The Big Read

By Tom Degun

When John Steele was officially unveiled as chief executive of the Youth Sport Trust on January 23, it is fair to say that more than a few eyebrows were raised.

There was certainly no doubting his credentials for the position, given that Steele boasts a hugely impressive career in sports administration, but it is no secret that he departed his last role as Rugby Football Union (RFU) chief executive on a rather sour note.

That particular ending appeared a great shame to a man that took the RFU top job in September 2010 following an extremely successful five years as chief executive of UK Sport.

By Mike Rowbottom

No doubt the young hurdlers at Notts Athletics Club give their all on every training night. But as they go through their paces at the indoor venue of the Harvey Haddon sports complex tonight there seems to be a special spring in their step. This is hardly surprising given that they are going through their paces under the gaze of one of the club's most distinguished former members, Andy Turner, and the man who coached him at Notts from the ages of 11-19, Alan Bower.

Since he established himself as one of the most promising young athletes in the country under Bower's guidance, Turner has enjoyed a career which has had as many ups and downs as any hurdler could expect.

He made it to the Athens 2004 Olympics in the nick of time after recovering from injury. Further injuries followed, but by 2006 he had recovered to the point where he won the bronze medals in the European Championships and Commonwealth Games 110 metre hurdles.

By Mike Rowbottom

Antoine de Navacelle, direct descendant of Baron Pierre de Coubertin, is a man on a mission. More than one, in fact. But the most pressing concern of this cultured, recently retired international banker is to stimulate the minds of the younger generation in much the same manner as his illustrious forebear in promoting the Coubertin Awards student essay competition ahead of the London 2012 Games.

More broadly, as a board member of the International Pierre de Coubertin Committee (CIPC), which was founded in Lausanne in 1975, de Navacelle has sought to ensure that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) retains the values espoused by the man who was father to the modern Olympics – and great uncle to him.

But first question to the genial financier, as a matter of courtesy, concerns his recently broken leg. Due perhaps to the vagaries of the phone line, or more likely the interviewee's sense of fun, the enquiry prompts some uncertainty. Are we talking about his ankle – or his uncle?

By Mike Rowbottom

Footfall – which in these parlous days means the sound of shoppers checking out goods before going home to order on the internet – is brisk in the Westfield Stratford City shopping centre, as you might expect on a Saturday morning.

But then this is the dead month of January, and it is possible to chart a course through the vast and multi-tiered concourses without having to halt or take the kind of evasive action that was required on the packed day of opening last September, when the siren song of former Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger was amplified throughout the vast, thronged mall.

Around 25-30 pairs of marching feet have made their way directly to the London 2012 shop in John Lewis on this particular Saturday for a spectacular event.

By David Owen in Innsbruck

Entering the final phase of what will be a 12-year stint as head of the world's most powerful sports body, Jacques Rogge's workload does not appear to be getting any lighter.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) President will celebrate his 70th birthday on May 2; yet he was a man on a schedule in the outrageously scenic Austrian city of Innsbruck this weekend, when insidethegames was granted an exclusive interview.

Temporarily installed on the 14th floor of a city-centre hotel ringed by magnificent snow-covered mountains, Rogge certainly had a room with a view.

By David Owen

Electricity, like ballet and ancient Greek, has always been a bit of a mystery to me.

I had fondly imagined that if you wanted to stage a sports event in an unconventional location you simply shipped in the infrastructure, attached a standard 13-amp plug (you know, the brown wire is live; the blue one is neutral – the stuff even I know) and trained an extension lead to the nearest electrical socket.

Apparently it is a bit more complicated than that.

Timing is a vital part of Olympic success and when it comes to track cycling, even the smallest increments either up or down can have giant effects – as Sarah Storey found out after helping GB win team pursuit gold at the World Cup in Cali, Colombia, when she returned to discover she had been cut from the squad.

"I collected my bags in Manchester and before heading home was told my performance in Cali was not as good as they [the selectors] were looking for and so this is the end of the journey for me with the Great Britain pursuit team," wrote the 34-year-old former Paralympic swimming champion who was seeking to ride in both the Olympics and Paralympics next summer.

Storey's departure from the team pursuit followed that of other stellar performers such as Olympic road race champion Nicole Cooke, Olympic individual pursuit champion Rebecca Romero, whose challenge was undermined by injury in October, and Lizzie Armitstead, a member of the 2009 world champion team pursuit, who chose to pursue her ambitions on the road.

By Mike Rowbottom

The result of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year, to be announced on December 22, is already known. The winner is a man.

The controversy – some might call it the brouhaha – which followed the announcement earlier this month that the shortlist of 10 contenders contained no female sporting figures continues to generate heat. But the gathering which took place this week in the most ancient part of the Palace of Westminster aimed to produce light rather than heat – specifically, guiding light, given that it was composed of some of the most admirable of our female sporting role models.

The photoshoots that took place in Westminster Hall – originally built in 1067 with a "new" roof added during the reign of Richard II – and also on the green outside the Houses of Parliament were organised for a twofold purpose.