As the scandal over international corruption and vote buying for the 2016 Olympic Games escalates the International Olympic Committee’s myopic response has again left more than a little to be desiredAs the Olympic flame was lit before beginning its journey to Rio last year the IOC president, Thomas Bach, intoned: “The Olympic flame means hope to us all.” Mr Bach will likely be feeling hopeful now, with the news that the Rio home of Brazil’s Olympic committee chief has been raided, along with various other addresses, as part of a major investigation into international corruption and vote buying for the 2016 Olympic Games.Bach will be hopeful that this is just a cosmic misunderstanding, hopeful that the £155,000 cash the police reportedly...
The trip to New Zealand, despite the schedule, can restore faith and the Six Nations is shaping up nicely but with the professional era now more than 20 years old, the sport’s administrators must show conviction in the next 12 monthsThe most pertinent rugby quote of 2016, inevitably, came from Eddie Jones. “There’s only pressure when you don’t know what you’re doing,” murmured England’s head coach shortly before guiding his adopted country to their 13th Test victory of a perfect calendar year. As a short, sharp Twitter-friendly summation of how and why the Australian guru has turned English fortunes around, it was inch-perfect.What would England’s national cricket and football teams do for a milligram of Jones’s self-assurance right now? Maybe...
There was much to feel good about in Manchester on Monday but the questions faced by cycling – the sport that most embodies the great British medal rush – after recent revelations continue to dampen the moodBritain’s triumphant Olympians and Paralympians partied beneath sunny skies as they deservedly took the acclaim of the crowds in Trafalgar Square.But during the first leg of their 48‑hour victory lap on Monday, it was not just the traditional Manchester weather that threatened to rain on Team GB’s parade but the bad vibes emanating from the structure in the east of the city that up to now has been championed as the symbol of all that is good about the great National Lottery-fuelled charge up...
Britain’s Olympic hockey gold medallist Sam Quek on her anger and frustration about being named by Fancy Bears hackersI was embarrassed and frustrated when I saw my name in the latest list of Olympians leaked by Fancy Bears. To me they are merely pathetic and faceless hackers attempting to drag athletes through the mud. My frustration does not stem from a medical record being made public and my privacy being violated, though. I am more annoyed about the reaction. The feeling of going on Twitter or scrolling through certain media to see headlines like “Gold medal winner takes banned substance” was not pleasant.This comes with the naturally raised profile of winning an Olympic gold medal, but therapeutic use exemptions (TUEs)...