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Alan Hubbard: Baroness Tanni deserves to perform Flame-lighting ceremony honours

Tanni Grey-Thompson – she says she still has to stifle a giggle when addressed as Baroness – will be in the BBC radio commentary box when the Paralympic Games begin next Wednesday (August 29).

However I imagine I am not alone in hoping that she will be leaving the mic behind for a moment to do the honours when it comes to the Flame-lighting ceremony, for no-one deserves it more.

More than anyone, she has raised the status of disability sport in this country to an unprecedented level where there is such genuine public enthusiasm and support that for the first time in their 52-year history they will be a sell-out.

"I can't wait for them to start, I'm completely exhausted already," she tells me during yet another breathless week charging up and down the country. Have wheelchair will travel, has always been her motto.

"They are going to be amazing but after the Olympics there is such a lot to live up to, and I don't just mean about the medals - the organisation of the Games was just out of this world.

"I am just blown away by the ticket sales for the Paralympics. This time last year you just would have believed it possible that they would sell out. If you look at Atlanta [1996] and even Sydney [2000], not a huge number went and watched them. There were big crowds in Beijing, but they gave the tickets away.

"I have always thought there would be a big support for a Paralympics in London but there's a difference from just turning on the telly to watch them to putting your credit card down and paying to go.

"I don't care if people are coming to the Paralympics because the tickets are cheaper or that they couldn't get them for the Olympics, the point is they're coming, and London 2012 has got the balance exactly right between the two Games. Like the Olympics, these will be the best Paralympics ever.

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Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson has been buoyed by the Paralympic ticket sales

"What I hope is that also like the Olympics, they will inspire young people to say 'yes I can do it'. I hope that if a young disabled person turns up at an athletics club they might be told 'well, we've never had disabled athletes before but we're going to try and do something with you.' I want these Games to inspire inclusion.

"I also hope then will encourage people be more open-minded and not just look at the disabled and think they are benefit scrounging cheats. They should think to themselves 'that could be me in five years'. "

Apart from her Five Live stint, Tanni she says she will be doing "a few bits and pieces" during the Games. Though she isn't quite sure what.

In view of her iconic status she does seem to have been somewhat under-used in their promotion.

Would she like to have been more involved? "I'm really happy with what I've done up to now. I've sat on a couple of LOCOG (London 2012) committees and made some promotional videos, so it will be nice just to go along and watch, even though I'm working while I'm doing it. I feel quite privileged about that."

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Wheelchair racer Shelly Woods has benefited from mentoring by Tanni Grey-Thompson

There have been times when her relationship with the British Paralympic Association has been prickly, her outspokenness getting up the noses of the Blazers. "The BPA and me have always had differences of opinion and I wasn't always kept in the picture in the past but under this new regime things are brilliant - couldn't be better."

Before the Beijing Games, she had mentored one of Britain's top female wheelchair racers, Shelly Woods.

But now she will be cheering on a 16-year-old local girl from Middlesbrough, who, by coincidence is named Jade Jones, the same as the young taekwondo gold medallist. She is coached by Tanni's husband Ian and is number four in the world. Icons are always a hard act to follow but there are hopes she may be the new Tanni.

"She's had some amazing races this summer, over 100, 800 and 1500 metres and she has beaten Shelly just before the Games. She's doing better times now than I did at the height of my career, so, yeah, she could just make it, she's a really smart young girl."

Since retiring from competitive sport five years ago, Cardiff-born Tanni, 43 – who won an unparalleled 11 Paralympic golds, set 30 world records and won six London Marathons - says she is busier than ever. "I am fortunate that I have found so many things to do in life to replace athletics. Nothing can ever be the same after you have competed at such a high level but all this gives me a great buzz – something that is meaningful and, I hope, productive. Life's chaotic these days, but then it always was."

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Paralympic medal hopeful Jade Jones is coached by Tanni Grey-Thompson's husband, Ian

She says it is fortunate that her husband, a doctor of chemistry, sports scientist and coach, is able to work from home and is in a position to look after their ten-year-old daughter Carys.

As Baroness Grey-Thompson of Eaglescliffe she will be wrapping the ermine cloak around her again when she returns to the political fray at the House of Lords in October after the summer recess, warning that from next April, when the benefit cuts to the disabled start taking effect "I shall be very vocal."

She adds: "I know when I get up to speak, as I do quite often, some of them look at me and say 'oh no, not her again!', but that's what I'm there for, to speak up for sport and disabled people. These benefit cuts are going to be just horrible, just horrible, and so unfair."

Britain's greatest Paralympian led a revolt in the Upper House against the Government's Welfare Reform Bill earlier this year was narrowly unsuccessful while earning the admiration of fellow peers, among them Tory Lords Coe and Moynihan."Tanni's a revelation, quite inspirational" says Coe. "She could have a great future in politics."

Invited two years ago as a People's Peer, Tanni surprisingly elected to sit as a cross-bencher, despite being an ardent lifelong Labour supporter. "It wasn't an easy decision," she admits. "My political views are left of centre but I think there are a lot of advantages of being a cross-bencher because you can vote with your heart, and in any case, I believe sport should be non-political. My passions are sport, women in sport and disabled people, and they kind of end up not being political, so I can put a bit of a different spin on it. I am not there to spout about things of which I have no previous experience, but I am an ex-athlete, I am a mum and I have a disability so all that combines to give a different perspective.

"It was a deep desire to help make positive changes that first drove me into politics as a student [she has a degree in political sciences from Loughborough University] and this still burns as bright as ever. I've had many challenges in life and sport but going into the House of Lords is probably the greatest ever.

"It was made clear to me when I first joined the House that I was given a couple of years just to learn the ropes but after the Games is the time that I hope to really start making an impact.

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Fellow House of Lords peer Sebastian Coe believes Tanni Grey-Thompson could enjoy a strong future in politics

"Health is one debate that immediately jumps out. And not just regarding the many problems regarding disability [she has been in a wheelchair since she was seven, having been born with spina bifida]. Change also needs to be instigated in issues ranging from assisted suicide to care in the home and the legacy of London 2012.

"The whole thing about the sports legacy after the Games is going to be interesting particularly the vexing situation on school playing fields. The Games has been the fairy dust, it is not up to Locog to drive any changes forward, it's those in sport themselves, MPs in Parliament and those of us in the House of Lords who speak on sport like Colin, Seb, Baroness Sue Campbell and me who now have a massive role to play, together with people on the governing bodies. They just cannot accept that things are going to continue to happen in the way they have."

She says she would love to be involved in one of those administrative bodies and interestingly there are several situations vacant, with openings for the chairs of a merged UK Sport/Sport England and the British Olympic Association (BOA) among them. Tanni could fit into either.

"There seems to be some musical chairs going on, which is fascinating. I find sports politics as interesting as real politics.

"Yes, I'd be happy to be given some sort of role, as you know I've always got some opinion on sport, but whether people want to listen to it, I don't know.

Sir Steve Redgrave is a runner for the BOA chair, as are fellow former gold medallists Sir Matthew Pinsent, David Hemery and hockey's Richard Leman, a close friend of the exiting Lord Moynihan. But with women rising to the top and the Paralympics looking to be a big success, could the bold Baroness emerge as a surprise candidate? It would be an inspired choice.

As would that next week. No-one has done more to light the fires of London's Paralympics which is why surely hers has to be the hand that light the Flame.

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 Olympics, 10 Commonwealth Games, several football World Cups and world title fights from Atlanta to Zaire.

Mike Rowbottom: When Olympic gold means that little bit more

Just as there is nothing more satisfying for an athlete – to use the term in its broadest sense – than to win an Olympic gold medal, there is nothing more satisfying for a journalist – ditto – than to document the career of that athlete.

It's a ludicrous premise in a way. When the winning blow is struck, or the line crossed, the victory belongs to the protagonist, with lessening versions of credit accruing to their coach, psychologist, nutritionist, pharmacist – sorry, forget that last one.

But there is no getting away from it – in the moment of victory, one cannot help but rejoice the more if one has invested hours in speaking to the eventual winner and writing about them.

At the London 2012 Olympics that – thank the Lord – have just concluded with such success (the event which the Evening Standard gloomily warned on its front page would be the "Wettest Games on record" took place for the most part in glorious sunshine), there were clear examples of this truth.

Speaking personally, the second Saturday of the Games is still something I have to remind myself actually happened, rather than being something from a kind of hometown reverie.

Before spending the evening in dizzy contemplation of three home athletics golds in the space of an hour – pinch me someone – I had taken the trip down to Eton Dorney.

At the rowing venue since re-named Eton Adorney following the home successes there during the Games – not really – I watched the home team double its number of golds to four as the men's coxless four and the lightweight women's double scull of Katherine Copeland and Sophie Hosking crossed the line of foaming bubbles ahead of all opposition between two mountains of patriotic fervour.

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Katherine Copeland_and_Sophie_Hosking_August_19

Katherine Copeland (left) and Sophie Hosking celebrate winning gold in the London 2012 lightweight women's double sculls final

It was stirring to witness the relatively new pairing win their title. But the victory which reverberated most was the one earned by the four which had been put together earlier in the year by the men's head coach, Jürgen Gröbler, after it became clear that Andy Triggs Hodge and Pete Reed, both Olympic champions in the 2008 four, were not going to find a way to get past the New Zealand pair who eventually won the 2012 Olympic title, Hamish Bond and Eric Murray.

In the course of the previous four years I had seen and spoken to the British pair and charted – along with many others – an emotional graph that had begun with soaring hope, then dipped to despair and frustration before rising to joy.

Early in 2009, Reed had announced at a press event next to the Tower of London that he would definitely be seeking a second Olympic gold, and had spoken in confident tones about what he and his mate from Molesey might be able to accomplish at the coming home Games.

Two years – and successive defeats going into double figures – later, Reed and Triggs Hodge spoke about having "a mountain to climb" in London after enduring yet another demoralising defeat by the Kiwi pair at the world championships.

