With human sporting dramas fighting for space amid the geopolitics, the Winter Olympics are a reminder that the essence of sport remains noble and valid

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My kids don’t like sport. Either playing or watching. This isn’t an affectation – my daughter once turned down a ticket to the Women’s World Cup final. We get along fine. But, given my job, it can limit the teatime conversation at home.

On Sunday night, however, for a few moments, they accidentally watched the TV as Ilia Malinin of the USA went head-to-head with Shun Sato of Japan to determine who would lead their country to gold in the team figure skating at the Winter Olympics. They were transfixed. Although they know nothing about ice skating – correction, we know nothing about ice skating – it was obvious that Malinin’s flawed, riskier routine would ace the more fluent, more conservative Sato. It did.