Far from the madding crowd at the 2012 Olympic Stadium on Saturday night, the athlete most likely to emerge as a class act on the big stage come Games time got his season off to a flying start in the early hours, British-time, yesterday. Running in his first individual race of the year, the 100 metres in the Jamaica Invitational meeting at the National Stadium in Kingston, Usain Bolt emerged victorious in 9.82 seconds – the fastest time in the world in 2012 and his quickest-ever season opener.

British sprinter Dwain Chambers will compete against world record holder Usain Bolt over 100 metres at this month's Golden Spike event in Ostrava.

Paula Radcliffe has vowed to lead a worldwide campaign to pressurise the World Anti-Doping Agency into applying tougher bans on drug cheats.

From all the back and forth, the challenges and the appeals, one could be forgiven for thinking that the issue of drugs in sport is a complex one. It is not. It is very simple. An athlete who takes a prohibited substance is cheating and should not be allowed to compete again.

Two British athletes who were exposed as drug cheats will be eligible to compete at the London Olympics when their lifetime bans are overturned today.

The British Olympic Association have lost a court case to keep their lifetime ban for drugs cheats.

Drug cheats like Dwain Chambers and David Millar will be welcomed back in to Team GB with open arms if the BOA's bylaw on lifetime bans is scrapped next week, according to former Olympic champion Jonathan Edwards.

A number of British athletes, including the Olympic gold medallist Mark Hunter, have expressed disappointment at the imminent overturning of the British Olympic Association's controversial bylaw that bans dopers from the Games for life.

British Olympic Association chiefs are increasingly resigned to defeat next week in their court battle to keep their lifetime ban for drugs cheats.

UK Athletics head coach Charles van Commenee believes Britain remains “on course” for a successful Olympic Games after encouraging performances this winter.

Four years after her dream of Olympic gold crashed down at the penultimate barrier in the 100m hurdles final in Beijing, LoLo Jones is back on the winning track. The 29-year-old American had surgery last August to fix a tethered spinal cord. Last Saturday, she won the 50m hurdles at the US Open Meeting in New York. "It's all been worth it," Jones said.

The British Olympic Association bylaw which enforces a lifetime Olympic ban on drugs cheats will face legal scrutiny by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on March 12.

From drugs busts to the NBA season being delayed to sexual abuse accusations in college sport, 2011 in the US has been all about the off-field drama, writes Robin Scott-Elliot

The British Olympic Association will take the fight to keep their lifetime ban for drugs cheats to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, it was confirmed today.