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New Zealand's Eric Murray (back) and Hamish Bond of New Zealand compete in the London 2012 men's pair final event which they went on to win

In the event, Gröbler switched the party from one mountain to another, and roped the increasingly despondent pair up with their old team mate from Beijing, Tom James, and Alex Gregory, who could be viewed either as the newcomer in the boat, or the only remaining inhabitant remaining from the crew which had won the world title in 2011.

Before the British trials, where everything was about to be thrown into the pot as far as the men's four was concerned, Gregory has spoken with cautious optimism about his hopes of getting a place in the newly-minted "flagship" crew that would receive Gröbler's particular personal attention for the home Games.

"He has got a huge history of success with his methods, he's proved his coaching ability over so many years now, and I want to be coached by him in an Olympic year," Gregory said.

"It is also a boat with a glorious history for Britain – the coxless four has taken three successive Olympic golds, so to be in the crew that earned a fourth gold would be really exciting, and to do that on a home course would be even more incredible."

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Britain's coxless four on their way to winning a London 2012 gold medal

Gregory had narrowly missed out on Olympic selection in 2008 but went to Beijing as a reserve and watched all the action from the stands.

He described that experience as "a turning point" in his rowing career.

"In many ways it was a frustrating experience, and it came after a long run of injuries and disappointments for me," he said. "But sitting on the sidelines and watching the guys I had trained and raced with collecting their medals made me feel even more committed to the sport.

"When I used to be asked about my ambition, I always used to say it was to win an Olympic gold medal. That's what you say, isn't it? But I know now what the Games feel like, and I have experienced that atmosphere and emotion.

"When Mark Hunter won the lightweight double scull gold with Zac Purchase, I was sitting right behind his brother and his dad and I saw how much it meant to them. They had tears streaming down their faces and they were hugging each other – I can feel myself welling up right now just thinking about it.

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Gold medals_for_London_2012_GB_mens_four_rowing_August_19

Left to right: Alex Gregory, Pete Reed, Tom James and Andrew Triggs Hodge with their gold medals during the medal ceremony

"That made me realise what it would mean to my family and friends if I could win an Olympic gold."

And so to see Gregory win his own gold was a rich experience. As he afterwards admitted with a rueful smile, he had suffered feelings of extreme nervousness ahead of the final, rooted in the conviction that if three gold medallists and a "newcomer" failed to retain the fours title, the difference would be perceived as the "newcomer".

As for Triggs Hodge and Reed, they had a golden feeling after four years in which it seemed increasingly likely they would reach this point with only grim smiles on their faces.

"I can only feel happy right now," said Reed. "Andy and I have had a tough Olympiad – it was a silver Olympiad, to be honest – and we had many trials and dark times."

To witness such sporting confirmations feels like a rare privilege.

Mike Rowbottom, one of Britain's most talented sportswriters, has covered the past five Summer and four Winter Olympics for The Independent. Previously he has worked for the Daily Mail, The Times, The Observer, the Sunday Correspondent and The Guardian. He is now chief feature writer for insidethegames.

David Gold: As Russia prepares for a glamourous decade of sport, Kazan 2013 dreams of reaching Olympic proportions

London passed the Olympic flag to Rio last week, enabling the world's largest sporting event to cross the Atlantic and play out in South America for the first time. But while Brazil gears up to follow this summer's superb Games, the Torch Relay for the world's second largest sporting event – the Universiade, taking place in Kazan in under a year's time – is underway.

With 170 nations sending a total of 13,500 athletes to compete in 60 venues, 36 of which are being built for the Universiade, Kazan and their executive director of the Games, Vladimir Leonov, have quite a task on their hands.

Thoughts of holding the Universiade in Kazan started eight years ago, with the first bid for the event in taking place in 2006. Marat Bariev, the then Minister for Youth, Sport and Tourism, now the current secretary general of the Russian Olympic Committee, put forward the idea. At the time Leonov was working at the committee of external relations and tourism for Kazan, and the bid sparked his interest.

"As a person, who has been playing sports professionally for many years, and a true patriot of my city, I couldn't stay away from the event that will start a new chapter in the life of Kazan," he told insidethegames. Kazan lost that bid to Shenzhen in China, but Leonov became involved in the subsequent bid to host the Universiade in 2013.

He explained that the 2013 bid won, thanks in no small part, to the significant political support they received for the project. "Back then the bid campaign and an opportunity to stage such large-scale competitions in our city with a thousand-year history has become an idée fixe for us.

"First President of Tatarstan Mintimer Shaimiev gave great help to us. Rustam Minnikhanov, at that time Prime Minister of Tatarstan and current President of our Republic, headed the bid committee. Kazan's bid was also supported by government guarantees of the Russian Federation and up to one hundred thousand signatures by citizens of Russia and European countries that were collected during the Kazan-Brussels super-marathon.

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Kazan flame_is_handed_to_V_Leonov_August_18

Vladimir Leonov (centre) receives the 2013 Summer Universiade Torch in Paris

"I'm happy that I'm lucky enough to be part of a big Team 2013 since we are creating a new chapter in the history of university sports and our country."

Kazan 2013 will herald the start of a memorable period in Russia, as the country gears up to stage most of the biggest major sports events the world has to offer. The Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic and Paralympics, and the 2018 World Cup are the main competitions Russia will stage, but Kazan will also host the World Aquatics Championships in 2015 and Moscow the World Athletics Championships in 2013.

Throw in the World Ice Hockey Championships in 2016 and a Formula One grand prix in Sochi, and it promises to be a memorable decade for Russia. Kazan is in many ways a dress rehearsal for the more glamorous events to come, says Leonov.

"Leaders of our country noted more than once that the World University Summer Games in Kazan should be viewed as a dress rehearsal for the Olympic Games in Sochi," he explains. "The sports management experience that employees in our organisation boast will be, indeed, of great value in the lead up and during the Olympics."

A cooperation agreement has been signed between the Republic of Tatarstan and the Sochi 2014 Organising Committee, to share expertise in economics, IT and personnel among other areas. A practical example of their collaboration can be seen in the six individuals from Kazan who formed part of the 100 strong delegation of volunteers that Sochi sent to London for this summer's Olympic and Paralympics. They are bringing back valuable experience from London, not just for Sochi, but for Kazan too.

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Volunteer Centre_Kazan_Opening_with_Leonov_August_18_

Vladimir Leonov (second left) at the opening of the Kazan 2013 Volunteer Recruitment Centre in May

"The experience they accumulated during such a global sporting event will prove of great value to us," Leonov says.

There are similarities between Sochi and Kazan. Both are undergoing huge infrastructure changes and both are seeing a huge momentum in the volunteer movement in Russia. Leonov says that they have learned from London's experience in this area, particularly given the significant role volunteers played during the 2012 Olympics. "Earlier we have been focusing all our efforts on attracting young people – schoolchildren and students – to voluntary work. Now we understand that it can be also of interest to people from older generation. We want them to get a first-hand feel of being part of the project, the project in the atmosphere of which the entire country is living now."

Like Sochi, Kazan is set to stage matches during the 2018 World Cup at the new 45,000-seater football stadium that will host the Opening and Closing Cceremonies of the Universiade. With the World Aquatics Championships in 2015, Kazan has plenty to look forward to beyond 2013. And with an echo of Sochi 2014 President and chief executive Dmitry Chernyshenko, Leonov describes Kazan as "one big construction site".

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Kazan is undergoing huge infrastructure changes and embarking on new construction projects as part of the Universiade 2013 preparations

That emphasizes the huge scale of the challenge facing Leonov. It is the biggest event the country will have hosted since the Olympic Games in Moscow in 1980.

"There has been previously no experience of managing such a large-scale sporting event as the Universiade in modern Russia. And of course it made our work even more complicated but at the same time it energised us and gave a great impetus," Leonov tells me.

"The task is getting even more challenging as the whole world was impressed with the Summer Universiade that Shenzhen hosted in 2011. The host city took the World University Games to a completely new level. Our task is to make the image of the Universiade even more recognisable worldwide, to upgrade its status, moving it a few steps closer to the Olympic level."

Quite a formidable task ahead, but there are few signs yet that the pressure is telling on Leonov or Kazan.

David Gold is a reporter for insidethegames. Follow him on Twitter here.

David Owen: "70 medals for Britain might not be out of the question" and other predictions

Back in March I made some London 2012 predictions. How did I do?

Prediction: "If absolutely everything that could go right did go right, a tally of as many as 70 medals for Team GB might not be out of the question."

Verdict: Spot on. Britain ended with 65 medals, but it is easy to think of disappointments – Mark Cavendish, Victoria Pendleton, Sarah Stevenson, various swimmers – who might have taken the total even higher.

Prediction: "A total of between 55 and 60 medals is more likely."

Verdict: Wrong, but not embarrassingly so.

Prediction: "Great Britain will beat its Beijing 2008 medals haul of 47, but may, nonetheless, fail to hang onto fourth spot in the medals table."

Verdict: Hopelessly wrong on the second count. What I completely failed to foresee was the high proportion of the home team's medal haul that would be gold.

This meant that Britain managed to climb another place in the table to a heady third, finishing above Russia in spite of winning 17 fewer medals.

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Russia claimed 24 gold, 26 silver and 32 bronze medals at the London 2012 Olympic Games

My prediction of some 80 medals for Russia at least proved reasonably accurate: they won 82.

Prediction: "Britain's main challenger for fourth spot is likely to be Germany, which managed 41 medals in 2008, but should do better this time. I am also expecting a jump from France."

Verdict: Wrong, wrong, wrong. Germany did edge up to 44 medals, but only 11 of these were gold, against a stunning 29 for Britain.

After a strong start, performances by French athletes, with the exception of the handball team, tended to disappoint in the second week.

This left them with 34 London 2012 medals, down from 41 in Beijing.

