Turn on the BBC at any given point this week and you’ll be confronted with peak human performance. I’ve watched Mondo Duplantis high jump over three times my height, I’ve seen Simone Biles spin in the air and still land gracefully on her feet, and I’ve seen our very own Keely Hodgkinson run faster than what felt like the speed of light to win a gold. I’ve watched athletes race through rapids on kayaks, make seemingly impossible jumps on horseback and perform tricks on skateboards I’ve never even heard of.
But there’s one thing I don’t want to see Olympians try: Strictly . This year we’re apparently getting two gold medalists on the famed dance floor. Swimmer Tom Dean , who won his medal in the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay just last week, accidentally let slip that he’d be donning his dancing shoes in a post-race interview.
Hockey player Sam Quek , whose TV career has blossomed since winning a gold medal in Rio 2016, is also strongly rumoured to be in the line-up. I’m not happy. Being good at swimming or hockey doesn’t mean you’re automatically a good dancer, of course.
But that’s not my problem with allowing Olympians – particularly ones that have just come from Paris – to compete alongside the reality stars and soap actors. It’s not their footwork I’m het up about – it’s their in-built superhuman dedication to winning. You don’t get to the Olympics – never mind win – without a strong sense of discipline, a gruelling training ro.