Missing out on Super rugby will be worth it for Sherwin Stowers if he wins another gold medal at next year's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow as part of Gordon Tietjens' New Zealand sevens side.

Tomorrow, inside the cavernous void of Seoul's Jamsil Stadium, Ben Johnson will complete a strange and painful pilgrimage.

The city's triumphant bid to host the 2020 Games is giving this ageing nation a chance to revive its sagging spirits and stagnating economy.

A groan went up in the old city of Istanbul where hundreds of hopeful Turks heard the announcement that Tokyo had been chosen to host the 2020 Olympics.

Tokyo has been awarded the 2020 Olympics, capitalising on its reputation as a "safe pair of hands" and defying concerns about the Fukushima nuclear crisis.

Japan's Prime Minister says the country's nuclear contamination crisis is "under control" and should not affect Tokyo's bid to host the 2020 Olympic Games.