Prediction: "Sliding down the medals table, I expect to see Australia, Japan, Kenya and Jamaica."

Mohamed Farah_of_Great_Britain_crosses_the_finish_line_to_win_gold_ahead_of_Dejen_Gebremeskel_of_Ethiopia_and_Thomas_Pkemei_Longosiwa_of_Kenya_in_the_Mens_5000m_Final

Mohamed Farah_of_Great_Britain_crosses_the_finish_line_to_win_gold_ahead_of_Dejen_Gebremeskel_of_Ethiopia_and_Thomas_Pkemei_Longosiwa_of_Kenya_in_the_Mens_5000m_Final

Mo Farah of Great Britain crosses the finish line to win gold ahead of Ethiopian Dejen Gebremeskel and Kenya's Thomas Pkemei Longosiwa in the men's 5,000 metres final

Verdict: Correct on all counts – Australia won only half as many gold medals as in Beijing and slid from sixth-place in the medals table to 10th; Japan won 50 per cent more medals, but fewer golds and dropped from eighth to 11th; Kenya fell from 13th to 28th, thanks partly to Briton Mo Farah's golden double; Jamaica dipped from 14th to 18th, with two fewer golds than in Beijing.

Prediction: "Medal table climbers should include Cuba, Brazil and Kazakhstan."

Verdict: Two out of three – Cuba rose from 28th to 15th, Kazakhstan from 29th to 12th.

Brazil did edge up from 23rd place to 22nd, courtesy of one extra silver and one bronze compared to its Beijing total.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) must have been hoping for a much more marked improvement: the Games always benefits from a strong home team, and Brazil are next in line for the summer Olympics and Paralympics at Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

Prediction: "Britain will win more Olympic medals at Eton Dorney than the Velodrome."

Verdict: Correct – although the track cyclists' domination was complete, the one rider (or team) per country per event rule restricted them to nine medals.

Anna Watkins_and_Katherine_Grainger_of_Great_Britain_celebrate_in_their_boat_with_their_gold_medals_during_the_medal_ceremony_for_the_Womens_Double_Sculls

Anna Watkins_and_Katherine_Grainger_of_Great_Britain_celebrate_in_their_boat_with_their_gold_medals_during_the_medal_ceremony_for_the_Womens_Double_Sculls

Anna Watkins and Katherine Grainger celebrate in their boat with their gold medals during the London 2012 medal ceremony for the women's double sculls

Britain's rowers matched this tally, and the two sprint canoeing medals towards the end of the Games took the Eton Dorney total to 11.

Prediction: "Britain will win more Olympic medals outside the Olympic Park than in it."

Verdict: Correct – with the home nation's swimmers and, to an extent, athletes underperforming (although four track and field golds was very impressive), this was not even close.

Prediction: "The surprise hit of the Games: women's boxing."

Verdict: Correct – Nicola Adams; Katie Taylor. Enough said.

Prediction: "Britain's women footballers will do better than the men."

Verdict: Wrong – both exited in the quarterfinals, although I could argue that the women made a better fist of the cards they were dealt, and they did beat Brazil.

One further prediction – "Britain's Paralympians will top their medals table by a country mile" – has yet to be proved right or wrong.

But I am quietly confident.

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.

Mihir Bose: Football, with its herd mentality, could learn from Olympic sports' willingness to share information

The Olympics always puts football in the box, if only for a brief two-week period.

Indeed, the very nature of football's participation in the Games, with teams composed of players who hope to aspire to be the best, but are not yet the best, give it the status of an interloper. And as if to emphasise this status, football starts even before the Opening Ceremony. In the wider world, it may be the greatest of all sports, but in the Olympics it is just one of 26, and by no means the most important – that distinction going to track and field.

However, what has made London 2012 quite remarkable is that is has not just put football in the box, but given it a good kicking. So much so that now various people in the highest reaches of the game, led by FIFA President Sepp Blatter and including David Bernstein, chairman of the Football Association, are keen to tell us that football could learn from the Olympics.

There are two issues here. One is the question of what football calls simulation but what most of us call cheating. We are talking of a player who dives in the hope he will get a free kick or a penalty, or falls down and pretends to be injured when he is not just to make sure an opponent gets a red or yellow card.

Now, in football a certain amount of gamesmanship, claiming a corner or a throw-in when you know the last touch on the ball was from you, is part of the game. However, simulation, or cheating, is something very different and it is a reflection on the way the game has been run that nothing has been done to curb it and punish those who have made it such an art form.

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The 2011 women's World Cup offered the men's game an object lesson in fair play

What makes it worse is the failure of those who run football to highlight how well the women's game avoids such cheating. This made last year's women's World Cup, held in Germany, such a refreshing contrast to the 2010 men's competition. The authorities, by their continuous failure to stamp down on such cheating, has encouraged it to the extent that many now see it as having always been part of the game. Yet I am old enough, and I cannot be alone in this, to remember a time when such practices were unknown, even in the men's game.

The Olympics has made the football authorities talk of doing something, but we have heard such talk before and not seen any action. I will only believe the game is serious when it calls it not simulation but cheating and really stamps down hard on those who cheat.

The other issue is more complicated and it is that football's celebrity stars do not shine when you compare their behaviour to the Olympic heroes and heroines. The Olympics has provided us many examples of this and even Usain Bolt, undoubtedly the greatest star of these Olympics, has never put on the airs common to football players who can boast nothing like Bolt's achievements.

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Mo Farah was inspired to athletics greatness by training with, and learning from, Kenyan runners

I realise that, to an extent, we are comparing apples with pears. Football is a team sport with strong club-based culture where the strength of the team lies in the ability of the group to stick together. Track and field sports are largely individual activities. The different athletes may represent very different countries, but they often share information on their sport and, what is more, they train together.

A striking example of this is provided by Mo Farah. Now, as Farah has often said, his first love was not track and field but football. As he told me when I interviewed him two years ago, he only discovered athletics when, at the age of 15, UK Athletics sent him, along with several other promising young athletes, to Orlando for a two-week training camp.

He had gone to Florida still hoping to emulate his hero Dennis Bergkamp, then the star of his beloved Arsenal. He returned convinced that he was not good enough for football but had a future on the track.

But, and this is crucial and does not happen in football, his athletics career took off when his agent Rick Simms told him to go and live with Kenyan athletes. Farah used to do his hill sessions on Saturdays in Richmond Park and often saw Kenyan athletes running around it. The Kenyans were the best. They had a spare room, Farah went to live with them and they changed his entire way of life. As Farah told me: "They would just eat, sleep, train and do nothing else. I'd be out with my mates, coming back at half-eleven or 12. The Kenyans were in bed by eight o'clock. I said to myself that if I am ever going to have any chance of being successful I have got to do what they do. Never having been an early riser, I started getting up at six o'clock and doing runs with them."

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Football's herd culture has been accepting of controversial behaviour among players, such as Liverpool's Luis Suarez (left, in red)

Farah's life has undergone many other changes, but what this illustrates is how top athletes share information and knowledge. They are not worried about that. Indeed, after his 5,000 metres race Farah acknowledged the help he had received from runners he trained with, help that was crucial to his win.

In football this would be impossible. I realise that football, being a team game, is very different to a 10,000 or 5,000 metres race. Yet what football has done in recent years is to have made a fetish of secrecy – so clubs have closed training sessions as do national teams before major championships. I'm not suggesting we go back to the training methods of the Fifties when, as Danny Blanchflower discovered, footballers were not even allowed a ball to play with during the week. The idea was that when they saw the ball on match day they would be hungry for it. It's good the game has abandoned such idiocy, but modern training methods spread the myth that teams are discovering some hugely secret way of playing, when all they are doing is practising a drill which is not all that far removed from what other teams are doing.

This secrecy encourages a group mentality in football which puts the group above all. It means whatever an individual in the group does he is always right because it is as part of the group, as Liverpool's abysmal handling of Luis Suárez showed. Football at its best can be such a beautiful collective game that still allows an individual like a Lionel Messi to shine. But every so often this insistence on group psychology and the need to make sure the group stays intact breeds jealously and tolerates the sort of bad behaviour that would be foreign to most other sports, particularly Olympic sports.

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Cricketer Shane Warne plays a team game but has never been afraid to share his knowledge with rivals

It is no use saying that is just the way team sports are. Not all team sports are like that. Take cricket, for instance. There cricketers from different countries freely share new developments in the game, as spin bowlers Shane Warne and Saqlain Mushtaq have done. They are confident that while they may display their new technique to the opposition, the opposition players would be able to do nothing with it unless they have the ability to exploit the knowledge. Football managers and coaches, by contrast, behave as if their knowledge is so fragile that the moment it is broadcast outside the group it will crumble.

This, like simulation, was not always the case in football, but has grown in recent years as the game has been more controlled by specialist coaches. The result is that a game that should be the most natural of team games, and the most free flowing, has been made needlessly complicated. And its players have been encouraged to behave like a herd with a mentality that says whatever the herd does is always right.

The Olympics, on the other hand, while being outwardly the most nationalistic celebration of sport, places the individual at the centre of it, making contests both more open and refreshing.

If football could learn from that then London 2012 will indeed mark a major advance for the sport.

Mihir Bose is one of the world's most astute observers on politics in sport, particularly football. He wrote formerly for The Sunday Times and the Daily Telegraph and was the BBC's head sports editor. Follow him on Twitter here.

www.mihirbose.com

David Owen: Let lollipops and a human kangaroo be reasons for relaxing IOC election rules

Fond as I am of the Olympic Movement, I have a soft spot for episodes that prick its pomposity.

So last week's hoo-hah over the latest election for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Athletes' Commission could hardly fail to catch my eye.

To recap, the final days of perhaps the greatest Summer Games of the modern era were overshadowed, at least for those of us who follow Olympic politics, by allegations relating to supposed breaches of the strict rules governing campaigning before the vote.

