It was interesting - and faintly depressing - to see the reports last week on the subject of West Ham United's imminent takeover of the Olympic Stadium on a 99-year lease. There was much discussion, as there should be, of the taxpayers' part in providing the large part of this new monetising opportunity for the club preparing to vacate from their Upton Park home, with the London Mayor Boris Johnson insisting that the taxpayer would be remunerated in the long-term through numerous alternative attractions at a venue whose ongoing vitality will now be assured.

But the scant mention athletics got in so many of the stories written on the news of West Ham's long-awaited conclusion made it clear where it stands as a sport in this country, for all the remembered triumphs of the young man who has been sharing the task of endorsing a broadband supplier with Usain Bolt, and his female fellow Brit who is now turning up on TV adverts with startling effect in the living room of unsuspecting "householders" along with golfer Rory McIlroy and F1 driver Jenson Button.

In the same week, we had seen the illustrious football teams of Italy - whose players were wearing black armbands - and Brazil stand facing each other before their friendly match in Geneva to observe a minute's silence in memory of an athlete. Football salutes athletics. Not something you often see, although of course this was not just any athlete.

The Italian and Brazilian football teams observe a minute's silence in memory of Pietro Mennea this week

For Pietro Mennea, the 1980 Olympic 200 metres gold medallist and former world record holder, was an extraordinary performer even when considered in the context of fellow Olympic champions.

Mennea hit a chord with people - and not only with fellow Italians, although for them the background of this lean and hungry sprinter from the southern tip of Italy, nicknamed Freccia del Sud (Arrow of the South) spoke persuasively. His countrymen and women revelled in the tales of how, back in his native Barletta, in Puglia, the 15-year-old Mennea would win wagers by racing over 50 metres against cars. They said he made enough money to buy a lot of pizza...

It was something about the emotion he showed, and evoked. Pictures of his face show him as desperate, almost hunted, as he ran. The impression was in contrast to the relatively impassive visage of his two primary rivals of the time, Scotland's long-jumper turned sprinter Allan Wells, whose power must surely have gained vital elements from the thought of what his redoubtable wife-cum-coach Margot would say, or perhaps do to him if he did not acquit himself well, and the Soviet god Valery Borzov, 100 and 200m gold medallist at the 1972 Munich Olympics who looked like a classical statue of an athlete which had come to life.

Pietro Mennea competing in the 200m at the inaugural IAAF world championships at Helsinki in 1983

It was something too about his honesty. Paradoxically, some years after he retired having competed in his fifth Olympic 200m event at the 1988 Seoul Games - uniquely he had reached four finals, securing a bronze four years before beating 100m champion Wells to the gold in Moscow – Mennea admitted that, in 1984, he had taken human growth hormone a substance which, while it is on the International Association of Athletics Federation's banned list now, was not then. Mennea, however, acknowledged that it was not a high point in his career.

The god-like Valery Borzov takes 200m gold at the 1972 Munich Olympics, with Larry Black of the United States second and Pietro Mennea third

He nevertheless added: "I competed in five Olympic Games because I practised a manner of sport which was constant and correct. If I didn't keep to the straight and narrow I doubt I would have lasted so long. Doping may create grand results on one level, but it certainly doesn't bring longevity to any athlete's career."

In the year before he died, he spoke the awkward truth again, as he saw it, in condemning Rome plans to bid for the 2020 Olympics shortly before the Italian Government withdrew their support. "We are a nation devastated by a scary economic crisis," said Mennea, a political science graduate who was a member of the European Parliament from 1999 to 2004. "How could we propose something like this now? Zero-cost Olympics don't exist."

Even as he reflected upon the 200m world record of 19.72sec he set in winning the World University Games title in the thin air of Mexico City in 1979 - a mark which was not bettered until Michael Johnson ran 19.66 at the US trials on the eve of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics - Mennea was wryly honest. "I never thought for a minute the record would last that long," he reflected in 1996. "I didn't even think at the time that I had run that fast."

It was for his human, as much as his athletic qualities, that this arrow flew straight to people's hearts.

Mike Rowbottom, one of Britain's most talented sportswriters, covered the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics as chief feature writer for insidethegames, having covered the previous five summer Games, and four winter Games, for The Independent. He has worked for the Daily Mail, The Times, The Observer, the Sunday Correspondent and The Guardian. To follow him on Twitter click here.

They say strike while the iron is hot - and right now London is on fire.

After staging an Olympic and Paralympic Games last year that was widely considered one of the best ever, Sports Minister Hugh Robertson and UK Sport were quick to underline their intention to bring more major events to the capital, and indeed the whole of the Great Britain.

It was in November that the Minister and the high performance agency unveiled the Gold Event Series, which aims to bring over 70 of the world's most prestigious sporting events to the UK, including 36 World and European Championships.

"One of the most important sports legacies of London 2012 is our ability to attract major events in the future – which boost the economy, increase tourism and encourage participation," explained Robertson at the unveiling.

"We already have a fantastic eight years of great sport events planned and I want to attract more events in the years ahead."

Already the UK has secured a number of these prestigious major events - not least the 2017 World Athletics Championships - but a major, multi-sport event undoubtedly provides a more obvious opportunity to help show-off a city on the rise.

Outside the Olympic and Paralympic Games - which won't be coming back to the UK anytime soon - the biggest multi-sport event that could be staged in Britain in the near future is the Commonwealth Games.

The Commonwealth Games will obviously be staged in Britain very soon when Glasgow hosts the competition next year before it goes to the Gold Coast in Australia in 2018.

But in 2022, there is a clear vacancy that will not be filled until the latter part of the 2015, when a host city is due to be announced at the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) General Assembly.

At this early stage, London has been the only real mover with the Mayor's Olympic legacy adviser Neale Coleman publically declaring an interest.

To me, the 2022 Commonwealth Games seemed like an obvious target for London the second I watched the Paralympic Flame extinguish on September 9 last year from my seat in the Olympic Stadium.

Since then, I have asked the Sports Minister, UK Sport chair Baroness Sue Campbell and Sport England chief executive Jenny Price their thoughts on the issue.

Although all were initially surprised by the question, it took just seconds for all three to back a potential London bid for the event, the trio all suggesting it would be a great legacy for the London 2012 facilities.

