The Athens Games have been referred to on television as the first modern Olympics of the 21st century.

Modern? Don't make me laugh.

Surely that word isn't applicable until pharmaceutical companies can participate in the opening ceremony demonstrating in spectacular fashion how their wonderful pills, potions and other performance-enhancing products enable athletes to leap higher, jump further, run faster, row harder, shoot straighter and to swim like fish.

Impossible to imagine? Maybe. But consider the "impossible" things that occurred not so many decades ago. Like men walking on the moon.

The Olympics are now underway and Family History Monthly magazine August 2004 included an article on the Games.

In the article there was reference to George Larner, a 33-year-old Brighton policeman, who had retired from sport for policework as he did not have time to train.

He came out of retirement for the 1908 London games after the police authority was approached and his chief constable did everything in his power to give him some time off. George won the 10 mile race and 3,500 metre race.

Is he commemorated anywhere?

-T Smith, Brighton