The British Olympic Association may have fought hard to preserve its lifetime ban for drug cheats but its legal strategy was guided by a desire to avoid a direct courtroom confrontation with a British athlete.
That is why it chose to challenge the World Anti-Doping Agency’s ruling that it was non-compliant with the WADA code at the Court of Arbitration for Sport earlier this year.
It was a way of testing the legality of its ban without involving an individual athlete such as Dwain Chambers, David Millar or Carl Myerscough.
Chambers’ attempt to obtain a High Court injunction against the ban before the Beijing Olympics in 2008 was bad enough. The last thing BOA chairman Lord Moyninhan wanted was to be taking on a GB athlete in a high-profile court case just months before the country hosted the Olympic Games. The BOA is, after all, meant to be a supporter of British athletes, not an adversary.
The news, therefore, that Taekwondo world No 1 Aaron Cook is considering taking legal action against the BOA over his controversial omission from Team GB presents a nightmare scenario for Moynihan and his team.
Defending yourself against a former drug cheat is one thing. Taking on an athlete as wholesome, talented and, in the eyes of many, wronged as Cook is another.
It is a hideous prospect for the BOA with just weeks to go before the start of the Games – and all the more so because one suspects that, deep down, the BOA has every sympathy with Cook’s plight.
Earlier this month the BOA’s Olympic Qualification Standards (OQS) Panel was sufficiently concerned at the fairness and probity of British Taekwondo’s decision to leave out Cook and select the less experienced and lesser-ranked Lutolo Muhammad that it ordered the governing body to convene another selection meeting in the presence of an independent BOA observer.
But, after that meeting, the feedback from the observer was that the selection procedures had been followed properly, leaving the OQS Panel with no apparent choice but to ratify Muhammad’s selection.
Cook remains adamant, however, that he has been stitched up following his decision to quit the British Taekwondo academy a year ago and go it alone.
He insists he has been “cheated” out of an Olympic place for the sake of small-minded politics and that the selection process was deeply flawed. His management team also believe the OQS was over-hasty to ratify Muhammad last Friday.
The case raises serious questions about the role of the governing funding agency UK Sport who have poured millions into British Taekwondo but failed to ensure that it put in place objective and transparent selection criteria.
Unlike most other Olympic sports, British Taekwondo refuses to make its selection policy public, which is surely a prerequisite of receiving Lottery and tax-payers’ money.
But it is the BOA that finds itself in the legal firing line because it is the body that had the ultimate sign-off on British Taekwondo’s selection criteria for the 2012 Games. It is also the organisation that has the final say over who is selected for Team GB.
Cook and his team want to avoid court. They are hoping the BOA will reconsider its position and that an investigation into British Taekwondo’s selection procedures by the World Taekwondo Federation will also bear fruit.
But if it does culminate in legal action – and Cook is fully prepared to go down that route if necessary with the eminent Michael Beloff QC in his corner – then the BOA will find itself in an impossible situation just a few weeks before what is meant to be one of the greatest moments in its history.
Even if the BOA wins in court, it will be cast as the villain while Cook will be seen as the innocent victim of officialdom and sports politics.
Unlike the festival of sporting action coming to London in five weeks’ time, this is a contest that could have no winners.
London 2012 Olympics: Double Olympic champion Haile Gebrselassie will carry the Olympic Torch - Daily Telegraph
The flame will arrive in Newcastle on Friday night where adventurer Bear Grylls will zip slide off the Tyne Bridge with the torch over the river and on to the Quayside.
To coincide with the arrival of the torch the city has decorated the Tyne Bridge with the Olympic Rings. The aluminium rings are about 25m (80ft) wide and 12m (40ft) high, which makes them the largest set of metal Olympic rings in the UK.
After the torch leads Newcastle it will travel to Sunderland via the Angel of the North before arriving in Gateshead at midday. In the afternoon the torch will then head on towards Hexham, Northumberland, before finishing the day with a celebration in Durham, where BBC presenter Matt Baker will carry the flame.
Is that Christian Bale behind the wheel? Bizarre car pictured whizzing around London looks like it has just driven off the set of new Batman film - Daily Mail
- 60k KTM X-Bow - one of only 30 made - with Kuwaiti number plate was spotted in Knightsbridge
- The area has become the racing car playground of rich Middle Eastern motorists
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This bizarre looking sports car wouldn't look amiss on the set of the latest Batman movie.