Admittedly when I asked Robertson, he said had not looked at all at the idea, but he still spoke clearly.

"On that issue, we would first have to look at who is bidding for it," he told me.

"I am a huge supporter of the Commonwealth Games and have been involved in several Commonwealth Sports Ministers meetings. So I would love to see the Commonwealth Games come here. But with the Commonwealth Games, the same sort of logic applies as it does with the Olympics in that it is an event that moves around the world.

As England took to the pitch at the Millennium Stadium last weekend for the Six Nations title decider all eyes were on who would lift the trophy after what had been an extremely memorable tournament.

Anthony Joshua is Britain's most wanted man since the Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs went on the run.

The Olympic super-heavyweight champion's UK Sport funded "amateur" contract with GB Boxing expires at the end of the month and the biggest fight of the year is to get his signature on a professional contract.

If he does sign, it will make fellow gold medallist Jessica Ennis's projected £6 million ($9 million/€7 million) earnings on the back of 2012 glory seem like chickenfeed.

Every leading British promoter, and a fistful from America, have been in touch with Joshua either directly or via his agent. But so far, none have removed the chequebook from their inside pocket.

That could be about to change.

Britain's super-heavyweight gold medal-winner Anthony Joshua is one of the hottest properties in boxing

Joshua himself is keeping things under wraps - all interviews carry the condition that questions about turning pro are off limits - but boxing buzzes with speculation about an intriguing possibility.

Recently, Joshua has been to Jamaica for talks with the 47-old-year-old former Olympic champion and undisputed world kingpin Lennox Lewis.

Could it be that Lewis will manage or mentor him, with David Haye's guru Adam Booth as his trainer, under the banner of US promoters Golden Boy?

Lewis, who was among the first to congratulate Joshua in London, is known to want a more hands-on role in boxing while Oscar de La Hoya's Golden Boy - numero uno in the US - now have a licence to promote in Britain after signing Joshua's 2012 ring-mate Anthony Ogogo, the charismatic middleweight bronze medallist.

Joshua's fellow British Olympian Anthony Ogogo went pro in December last year, signing with Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy promotions

Additionally, they are believed to be keen to acquire Britain's other Olympic gold medallist, bantamweight champion  Luke Campbell, who, like Joshua, has not fought since his London final seven months ago.

But while Campell's feet have been Dancing on Ice, Joshua has been putting his up.

Well, at least one of them, following an operation for the removal of a carbuncle!

That may not sound too glamorous, but glamour is what it is all about should Joshua go pro.

In boxing terms, the 23-year-old Londoner is still a baby, but at 6ft 6in and nearly 17st, he has vital commodities for greatness; a good chin, a decent punch, a touch of charm to match his Ali-like looks and a highly marketable personality.

The British-born son of Nigerian parents, as a kid, Joshua was a talented footballer, and could run 11 seconds for the 100 metres when he was 15. His fleet-footedness helps make him special; a more nimble, less robotic version of Frank Bruno.

However he could have thrown it all away a year before the Games when he was arrested for a drugs offence and suspended from the British squad. He received a 12-month community order and 100 hours' unpaid work. "That arrest changed a lot," he said. "It forced me to grow up and respect my responsibilities."

So the multi-million dollar question is, will he or won't he?

Frank Warren, to whom Bruno turned for help in finally winning his world title, says that arguments for Joshua remaining in what used to be called amateur boxing are flawed: "He needs the fresh challenges a pro career would offer, and he would be better protected at this stage of his career."

Promoter Frank Warren has stated that Joshua "needs the fresh challenges a pro career would offer"

Well, he would say that as he would love to have Big Josh as the flagship of his own boxing fleet now that he has lost star man Ricky Burns, among others, to Eddie Hearn, the new kid in the promotional ring.

Fast Eddie, backed by an exclusive contract with Sky Sports, is hoovering up most of the available talent, and Joshua has been high on his shopping list. But he insists: "I am not in the business of talking telephone numbers."

But some are; notably Golden Boy, whose chief executive Richard Schaefer, a former Swiss banker, can produce figures that would make Joshua potentially one of the richest young men in world sport; such is the desperation for a charismatic Western heavyweight superhero to end of the robotic domination of the Klitschko clan.

But since his Olympic triumph, Joshua has made it clear that he is in no rush to become a prized fighter.

After all, he still has much to learn, and lucrative endorsements with top-whack Lottery funding, plus the prospect of a tidy few quid should he change his mind and opt to take part in the next World Series Boxing (WSB) tournament for the British Lionhearts, offer a comfortable alternative.

Moreover, the WSB would be a practical apprenticeship for an eventual fully-fledged pro career, as it is in itself professional in all but name. As are the Olympics from Rio onwards.

The tournament will now be known as Olympic boxing instead of amateur boxing following the removal of the word "amateur", which was ditched alongside headguards and the invidious computerised scoring.

Now, bouts will be marked on the pro-styled ten points per round system by ringside judges, which should suit Joshua's style.

Joshua was awarded an MBE for his services to boxing in the Queen's New Year's Honours List, along with fellow boxers Nicola Adams and Luke Campbell

Then there is the emotional pull of spilling blood for Queen and country after being rewarded with an MBE.

But by rejecting the pro overtures, or putting them on hold, there is an inherent risk.

A single defeat will put a potential fortune in jeopardy.

And as Britain's Beijing 2008 heavyweight bronze medal winner David Price will testify, it takes only one punch to destroy a dream.

The money men from both sides of the Atlantic won't be hammering quite so hard on Joshua's West London door should he elect to go to the World Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan, in October and get beaten.

And that is a real possibilty, for in the Olympics he encountered Kazakhstan's Ivor Dychko, winning by a two point margin (13-11). Would you you bet on Joshua getting a similar decision in Dychko's home ring?

Staying on even longer until Rio 2016 is even more hazardous, for defeat there would mean that 2012 gold bullion suffering instant devaluation on the world stock market.

Again, we look at Joshua's performances in London, where his victory over Italian Roberto Cammarelle in the final might have gone either way, and more significantly against his opening round opponent Erislandy Savon, nephew of Cuba's legendary three-time Olympic and six-time world amateur champion, Felix Savon.
 