The most colourful of these allegations involved lollipops and a human kangaroo.

The primary purpose of this blog is not, however, to rehash details we have already reported, but to think a little about the characteristics of what, for the world of sport, is a pretty important electoral process.

The vast majority of those who sit on the Athletes' Commission, after all, are also IOC members.

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James Tomkins, the candidate from Australia, walks besides a human kangaroo with Chinese Taipei's Mu-Yen Chu in the background

This means, most obviously, that they help decide where future Olympic Games are to be staged.

For me, the most singular thing about these contests is that they are held over the one and only period in their lives when the electorate – the majority of them at any rate – are gathered in the same place.

But it is also a period when these voters are guaranteed to be utterly obsessed with something else: the small matter of winning an Olympic title.

This special electorate, as you will already know or have guessed, consists of every athlete who has secured the right to compete at a given Olympic Games.

At London 2012, there were 10,852 of them.

Given the prestige and power vested in the winners, the fields of candidates can be quite congested; at this latest election, there were 21 contenders for four positions.

It is only natural, in such circumstances, that candidates should wish to campaign.

But restrictions are very tight: other than a short video and a black and white A4 sheet, just about nothing else can be circulated.

As the rules of conduct state: "No other document, poster, sign, banner or gift may be distributed and/or displayed inside or outside the Olympic Village...

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Disqualified for a breach of the IOC rules, Japan's Koji Murofushi won the London 2012 bronze medal at the men's hammer throw event

"No form of material [such as t-shirt, caps, pictures, etc] or financial inducement to vote for a candidate or take part in the vote is permitted."

I have no doubt that these rules were promulgated with the best of intentions, ie to create a level playing field and prevent well-funded candidates from enjoying a clear advantage.

But I wonder, in the wake of last week's developments which saw two of the original four successful candidates disqualified for alleged rule breaches that they deny having committed, whether such an approach is sensible or desirable.

In any case, I think following last week's brouhaha that changes may have to be made.

Think about it: last week's two disqualified candidates – Mu-Yen Chu of Chinese Taipei (aka Taiwan) and Koji Murofushi of Japan – were disqualified only after athletes had voted.

While I would never vouch for the infallible accuracy of my maths, the official election results suggest that these two candidates secured 4,427 votes between them.

This in a contest in which the athlete who officially topped the polls – Danka Bartekova of Slovakia – mustered 2,295 votes, with the runner-up – James Tomkins of Australia – scoring 1,802.

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IOC Athletes_Commission_results_August_16_

The Olympic Movement's website announces the results of the IOC Athletes' Commission election at London 2012 - but there is no mention that two candidates had been disqualified

Permitting athletes to be removed from the race after the vote seems to me particularly questionable, since you could imagine it theoretically giving rise to complaints being lodged by those with a particularly clear vested interest – ie supporters of a candidate who failed to be elected.

Just as important, unless you allow those affected to resubmit their voting papers, it means that anyone who voted for a disqualified candidate has been partially disenfranchised.

The existence of such strict campaigning restrictions, in an age when it is easy as pie to snap an image on a smartphone and email it to whomsoever one chooses, also seems to me all too likely to foster an unsavoury atmosphere around campaigns, with rivals and their supporters, in effect, incentivised to spy on one another in the hope that evidence collected might knock competitors out of the contest.

Of course, the IOC needs to be vigilant in preventing any trace of financial inducements from entering these campaigns.

But is it really necessary to adopt such a heavy-handed approach to campaign materials that are the lifeblood of most election campaigns?

Quite apart from anything else, I think the very circumstances of the election all but oblige sensible candidates to conduct themselves with discretion.

I mean, if you were busy preparing for your once-and-for-all tilt at Olympic glory, how would you react to a candidate who insisted on pestering you?

Speaking for myself, the last thing I would do is vote for them.

Rules or no rules, in other words, aggressive campaigning in these elections would probably be counterproductive.

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Danka Bartekova of Slovakia received 2,295 votes and also picked up a bronze medal at the London 2012 women's skeet shooting event

If it were up to me, then, I would ease up.

If, however, the IOC insists that its present rules are necessary, then I don't really see what is to be gained from waiting until athletes arrive in the Olympic Village before asking them to cast their votes.

Presumably, the candidates' A4 sheets and videos could be distributed to the electorate on selection for their national Olympic team.

Submitting a valid electronic vote could then be added to the list of conditions Olympic athletes agree to on signing their Olympic contracts.

This would have the added benefit of pushing turnout figures to very high levels, as opposed to the 64 percent who voted in London.

One significant disadvantage of such a system would be that it would make it easier, I imagine, for National Olympic Committees (NOCs) to more or less instruct their athletes which candidates to vote for.

For this reason, I think the wisest reaction to last week's events would be considerably to ease up on the rules governing campaigning.

Yes, it might lead to some strange sightings around the Village, but I think it would help to ensure that the best candidates are elected – and shouldn't that be the name of this particular game?

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 and 2010 World Cup. Owen's Twitter feed can be accessed here.

David Gold: London 2012, Citi's first Olympic partner, will be one that's hard to forget

The last two weeks of the Games have been a marketing dream for International Olympic Committee (IOC) and London 2012 partners such as Coca-Cola, Samsung and Procter & Gamble.

A sponsor enjoying its first Games' involvement this summer – via a partnership with the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) – is Citi. The banking group have funded Olympic and Paralympic athletes and also donated $500,000 (£318,000/€405,000) to USOC. And, since USOC, in line with Unites States' federal law, do not receive any money from the American Government, this funding has been particularly important.

Citi's highest profile international athletes include the all conquering men's doubles tennis partners Bob and Mike Bryan, who won their London 2012 tournament; Sanya Richards Ross, who claimed gold medals in both 400 and 4x400 metre finals at the same Games; and Christie Rampone, a key member of the women's football team, winners of a third successive gold.

Citi's chief brand officer, Dermot Boden, explained to insidethegames, that their sponsorship focuses on the local communities in which they operate.

"This is probably our largest ever sponsorship occasion. Our heritage is in New York. We wanted to be part of supporting, helping and contributing to the United States, in particular to the communities engaged with us.

"Most of the athletes we work with are [in] areas we have a strong presence in, and we wanted to contribute to the US and acknowledge the support we have received as well. We have a chief executive who is very clear about the importance of responsibility as a whole.

"He and the chief financial officer felt that this was a really wonderful way for us to engage with the American public in something that is very important to the US."

"We have great athletes. We have been very fortunate everyone has done well and made of the right stuff."

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Dermot Boden (far left) with US athletes – including Sanya Richards Ross (front row, centre) – at Citi's Every Step of the Way Olympic programme in New York City

This is a special Games for Boden. Although born in Dublin, he has returned to London, the city in which he grew up in, to the leafy south-west suburb of Richmond, not far from where the Bryan brothers won at Wimbledon. London 2012 is the first Olympics that Citi has been involved with, having only become a sponsor of USOC last year. Before I've even had the chance to ask him my first question, Boden had already begun explaining the importance of not just the Olympic Games, but the Paralympic Games, particularly to the US.

"It is great London is taking the Paralympics so seriously. I knew people would take it seriously here," he says, before touching on the connection between the Paralympics and military in the US. "Some tragically have had consequences which make them more appropriate for the Paralympics. That connection is something in Citi we take very seriously."

Indeed, 20 military veterans are set to travel to London to take part in this summer's Paralympics. For a country so behind the Olympics and with such an appreciation for their armed services, it is clear to see why Citi support the Paralympics wholeheartedly. Boden says this is especially down to the "remarkable sense of optimism and get up and get on with it" that Paralympians display.

Ultimately, however, Citi's future involvement with USOC will come down to a purely business decision that will made after the Games, with Boden pointing out that "we would like to get more customers of course!" There is little doubt that when they come to look at the data they will analyse in the months to come, Boden hopes it will show that Citi's support of USOC has been of benefit to their brand.

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Meb Keflezighi_and_Dermot_Boden_August_16_

US Olympian Meb Keflezighi (left) and Dermot Boden at a Citi event at USA House during the London 2012 Games

"We obviously want to improve people's perception of our brand in the US – we want people to think we are a brand of values and we are a responsible organisation. That we are an organisation committed to helping the community and people on that journey.

"We will measure things very carefully in the coming months looking very carefully at data. We would like to get our current customers to do more with us. The headline [question] is, 'are we building a brand that Americans want to be part of?' We need to make some decisions, we have really enjoyed this partnership but I strongly believe in data. We will look at the data and see how successful it was."

Citi is, of course, a bank, and as Boden puts it, "we have to make choices, our budgets are not without limitation."

But deep down, taking statistics and business out of the equation, does he want to continue to be involved with the Games? If being in London for the last two weeks has not sold him on that, nothing will, I surmise.

"Intuitively sitting here with the sunshine and what I think is the most successful Games in history, we are feeling good," he enthuses, the sports fan in him coming out, before the businessman returns again. "But we need to look at the data," he says.

I suspect it will take some pretty damning figures to resist the lure of the Copacabana in four years' time...

David Gold is a reporter for the insidethegames. Follow him on Twitter here.

John Bicourt: Peering through the golden glow of British athletics only to find dark shadows

Magnificent and thrilling though the achievements were of our six medallists and a small handful of our other competitors, a less than satisfactory picture for most of the British athletics squad, including many in the original Podium-funded squad, has been painted in the wake of the London 2012 Olympics.

Some 79 athletes were selected to fly our flag in athletics at these Games, including those in the relay squads and the marathon runners. In the men's events nine of the 21 individual events saw only one British athlete entered while in the women's seven of the 17 individual events had only one.

Podium (Lottery) Funding was set up by UK Sport to help those athletes regarded as having the potential to succeed all the way to the podium. Those at least capable of making the top eight (ie final) of an event were identified by UK Athletics (UKA) head coach Charles van Commenee after the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and his list was adjusted accordingly at the end of each season leading up to 2012.