But while Cate Blanchett and Christian Bale were filming scenes for Knight of Cups in Venice, California, a mystery man was driving this 'batmobile' around London.
Wearing a Black helmet and full leathers, the driver of this black KTM with a Kuwaiti licence plate seemed very keen to keep his identity a secret as he drove through Hyde Park to Knightsbridge in London earlier today.
Day rider: A mystery man dressed in black was pictured taking this odd looking car for a spin around London
Far from home: The KTM sports car, which generally have a price tage of well over 60,000, has a Kuwait licence plate
The KTM car appears to be an X-Bow model - one of only 30 made, which cost more than 60,000 each.
The completely roofless super car is stripped to the bare basics and aimed at driving purists. It can do 0-60mph in 3.7 seconds and can reach a top speed of 137mph.
Onlooker Justin Thomas, 28, from London, happened to be riding his bike home when he spotted the bizarre contraption and quickly took some snaps of the car as it whizzed past.
He said: 'I just spotted this ridiculous looking car and thought I have to get a photo of it otherwise people won't believe I saw it.
'It was like something out of Knight Rider or Batman. The car would have looked more at home on the set of an action movie rather than in the middle of central London.
Jubilee celebrations: This Lamborghini LP640, emblazoned with the Omani flag on the roof and side, had a picture of the Queen on the front in honour of the monarch's 60 years on the throne
Reckless: An Iraqi playboy has been slammed for driving this Ferrari 599 at up to 120mph around central London streets
'After taking the photo I gave the driver a thumbs up before he revved the engine and sped off.
'Despite having no roof, the driver must have been quite hot as he appeared to be dressed head to toe in black leather.'
Super cars are often spotted in Knightsbridge, the London playground for the rich and famous, and many have customised and decorated individually.
In the run-up to the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations, one driver even emblazoned a picture of the Royal family on their Lamborghini.
Meanwhile, many Knightsbridge residents have complained about super racing around London streets at top speeds.
It comes after an Iraqi millionaire was filmed recklessly driving his 200mph super car around London in footage posted on YouTube.
The millionaire show-off was seen speeding through Knightsbridge in his turquoise Ferrari 599 without any regard for the safety of pedestrians and other motorists.
Residents have forged a campaign group and aired their grievances to Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, claiming that police and council have failed to act over these super car racers.
Strangely familiar:The real Batmobile at the Batman Begins premiere in Leicester Square, London
On set: Cate Blanchett and Christian Bale filming scenes for the new Batman film in California
London 2012: Tim Brabants will defend his canoe sprint title - BBC News
Olympic champion Tim Brabants will defend his Olympic K1 1000m title after the 35-year-old was confirmed in the Team GB canoe sprint squad for London.
Brabants, who won a race-off with Paul Wycherley last month to earn his place, is one of nine athletes in the team for the canoe sprint events at Eton Dorney.
"I am really excited to be selected for my fourth Olympic Games," he said.
"Now the selection process is complete, I can really focus on defending my Olympic title in London 2012."
Ed McKeever is a leading hope in the K1 200m after recent World Cup success, while Jonathan Schofield and Liam Heath, who have won two World Cup silver medals this year, will compete in the Men's K2 200m.
Richard Jefferies will be the only British athlete to race in the canoe where he is set to compete in both the C1 200m and C1 1000m events.
Jessica Walker, 22, will become GB's first representative in the women's K1 200m event, and Rachel Cawthorn, the 2010 European champion over 1000m and world bronze medallist over 500m, goes in the K1 500m race.
Walker and Cawthorn will team up with Angela Hannah and Louisa Sawers in the women's K4 500m.
Team GB chef de mission Andy Hunt said: "The canoe sprint team has really progressed since Tim Brabants won the first ever medal for Team GB by taking bronze in Sydney back in 2000.
"Having a veteran and defending Olympic champion like Tim in the team will be a huge inspiration to everyone involved, and it is a chance for the younger competitors and the debutants to use that kind of motivation to create their own Olympic legacy."
Men's K1 1000m
Tim Brabants
Men's C1 200m & Men's C1 1000m
Richard Jefferies
Women's K1 200m
Jessica Walker
Women's K1 500m
Rachel Cawthorn
Women's K4 500m
Jessica Walker
Rachel Cawthorn
Angela Hannah
Louisa Sawers
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