Joshua sneaked a decision that at very best was debatable against a young man rated as the best heavyweight in the tournament.

He may not even be the favourite in Rio as the smart and elusive counter-punching Savon, also only 23, is considered by many good judges as an even better prospect, and odds-on to win the gold.

But by then Joshua may be sitting on a goldmine of his own.

Time to take the dosh, Josh?

Alan Hubbard is an award-winning sports columnist for The Independent on Sunday, and a former sports editor of The Observer. He has covered a total of 16 Summer and Winter Games, 10 Commonwealth Games, several football World Cups and world title fights from Atlanta to Zaire.

So Mu-yen Chu, Taiwan's first Olympic gold medallist, will not be becoming his country's second International Olympic Committee (IOC) member.

The former taekwondo champion last week lost his appeal against the body after it disqualified him from last year's election for places on the IOC Athletes' Commission.

But, as the so-called "Arbitral Award" issued by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) makes clear, this was a battle well worth fighting.

For one thing, it has removed any slur that might have been left hanging over Chu's good name. In the Panel's view, he was "guilty of excessive zeal rather than of a desire to cheat". Moreover: "His actions were overt, not covert. His breach of election rules should not be equated to dishonesty. His reputation and integrity as a sportsman remains untarnished."

Secondly, the Panel did not find "sufficient evidence to confirm that Mr Chu distributed lollipops".


To me this was always what this surreal if revealing footnote in Olympic history was primarily about.

At first, I acknowledge, this was for journalistic reasons: I think it is healthy for the Olympic Movement to have its pomposity pricked from time to time, and the contrast between the draconian nature of the punishment meted out to Chu and this supposed offence - which, in any other election I can think of, barring perhaps the Papal Conclave, would be viewed as legitimate campaigning - seemed rich with potential.

But I was quickly struck - and surprised - by the vehemence of Chu's denials and, as time passed, by the absence of lollipops, lollipop detritus or pictures of Chu distributing lollipops.

And since I think it fair to say it was the lollipop allegation that triggered the written warning emailed to Chu midway through the campaign, even if the email also alluded to a previous verbal reminder, it seemed to me that any failure to establish beyond doubt the veracity of this claim must weaken whatever justification there might be for disqualifying him.

And so my interest became more serious - so much so that I composed a witness statement and testified verbally at the CAS hearing.

One problem in the immediate aftermath of the election result was that the source of the lollipop allegation was unclear.

A further consequence of the CAS proceedings is that this source has now been identified.

As the arbitral award states: "The indication of such action [distributing lollipops] was contained only in an email of 25 July 2012, sent to the IOC by Ms Fiona de Jong of the Australian Olympic Committee..., who had not herself seen Mr Chu distributing lollipops, but solely referred to information provided by other athletes. Such statement, itself second hand hearsay, was not confirmed at the hearing by any deposition or oral evidence."

The actual wording of Ms de Jong's email states that: "A number of our athletes have advised that the Chinese Taipei IOC Athletes Commission nominee has been handing out lollipops in the residential area asking athletes to vote for him in the IOC Athletes Commission."

As a journalist, I think you gradually develop a pretty good sense of when people are being entirely candid and when they are trying to keep things from you.

My belief in Chu's denial regarding the lollipops, at first shaky, has hardened with each month that has passed with no evidence surfacing to contradict him.

Nevertheless, I have to allow for the possibility that he has pulled the wool over my eyes; and it seems frankly a bizarre claim to make up out of thin air.

With such considerations in mind, after the announcement of CAS's ruling last Friday, I sent de Jong an email. I asked:

1. Did you take any steps to verify what your athletes advised you? In particular, did you ask if they were in possession of any of the lollipops, or had taken pictures? Did you witness Chu doing this yourself?

2. Could you tell me the names of the athlete or athletes concerned and how I can contact them?

I quickly received a response from a Mike Tancred, who said: "We have no comment at this point thank you."

At the same time, I emailed Stéphanie Genoud-Cabessa, the IOC official de Jong had emailed, asking: "Did you or did you not seek to verify the information in Fiona de Jong's email, for example, by speaking to the athletes she refers to or asking for a lollipop to be supplied to you, before forwarding this email to Anita DeFrantz [chair of the Athletes' Commission Election Committee], along with your recommendation that a letter should go as soon as possible?"

I await a reply with interest.

What conclusions can be drawn from this strange tale?

The main one I think is that the electoral rules need loosening up.

On the whole I was impressed with the CAS process and I think one must accept the Panel's statement that Chu was guilty of violations for "campaigning in an unauthorized area and for distributing name cards and showing various documents via a tablet computer".


But, really, what sort of election is it where such acts can be deemed worthy of disqualification?

I accept that restrictions are necessary to prevent wealthy National Olympic Committees (NOCs) being able to pay for flash campaigns that hand their candidates a significant advantage.

I also accept that, the rules being what they were, Chu might have garnered an unfair advantage for himself over candidates who stuck religiously to them - although, frankly, if voters felt they were being pestered, he might just as easily have lost votes through his actions as gained them.

But these are not children: if candidates and voters engage over serious Olympic issues, then surely this is all to the good, wherever the discussion takes place, whether or not a tablet computer is used to facilitate it.

If I was running, swimming or paddling for an Olympic medal in the morning and did not want to be disturbed, believe me, I would have no qualms about telling vote-hunters to make themselves scarce or I would on no account vote for them.

And if candidates who are still active competitors are concerned lest too much campaigning put them at a disadvantage, well, they have the option, like Chu, of delaying their pitch for elected office until after they retire.

The upshot of all this, and I think the Movement ought to reflect on it, is that a candidate has been disqualified for showing "excessive zeal", that is to say for wanting to win a post too much. In most walks of life, "excessive zeal" is precisely what you need to demonstrate in order to stand apart from the crowd and show you are the right man or woman for a sought-after job.

More than that, I would not be in the least surprised if a man who has dedicated, what, two decades of his life to living the Olympic dream and become an out-and-out national hero as a result, were now utterly disillusioned with Olympism. The Movement ought to reflect on that as well.

And, if those lollipop claims were mistaken, I hope that those who made the mistake will find it in themselves to apologise to Chu.

