Olympic Stadium and the elevating music of John Williams' "Summon the Heroes,"  then continued with the golden triumphs of Michael Johnson on the track, Carl Lewis' fourth long jump gold medal at the age of 35, Amy Van Dyken's four gold medals in the pool at Georgia Tech, and the brilliance of America's female athletes in gymnastics - Keri Strug and the Magnificent Seven - softball and the Mia Hamm-led US women's soccer team in the inaugural appearance of the sport in the Games.

The Games were shaken by the tragic Olympic Park bombing on July 27 that killed one woman and injured 111 people, and at the Closing ceremony, Samaranch disappointed millions of Americans and all of Atlanta by calling the Games, "most exceptional," breaking his tradition of labeling each Games that he had presided over, "the best Olympics ever,"  which he resumed in Sydney in 2000.

The truth is that these Games of Billy Payne and Atlanta were superb in the majority of categories. The 197 nations on hand was a record, Palestine competed for the first time, Hong Kong won a medal, and so did the former Soviet state of Georgia. The resplendent venues, Olympic Stadium (to become Turner Field), the Georgia World Congress Center, the Georgia Dome, Stone Mountain, splendidly refurbished facilities at Morehouse College and Emory University, the Georgia International Horse Park and others, were magnificent.

A record  nine million tickets were sold, the Games turned a profit of some $10 million (£6.5 million), and Atlanta became a true international city. Centennial Olympic Park welcomed hundreds of thousands of visitors each day and remains a treasured city landmark today.

Now, Payne is the chairman of Augusta National Golf Club and the estimable Masters tourney. Samaranch passed away in April of this year, Young remains revered for his humanitarian work. Today, the Braves are chasing the National League East crown in what was the Olympic Stadium, and the $1.7 billion (£1.1 billion) spent on the Games remains one of the best investments ever made by an American city.

Mike Moran was the chief communications officer of the USOC for nearly 25 years before retiring in 2003. In 2002 he was awarded with the USOC's highest award, the General Douglas MacArthur Award. He worked on New York's unsuccessful bid to host the 2012 Olympics and is now director of communications for the Colorado Springs Sports Corporation.

By making sports the near-religion it is today, and by anointing athletes with more accolades, money, prestige, winning at all costs is the lesson being taught on soccer pitches, track and sports facilities.

Sport is one of the most uplifting of human endeavours. Watching someone run, jump, throw, or doing it oneself, challenging one's limits, should be part of most human's personal journeys.

I have noted, that in my modest running career, my best times from the mile to 10,000 metres were in races where I was pretty far back in the pack. I always felt that, the four or five races I won in nearly 500 races, were pretty Zen moments.

Earning one's personal bests, in my humble opinion, is part of the sports' attraction. I see how people can cheat in sport, however, that does not mean I either support it or believe that they, the cheaters, actually appreciate how they have brought toxins to the sport that they claim to love.

Performance enhancing drugs has nearly destroyed our sport. Tough stands by meet directors, federations, athletes, coaches, managers have brought our sport back to respectability. United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) have taken testing away from the sports federations, giving testing even more transparency. But, as USADA and WADA get closer, new drugs come out, and soon, gene therapy will be available to wealthy families, and federations, who will do anything for their athlete to win. To me, that is sickening. 

As it has for a decade now, it takes about $100k for an athlete to find an unscrupulous lab, and an enterprising chemist, who can find a pretty solid way to beat the system. Cheating and not getting caught is not cheap. As most athletics athletes are not in possession of such resources, a focus on athletes at the top of the heap, who have the resources to cheat, is part of a programme that I would encourage to create an more even playing field, if that is possible.

Want drug free sports? Then, talk with young athletes and coaches, about ethics, what is right and wrong. Drug testing will only go so far, that is why USADA and WADA are involved in global drug education programmes, which I applaud.    

My concern has always been that USADA and WADA, in fighting the bad guys, could overstep their bounds. The ends never justifies the means. We applaud what USADA and WADA have done for our sport. They do a very needed, but dirty job, in an area that is, on its best days, gray. However, like waterboarding, poor evidence, thinly veiled threats, only hurt the cause of drug free sports. Research and resources are key for USADA and WADA to catch the majority of drug cheats. 

No different than the police officer who sees bad guys day after day, week after week, year after year, and crosses a line to arrest someone who is has done bad things in the past, or who they think is guilty of a recent crime. A bad arrest by USADA or WADA, a case built on weakly reviewed protocols could and would destroy much of the positives that both organizations have brought to the sport.

An absurd arrest or enforcement, as has been done, in the strange case of Chris Lukezic, only makes USADA look foolish.

Sometimes, a little distance and a long deep breath are needed before one sends out a press release. 

Case in point. Chris Lukezic (pictured), one of our top 1,500m runners in the past half decade, retired November 11, 2009. On that day, November 11, Chris announced his retirement to the media, which was picked up by many in the running media. Lukezic was well liked, and had  strong fan support.

Lukesic also updated USATF on his decision. I have to admit that I was sad, as I enjoyed watching Chris race and felt he had more fast miles to run. Chris had found something new to put his enormous energy into: a travel start-up. And he was off!  

Apparently, USADA does not read the running media, as they showed up at the home of Chris Lukezic five months later. On April 20, 2010, five months after his retirement, USADA demanded that he urinate into a cup, as part of a drug test for an athlete who they thought was active, but who had, in fact, retired.

Chris Lukezic is prone to self-analysis. Hell, the guy ran 3:33.28, so perhaps it was too much oxygen on the brain. As Lukezic saw himself as non-elite athlete, he refused to take the test. Now, you arm-chair quarterbacks are asking, "Why, Chris, did you not just pee in the little plastic cup and get it over with?" Chris Lukezic saw himself as a private citizen, and he did not see himself as the elite athlete USADA perceived, so he decided to take a stand. I applaud his quiet act of defiance.

USADA, an organisation's whose prime purpose is to find every sports drug cheat and their support team, does not have much of a sense of humor. Nor do they appreciate a guy who stops racing at the world class level and directs all of his energy into an digital travel start up.

USADA did not appreciate his quiet act of defiance. They gave him a two year ban. USADA did not notice that the guy has not competed since the outdoor 2009 season. They claim that Chris did not file "proper paperwork." Lukezic claims to have notified USA Track & Field of his retirement. 

It is my belief that USADA has bigger fish to fry than Chris Lukezic. Lukezic is not a drug cheat. 

Larry Eder is the President at Running Network LLC and Group Publisher at Shooting Star Media, Inc.