I’ve already written about how my namesake Samuel Sanchez won gold for Spain in the men’s cycle road race. Well, in the country of Ying-Yang, another of my namesakes didn’t manage to do me as proud.

Poor old Ghana’s Samuel Kotey was leading British boxer Bradley Saunders 2-0 in the first round of their light-welterweight boxing bout when Saunders knocked him to the floor twice in quick succession. It resembled a Mike Tyson opening round rather than amateur Olympic bout. After the second flooring Samuel was done, and out of contention.

I was ready to start writing about concussion and the dangers of head injuries, until I saw the replay. Samuel had been floored by a tremendous blow to the abdomen, possibly catching his kidney. If only he’d had padding round his waist, and not just on his head……

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