Even now, the final outcome of this flawed process is not settled because another disqualified candidate - Koji Murofushi, the Japanese hammer-thrower - is also appealing his exclusion to CAS.


Following the election, it was announced that Danka Bartekova, a Slovakian skeet-shooter (with 2,295 votes), James Tomkins the Australian rower (1,802), Kirsty Coventry, the Zimbabwean swimmer (1,797) and Tony Estanguet, the French canoeist (1,779) had been voted onto the commission, although the IOC delayed their confirmation as new IOC members.

The positions of Bartekova and Tomkins have always looked secure, since they would be in the top four whether or not Chu's and Murofushi's votes were counted.

The rejection of Chu's appeal looks now to have removed any question-mark over the election of Coventry, the third-placed finisher in the official results.

A snapshot of the Rio 2016 Games was provided at the Closing Ceremonies of the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics when the world was shown that Brazil knows how to party.

Pele, the man widely considered the best football ever, was perhaps the star attraction of the segment but the samba dancing that lit up the stage illustrated more vividly the Games Rio wants to host.

However, nothing can really do justice to being in the city itself and seeing first-hand just what an explosion of colour Rio de Janeiro really is.

My visit there this week coincided with the 2013 Laureus World Sports Awards, which were making their first-ever appearance in the city.

Rather conveniently, my colleagues in the media and I were situated at the Windsor Atlântica Hotel directly opposite the stunning Copacabana beach.

The sunlit beach, filled all day with people, surfing, swimming, sunbathing or playing football or volleyball, provides a clear overview of the lifestyle in Rio. The beach itself is surrounded by stunning mountains all the way around and at the top of one of the highest stands the iconic Christ the Redeemer statue, the symbol of the city.

But this symbol of a relaxed, partying city has not served Rio too well in their preparations for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Coordination Commission has not always been full of glowing praise for the way things are progressing and even when compliments do come, they are never without a thinly veiled warning.

The Commission, which is being led by Morocco's IOC vice-president Nawal El Moutawakel, visited for the fourth time last month and urged the Organising Committee to continue full steam ahead.

"Building work is on-going and the Organising Committee continues to strengthen its capacity," El Moutawakel said.

"However, many projects will have to be delivered simultaneously.

"We remain confident but we must all stay vigilant and continue to work hard, so that timelines are respected."

But if the Organising Committee is concerned, they are certainly not showing it.

During my trip, I sat down with the colourful Rio 2016 President Carlos Nuzman who explained that everything is very much on track.

"The visits of the IOC Coordination Commission are very important and we are grateful for the expert advice and guidance received," he said.

"It is good to show that that we are making strong progress in our journey and we are on track to deliver great Games for Rio, Brazil and the world to enjoy.

"We are very much on track to deliver a Games that will surpass all expectations."

Rio 2016 President Carlos Nuzman is confident that the city will deliver a spectacular Olympic and Paralympic Games

Nuzman also made clear that Rio 2016 has no intention of trying to emulate London 2012, despite the monumental success of the Games in the English capital.

Rather wisely, he said the Brazilian city would instead play to their strengths of flair and flamboyancy to stage a great Games.

"I think each city is different and each must use their own tradition and their own culture to host the Games.

"We cannot compare ourselves to London or try and copy their style.

"We have different geography, we have a different legacy and we want our Games to be a real celebration of the transformation of the city.

"These Games will help transform Rio in a major way and we are already seeing that transformation.

"The Games will perhaps transform it more than any city has ever been transformed by the Olympics before so we will do it our own way which will be very special and leave a wonderful legacy for Rio and Brazil."

Even so, it is obviously they have zero time to rest in their preparations.

A trip to the Olympic Park site showed me that real building work is only just getting underway and the phenomenal plans for how it will look in 2016 are still a long way from becoming a reality.

One of the strange things is that the Estádio Olímpico João Havelange, where the athletics will be staged, is not actually on the Olympic Park, which seems to be a bit of a trick missed. Instead, it is located in Engenho de Dentro, which is around a 30 minute drive away from the Park.

That is assuming the Olympic Lanes work as expected because traffic in Rio is a major problem. Huge investment in transportation over the next few years offers the opportunity to help solve the problem, but it is undoubtedly one of the city's biggest achilles heels right now.

But Rio 2016 have the advantage of the 2014 FIFA World Cup acting as an important learning curb and for that reason, it is a tournament that can help them immeasurably.

But so long as Rio 2016 ensure that the "timelines are respected" and they keep on top of construction, the wonderful character and vibrancy of the city allows for the possibility of the city hosting the greatest Games ever.

They have a tough act to follow, but for the supreme management, organisation and efficiency London had, Rio provides a different offering of colour, carnival and celebration.

And that is certainly no bad thing as we get closer to South America's first ever Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Tom Degun is a reporter for insidethegames. To follow him on Twitter click here. 

There has been much well-informed discussion at this week's two-day Tackling Doping in Sport global summit, where the great and good of the world's anti-doping community have gathered to exchange views in rooms within Twickenham Stadium.

Some of it, I'll be honest, has gone a little over my head - particularly in the detailed, legal discussions around the revised code upon which the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is currently cogitating.

But what has come through, regularly, is the sense that all this talk is based in some very deep and primitive notions - notions of justice, notions of tribal loyalty. The last two are profound influences upon human development, rooted deep in all of us at the instinctive level. And as they apply to sport, they have the kind of leverage you might expect. And they can often compromise each other.

During his address to the conference, Rob Koehler, WADA's Director of Education and Programme Development, cited research conducted by Dr Sharron Stoll of the University of Idaho,  named in 2007 as one of the 100 Most Influential Sports Educators in America - as part of her work with the Center for Ethics.

This research involved assessment of moral reasoning among grade six students, and following up with the same students six years later to compare development between those who had pursued a sporting career and those who hadn't.

In broad terms, the non-athletes were found to have a higher moral reasoning power. And among the athletes, women operated at a higher level than men, and individual athletes operated at a higher level than those involved in team sports. So basically, men in teams were bottom of the moral reasoning league.

