Why I won't be going to the Olympics

I wish Paris had won the bid to host the Olympics. I don’t believe London deserved to win. Too many athletes in this country struggle to get the recognition and backing they deserve. Thus you have Olympiads sponsored by their local butcher. That is an unacceptable situation. And I’ve yet to see any journalist take a serious look at how those selected on the Olympic team are coping financially.

But what really disgusts me - yes, disgusts - is coverage of women’s sports in England. The coverage of last year’s Wimbledon was a case in point. Reporters seemed to concentrate almost exclusively on what they were wearing and the noises they made on court. That there was an eventual winner was almost an aside.

In England, there is a peculiar attitude to female athletes - especially if they don’t fit a particular image. Unless they are preferably white, middle-class and married with children, the press are ready to stick the knives in. For example, Venus and Serena Williams are among the finest athletes of their generation and yet journalists seldom credit the pair with their phenomenal success. Instead we get catty asides about how they look - that they are not “properly feminine”. Hello? They are professional athletes.

I’m a former athlete and I won’t be applying for tickets or watching the Games on TV. In fact, I’m planning on getting out of London entirely for the duration of the Olympics.

The English seem to prefer pathetic losers like Eddie the Eagle, the skijumper who crashed and burned in 1987. There is little understanding or appreciation in this country of what it takes to reach the top in athletes.

Be the best? The English apparently prefer mediocrity.