WITH all the talk about Russia’s political suitability to host the World Cup, memories have come flooding back for those who competed the last time Moscow staged a major global showpiece and ended up being caught in the headlights of a diplomatic war.

One of those athletes was a young 400m runner with the Wolverhampton and Bilston club. Glendon Cohen was picked to run in the 1976 Montreal Olympics at the age of 22.

He gave a signal of his potential by finishing ahead of eventual champion, the legendary Alberto Juantorena, in a heat but ultimately went out in the quarter-finals.