Speaking as someone who has spent many of his happiest times involved in team sport, I can only agree with this analysis. When I think back to the way I acted and spoke to officials - it's just come back to me, South West Herts Youth League, kicked an opponent, was sent off and, as the referee's report vouchsafed, gave my name as "Mickey Bloody Mouse", for all of which I got a three-week ban - I shudder. I would not have acted like that as an individual. I would have been mortified to have done so. But when you are part of a team, it's different. And when your team-mates err or transgress, you back them up. It's tribal.

This is one of the most important instincts currently militating against the drive to clear sport of doping cheats. As Koehler reported, athletes use a variety of means to accommodate themselves with the notion of doping. There is a strong tendency towards euphemism - rather than using words such as steroid, for instance, other terms, such as "juice", are employed. Other tactics involve comparing doping transgressions with the transgressions of others - "they drink, they smoke pot, they are doing a lot worse than me."

Then there is the classic cheater's retreat - everyone else is doing it, so why don't I?  And, on occasions, that expands into a denial of the evidence that doping use of steroids or EPO can seriously harm one's health. It's all been exaggerated.

But beyond that, particularly within groups of male athletes - a sprint training group, perhaps, or a richly sponsored cycling team - there is the instinct, as Koehler put it, not to rat out your mates. Such, patently, has been the story behind the recent seismic revelations about the culture of doping in which Lance Armstrong and so many of his fellow cyclists in the US Postal Service team operated.

A stencil on a Los Angeles wall depicting Lance Armstrong on a bike with an IV drip attached to it

Part of the conference was given over to a specific consideration of amnesties,  from a historical and pragmatic point of view. Mike Morgan, a senior associate with the legal firm Squire Saunders, the summit sponsors, led the conference through some of the earliest recorded amnesties – in 403BC, for instance, the Greeks accorded an amnesty to theSpartans, while Abraham Lincoln also offered an amnesty to the Confederate forces, top brass aside, towards the end of the American Civil War.

On the subject of sporting amnesties, Morgan laid out the main arguments for and against. Arguments against included the following: amnesties run counter to one of the prevailing ethics of WADA, namely harmonisation; they set a potentially dangerous precedent, inviting a never-ending sequence of similar demands; if offered within one sport, such as cycling, they are unfair to athletes in similar positions in other sports facing sanctions for the same offences; and finally, they can be seen as creating a 'rogues' charter' whereby all manner of misbehaviour can be swept under the carpet and forgotten, with the miscreants getting away 'scot-free'.n

On the other side of the argument, an amnesty might deal swiftly with the mass of cases now emerging within cycling, which might otherwise continue to drip-feed into the public consciousness as they are dealt with singly; full disclosure through a time-limited amnesty could clear this up, and make a significant reassuring marker in terms of public perception; information gleaned might be beneficial to a wide range of other sports seeking to combat doping – indeed, this might be the only means of obtaining such information.

High excitement in Hyde Park on the eve of the 2007 Tour de France Grand Depart in London

One consistent thread throughout all of the lessons Deloitte learned in our time as the official professional services provider to London 2012 was that, from the leadership of Lord Coe through to the enthusiasm of the pink foam-fingered Games Makers, it was the people that made the Games a success.

For an event on the scale of an Olympic or Paralympic Games, recruiting and onboarding the right people with the right skills at the right time is absolutely essential.

Sometimes stuff gets lost in translation as a result of the English language's tightening grip over the Olympic Movement, at the expense of French.

Take the currently hot topic of wrestling, for instance.

Even in English, the concept has metaphorical resonance: we wrestle with a problem, for example; and with our consciences.

In French, though, the word for wrestling – "lutte" – has entered the lexicon so comprehensively that I would say it is used much more outside a sporting context than within.

It is one of the commonest words for conveying the idea of a fight or struggle.

And I would say consequently that French captures far more readily the ancient, almost elemental, aura of a sport that can trace its origins, in some sense, back to the day two human beings first squared up to each other over an argument.

It also, of course, entered the Olympic narrative in a very early chapter, with wrestlers such as Milo of Croton still acknowledged as great Olympians 25 centuries after the exploits that first turned them into living legends.


This is why – while the sport very much needed the forearm smash that the International Olympic Committee (IOC)'s Executive Board unexpectedly administered in Lausanne last month – I really don't see how the Olympic Movement can actually take the next step and banish wrestling to the margins if its frequent solemn invocations of its ancient heritage are to retain credibility.

This is potentially rotten luck for squash and karate, probably the best placed of the seven sports that now find themselves competing head on with wrestling for a single space in the 2020 Summer Olympic programme.

It is, of course, no bad thing that getting accepted into the Olympic Games is a big ask.

This is, after all, the pinnacle of world sport we are talking about.

But I can't be the only one who finds it faintly ridiculous that sports should have to compete directly against each other to secure their induction.

It shouldn't be beyond the wit of man, or the IOC, to devise a system capable of evaluating candidate sports objectively and in isolation.

They would then be welcomed onto the big stage once they had achieved sufficiently impressive ratings in the criteria for which they were being judged.

The risk with assessing sports individually, rather than in direct, well, "lutte" with their peers, is that the size of the Games might increase in a somewhat unpredictable way.


Controlling this has been a preoccupation in recent years, for perfectly honourable and understandable reasons: a Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games is already beyond the capacity of all but the top cities of the world to pull off.

Then again, the Summer Games are so big anyway, that it is hard to see how an extra two or three sports – if they truly merited the slots – would make all that much difference to the organisers.

In fact, the unsatisfactory current situation could be finessed quite straightforwardly by adopting a change I have floated before.

The Summer Games are arguably too big; but the Winter Games aren't.

What is more, countries with little snow and ice really aren't all that interested in strangers hurtling down a white mountainside with planks of wood strapped to their feet.

The argument for transferring some sports from the Summer Games to the Winter just gets stronger and stronger, in my view.

Switching orthodox indoor volleyball, for instance, would give countries like Brazil and Cuba an instant stake in the Winter Games, while allowing the sport to retain a Summer presence in the form of beach volleyball.


This would be comparable to the position of field hockey and ice hockey today.

Handball, to give another example, is an archetypal European winter sport; ditto indoor track cycling.

Moving both to the Winter Olympics to me makes perfect sense.

Such proposals, inevitably, would stir up a political hornets' nest.

