Sex, secret of sport success

Sportspeople who abstain from sex before a big event inhibit their performance, says a Russian academic who carried out a survey of Salt Lake City competitors.

"Athletes who are denied sex have erotic dreams. They think only about sex and can't concentrate on anything else", said Dr Dilja Jenikejewa.

"Regular sex enables sportsmen and women to reach peak performances", said Dr Jenikejewa. "An Olympic sportsman is physically able to have sex five or six times a night. Half the men we questioned said they performed better after sex. The others said it did no harm." But she added sex should cease three days before the big event, - except for women figure skaters.

They, she said, should have sex the night before they go out on the ice. "An orgasm the night before makes a woman glow with inner joy", she said.

"When a woman skates with a radiant smile, it's usually due to the eroticism of the previous night."

This is London sport