Sports writer and Sunday columnist

AND ANOTHER THING

IT is no secret that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has been desperate in recent years to appear younger and cooler.

The Olympics, the IOC fear, will be overshadowed by this new wave of “modern sports”, which is why surfing, skateboarding and sport climbing are new additions to the programme for the Games this summer.

There have also been talks about including the likes of parkour to the Olympic programme and while purists are reluctant to invite these more modern sports into the inner sanctum, there are few who would disagree that these sports include the fundamental traits needed for success in any Olympic discipline – physical excellence, skill and mental strength.

However, the IOC is not stopping there. Last week, the IOC’s latest project began, the Olympic Virtual Series, which will include five virtual sports – baseball, cycling, auto racing, rowing and sailing – and run for just over a month.

The aim, say the IOC, is to “mobilise virtual sport, esports and gaming enthusiasts all around the world in order to reach new Olympic audiences”.

Prior to the launch of this series, the IOC have talked about introducing esports into the Olympics proper but, for now at least, they have settled on a stand-alone series.

I’m all for widening the appeal of the Olympics and grabbing the attention of the largest possible audience, but this is a step too far. Stop with the madness.

Esports are not sport. They are not even close. Feel free to like gaming, love it even. But do not think it has a legitimate place in the Olympics. It doesn’t, and it never will.