"Due to ongoing discussions between the IOC and the Organising Committee, the Olympic Programme Commission has not yet had the opportunity to hold its meeting to prepare its final recommendation for the IOC EB," a statement said.

Cricket, flag football, baseball/softball, lacrosse, breaking, karate, kickboxing, squash and motorsport are all in contention for inclusion in 2028 but many have interpreted the delay as signifying differences of opinion between  the Los Angeles 2028 Organising Committee and the IOC.

Such speculation is perhaps hardly surprising considering the web of "confidentiality" agreements surrounding the whole process.

The Olympic programme has certainly changed dramatically  since the Games were last held in Los Angeles almost 40 years ago,

In 1984, then the major programme changes were the inclusion of a women’s marathon and cycling road race.

As many sports have been added, there remains the suspicion that not all of them regard an Olympic goal as the highest peak.

In rugby union, the World Cup is set to begin in Paris this evening, an event which officials claim is the third biggest in world sport, after the Olympic Games and the FIFA Men's World Cup.

The IOC approved the re-introduction of rugby in 2009 but with the sevens format.

World Rugby, then known as the International Rugby Board (IRB), lined up a lobbying group which included Argentina’s Agustin Pichot, Kenya’s Humphrey Kayange, Cheryl Soon of Australia and Kazakhstan’s Anastassiya Kharmova.

They were joined by the late Jonah Lomu, one of the biggest names in the sport.

Official publicity highlighted Lomu’s 1998 Commonwealth Games gold medal in rugby sevens.

"Sevens is explosive, exciting, unpredictable and due to its highly competitive nature it gives the opportunity for smaller nations to win a medal," Lomu told IOC officials

Yet he was far better known for his exploits in the 15 aside game, particularly for his remarkable part in New Zealand's run to the 1995 World Cup Final.

"We want people to play rugby, no matter what the form is whether it's  beach, tag, touch, sevens, 15s, it doesn't really matter," then IRB chief executive Mike Miller said in 2010.

The ability of rugby sevens to "reach new audiences" and its attractiveness to sponsors and broadcasters was also emphasised.

There were certainly joyous scenes as Fiji's capital Suva came to a standstill in 2016 after their team won men's gold in Rio de Janeiro. 

Yet, it is the great tries of 15 aside rugby which are constantly replayed.

The story of what many still regard as South Africa’s finest sporting hour has even been related in a major Hollywood film Invictus.

At the 1995 Rugby World Cup, captain Francois Pienaar received the trophy from Nelson Mandela after a kick by Joel Stransky in extra-time had beaten the New Zealand All Blacks.

Golf was re-introduced to the Olympics at those same Rio 2016 Games alongside rugby sevens. 

At least the format used was identical to the four majors, yet there are few indications yet that the Olympic gold medal has attained the status of victory in one of these tournaments.

Lifting the fabled claret jug as the "Champion Golfer of the Year" at the Open Championship, or donning the green jacket at the Masters in Augusta or victory in the United States Open and Professional Golfers Association Championship still remain the greatest achievements in the sport.

When tennis returned as a full sport at Seoul 1988, German superstar Steffi Graf won the women's singles.

It meant that at one stage she held all the Grand Slam titles and an Olympic title at the same time in what was dubbed a "Golden Slam".

Venus and Serena Williams also appear on the list of Olympic champions.

Graf’s husband Andre Agassi was the first real superstar to win the men's singles gold medal at Atlanta in 1996.

Rafa Nadal and Andy Murray have followed in his footsteps, although the best achieved in singles at the Olympics by Roger Federer is a silver and Novak Djokovic has never done better than bronze.

Men's football remains the most striking example of a sport where Olympic gold is not the ultimate.

Since 1992, FIFA rules have stipulated that all but three players must be below the age of 23.

A century ago there had been no FIFA World Cup, when Uruguay triumphantly swept aside European opposition to win the Olympic gold medal in football at Paris 1924 and Antwerp 1928.

They also hosted and won the inaugural FIFA World Cup in 1930,

As the World Cup grew in importance,  the significance of the Olympic tournament diminished,

There was even an unseemly dispute at Beijing 2008 when Lionel Messi and Brazil’s Rafinha and Diego seemed destined to miss the tournament after legal action from their respective clubs went all the way to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

All three eventually took part and Messi won Olympic gold and is now one of very few in the men’s game to possess both an Olympic and World Cup winner’s medal.

It is telling that in some countries, caps are not awarded for Olympic appearances.

Many have therefore questioned the desirability of retaining men’s football at the Olympics when unlike other sports, entry is not open to everyone.

There is no such age restriction in women’s football, introduced in 1996 and Olympic gold is highly prized and enjoys the same profile as the FIFA Women's World Cup.

There are of course other sports for which an Olympic medal is truly the holy grail and where the winners can truly be considered the best in the world.

In athletics, Usain Bolt's first Olympic gold medals at Beijing 2008 remain special moments for all those who witnessed them. I was fortunate to be amongst them.

These were the genuine moments at the summit of sport.

The same can be said for aquatics, archery, badminton, canoeing, equestrianism, fencing, gymnastics, judo, modern pentathlon, rowing, sailing, shooting, table tennis, taekwondo, triathlon, weightlifting and wrestling, all sports which have been part of the programme for at least 20 years.

Which brings us to consider the nine sports from which one or more may be permed for Los Angeles 2028.

Lacrosse is proposing "sixes”, a format used at the World Games, rather than the traditional 10 players.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has thrown its weight behind T20, a format which has only been played at elite level for 20 years.

It is undeniably popular and the ICC can proudly point to world rankings which include 87 nations in men's T20 in all the continents and 64 in the women's game, which, let it be said, is no mean achievement.

Yet cricket's longer format cricket can be a wonderful spectacle.

Anyone who followed the Test series between England and Australia in June and July this year cannot fail to have been captivated by the twists and turns as the initiative alternated between each side.

It was impossible to predict the outcome with any degree of certainty, often even in the last few moments of each match.

It seems a crying shame that the qualities of this format will be denied to the greatest stage of all.

T20 has its merits but lacks many of the subtleties and mood changes of the longer game.

It is also likely to be presented in "dumbed down" fashion, just as was mostly the case last year at the Commonwealth Games, with uninformed cheerleader as announcer, strident music at every turn and unnecessary fireworks.

The aspiring sports have made worthy noises about developing as a result of Olympic inclusion.

Noble sentiments certainly, but they belong to the wider purpose of the Olympic Movement.

The Olympic Games themselves should be simply about establishing the very best in the world on a given sport on a given day in the most authentic form of the sport.

Similarly, for any sport included in the Games, there should be no prize greater than an Olympic gold medal.