We’re good at sport — now invest in it

Britain's extraordinary weekend at the Olympics was more than just two days of joyous national celebration. It should also serve as a reminder of how far the UK still punches above its weight in the world — and how much we have to be proud of.

Most obviously, we are still an extremely successful sporting nation, behind only China and the US in the Olympic medal table. That success reflects Team GB’s meticulous preparation over the past few years. When London won the Games bid in 2005, the aim was to come fourth in the medals table. At the time, many thought that looked ambitious. Our success has vindicated the confidence of those planning Britain’s Olympic effort, as well as the self-belief of the athletes.

But such efforts also show how important it is to plan and focus on sport in the long term in order to succeed. This was British Olympic Association chairman Lord Moynihan’s point at the weekend when he urged a change in approach by schools. At the time of the bid one of the principal legacies of the Games was supposed to be in enthusing a generation of young people to get involved in sport. That aim has got rather lost over the past few years as preparations have focused on the athletes and the venues. Now we need to remember it again.

Improving school sport demands money and focus; today the Culture Secretary has admitted that school sports provision is “patchy”. These Games have already shown that the investment is worth it — quite aside from all the health benefits of raising a more sporting generation. Britain is good at sport. We should enjoy that — and ensure that we do even better in future.

Boris Johnson’s zip-wire predicament last week has triggered a fresh wave of speculation over the London Mayor’s political ambitions. He is now firmly entrenched as the bookies’ favourite to be next Conservative leader, far ahead of Chancellor George Osborne, long assumed to be David Cameron’s heir apparent. Mr Johnson has many political talents. There is however, one large obstacle to him targeting Mr Cameron’s job: he already has one, as Mayor of this city — and he should repay London voters’ trust by staying in it until the end of his term in 2016.

It is not hard to construct a scenario whereby Mr Johnson seizes what many believe to be his ultimate goal. He could probably pick up a safe Tory seat before the 2015 general election with little trouble — he is the darling of the party’s grassroots. Or he could bide his time until late, watching to see if the Tories’ and Mr Cameron’s chances in 2015 look poor, holding back if not. And if his party is indeed swept from power, and the backbenches revolt against Mr Cameron, he could challenge for the leadership. Nor would being an MP technically bar him from being Mayor: Ken Livingstone sat as an MP for the first year of his mayoralty.

Yet London demands its Mayor’s full attention. Worse, to abandon Londoners for such personal ambition would look like an act of unforgivable arrogance. Mr Johnson has a job to do. Even if it entails getting stuck in mid-air, he should focus on that alone for now.

Today's landing on the red planet by Nasa’s Mars rover Curiosity is a great achievement. True, the only image so far is of one of the vehicle’s wheels on the ground, curiously similar to a London parking enforcement picture, but this is just the start. Was there ever life on Mars? We hope Curiosity provides the answer.