IN AN age of vacuous politicians and overpaid karaoke singers and mime artists, I am thrilled so many athletes received awards in the honours list.

My own athletic prowess was always ‘A’ class, that is to say somewhere between average and abysmal, but in the late 1970s I trained with an international class athlete so I know first-hand the level of personal commitment required.

When he suffered a stress fracture to one of his shins, for eight weeks he trained on one leg so as to retain maximum fitness.

Even something as innocuous as an aspirin was forbidden for a headache.

So heads up and thank you for a summer of sport we may never see again.

Geoffrey Searstone, Moor Lane, York.