The hype has started already

Daley Thompson may be regarded by many – or by himself, at least – as Britain’s greatest ever Olympian but his hopes of being the man to light the Olympic flame on Friday night look like they’ve gone up in smoke.

Thompson won gold in the decathlon in Moscow in 1980 (when America and a load of other countries boycotted the games) and Los Angeles four years later (when the Russians and other Eastern Bloc countries were absent.

In his mind, those achievements are better than Steve Redgrave’s four Olympic gold medals in successive games – so he said at the weekend, in any case.

But it’s some other impertinent comments that look like derailing his bid to be the man to light the Olympic flame in Friday night’s opening ceremony.

Thompson joked on BBC’s The One Show on Thursday that the misspelling of a torch-bearer’s tattoo – it read “Oylmpic Torch Bearer” – must have been down to an Irish tattooist.

His little funny caused a brief titter from One Show presenter Matt Baker, who quickly regained his senses and pointed out that the mistake was made in the US city of Atlanta.

So, Redgrave it is then.