Here are some facts and figures about the performances of our Podium-funded athletes during London 2012 for you to digest:

· Of the 47 athletes on funding this year only 28 actually made it to the Games; nine were injured either prior to, or subsequent to, selection for the Games;

· Only nine made the top eight (the minimum expectation for podium funding);

· Only one – heptathlete gold medallist Jessica Ennis – set a personal-best and only three – Mo Farah, Christine Ohuruogu in the 400 metres and 400m hurdler Rhys Williams – set a season's best; Farah's performances, of course, were unique in that he won both 5,000m and 10,000m gold in initially tactically slow-run races.

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Heptathlete Jesscia Ennis was the only Podium-funded athletics squad member to enjoy a personal-best at London 2012

A number of British athletes who had not previously satisfied the UK Sport criteria for Podium funding nevertheless performed better and achieved more at London 2012 than many who were receiving it. Podium funding clearly does not guarantee a great performance or even selection for a Games; indeed, many athletes not in receipt of the finding often perform better – are they more driven, perhaps? – than those who are.

So let's look at the performances and results of those members of the British athletics team who are not Podium-funded? Here are some examples:

· Robert Grabarz finished equal third for the high jump bronze medal;

· Andrew Osagie ran a fourth-fastest British time of 1min 43.77sec in finishing eighth in the 800m final;

· Jo Pavey and Julia Bleasdale came seventh and eighth, respectively, in both the women's 5,000m and 10,000 with both setting PBs in the latter;

· Lawrence Clarke finished fourth in the 110m hurdles final;

· Alex Smith made the final of the hammer – the first British athlete in over 30 years to achieve that feat;

· Sophie Hitchon reached the final of the women's hammer and broke the British record in the process.

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Alex Smith reached the hammer final at the Olympics without Podium funding

Britain finished fourth in the athletics medal table, behind the United States, Russia and Jamaica, but this kind of reckoning is somewhat skewed because of the value given to gold medals – ie a solitary gold ranks a country higher than another with no golds even if they have more medals in terms of silvers and bronzes. A more accurate reflection and assessment of a country's athletics team's achievement would be to tally the points for finishing positions one to eight.

On this points table GB was ranked seventh in London – a drop from fourth in Sydney 2000, fifth in Athens 2004 and sixth in Beijing 2008.

Of the 129 medals available across 43 individual events plus four in the relays, Britain took six individual medals – two fewer than the target set by Van Commenee and four below UKA's chief executive Niels de Vos' prediction of 10.

Van Commenee – on a contract said to be paying him £1 million ($1.5 million/€1.3 million) this last four years – is a head coach whose "famously uncompromising approach" was to get the Olympic team to their peak for the Games.

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British athletics head coach Charles van Commenee has much to mull over in the wake of London 2012

Unfortunately, it hasn't been achieved as we'd all hoped; indeed, what credit can UKA take for the two gold medals of Farah, who only improved to his world-beating level once he moved himself to Oregon under Nike's sponsorship and their coach, Alberto Salazar?

So after 12 years of funding and sponsorship to UKA amounting to around £300 million ($470 million/€381 million), there has been no improvement on the six medals claimed at Atlanta 1996 (without funding) and the same number won at Sydney 2000, not to mention a three-place drop from fourth in the points table. All this begs the question: just how effective has UKA's funding and its 140-odd staff been in an attempt to provide the improvement expected?

By comparison, cycling has just 10 track events, across both men and women, in which only one competitor from each country could be entered – a rule brought in by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) after Beijing where British cyclists won 14 medals. In London Team GB's cyclists secured nine medals – seven gold, one silver and one bronze.

If British athletes are to improve their showing at the Rio Olympics in 2016 and the two World Championships in between then a thorough independent analysis and assessment of the effectiveness of UKA' spending, coaching and management must be carried out as soon as possible.

John Bicourt was an English record holder and represented Britain in the 3,000m steeplechase at the 1972 and 1976 Olympics. He has coached, advised and managed a number of Olympic and World Championship athletes from Britain, Australia, South African, Kenya and the United States, including medallists and world record holders. He is an elected officer of the Association of British Athletics Clubs.

Alan Hubbard: Adams may have done much for women's rights but what has she to gain?

London's Olympics have been a knockout, but there's no doubt in my mind who has been Britain's biggest hit of the Games.

Mo Farah, Jess Ennis, Chris Hoy, Victoria Pendleton? Yes, they all come close, as does Anthony Joshua, who now has the world at his fists as the new golden boy of British boxing.

But one performance stands out for me. That of Nicola Adams, the perfect example of girl power who, in becoming the first Olympic female boxing champion, has done much for women's rights – and lefts.

I confess I've fallen in love with the little Leeds larruper, in the nicest possible way. She's such a sweetheart out of the ring yet such a demon inside it.

Yet while, big Josh now stands to make more dosh than any other winner in these Games – including Usain Bolt – Nicola may become famous but she'll never be remotely near as rich.

The little and large of Britain's most successful-ever boxing squad contrast not only in size. Joshua has a potential goldmine; Nicola a gold medal – and, er, that's it. More or less. Never mind all that Million Dollar Baby talk, there's no money in women's boxing.

When I arrived home from the ExCeL on Sunday and mentioned that Joshua's Olympic title would be worth its weight in gold my wife asked: "But what about the little girl?"

Good question. She will continue to depend on the Lottery for her funding as she heads to defend her title in Rio in 2016, whereas Joshua has won the jackpot.

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Anthony Joshua celebrates after the medal ceremony for the London 2012 men's super heavy boxing final

When he turns pro – and whatever he may be saying now he surely will – he will be worth a king's ransom.

Perhaps even a Don King's ransom should the octogenarian United States impresario throw his cheque book into the ring where fistfuls of rivals from both sides of the Atlantic scrabble for his signature.

They may have to wait a while but sooner rather than later the 22-year-old from Finchley, North West London, will be following the pro path taken by former Olympic heavyweight champs including Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Lennox Lewis, Wladimir Klitschko and Audley Harrison.

He is a lucky young man. Especially so because to be brutally honest I thought he lost his opening bout to the classy Cuban Erislandy Savón and also the final against Italy's veteran reigning champion Roberto Cammarelle, the countback after an 18-18 points draw going in his favour having a somewhat home-town flavour.

Cammarelle, whose corner officially protested, is a Milanese policeman who must have felt like arresting the judges on suspicion of robbery.

Only two other Britons, Audley Harrison (Sydney 2000) and Lennox Lewis (Seoul 1988) have won the super-heavyweight crown – although Lewis was representing Canada at the time.

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Anthony Joshua (centre) celebrates with former world heavweight boxing champion and fellow countryman Lennox Lewis (right) and British Olympic gold medallist Audley Harrison (left

One hopes that Joshua turns out more like Lewis than Harrison as a pro.

Both were at ringside for the final – as was Wladimir Klitschko, who would be keen to add Joshua to the German-based promotional stable run by himself and his brother Vitali, grooming him as their successor.

British promoters Frank Warren and Eddie Hearn are also in contention but soon after the fight Joshua was in deep conversation with Amir Khan who aims to become a promoter in his own right and whose US backers Golden Boy sent their chief executive Richard Schaefer to size up the Londoner.

So there are many options for this British-born son of Nigerian parents whose rise has been meteoric after taking up boxing only four years ago. As a kid he was a talented footballer, who could run 11 seconds for the 100 metres by the time he was 15. His fleet-footedness helps make him special, a more nimble, less robotic version of Frank Bruno.

In boxing terms he is still a baby, with only 43 bouts, but at 6ft 6in and 17st he has vital commodities for greatness – a good chin and a decent punch.

However he could have thrown it all away early last year 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."

Joshua says it has never been about money, only medals, and that he would like to stay amateur as long as possible. He could certainly do with a few more bouts buy as Khan, who took the pro plunge after his Athens silver, will have pointed out, there is always the risk of defeat or injury that would devalue the cash return on that Olympic medal.

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Luke Campbell is declared winner on a 14-11 points decision over John Joe Nevin of Ireland in the London 2012 bantamweight boxing final

This is the same thought that almost certainly is in the minds of Britain's other men's Olympic medalists, notably bantamweight Luke Campbell, who boxed superbly for his own gold, silver medal welterweight Fred Evans and bronze medal middleweight Anthony Ogogo.

Yet becoming an Olympic champion is no guarantee of success – ask Audley. Up to London 2012, since the war there have been 226 gold old medallists in the last 16 Olympics. Only 29 became world champions.

And none of Britain's gold medallists of the last 56 years have done so: Terry Spinks, Dick McTaggart (who never turned pro) Chris Finnegan and Harrison, although James DeGale may yet have a chance.

The boxing tournament was among the most impressive of the Games events, due not only to AIBA's Dr C K Wu but also in no small measure to Terry Edwards, the GB coach in Beijing who was in charge of the sports technical operation after turning down an approach to coach the US men. In view of their abysmal performance, medal-less for the first time in their history, the Americans clearly could have done with him.

Rob McCracken, the coach who succeeded him has done a terrific job as has the chairman of the British Amateur Boxing Association, Derek Mapp in organising the appliance of science and technical resources at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield that helped make GB the top Olympic boxing nation and the envy of world boxing. Like the medal winner themselves, they deserve a gong.

How ridiculous, though, that McCracken remains barred from the corner under AIBA rules because of his association with professional boxers, including Carl Froch. Yet the international governing body are blatantly professionalising the only sport in the Olympics which has the prefix "amateur". From the next Games in Rio, head guards and probably vests will be discarded and a pro-style 10-point scoring system introduced. There is even talk of allowing young pros to compete and there is already substantial prize money available on their World Series circuit.

So banning pro coaches is a hypocritical nonsense and the sooner Dr Wu, who is known to have his eyes on the main prize, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Presidency, recognises this, the better. It demeans the sport.

And here's another thought for him.

