The Dirtiest Race in History

When I started writing this blog eighteen months ago, there were numerous sporting events that immediately sprung to mind when I considered which topics to cover. One certainty was that at some point I would try my very best to research, investigate, and compose a piece about the 1988 Olympics Men's 100 metres final in Seoul. And then I read The Dirtiest Race in History by Richard Moore and realised that, in comparison, my amateur efforts would struggle to qualify from the heats.

1988 Olympics: Daley Thompson

One of the problems with getting old is that there comes a point in your life when you realise that your time has gone. Whereas once you were young, fit and vibrant, you are now middle-aged, tired and aching. Hangovers that used to subside after a couple of hours now stretch into the following evening, and you start to feel wrong about being attracted to Pixie Lott (age 21), and begin to feel more comfortable setting your sights on Kate Humble (age 43).

The worst thing about this state of affairs is that there seems to be no warning about this transformation, which is as scary as it sounds. For a sportsman, once invincible in his arena, this realisation must be the most startling of wake-up calls, a reminder that time waits for no man. Even when that man was one Francis Morgan Ayodélé Thompson.