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Zimbabwe's Golden Girls: The first champions of women's hockey

Zimbabwe women's hockey team's Triumph at the 1980 Moscow Games is one of the most inspiring stories in the history of the Olympics. The team, affectionately known as the "Golden Girls", are the unlikeliest winners of a gold medal, having been told just 35 days before they were showcased that they would be competing at the Games.

Alan Hubbard: Memories of Moscow 1980 and the last time the B-word hovered over Russia

By Alan Hubbard

As my insidethegames colleague David Owen wrote here last week, the B-word is back in business.

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Fact of the day

When British skaters Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean won the Olympic gold medal in ice dance at Sarajevo 1984 with 12 perfect 6.0s from every judge, for their interpretation of Maurice Ravel's Boléro, an important member of their team was singer-actor Michael Crawford. Crawford, who had played Frank Spencer in British sitcom Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em and the title role in the musical The Phantom of the Opera, had become a mentor to the pair in 1981 and went on to help them create their Olympic routine. Crawford said he “taught them how to act". He was present with their trainer Betty Callaway at the ringside at Sarajevo as they created one of the most iconic moments in Olympic history.

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Head of Technical Officials

Reporting to and working closely with the Events Director – Technical Operations, the Head of Technical Officials is responsible for day-to-day management of the Technical Officials programmes within the Events Department, including: Management of day-to-day technical officials operations including tournament assignments and planning; Management and development of the professional technical officials workforce including referees, umpires, and tournament doctors; Technical officials policy development through consultation with key stakeholder groups including commissions, panels, Continental Confederations and working groups; Innovation initiatives within the technical officials area to enhance officiating accuracy and sport presentation; and Technical officials pathway development including working with Continental Confederations and Member Associations on recruitment, education, training, and development initiatives.

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The Big Read

Pierre de Coubertin once said cricket has "practically no appeal for those who are not British". While he expressed doubts about the Olympic viability of cricket, lacrosse and baseball, Philip Barker wonders how the man who helped revive the modern Games would have reacted to new sports at Los Angeles 2028.