A less controversial (but to me less satisfactory) alternative would be to declare the Summer Games closed to new sports, unless and until existing sports fell short of required standards, while offering to add the most deserving new sports to the Winter Olympic schedule.

I don't see why squash or karate should not be played at a Winter Games and I think the presence of both could benefit the Movement by expanding the event's geographical footprint.

You might disagree with such suggestions, but I hope you would concur that this is exactly the sort of idea that should get debated in campaigning for the forthcoming IOC Presidential election for the right to succeed Jacques Rogge, who is reaching the end of his 12-year stint in the top job.

Given the opportunity, I personally would be strongly tempted to vote for a candidate proposing a re-balancing of sporting programmes along these lines.

David Owen worked for 20 years for the Financial Times in the United States, Canada, France and the UK. He ended his FT career as sports editor after the 2006 World Cup and is now freelancing, including covering the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the 2010 World Cup and London 2012. Owen's Twitter feed can be accessed here.

Jessica Ennis is hardly off the box these days. Not displaying her skills as the world's supreme all-round athlete but filling copious television commercial breaks by advertising a health insurance company and a Spanish bank – among other things.

You can also see her regularly in full-page ads in some of the national newspapers.

According to sports business experts Ennis' enduring appeal as the brightest star in the London 2012 Olympic galaxy will earn her at least £6 million ($9 million/€7 million) on the road to Rio 2016.

And hard on her heels in the cashing in race will be Mo Farah and a host of other household-name Olympians.

Swimmer Rebecca Adlington is reported to be getting £20,000 ($30,000/€23,000) a time on the after-dinner speaking circuit. Boxing gold medallist Nicola Adams' ever-smiling features dominate buses nationwide encouraging us to drink more milk.

Prolific gymnast Beth Tweddle and Adams' Olympic champion ring-mate Luke Campbell can put the champagne on ice after for tripping the light fantastic across the rink, finishing first and third respectively in ITV's popular Torvill and Dean showpiece Dancing on Ice.

Beth Tweddle was crowned the queen of Dancing on Ice

A 100 years ago, way back in 1912, at the Stockholm Olympics, there was a wrestling match between two athletes that made history; in fact it set a world record that still stands today. Martin Klein of Russia wrestled Alfred Asikainen of Finland for an astonishing 11 hours and 40 minutes. For those of us that weren't around then to remember, that is 35 minutes longer then the match at Wimbledon in 2010 between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut, the world's longest tennis contest. That match lasted only 11 hours and 5 minutes.

The world of wrestling is now in its eleventh hour with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), a formidable opponent, grappling over their fate to stay in the Olympic family.


The news that wrestling is slated to go on the Olympic chopping block and be removed as one of the core sports in the Games programme is shocking but not that unusual, apparently. If you look back through modern Olympic history you'll see the carnage - sports that were once prized, revered and celebrated disciplines cast out and put on the scrap heap.

Sports being dropped and added is nothing new. But wrestling is unique, in that it has been a staple of the modern Olympics in all but one since 1896, in fact it used to be a marquee event.

Wrestling was also one of the earliest events in the original Ancient Olympics when it was added in 708 BC and wrestling's roots can be traced back further than that, to the beginning of recorded history in fact, some 15,000 years ago.

The world is continually revolving, evolving. It is constantly moving and changing. The Olympic Movement is no different; it has to change to keep up. If the IOC did not, it would become out dated, irrelevant and extinct just like the dinosaurs. The IOC must make those difficult decisions to keep up with the times. But wrestling, really? For me and I believe many, wrestling is synonymous with the Olympics. It is one of the original Olympic sports and one of the oldest sports, period.


So should there be some exceptions? Should some sports be completely safe and never be removed, like wrestling?

Athletes compete against athletes in the Olympics, we all know that. But sports are also competing against other sports for spectators, financial support and to stay in the Olympic family.

As new sports and events are added the sports with the least participation and following are going to always come under pressure to be dropped, no matter what the history. There is only so much room on the Olympic calendar.

The IOC made a surprising move. The wrestling world has countered with an equally surprising, strong, vocal and passionate response that surprised the IOC.

Wrestling is fighting for its Olympic life and they won't go without a fight – nor should they.

To be a good wrestler, an Olympic level wrestler, you have to be tremendous athlete - I think that goes without saying - but you also have to be very creative. A wrestler must make split second decisions as to how they react and respond to their opponent. They have to think of their next move to block their opponent and stop being pinned to the mat. At the same time they must position themselves to create an opportunity for their winning move.

Now the wrestling community has to do the same thing as a collective. The IOC's move put the wrestling world off balance. They were caught off guard. They will have to look beyond their Wrestlers Moves List now and come up with some new move to stop being pinned to the mat and to keep their sport alive.

The reaction and support for wrestling's Olympic fate around the world has been great, but is it too late now? Have they run out of time? Will athletes returning medals make a difference? Will cities, countries, and organisations, lending their support and lobbying to keep wrestling alive work? And what about those heavyweight politicians like Donald Rumsfeld former US Secretary of Defence and a former wrestler, and Russian President Vladimir Putin giving their support and political pressure? Surely that will help. But will it be enough? It is a shame we can't bring back Henry VIII or Abraham Lincoln who were avid supporters of wrestling to get their help to.


Hopefully wrestling will emerge triumphant and be returned to its rightful place. Maybe this experience is the wakeup call it needed to make some changes – and a warning to other sports to stay alert.

So now they have to battle it out with seven other non-core sports – baseball/softball, squash, karate, sport climbing, wakeboarding, wushu and roller sports. They must make it to final three from which the final selection will be made. But in this competition there is no prize for second or third place - it is winner takes all - and for wrestling the prize is to be reunited and reinstated into the Olympic family.

If wrestling does not succeed it does not mean its fate is doomed and set in stone to join other "discontinued sports" in the Olympics like the tug of war, cricket, polo and pigeon shooting.

It could still come back, someday, like other sports in the Olympics: Archery was dropped after the 1920 Antwerp Olympics but was then brought back 52 years later in 1972. Tennis was another sport that felt the axe but was brought back in 1988. And in 2016 golf and rugby are coming back to the Olympics. Golf was part of both the 1900 and 1904 Olympics. Rugby, specifically rugby union, was played in four Olympics. The last time was in 1924.

