FEBRUARY 16 - RIO DE JANEIRO today revealed more details of its X Park, the extreme sports arena that it hopes will help it follow London and host the 2016 Olympics.

Complex, one of the three clusters Rio is proposing to stage the sports if they are chosen to host the Games

that the X Park - whose idea was first reported by insidethegames in January - will help deliver the Games

appeal of the Olympics to include teenagers by staging events that they are interested in and helping combat

, such as BMX in the Summer Games and snowboarding into the Winter.  

Osorio said: "The X Park addresses directly the need for the IOC to engage the youth of the world.  

  SEPTEMBER 24 - BIRMINGHAM'S new £7.5 million Gymnastics and Martial Arts Centre (GMAC), which was officially opened today, was described as "a Rolls Royce" facility by a leading international official.

centre has been built to Olympic specifications and has already been included in the London 2012 pre-Games

European Artistic Gymnastics Championships in 2010 and the FIG Trampoline, Tumbling and Double–Mini World

There are also three martial arts rooms providing a dojo and two further flexible martial arts combat

The United States athletics team are due to use Alexander Stadium as pre-Games training base in 2012.

Britain's former world gymnastics champion Beth Tweddle will be the special guest.  

SQUASH is hoping that its efforts to be voted into the 2016 Olympics receives a boost when the Hi-Tec World

the event at the National Squash Centre, the £3.5 million facility built for the 2002 Commonwealth Games

launch their bid for inclusion in the Games when he unveils "Countdown to Copenhagen", marking the fact

choose at its Session in the Danish capital in October 2009 which sports should be chosen for the 2016 Games

the Olympics, believing it would also help make a significant contribution to British success at the Games

"Squash is all about gladiatorial combat with extraordinary athletes.  

 AUGUST 21 - BRITAIN will set aside its Olympic rivalry with Australia for a day at least tomorrow when instead the focus will be on Ireland as the two country's go head-to-head in two semi-finals of the boxing tournament.

"I'm going to hit and move, not stay static, and combat him right with the tactics.  

damaging a knuckle and had to spend almost a year away from the ring following the 2006 Commonwealth Games

Ravaged by rumours of discontent over their elite programme, the Irish team had returned from the World

 AUGUST 21 - BRITAIN will set aside its Olympic rivalry with Australia for a day at least tomorrow when instead the focus will be on Ireland as the two country's go head-to-head in two semi-finals of the boxing tournament.

"I'm going to hit and move, not stay static, and combat him right with the tactics.  

damaging a knuckle and had to spend almost a year away from the ring following the 2006 Commonwealth Games

Ravaged by rumours of discontent over their elite programme, the Irish team had returned from the World

 JAQUES ROGGE, the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), said today that he wants to use next year's Congress in Copenhagen as an opportunity to discuss how to get more youngsters involved in sport and how to harness the digital revolution.

that, first of all, we need to address our responsibility to better engage with young people and to combat

"I am also eager for us to fully embrace the digital revolution, which affects the way the world experiences

the Olympic Games, whether via the internet or on mobile phones."  

This has been used to solicit contributions under five themes: Athletes, Olympic Games, Structure of

Rogge made his comments when he attended the ceremony at the world famous Tivoli Garden to launch the

  AUGUST 26 - COVERING the Olympics in Beijing was like being sealed in a bubble for two weeks, DAVID OWEN discovered, but against all predictions it was sport that took centre stage thanks to Michael Phelsp and Usain Bolt (pictured)

Being part of the Olympic “family” at Games-time is like entering a parallel universe at the best of

A pre-Games clampdown resulted in nearly 40 positive tests in the run-up to Beijing.  

Delays in implementing an effective regime to combat human growth hormone, for example, meant that users

In sporting terms, then, the Games leave Beijing in an improbably healthy state.  

He ended his FT career as sports editor after the 2006 World Cup and is now freelancing.