Nicola Adams became the first woman to win an Olympic boxing gold medal

So powerful has been the impact of women's boxing in London, why not add a female tournament to the World Series, thus giving due monetary reward to the likes of Nicola Adams, American Claressa Shields, the Olympic middleweight champion and the supreme Irish female fighting machine Katie Taylor?

Nicola has won the nation's hearts – as well as my own – and she seems to have won over many sceptics who disliked the idea of ladies who punch, among them, I suspect, Khan.

He watched her in action at the ExCeL, explaining the finer points to the British Prime Minister, but the last time I saw him when a women's bout was featured there a couple of years ago he wasn't actually watching, but burying his head in Boxing News. He wasn't a fan, he admitted.

Times change, as thankfully has the British Boxing Writers' Club, not only with a timely lifting of their 60-year ban on women attending their annual dinner – albeit on a split decision – but inviting Charlotte Leslie, the female Tory MP who heads the All Parliamentary Boxing Group, to be the principal speaker.

Be my guest, Nicola.

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 Olympics, 10 Commonwealth Games, several football World Cups and world title fights from Atlanta to Zaire.

Jim Cowan: Olympic legacy or Wimbledon Effect?

As the London Olympics closes no-one is doubting it has been a huge success. Team GB has finished an unprecedented third in the medals table, fantastic crowds have turned up to watch, huge television viewing figures have been attracted, and people young and old have been inspired to somehow get involved.

Now we look to the future, to the legacy, the promise that these Olympics would inspire more people to take up sport – the very pledge on which the Games was won in 2005.

Over the last week, "legacy" has become the bandwagon that everyone has wanted to jump on without really considering what legacy actually is and what was promised. Talking on the BBC on Saturday evening (August 11), presenter John Inverdale asked his studio guests "Is this legacy?" when talking about the sudden increase in interest in playing sport. Excitedly, his guests and others talked of hoping legacy is what we are seeing. Now we have hosted a successful Olympic Games it seems all we need to do is hope that a generation will now be inspired.

There is a term for this and it isn't legacy. It is the so-called "Wimbledon Effect".

It is that effect we see every summer during the Wimbledon fortnight and, sometimes, for as long as two weeks afterwards when "inspired" people take to the nation's tennis courts before gradually they return to previous interests or jump on the next fad that grabs their fancy.

The challenge hasn't changed since before the golden 16 days we have just enjoyed, since London won the Games in 2005. The challenge is to avoid relying on simply hoping and, instead, have in place strong, sensible, integrated planning; it is in putting in place a dedicated strategy for the development of sport in the United Kingdom (UK) for the first time ever.

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Will the London 2012 Olympics ultimately inspire people to take up healthy sports activity?

Governments past and present have promised such a strategy and talked such a strategy but delivered only a seemingly endless stream of initiatives. Current Minister for Sport and the Olympics, Hugh Robertson, even promised he had such a strategy but was not able to produce it when asked.

The focus of the legacy debate these last seven days has been on two specific areas: the continued funding of elite sport and the quality of school sport. A cynic might suggest that the debate was deliberately framed to ensure popular support for recent announcements from Prime Minister David Cameron that elite funding will be maintained and that competitive team sports would become compulsory in all primary schools. Both are announcements that it is difficult not to support and yet both are, yet again, populist initiatives plugging gaps where no fully functioning strategy for the development of sport exists.

The funding news is fantastic but maintaining a healthy peak to any pyramid is folly when the strategy to build and support what sits beneath is not in place.

The news that competitive sport will become compulsory in primary schools is also welcome but in isolation does not address many other gaps in sporting provision in primary schools. For example, training in PE for primary school teachers is woefully inadequate and it is those teachers who will be in the front line of delivering the Prime Minister's new initiative.

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It is hoped the legacy of London 2012 will not resemble the "Wimbledon Effect"

The benefits of a healthy sporting nation – where more and more people take part in physical activity – cannot be underestimated, not only to serve as the "pipeline" of elite sport. It has value in healthy people making fewer demands on an already stressed health service, in keeping crime down and fighting anti-social behaviour as well as in understanding the ethics of hard work, of being part of a team and of having a well-organised life.

In short, done well this is not money spent, it is money invested. But simply having competitive sport in primary schools is not doing it well; it is doing something but not the right thing. For every person like me who is eternally thankful for being good at sport and for the advantages it has given me in life there are two or more who missed out because they weren't as good, they were the twelfth player in football, the ones who walked around at the back in cross country. How do we involve them?

The most vital lesson for sport and for a life of healthy physical activity we can teach in our primary schools is not one of competitive sport but of the skills that enable the participation in sport. These skills – collectively termed "physical literacy" – are best learned during the primary ages of eight to 11.

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Primary school children should respond best to a "physical literacy" strategy based around the teaching of sports skills

This is not to say competitive sport doesn't have a place, it just shouldn't have a place in this age group – not if we want a broad base and healthy pipeline for our well-funded pyramid, not if we want to develop a healthy, sporting nation that continues to participate well into middle or old-age. It is not a populist policy aimed at votes in the next election, it is doing the right thing for the long-term health and sporting success of our nation, laying foundations that will remain even if or when the funding reduces. Moreover, it is not expensive to do.

Physical literacy in primary schools is one important but overlooked element of creating and delivering an integrated strategy for the development of sport in the UK. There are others which service the sports development continuum providing a pathway through foundation to participation to performance and to excellence and which provide well thought-out support structures at and between all stages – such as providing primary teachers with the training they need in PE. It provides entry and exit routes at and between all levels. It recognises that while the talented few aspire to and pursue excellence the vast majority will never move on from and be happy with participation. All is planned, nothing is accidental and use of the word "hope" is eradicated.

We must move away from debate by sound-bite and delivery by initiative and start thinking more of what the long-term vision is and what the strategy is to get us there: the fully integrated strategy for the development of sport in the UK which recognises and fully services the sports development continuum.

It is the difference between there being a genuine Olympic legacy or yet another Wimbledon Effect.

Jim Cowan is a former athlete, coach, event organiser and sports development specialist who is the founder of Cowan Global, a company specialising in consultancy, events and education and training. For more details click here.

Mike Rowbottom: Al Jazeera and al that – a Tale of Three Ties

Personally, I like the insidethegames tie. Yes, it's bright. Yes, it's got a quasi-Mr Blobby thing going on. But I think it does the job as a working tie. That is, it sniffs out drugs and explosives. Sorry, no, that's a working dog. It engages. Yes! That's what it does. It engages.

How many times have I walked into a busy press room before a conference and been asked if I am wearing the tie for a bet? Answer: I can't remember exactly. Do you expect me to keep a note of it or something? But many times. As Björn Borg would say, "that is for sure".

On occasions, my arrival at events prompts jolly comment along the lines of "Oh good! The children's entertainer has arrived." As it happens, some children have been entertained by my tie – even if they are my children, and even if their entertainment sometimes seems more about laughing at than laughing with.

At such moments I recall an album I bought second hand long ago by a droll American folk singer called Martin Mull, one track of which featured the following lyrics: "So I button my lip, and they all think I'm hip / I used to be plastic but now I'm elastic, I'm flexible..."

The mindset required for the wearer is along the lines of "no publicity is bad publicity", and it is one with which I believe I am more than comfortable.

Tale of_Three_Ties_4_13_August

Mike Rowbottom (left), sports The Tie alongside fellow guests Jacquelin Magnay, Daily Telegraph Olympic Games editor, and RunBlogRun's Larry Eder

Part of the trick, of course, is to wear such a tie with conviction. Don't try to cover it with your jacket or a jumper. Don't appear always to be reading something on the wall or studying the wainscoting when you enter a crowded room. Don't attempt to talk to people over your shoulder as if it is the natural thing to do. Don't wave your arms around and make loud whooping noises in an effort to distract people from looking at what you have hanging around your neck. No, just be natural. Feel your tie is your friend; feel your friend is your tie. And, perhaps above all, friend your tie feel your is.

Anyway, I was wearing my tie the other day on the Al Jazeera Sport Olympic Breakfast show, at which I was an occasional guest during the Games – you know, big festival of sport, held in the capital, only just ended? Yep, that's the one.

My first appearance was going reasonably well as I sat in company with Martin Henlan, the former GB basketball captain, and Graham Fletcher, the former Olympic showjumper. I think I may have ventured an opinion that the Games had started very well, that people seemed to like them and that they could be important in terms of legacy, so I was obviously making a valuable contribution. Then suddenly, without warning, I was asked about my tie.

The query was put to me in jocular fashion by the joint host, Andy Kerr – who was sitting alongside Sarah Stone - and I am assuming his producer asked him to do it. I have to say it rather took me aback, because although I clearly knew I was wearing this object which we really cannot avoid describing as a gaudy one I had forgotten all about it (I mean, you have to, don't you? To proceed? You can't keep thinking about everything you are wearing as you attempt to earn a living in today's fast-moving modern world, can you?).

Tale of_Three_Ties_2_13_August

Al Jazeera Sport Olympic Breakfast show presenters Andy Kerr and Sarah Stone discuss which of them most resembles Mr Blobby!

I made a comment of acknowledgement. I believe it may have contained a reference to children's entertainers. I also mentioned that it was an insidethegames tie while thinking "Cheers guys!"

Well, to cut what is in danger of becoming a long story short... The End.

Only joking!

Appearance two – but I will try to hurry things along a little here – saw another anchor-led acknowledgement of The Tie. All good.

Appearance three – in which I sat next to the former British decathlete and constant Good Bloke, Dean Macey – took place with Iwan Thomas, who is still the British 400 metres record holder by the way, milling about in the background as he prepared to sit in with Dean on the main athletics coverage.

At one point, while footage of the Games was being shown to viewers, I saw Iwan haring over to me – he is still a fit lad, if I can say that without inviting howls of derision from my daughters – and take a picture of me and my tie on his mobile phone camera. It was a picture which he proceeded to tweet with the caption "The Naughtiest Tie I Have Ever Seen".

