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Mike Rowbottom: Sport - always the fall guy for politics or geopolitics

By Mike Rowbottom

If anyone was still in doubt about the fact that politics and sport do mix - however much International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach might like to think otherwise - the actuality was laid out in steadfast fashion in Kraków yesterday.

Alan Hubbard: China's Peng Pong Diplomacy underscores the political power of sport

By Alan Hubbard

The fact that it needed International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach to make personal contact with the Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai and assure the world of her safety is a further example of how sport has established itself as a political player on the world stage. The mystery of her apparent temporary disappearance may remain unsolved for the moment but at least she appears to be in good health, physically at least.

Alan Hubbard: Food for thought as Rashford plays political football and wrong-foots British Government

By Alan Hubbard

Who is the most popular political figure in Britain today?

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Fact of the day

When British skaters Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean won the Olympic gold medal in ice dance at Sarajevo 1984 with 12 perfect 6.0s from every judge, for their interpretation of Maurice Ravel's Boléro, an important member of their team was singer-actor Michael Crawford. Crawford, who had played Frank Spencer in British sitcom Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em and the title role in the musical The Phantom of the Opera, had become a mentor to the pair in 1981 and went on to help them create their Olympic routine. Crawford said he “taught them how to act". He was present with their trainer Betty Callaway at the ringside at Sarajevo as they created one of the most iconic moments in Olympic history.

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The Big Read

Pierre de Coubertin once said cricket has "practically no appeal for those who are not British". While he expressed doubts about the Olympic viability of cricket, lacrosse and baseball, Philip Barker wonders how the man who helped revive the modern Games would have reacted to new sports at Los Angeles 2028.