So if wrestling is cut there is a chance, albeit a wafer-thin chance, that it could re-emerge, someday, if it can regain enough interest and enough political support.

As wrestling goes into mortal combat for its Olympics existence I wish them well and hope for their success. I hope they remember Baron Pierre De Coubertin's, the founder of the modern Olympics famous quote: "The most important thing in the Olympics Games is not the winning but the taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well."

Roald Bradstock represented Britain in the 1984 and 1988 Olympics and in 1996 was an alternate for the United States Olympic team. Bradstock competed in the 2000, 2004 and 2008 United States Olympic Trials. He has now switched his allegiance back to Britain. In addition to being an Olympic athlete, Bradstock is also an Olympic artist dubbed "The Olympic Picasso"

I once sat next to Nadzeya Ostapchuk – one of six athletes whose stored samples have shown up positive eight years after being taken at the 2005 World Athletics Championships – when we were on a bus heading for the stadium at...I forget where. Could have been Doha. Could have been Brussels. Could have been any of the IAAF Samsung Diamond League venues where, in the space of the last three years, this chunky shot putter from Belarus has enjoyed mighty successes.

As you might expect, she was pretty solid - but I reckoned, if things turned ugly, I could probably have handled her. Then again, she might have tied me into a knot and stored me in the luggage rack. Reporting on the women's shot put over the last few years has invariably involved writing about two athletes: Ostapchuk - impassive, compact, startlingly swift in the circle - and the Kiwi thrower Valerie Adams - demonstrative, emotional, built on a far larger scale.

Ostapchuk was unbeatable in 2010, when she won the inaugural Diamond League shot put title, but the following year Adams, perhaps regaining her equilibrium after a painful divorce, was the dominant force as the Belarus athlete suffered with an injured knee. Last year it seemed as if Ostapchuk was taking her turn for the plaudits, but soon after earning the Olympic title in London she was banned after tests carried out a few days before the final and the day after returned findings of an illegal metabolic agent, metenolone.

Nadzeya Ostapchuk was stripped of the shot put title she won at the London 2012 Games and now stands to lose her 2005 world title

And now it transpires that Ostapchuk's only world gold - she has silver medals from the championships of 2003, 2007 and 2011 - also looks like being annulled. It is bad news – and good news. The usual mixture when a doping infraction has been uncovered...

In the wake of Ben Johnson's landmark positive testing and disqualification from the position as Olympic 100 metres champion at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, the then IOC President Juan-Antonio Samaranch looked on the bright side. "This is not a disaster," he opined. "For it shows the IOC is very serious, and that we are winning the battle for a clean Games. The gap between our aims and those who are cheating is narrowing."

Ben Johnson set the template for doping shocks in athletics when he was stripped of his 1988 Olympic 100m title

A quarter of a century on, as the latest chemical miscreants are named within the sport - Ostapchuk figured along with three fellow Belarus athletes and in company with two other Russians who made the Helskinki podium in long jump silver medallist Tatyana Kotova and hammer winner Olga Kuzenkova - athletics is making the same calculations.

The feeling in IAAF circles before the six retrospective positives were announced was that this was a "positive" positive result.

"You will see that most striking thing will be: how few athletes and how obvious those athletes as well," said Nick Davies, the IAAF deputy general secretary. "In other words, sport is far less dirty than some would like to think."

Davies confirmed that "hundreds" of re-tests had been carried out on urine samples provided at the championships which had been frozen and stored. The operation was deliberately undertaken just within the eight-year statute of limitations for drug violations laid down by the World Anti-Doping Code.

"Retesting is something we always said we would do, right from the beginning," Davies sad. "We have an eight-year time when we can test and obviously you wait as long as you can. People ask, 'Why are you doing it now? It makes no sense'. Actually, it makes perfect sense because the longer you wait, the more sophisticated the testing will be."

The long game is the only game to play as far as authorities seriously seeking to combat doping are concerned. In this case, the IAAF have been able to come back to original samples with technology that has moved on significantly. But this tactic is now being supplemented by a more profound gauge.

Tatyana Kotova has been suspended by the Russian Anti-Doping Agency following evidence of an adverse test following her silver medal long jump win in Helsinki 2005



Shortly before the 2011 World Athletics Championships in Daegu, the IAAF announced its intention to take blood samples from every competing athlete as part of an ongoing programme to develop individual Athlete Biological Passports. Before the Championships were over, a blood testing team operating at the Athletes' Village had amassed a total of 1,848 pre-competition blood samples from participating athletes.

The Athlete Biological Passports allows anti-doping experts to register and chart physiological markers over the passage of time, allowing comparison and further scrutiny if required. Scientists will be looking for evidence of banned blood boosters such as Erythropoietin (EPO) and illegal blood transfusions for endurance athletes, while for those involved in power sports the focus will be on steroids and growth hormones.

In cycling, this process has been used to determine which competitors should be target-tested. An IAAF spokesman added: "The data collected will therefore constitute a unique database of reference ranges for various biomarkers in elite male and female athletes."

On September 18, 2011, the World Anti-Doping Agency – established in 1999 under IOC auspices to co-ordinate a worldwide programme for doping-free sport -  announced that the volume of blood-tests in the run-up to the London 2012 Games would be more than doubled. As my insidethegames colleague David Owen reported at the time: "Meeting at the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne, the WADA Executive Committee accepted a recommendation that all anti-doping organisations ensure that not less than 10 per cent of samples collected are blood specimens. Only four per cent of all doping control samples collected in 2010 were for blood, mostly for passport programmes.

"WADA said this had been a 'key concern', since 'an anti-doping organisation ought to collect blood as it cannot purport to have an effective programme in place if there is a loophole in its testing programme leaving for possible abuse of substances and methods that cannot be detected in urine analysis such as human growth hormone and blood transfusions'. It said the new 10 per cent directive would have a 'significant deterrence benefit, regardless of the particular risks associated with the anti-doping organisations' sports.'"

Juan-Antonio Samaranch, IOC President at the time of Ben Johnson's doping ban, insisted 'this is not a disaster'

The latest step forward in the detection of cheating athletes has come in a week which started with more good news on the doping front, namely the decision by the International Tennis Federation to introduce its own biological passport method following months of lobbying for more stringent measures from players as exalted as Andy Murray, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.

