Gold for best viewing goes to ...

The Olympics involves 26 sports in various categories, but only a handful are must-sees, says Richard Fitzpatrick

THE summer Olympics has 26 sports, from an array of athletics to wrestling. Shooting required a dispensation, as it is illegal under UK gun laws.

Baseball and softball have been dropped. A shortlist of replacements included karate, squash, roller sports, golf and rugby sevens, but none received the necessary two-thirds majority vote (although the latter two will make it in 2016).

These are some of the ones you won’t want to miss:

1 100 metres (men’s final): Sunday, Aug 5

The most iconic event of the Olympics has been held since 1896 (remarkably, its female counterpart wasn’t inaugurated until 1928). It has had some storied moments, including the Scot Allan Wells’s win in 1980 (the last time a white athlete made it to the final), and the ignominy of Ben Johnson’s disrobing at Seoul, eight years later. This year, all eyes will again be on the ‘Lightning Bolt,’ Jamaican Usain Bolt, who may well shave time off his 9.58-second record.

2 1,500 metres (men’s final): Tuesday, Aug 7

There is something mythical about the mile (or its approximate, the 1,500 metres) race, which was one of the inaugural events in Athens in 1896. Sebastian Coe, chairman of the Olympics Committee and one-time MP, is a former two-time gold medallist (1980, 1984), while Fine Gael senator Eamonn Coghlan, came agonisingly close to a medal at Montréal in 1976.

3 Decathlon: Wednesday, Aug 8 — Thursday, Aug 9

When King Gustaf V of Sweden, presented the gold medal to decathlete Jim Thorpe in 1912, he said: “You are the world’s greatest athlete.” Who could dispute the claim? The event demands an incredible range of skills. Four of the events are taken from the ancient Greek pentathlon: long jump, discuss throw, javelin, sprint (sadly, wrestling has been dropped), while the other events, which are spread over two gripping days, are the shot putt, high jump, 400 metres, 110 metres hurdles, pole vault and 1,500 metres.

4 Football (men’s final):Saturday, Aug 11

For those who can’t do without their soccer fix. The 16 teams are restricted to under-23 players (and three wild cards of any age). Last time out, Lionel Messi’s Argentina bagged gold. Spain are favourites, but the guy to watch out for is Brazilian wunderkind Neymar.

5 Boxing (women’s lightweight final): Thursday, Aug 9

Boxing is the quintessential sport. Mano a mano. All 10 of the men’s boxing weight divisions date back to 1904 in Olympic competition. Past winners include Floyd Patterson, Muhammad Ali and Lennox Lewis, but for women the sweet science is on the bill for the first time. Ireland will be hoping that Katie Taylor, fresh from her fourth consecutive world title in May, can prevail and win the country’s ninth gold medal.

And now for something completely different

1 BMX (men’s and women’s finals): Friday, Aug 10

Who knew that wheelies, bunnyhops and cornering would get you to the Olympics one day? The BMX event was added to the schedule in Beijing. The final race is gripping, as contestants (half of whom fall) hare around a track that looks like a street in the middle of an earthquake. From a distance, the group ebbs and flows like an amoeba. The wipe-outs are spectacular, but what amazes is how the cyclists can pedal so fast.

2 Beach volleyball (women’s final): Wednesday, Aug 8

The organisers say that the girls don’t have to wear bikinis but want to wear them. The guys want the girls to wear them as well, going by the rate that corporate groups hoovered up tickets for test matches in London last summer. With all that exposed flesh wobbling around, you can’t help feeling that the sport is at the Benny Hill end of things, despite protestations from enthusiasts. And we wonder why women’s sports aren’t taken seriously by some.

3 Archery (men’s individual final): Friday, Aug 3

Surely to be a ratings hit this summer, on the back of Game of Thrones mania. It’s kind of cool that an event that dates back to the late Paleolithic period is part of the Olympic Games again, after being dropped for half a century, until its revival in 1972.

4 Pommel horse (men’s finals): Sunday, Aug 5

The pommel horse was conceived centuries ago, so men could practise mounting and dismounting a horse. It takes a particular courage to leap onto one, using only its two handles for support. It is a gruelling discipline (though not as tough, physically, as still rings or parallel bars), which prizes technique and one’s ability to keep feet pointed and legs straight during routines.

5 Synchronised diving 10 metre platform (women’s final): Monday, Jul 30

Diving is one of sport’s most aesthetically pleasing endeavours. When you put two people doing it in harmony, it is even better. Watch out for synchronised diving from the 10-metre platform, an event that was incorporated into the Olympics at Sydney in 2000, and particularly when pairs do opposing (‘pinched’) manoeuvres.