test2wa

Olympics

Rugby sevens and golf are both expected to be voted in as new Olympic sports today.

The International Olympic Committee will vote on both sports following presentations in Copenhagen, and rugby is expected to achieve the 515 majority comfortably, with golf also anticipated to succeed but by a narrower margin.

The IOC have insisted, however, that if successful neither will be present as demonstration sports at the London Games in 2012.

The IOC ended the practice of demonstration sports in 1992 and although both rugby and London organisers would be open to suggestions for 2012, they will be dictated to by edicts from Lausanne.

Gilbert Felli, the IOC's executive director of Olympic Games, said: "We don't have any demonstration sports any more, so we don't see either golf or rugby being demonstration sports in London."

Neither taekwondo nor triathlon, the two most recent additions as Olympic sports at Sydney in 2000, were demonstration events in Atlanta in 1996.

Beijing did run a competition of the traditional Chinese sport wushu last year, but only as part of their cultural programme.

Rugby and golf would have to explore other avenues if they wanted to display their sports at 2012 and may have to wait before becoming part of programme for the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Attention though is first focused on today's vote and the International Rugby Board (IRB) are confident they have ironed out all potential difficulties, and have avoided the bitter infighting which has afflicted a British football team.

IRB chief executive Mike Miller said: "The British situation is not an issue. We already have the British and Irish Lions which is a combination team and all four countries to say they would join together for a Great Britain team."

Under Olympic rules, players from Northern Ireland could chose to play for either Ireland or Britain.

The same rules apply to golf - and Europe's rising star Rory McIlroy has already indicated he would like to play for Britain even though he represented Ireland as an amateur.

Both the IRB and the International Golf Federation (IGF) have put a lot of effort into stressing the expansion of the women's game, and the sight of the 6ft 1in Michelle Wie at the IOC Session in Copenhagen has certainly captured the attention of usually staid IOC members.

IGF acting president Peter Dawson will also stress that they will clear the golf calendar of major events during the Games.

Dawson said: "We have given a commitment that we will not stage any major championships or significant events against the Olympic dates."

If included, there would be 60 golfers in each of the men's and women's tournaments based on world rankings.

The top 15 would all compete and beyond that no more than two players from any one country.

Taken on current rankings that would mean seven American players in the men's but only two from any other country - Britain would have Paul Casey and Lee Westwood going for gold.

In rugby sevens, there would be men's and women's tournaments with 12 teams in each.

Former New Zealand wing Jonah Lomu and ex-Argentina captain Agustin Pichot are in Copenhagen for rugby's cause with Cheryl Soon of Australia and Kazakhstan's Anastassiya Khamova representing the women's game.