Maybe it was a robbery in Rio which finally pushed the International Olympic Committee (IOC) into thinking that boxing’s days were numbered on the Games programme.

This is a column about longevity, political and personal.

Relaxation techniques are now hammered into elite athletes throughout world sport. It seems oxymoronic. "Relax! Relax I say!" But of course it works.

A few minutes after the International Boxing Association (IBA) Extraordinary Congress had voted not to hold a vote, a group of delegates gathered by the side of the stage and begun chanting "Umar! Umar! Umar!" while punching their fists excitedly in to the air.

Changing lives for the better - inspire, engage and unite the youth and young people of the Commonwealth - is the theme for the seventh Commonwealth Youth Games which will be held in the twin island republic of Trinidad and Tobago during the month of August in 2023.

A significant potential update to the Olympic sport agenda is the prospective inclusion of an obstacle sports event as the new fifth discipline in modern pentathlon.

Fifty years ago this month, 60 leading tennis players formed an organisation to "promote and protect " their interests.

My drive has always been to achieve all you can - sometimes against the odds. I tested positive for the genetic mutation that gives Huntington’s disease in my twenties, so I know I’m likely to get ill from that at some point.

The next time someone tells you that the Olympic Games are a load of balls, you can be forgiven for nodding your head in agreement. 

An All-Star game for the Premier League?

Engagement with The Youth. How many times have we seen or heard that phrase in recent years, expressed by the silver-haired guardians of our most valued sports?

As people started to make their way home after watching the medal ceremonies where winners of the elite races lapped up the adulation of the crowd, an exhausted Eskild Ebbesen pedalled across the finish line at the Haderslev MTB Challenge XCM.

The Champions League has come to denote the crème de la crème across several European sports, but with the footballing variant being lightyears ahead of its counterparts how can they keep up?

"This is what a World Championships should look like, and this is how a World Championships should be run." Those were not my words, or one of the event organisers or an elected official.