When the Olympic Games were last held in Tokyo, American multi-millionaire Avery Brundage was President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

If you stood one weightlifting Coffa brother on top of the other they might just about stretch beyond three metres, edging marginally higher than the top of the discs when the giant Georgian Lasha Talakhadze makes one of his world record lifts.

During a panel discussion held last December about the impact of esports, the Global Association of International Sports Federations director Philippe Gueisbuhler commented: "This train is already driving, we cannot stop esports."

As the world of sport ponders on how best to return to action when the coronavirus crisis allows, there is a common requirement - maintaining the safety and health of participants and spectators.  But how to go about it? When to return? And with what changes, temporary or long-term?

Today (May 31) marks the 50th anniversary of the start of the most thrilling sports competition of my lifetime - the 1970 FIFA World Cup.

When Michelle Ford stood on the starting block of lane three for the Olympic 800 metres freestyle final on July 26 1980, she had East Germans to her left and right, in lanes one, four and five. A quick look at the results from the first five days of competition - and at the past two Olympic Games - showed what the Australian teenager was up against.

When Guy Drut, one of three French International Olympic Committee (IOC) members, announced last month that the original shape of the Paris 2024 Games was now, in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, "obsolete, outdated, out of touch with reality", it is fair to say that numerous eyebrows were raised within Olympic circles.

In recent years, an increasing number of sportspeople have spoken out about their struggles, contributing to a worldwide trend of ending the stigma surrounding mental health.

The last American to lead the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) before this year was Clarence Johnson, a devoutly Christian accountant who spent 50 years of his life serving the sport in various administrative roles.

As a superlative scrumhalf for Argentina’s rugby union team from 1995 to 2008, Agustín Pichot was known for his ability to run a game. Now this 45-year-old player-turned-administrator may be on the brink of earning the right to run the world game.

The Financial Times is reckoned to be, by some considerable distance, the world’s most influential business newspaper. Its chief economics commentator, Martin Wolf, knows what he is talking about, so what he says in a five-minute video posted by the FT last Friday is worth listening to.

Hayley Wickenheiser, whom many regard as the greatest-ever female ice hockey player, retired as an athlete in 2017 to pursue a medical career. But Canada’s four-time Olympic champion is still leading from the front - in sport and in life.

Two years ago this weekend, the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games got underway. As the Commonwealth and the world stands now, it has the feel of a golden age.

One of the reasons cited for not holding the Glastonbury Festival in 2012 was a very basic one. London 2012 organisers had already nabbed all the portaloos that could be had for their own visitors that summer.