AzmjtLmCUAEreb5

Athlete Iwan Thomas couldn't resist posting this picture of Our Mike on his Twitter page

When we were back in shot, Andy mentioned Iwan's caper and Dean said, on air, that he would quite fancy wearing one of the ties next time round. Indeed, when the show was over both Andy and Sarah said they would quite fancy wearing a tie, too, for a linking shot.

Well, to cut what is in danger of becoming a long story short – really, this time – we got three ties round to the studio, which was just behind the main ITV studios on the South Bank, ahead of my final scheduled appearance on Sunday morning. Word had it that Thomas, the little rascal, had made off with one of them tout de suite. But as you will no doubt be able to see by the pictures that are likely to adorn these important words, Andy and Sarah lived up to their billing, whipping the neck furniture into place swiftly and professionally before the camera came back to them.

Judge the results for yourselves. As far as I was concerned, the Tale of the Ties was a highly enjoyable, if rather unexpected, element of what was a memorable and beautiful Games.

Just one thing: Al Jazeera has said that for the next appearance I just need to make sure I put my tie in the taxi.

Mike Rowbottom, one of Britain's most talented sportswriters, has covered the past five Summer and four Winter Olympics for The Independent. Previously he has worked for the Daily Mail, The Times, The Observer, the Sunday Correspondent and The Guardian. He is now chief feature writer for insidethegames.

Photographs by kind permission of Al Jazeera Sport

David Owen: London 2012 may have given Britain back its confidence

Sebastian Coe, leading light of London 2012, on Sunday morning dispensed one of those casually-delivered Coe-isms for which he has become known over these past eight or so years spent unremittingly in the Olympic spotlight.

"I don't think any city that has staged the Games has ever been the same after the Games," he mused, as Jacques Rogge, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), listened intently beside him.

Sitting in the vast bowl of the Olympic Stadium being showered in red white and blue confetti after a gloriously batty Closing Ceremony, it was possible to believe that these might be the Games that gave Great Britain back its self-confidence.

It may all seem very different tomorrow when those of us who have spent the past two weeks in the cartoon world of the Olympic bubble return to real life with its utility bills, its laundry and its zero growth.

But shell-shocked by an onslaught on the senses that embraced The Who, the Spice Girls, Eric Idle as a failed human cannonball, Queen featuring Jessie J, and countless others, I find myself prepared to be optimistic.

Spice Girls_at_London_2012_Closing_Ceremony_August_12_2012

Spice Girls_at_London_2012_Closing_Ceremony_August_12_2012

The Spice Girls were among several headline grabbing British musical acts

Quite what this so-called symphony of British music had to do with sport, or the Olympics, or anything very much, I have no idea.

There were times when it was like being trapped in a giant disco holding 80,000 people, Fatboy Slim in a cellophane octopus and a cabaret featuring most of London's traffic.

I quickly decided that the best approach was just to sit back and let it wash over you.

But the mish-mash of a show ("ceremony" was largely a misnomer) sure rammed home that when it comes to popular music – and comedy (I am thinking the nun with Union Jack pants here) - we British are world class – and have been for a very long time now.

Given our growing reputation for Olympic sport – a reputation underpinned in London by 65 medals, 29 of which were gold – and the fact that the country has shown itself up to the task of putting on the greatest, and most fiendishly complicated, show on earth, there are plenty of (to quote a song that didn't make it onto tonight's playlist) Reasons to be Cheerful.

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London 2012_volunteers_watch_closing_ceremony_fireworks_August_12_2012

London 2012 volunteers watch the firework display during the Closing Ceremony

Among other lessons these Olympics have taught us:

● For all our British standoffishness, we can be as friendly and helpful as any other nation; the superb volunteers have reminded us of that.

● We really do need to rethink the way in which we have allowed bottom-line-driven private entities to encroach so far into the realm of public services; the G4S fiasco and the no-nonsense, highly efficient manner in which armed forces personnel stepped into the breach was a textbook vindication for those who maintain that the frontiers of the state have been shunted back too far.

● London truly is a special city; albeit one that tends to shut down early even when the Olympics are in town.

As Coe also said, this time when he took to the microphone as the short ceremonial part of tonight's "ceremony" began: "What we have begun will not stop now."

For many reasons, let's hope he is right.

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 and 2010 World Cup. Owen's Twitter feed can be accessed by clicking here

Philip Barker: A formal goodbye to two wonderful weeks of Olympic action

The Olympic Closing Ceremony is always tinged with sadness and the events in the London 2012 Olympic Stadium will be no different as the curtain comes down on a fortnight of exhilarating competition.

There was no formal ceremony in the stadium at London's first Olympic Games in 1908; instead there was a closing banquet at Holborn and Organising Committee chairman Lord Desborough was received with wild applause. Since then, the closing of the Games has developed a ritual all of its own.

In 1948, the last time the Games was held in London, it ended on a sunlit evening following the final event, the Grand Prix show jumping.

As many of the competitors had already departed, the flagbearers were boy scouts.

A message from Organising Committee chairman Lord Burghley flashed on the scoreboard: "The Spirit of the Olympic Games which has tarried here awhile, sets forth once more. May it prosper throughout the world, safe in the keeping of all those who have felt its noble impulse in this great Festival of Sport."

The ceremonial handover flag, rediscovered in a Berlin bank vault at the end of the war, was trooped in by the Scots Guards and handed to Sir Frederick Wells, the Lord Mayor of London, for safekeeping until Helsinki 1952.

Closing Ceremony_of_the_1948_Games

The President of the IOC hands the Olympic Flag to the Lord Mayor of London at the Closing Ceremony of the 1948 Games

In 1956 an innovation was suggested by a Chinese-Australian boy. He'd watched the formality of the Melbourne 1956 Opening Ceremony and wrote in to suggest a change. The Games had been dubbed "The Friendly Games" and his letter to the Organising Committee began: "Dear Friend". His letter found its way to the Organising Committee chairman Wilfrid Kent Hughes and had immediate resonance.

The letter read: "The march I have in mind is different from the opening and will make the Games even greater... War politics and nationality will be forgotten what more could anyone want if the world could be made as one nation? They must not march but walk freely and wave to the public. When they stop they should be given three cheers."

The 1956 Organising Committee acted quickly and Wing's idea was taken up. It is now common practice at every Closing Ceremony.

In Rome in 1960, the farewell to the athletes was accompanied by a spontaneous gesture by the crowd who set light to their programmes as the Flame itself died.

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Mayor of_London_Boris_Johnson_with_Olympic_flag

London Mayor Boris Johnson waves the Olympic Flag alongside former Prime Minister Gordon Brown (right) after the handover in Beijing

In those days, the city which had just staged the Games kept the handover flag for the next four years, but in 1984 this arrangement was altered; now the city which is about to host the Games holds the flag for the preceding four years. The flag itself, originally given to the Olympic Movement by Antwerp, was replaced with a new banner of Korean silk; this is the flag which has spent the last four years in City Hall in London.

As part of this handover the next Olympic city now has eight minutes to introduce itself to the world. In 1984 The Seoul City dance company performed at the closing and in 2000 we had the priestesses from Olympia who danced in an ethereal blue light. They tossed olive branches into the Olympic Flag as it was trooped from the stadium.

London 2012 Organising Committee chairman Seb Coe had his own role in 1984. He was chosen to bear the British flag at the stadium during the Closing Ceremony, which featured Lionel Ritchie's All Night Long and lasted almost as long.

Closing Ceremony_of_the_1984_Olympic_Games_in_Los_Angeles

Closing Ceremony_of_the_1984_Olympic_Games_in_Los_Angeles

The Olympic Flag is handed over to the Seoul Delegate, on behalf of the next host nation, during the Closing Ceremony of the Los Angeles 1984 Games

Sometimes, though, the handover can go wrong. Sydney's Kangaroos on bicycles prompted ridicule in Atlanta 1996 and, of course, the London bus and David Beckham's misdirected kick into the crowd did seem a little out of place against the splendour of Beijing's efforts. In neither case did this prove an omen for the Games itself. The focus will now be on Rio's handover as the Brazilian city looks forward to 2016.

The closing is often a celebration but in 1980 then IOC President Lord Killanin made an impassioned plea to "Unite in Peace before the holocaust descends" as he closed the Moscow Games.

The United States stayed away as a protest against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and its Government refused to allow the Stars and Stripes to be flown at the ritual of the three flags, when the flag of Greece, and the present and future hosts are always hoisted. Instead it was arranged for the flag of Los Angeles to be raised.

But perhaps the funniest moment at any closing came in Montreal in 1976. We had the chiming of the clocks in Red Square anticipating the Games in Moscow to come and an unscheduled participant in the dancing which followed the formal closure of the Games. As one dignitary observed "he was not wearing his accreditation". Or, for that matter, anything else!

Philip Barker, one of the world's most renowned sports historians, is the author of The History of the Olympic Torch, published by Amberley recently. To order a copy click here.

Andrew Warshaw: Inspirational marathon man Marial to "run for refugees" rather than medals

Running used to be something Guor Marial did to escape.

Growing up in the south of Sudan, life was a permanent struggle from one day to the next when the only thing that mattered was survival.

But tomorrow, in what is surely one of the great inspirational stories from London 2012, the 28-year-old United States-based athlete – still officially stateless having not yet received a passport – will be hoping to complete the men's marathon as an independent runner.

Competing under the International Olympic Committee (IOC) flag, Marial's tale is an uplifting account of how he made the transition from refugee to Olympian. If the Games is all about the taking part, look no further than this humble man who is just grateful for the opportunity he has been given.

South Sudan seceded from Sudan last July following a peace deal in 2005 that ended the civil war in which some 1.5 million people died. But it has no National Olympic Committee or, for that matter, running water or electricity in many of its towns and villages.

