Flying down to Rio

As I type this I am listening to the Opening Ceremony of the Rio Olympics as broadcast on Radio Five Live in the wee hours of a UK morning. I have certain events that I wish to watch but currently have no intention whatsoever to immerse myself in wall-to-wall Olympic-viewing.

You can call me a mealy-mouthed curmudgeon if you wish, but I make no apology for noting the following stories coming overnight from Rio:

• Three members of the American basketball team – who (naturally) are staying upon a cruise ship moored in the harbour in preference to risking the athletes village – have been discovered visiting a well-known brothel near Copacabana beach, albeit they claim that they thought it was just a spa.
• A Cypriot weightlifter and an unnamed Greek athlete have recorded positive drugs tests on the eve of the Olympics.
• The Team GB swimming team has had nine bags of swimwear nicked.
• WADA has condemned Brazil’s decision some time ago to stop testing its athletes for performance-enhancing drugs as ‘unacceptable’.
• Moroccan boxer Hassan Saada has been accused of attempted rape by two Brazilian waitresses in the Olympic village, the day before he was due to have his first bout.

Meanwhile, before Team GB gets too complacent about its position on performance-enhancing drugs, here’s a sobering article by Ben Rumsby that appears today on the website of the – DAILY TELEGRAPH

Here’s another that’s worth a look, from Marina Hyde, on the website of – THE GUARDIAN

And – just to finish – here’s Kevin Garside, writing on the Lizzie Armitstead situation on the website of – THE INDEPENDENT