Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ

Most of my work at the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ is centred around golf and rugby, but when the comes round and there is an opportunity to help cover the greatest of all sporting events, then matters oval and dimpled ball are laid aside for a while.

My earliest Olympics memory is of - all stars but, most of all for a Scottish child, Allan Wells was the hero. I think I joined in with the bear when the mascot shed a tear in the closing ceremony.

I was also strangely drawn to the main sport I will be covering in Beijing, . It is one of the oldest and - on the surface at least - simplest sports. What could be more straight-forward than 'who can lift the heaviest weight'? From the giant Soviet lifter of the 1970's, , to the far smaller, but no less dominant Turkish/Bulgarian - all have held a fascination.

I realise that I'm unlikely to be commentating on British success in the sport - although has been a fine exponent in recent years. That's because weightlifting is still largely dominated by , whereas (more 'gym-based' lifts of bench-press, squats and deadlifts) is more popular in the West.

But that won't detract from the attraction of the competition in Beijing. 'Faster, Higher, Stronger' is the motto - and the last of the three is surely decided by the weightlifting.