Indeed, Marial hasn't seen his parents since 1993 but there will be no prouder athlete in tomorrow's race.

"When I was growing up, running meant you were running from danger," said Marial.

"It was the survival of the fittest. I loved football but had no idea what running shoes were. So in 2002 when my teacher said I should start, it took a couple of months to convince me. In Sudan, I used to run to escape with my life."

Guor Marial_training_in_Arizone_11_August

Guor Marial_training_in_Arizone_11_August

Sudan refugee Guor Marial training for the Olympics marathon at home in Arizona

By the time he was 10, eight of his brothers and sisters had been murdered. He spent most of his youth in refugee camps and had no idea what life was like on the outside.

After several attempts at fleeing, Marial finally managed to get across the border into Egypt. He arrived in America as a 16-year-old and now lives in Arizona where running means everything to him. "Nowadays, when I get up in the morning if you ask me not to run on a particular day I'd say no."

It is no surprise that when invited to compete at London 2012 for Sudan, Marial refused. He could not face representing a country that made his life hell and which is now South Sudan's uncomfortable neighbour.

Guor Marial_and_Brad_Poore_11_August

Guor Marial is warmly welcomed on his arrival in London by friend and manager Brad Poore

Getting him into the Olympics as an independent athlete was anything but easy. "It took scores of phone calls," recalled his friend and manager, British-born lawyer Brad Poore. "It kind of snowballed but everyone came together to make it happen."

Marial qualified to run in the Olympics in his first ever marathon last year after starting out as a cross-country runner. His best time is 2 hours 12min 55sec – but his goal is not necessarily to complete the course.

"What I want is to raise awareness for refugees across the world," said Marial, who learned only a week before London 2012 that he could compete. "I'm so fortunate to be here and grateful to the IOC and to Brad whom I consider a brother for taking up my case. I'm running for all refugees just like I was. I can't put into words what this means to me."

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A young child is given a drink of clean water at a refugee camp during the Sudan civil war

Whether or not his parents can get to watch him on television some 3,500 miles away is doubtful since the nearest city is 30 miles distant and walking the only form of transport. "I hope they can but it's long way," said Marial. "It's the rainy season at the moment so there won't be any vehicles to take them."

IOC spokesman Mark Adams summed up what it means for the entire Olympic Movement to have Marial in the race.

"As we say over here, I'm frankly gobsmacked," he said. "For us this is an incredible story – we have had independent athletes running before but this is an incredibly humbling story because this guy is so unique."

Andrew Warshaw is a former sports editor of The European, the newspaper that broke the Bosman story in the 1990s, the most significant issue to shape professional football as we know it today. Before that, he worked for the Associated Press for 13 years in Geneva and London. He is now the chief football reporter for insidethegames and insideworldfootball. Follow him on Twitter.

Mike Rowbottom: The ever-changing world of Yelena Isinbayeva

There is still something special about Yelena Isinbayeva, even if the deposed Olympic pole vault champion is now the woman who fell to earth.

Having become, by her own admission, bored of competing, she took a year out in 2010 until, by her own admission, she became even more bored with living in Monte Carlo and not competing and re-fashioned her career in company with her original coach, Yevgeniy Trofimov.

As her performance – and it was a redoubtable performance – at the media conference held after the pole vault final indicated, Isinbayeva is a lively and very unpredictable character. As she herself acknowledged in what had the feel of an extemporising comedy riff.

"My plan was to win gold here and retire," she said. "Now, perhaps, I am thinking of Rio [2016]. The 2013 World Championships are in Moscow and of course I will participate there and go for gold. Actually, my plans change every day. I am like a pair of twins. Today, I wake up and say I will stop. Then the next day I say I will continue." The statement was followed by a burst of wild laughter as she rolled her cat-like green eyes and tossed back her long dark hair. Yep, the stardust still adheres to this fallen star.

Elena Isinbaeva_of_Russia

Silver medalist Yarisley Silva of Cuba, gold medalist Jennifer Suhr of the United States and bronze medalist Yelena Isinbaeva of Russia

Achieving the unprecedented feat of a third consecutive Olympic pole vault victory was enough to energise the woman who still holds the world indoor and outdoor records, and her competitive instincts meant she got very close to doing that, even though, as she revealed afterwards, her preparations for this competition had been severely hampered by a muscle tear which had prevented her competing and training properly.

Jennifer Suhr, the US gold medallist sitting alongside the Russian – and it did seem that way round – began to look a little nonplussed as Isinbayeva held centre stage. Perhaps the woman who trains with her husband/coach Rick in a wooden shack at the back of their home in Rochester, New York - where it is sometimes so cold that she has to knock the ice off her practice pole – was taking in the full weight of messages being delivered to her left. Which were basically these: You only beat me because I was injured. I will beat you when I am fit.

The more general message going out pretty much corresponded to the diva who would steal the limelight from Eric and Ernie at the end of the Morecambe and Wise Show: "Thank you for watching me and my little old show here tonight. If you've enjoyed it, it's all been worthwhile. But for now, it's goodnight – and I LOVE you all....

Russias Yelena_Isinbaeva_in_London_2012_pole_vault

Russias Yelena_Isinbaeva_in_London_2012_pole_vault

Yelena Isinbaeva of Russia practicing ahead of her London 2012 women's pole vault jump

Two days after securing a bronze medal which, in the circumstances – are you listening, mortal pole vaulters? – felt like gold to her, Isinbayeva appeared alongside the International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge in her role as an ambassador for the Youth Olympic Games and confirmed that she would be seeking to earn that third Olympic title in Rio four years from now.

At some point in the day she also gave a comment to Russian news sources in which she criticised the Olympic atmosphere in the capital, saying that once you went outside the Olympic Park there was nothing to show that the Games were on. "There is no feeling of jubilation here," she was reported as saying in contrasting the likely atmosphere around the Sochi Winter Games of 2014.

Perhaps this was meant more as a positive comment for Russia than a negative comment for Britain, but it aroused numerous tweets from outraged Brits – as you might expect.

US gold_medalist_Jennifer_Suhr_Cubas_silver_medalist_Yarisley_Silva__Russias_bronze_medalist_Yelena_Isinbayeva_celebrate_with_flags

US gold_medalist_Jennifer_Suhr_Cubas_silver_medalist_Yarisley_Silva__Russias_bronze_medalist_Yelena_Isinbayeva_celebrate_with_flags

US' gold medalist Jennifer Suhr, Cuba's silver medalist Yarisley Silva and Russia's bronze medalist Yelena Isinbayeva celebrate with their home flags around the Olympic Stadium

The ride out from Central to East London tonight on the top of a media bus offered a fine viewpoint to assess if Isinbayeva's comments are at least partly true. The massive rings located in the centre of the Thames near Embankment, lit at night, and the iconic rings suspended under Tower Bridge in homage to the symbol of the last London Games of 1948 are a pretty bold statement of engagement on behalf of the host city, but by the time the road signs read Dalston, Hackney and Stratford, then yes, other than Olympic flags on sections of the route, it might appear like Everyday Life As Usual on the approach to the newly created postcode of E20 2ST.

It's just East London – houses, tower blocks, warehouses, industrial units, until the bus crests a rise on the A12 and the hockey floodlights rise into view, lit, and then the whole panorama of the Olympic Park opens up.

The question really is – Yelena, where have you been in the last couple of days? The best immediate rebuttal of her position, I suppose, is to cite the crowds who turned up, of their own accord, to watch the free events such as the cycle road races and time trials, and the men's and women's triathlons. Those crowds were huge.

Yelena Isinbaeva_of_Russia_kisses_her_coach_Evgeny_Trofimov

Fans take photos as Yelena Isinbaeva of Russia kisses her coach Evgeny Trofimov after winning bronze in the women's pole vault

In the aftermath of the men's cycle road race I met up with a very experienced photographer friend who has covered many, many Olympics. Red faced and tired after a long day in the sun around Surrey and outer London, he shook his head in wonder at what he had just witnessed in terms of home interest. "They were four or five deep – all the way round. Everywhere. I've never seen anything like it."

There is a true indicator of interest in these Games, data to set along the statistics of huge oversubscription from home would-be fans for London 2012 tickets.

As far as Isinbayeva is concerned, one is tempted to adapt Samuel Johnson's comment to his devoted friend and recorder James Boswell on the subject of the English capital: "When a woman is tired of London, she is tired of life." Then again, she will probably have changed her mind on the subject by tomorrow.

Mike Rowbottom, one of Britain's most talented sportswriters, has covered the past five Summer and four Winter Olympics for The Independent. Previously he has worked for the Daily Mail, The Times, The Observer, the Sunday Correspondent and The Guardian. He is now chief feature writer for insidethegames.

Alan Hubbard: Baroness Tanni deserves to perform Flame-lighting ceremony honours

Mike Rowbottom: When Olympic gold means that little bit more

David Gold: As Russia prepares for a glamourous decade of sport, Kazan 2013 dreams of reaching Olympic proportions

David Owen: "70 medals for Britain might not be out of the question" and other predictions

Mihir Bose: Football, with its herd mentality, could learn from Olympic sports' willingness to share information

David Owen: Let lollipops and a human kangaroo be reasons for relaxing IOC election rules

David Gold: London 2012, Citi's first Olympic partner, will be one that's hard to forget

John Bicourt: Peering through the golden glow of British athletics only to find dark shadows

Alan Hubbard: Adams may have done much for women's rights but what has she to gain?

Jim Cowan: Olympic legacy or Wimbledon Effect?

Mike Rowbottom: Al Jazeera and al that – a Tale of Three Ties

David Owen: London 2012 may have given Britain back its confidence

Philip Barker: A formal goodbye to two wonderful weeks of Olympic action

Andrew Warshaw: Inspirational marathon man Marial to "run for refugees" rather than medals

Mike Rowbottom: The ever-changing world of Yelena Isinbayeva

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