POWER STILL IN POLE POSITION! Phil willing to strip off for chance at Olympics
DARTS
Sport Tip: PHIL TAYLOR is so desperate to be in the next Olympics he’s threatened to take up pole dancing to get to Rio.
The 15 times PDC world champ is leading the campaign for darts to be included at the next Games.
But his hopes seem slim – even though a “sport” more common in strip bars is set to feature in the Brazilian capital in 2016.
Taylor, 52, said: “Pole dancing is going to the next one, so we’ve got half a chance… if not, I will be a pole dancer.”
The bawdy atmosphere more common in seedy nightclubs has recently crept in at darts events.
And Taylor claims it is only a matter of time before a player is injured by a drunken fan.
“The Power” has been involved in several incidents this year and puts part of the blame for his UK Open final defeat against Robert Thornton on a nutter who tried to get on stage.
He said: “It is getting dangerous now. It is inevitable that someone will get hurt because they are big lads at the darts and the one who gets hurt will be me.”
The new season starts with a European tour event in Sindelfingen, Germany, this weekend.
Gospel
And Taylor is as hungry as ever for more titles. He has spent the summer preaching the darts gospel in Australia but still practised for several hours a day on the trip Down Under.
He added: “It can be difficult, especially with youngsters coming through now, because they earn hundreds of thousands of pounds and that’s when you need to be dedicated.
“They must have a great manager to keep them motivated to get them up in the mornings when it’s throwing down with rain or whatever.”