Tuesday, 15 December 2020
The Commonwealth Games Federation has introduced quota-reduction penalties in weightlifting for the first time in its qualification rules for Birmingham 2022.
Every doping violation during the qualifying period will be punished by the loss of one place from the maximum team size of 16, which is split equally between men and women to match the number of medal events.
Nations could be banned outright if they have more than three violations during a year - which is unlikely given the generally clean record in the sport of Commonwealth countries.
Those with the worst doping records in recent years are India, Malaysia and Nigeria.
Saturday, 12 December 2020
With significant positive developments concerning the COVID-19 vaccine coming in recent weeks, we can all be quietly optimistic of a slow and steady return to some sort of normality.
What is beyond doubt is that COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on all of us in different ways. For the host city, this has seen Birmingham City Council (BCC) pivot quickly and commendably to support the most vulnerable members of their community through the pandemic.
A huge and important part of our society - sport is one of the areas that has suffered badly. Responding to the devastating impacts of this relentless pandemic has been a monumental challenge for everyone working in the industry.