Stuck in a monumental traffic jam on the drive south-west to Incheon Airport, I was beginning to get worried we would not make it in time for the flight. Cue plenty of gesticulating, waving and smiling to the non-English speaking driver in an attempt to ask him how long it would take.

It is less than a year until the destiny of the 2024 Olympics will be revealed when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) meet in Lima.

As a budding young footballer, I was always delighted when my manager told me the six-a-side tournament we took part in every year would be expanded to include more teams.

It has not taken long for British sport to fall from grace after the golden glories of Rio.

I was four years old when my Mom put me on cross-country skis for the first time in my life. As she tells it, I shuffled around the backyard for a minute or two, then, tearfully threw myself to the ground and demanded to know when we were going in for hot chocolate. My dear Mom propped me back up on my feet, dusted off the snow, and told me to "just keep trying".

Maria Sharapova is happy. Johan Eliasch, the chief executive of her racquet sponsors, Head, is super-happy. Whoohoo! But where is her great victory?

If you live in a country that has hosted the FIFA World Cup in the past 20 years or so, you might have seen us: zombie journalists.

Rowing, for me, is a sport that conjures memories of wind, rain and early morning starts as I clumsily pulled my way down a weed infested river because I had been told I "simply had to give it a go while at university…"

On September 21, I attended the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) Executive Committee Meeting in Lausanne. Admittedly, I walked away more encouraged than I had been in months that Executive Committee Members - from Governments and the sports movement alike - were united in believing that an independent, strengthened WADA must be reinforced, publicly supported, and empowered to serve clean athletes.

The past seven days or so have been somewhat of a false dawn for FIFA. After all, it had been lauded as a key period in shaping the future of a governing body which remains desperate to rid itself of its tarnished image and reputation.

You could have knocked me down with a featherweight when I was called to the stage recently to receive, along with journalistic colleagues Colin Hart of The Sun and the Daily Mail’s Jeff Powell, the prestigious Sir Henry Cooper Award for services to boxing.

Labour’s Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell had the classic John Lennon song Imagine on his mind as he addressed his Party’s Conference in Liverpool on Monday.

There have been a few issues swirling around in recent weeks.

An Oxford University study last week made a significant intervention in the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic hosting race, helping Rome Mayor Virginia Raggi to justify officially withdrawing the city’s support from the Rome bid.