Early last Saturday (February 15) evening, a strange message appeared simultaneously across Twitter accounts controlled by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

What are the best economic conditions in which to lay on an Olympic Games? The question is prompted by this week’s economic bombshell from Japan revealing that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) shrunk at an annualised rate of 6.3 per cent in the last quarter of 2019.

Is it a mere coincidence that the two biggest and most successful clubs in England's football Premier League and rugby union Premiership have both been found guilty of major financial malpractice? I think not.

When it was built in the mid-1980s, the Stade Couvert Régional in Liévin was billed as the largest and most modern sports hall in Europe. In 1987 it hosted the European Athletics Indoor Championships, after which its annual Pas-de-Calais meeting provided the sport with some of its outstanding moments for more than 20 years.

The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) is part of an international movement that transcends mere athletic competition to encapsulate the core Olympic values of excellence, respect and friendship.

As a country which does not suffer extreme weather too often, Britain was brought to a standstill last week by the arrival of Storm Ciara.

In less than a month, the Olympic Flame will be on its way to Tokyo. Rio 2016 pistol shooting gold medallist Anna Korakaki will be the first Torchbearer. When she receives the first Flame, it will represent the latest Olympic milestone for women.

A much-publicised hearing in the protracted Russian doping scandal looks set to be held in public following a request from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) last week.

Alisher Usmanov has become fluent in Olympic speak making him a valuable asset for Russian sport in its hour of need.

These are heady days for heavyweights. 

For some time I’ve been wondering who Armand Duplantis – freshly established pole vault world record holder at the age of 20 - reminds me of. And it’s just occurred to me. Michael Owen. A young Michael Owen that is.

The qualification process for Tokyo 2020 has reached crunch time in several sports, with basketball among those to have seen one of its Olympic tournaments take shape in the past couple of days.

One of the most significant moments in the build-up to last year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup was from a rather unexpected quarter.

The last time Tokyo staged the Olympic Games, there were many who felt one medical man had made the operation possible. His name was Ryotaro Azuma.