This blog rarely comments on sporting events because it has no expertise to bring a new angle to discussions. But the Olympics are special and what is happening in Rio is very special. I was brought up and lived most of my life on a diet of consistent and continuous Olympic disappointment. There was a here we don’t go again feel to our efforts on a par to the despair which follows the England football team. But then in 2008 things began to change in Beijing as Team GB showed real benefits from professional training and preparation, backed by significant investment of lottery cash, a John Major initiative for which he should be better remembered. London 2012 began hesitantly then produced a national triumph beyond the wildest imagining.
As I write this GB sits at number 2 spot in the medals table, behind only the United States and ahead of all of the rest of the world. Once again there was a hesitant start, very British that, but momentum has been steadily building. Whether we can retain this amazing position in the tables is not certain, but to be there at all is a moment well worth living for.