On every front, wokeness is at odds with the Olympic spirit, from the insistence that people should be judged on the basis of their identity rather than their achievements to the notion that competitive sporting patriotism is an embodiment of racism and white supremacy.

Thanks to the supine surrender of the Olympic establishment – which has changed its rules to allow political protests – and the global media, this woke grandstanding could affect the way that the actual sporting events are presented, and not only by allowing a failed male weightlifter to compete in the women’s contest.

The fear is that too much of the focus will be on the athletes’ identities and their personal political stunts, rather than on their striving to be the fastest, highest or strongest. One writer in the New York Post goes so far as to predict that ‘The Olympics are doomed’, because ‘an event that is meant to bring peoples together in the name of sport must become a woke circus on a world stage where bad-faith actors can take advantage. The anthem will become another kneeling-type BLM controversy. The flag is to be treated as a racist symbol – perhaps as part of a political stunt from a Nike-sponsored athlete with a new range of sportswear coming out soon.’