The ITF, along with the Association for Tennis Professionals (ATP), Women's Tennis Association (WTA) and grand slam tournaments has now given unanimous approval to the system which the disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong claimed deterred him from doping further after it was introduced in cycling.

"Bio passports are certainly the present and future of anti-doping," Davies said, adding: "It gives a massive boost to credibility especially if the passports can be started from junior age-groups – as soon as athletes first make it on the scene." Unhappily, but necessarily, that is the next frontier for this passport to cross.

Mike Rowbottom, one of Britain's most talented sportswriters, covered the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics as chief feature writer for insidethegames, having covered the previous five summer Games, and four winter Games, for The Independent. He has worked for the Daily Mail, The Times, The Observer, the Sunday Correspondent and The Guardian. To follow him on Twitter click here.

Such is the speed at which the Olympic and Paralympic clock ticks that the Sochi 2014 Winter Games now stand just a year away.

Wonderful "year to go" celebrations have been staged in the Russian city for both the Winter Olympic and Paralympic milestones – which are February 7 and March 7 respectively.

But perhaps the most interesting comments around the Sochi one year milestones have come from International Paralympic Committee (IPC) President Sir Philip Craven.

Sir Philip, who is also a prominent International Olympic Committee (IOC), member advised Sochi 2014 not to attempt to replicate London 2012, despite the Games last summer proving one of the best ever.

"It must be remembered that the Winter Games are far smaller than those that take place in the summer," Sir Philip said in his one year to go message.

"Whereas the London Paralympics boasted 4,237 athletes from 164 countries competing across 502 medal events in 20 sports, Sochi will feature a maximum of 692 athletes from 45 nations. They will contest 72 medal events in five sports.

"The challenge for Sochi 2014 now is not to try to emulate what happened in London six months ago, but to build on the success of Vancouver 2010, the best Winter Games to date."

It is an interesting observation from Sir Philip, even though my most recent visit to Sochi at the end of last year made me feel like I was very much in a summer sport city rather than winter one.

As oppose to being a snow covered city you would associate with a Winter Games host city, I found a Sochi that was simply glistening in the sun, with a humid subtropical climate.

It is rather intriguing and the 2014 Winter Games itself will see almost the impossible happen with Sochi building an entire Winter Olympics and Paralympics pretty much from scratch.

While the task was always huge from the outset, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had little fear in awarding Sochi the Games once Russian President Vladimir Putin turned up at their voting Session in Guatemala City in July 2007 and assured them personally things would get done.

For Russia and for Putin, Sochi 2014 will be a display of personal pride and strength. That is why some estimates suggest the event will cost the country as much as $50 billion (£32 billion/€38 billion), making it the most expensive Games ever ahead of Beijing 2008.

Even now, the city looks more like a construction site rather than one that will be hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games in less than 12 months.

But you can be certain it will ready in time and that it will be spectacular.

And if the IOC are at all worried, they are doing a very good job of hiding it.

"The eyes of the world will soon be on Sochi and I have no doubt that Sochi will be ready," said IOC President Jacques Rogge in a speech last month. "With support from the Russian people and public authorities at all levels, this city has come a very long way since Sochi earned the right to host the Games six years ago."

The IOC President also made a point "to particularly thank President Putin for his strong and unwavering commitment to the success of these Games" before closing his speech emphatically.

"We cannot predict exactly what will happen in a year's time but we do know that we will witness many unforgettable moments," he said.

"Records will fall and new heroes will emerge. The world is coming to Sochi, and Sochi will be ready to welcome the world."

I left Sochi at the end of last year feeling that while it didn't exactly look like a "Winter Wonderland", it looked like a very good host city for the 2014 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.

That remains the case now, and even though it faces huge pressure to deliver following a hugely successful Vancouver 2010 and London 2012, you can very much expect Sochi 2014 to live up to the high expectations.

Tom Degun is a reporter for insidethegames. To follow him on Tiwtter click here. 

Almost eight months on from the spectacle that was the London 2012, buzz and excitement around that famous summer of sport still fills classrooms, sports centres and households across the nation.

Wave a medal in front of a young person, give them the opportunity to hear from an Olympic and Paralympic athlete or hold a London 2012 torch and the excitement is uncontrollable. It's a chance for them to relive the memories, be part of the moment and be inspired by sport.

London 2012 captured young minds and brought new opportunities for young people, but this didn't happen overnight. Schools up and down the country have been working tirelessly to inspire young people and build a lasting legacy; encouraging them to try new sports, volunteer at events, help to officiate, lead sports activities or coach their peers.

This great work continues today, but how do we ensure that this captivated audience stays engaged?

How do we ensure that Lord Seb Coe's promise to inspire a generation doesn't fizzle away?

With young people central to that winning 2012 bid, it's only right that we give them the opportunity to influence the Olympic and Paralympic legacy.

This is something that I'm keen to see happen and the reason why I'm supporting the Youth Sport Trust's legacy commitment; Lead your generation. It's all about encouraging young people to develop legacy plans in their schools by co-ordinating sports festivals, activities and events. The commitment builds on the success of the Young Ambassador programme by continuing to empower young people to be role models and make a difference in their school and community.

The Young Ambassador programme was set up following the winning Olympic bid and now there are more than 7,000 Young Ambassadors active in schools and communities, setting an example to others. Since the programme began in 2005, it has gone from strength to strength with one Young Ambassador given the prestigious honour of lighting the cauldron at the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony in recognition for their dedication to motivating young people to take part in sport.

Today, over 300 Young Ambassadors from across the country will attend an event at Wembley Stadium, celebrating their commitment and achievement as young leaders and volunteers.

The day has been designed by members of the Young Ambassador Steering Group and they will lead a workshop introducing Lead your generation, to the Young Ambassadors. It's a chance for the youngsters to share learning with each other and develop ideas that they can take back into their schools and communities and create opportunities for their peers.

This is real legacy in action, created and driven by young people.

Jonathan Edwards is the Sydney 2000 Olympic triple jump champion and world record holder in the event. He recently joined the Youth Sport Trust Board and will be supporting their London 2012 legacy project Lead your generation.