Tom Richmond: The 100-day race is on to bring home biggest Olympic prize of all from Rio

For those competitors hoping to fly the flag for Team GB in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, the next 100 days leading up to the opening ceremony will be the most crucial of their lives. Split-seconds could determine the outcome of life-changing events.

For the Government, these 100 days are, potentially, pivotal to its sporting legacy and the need to further encourage mass public participation on the back of the golden triumphs that this country anticipates in Brazil.

It should be looking to seize the moment, and come up with an awe-inspiring policy which kicks into effect on the very same day that Britain celebrates its first gold medal at the games of the XXXI Olympiad.

Nothing is beyond limits if the original vision is matched by a determination to succeed, as illustrated by the enduring popularity of the London Marathon; the unprecedented success of the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics or Yorkshire hosting the Tour de France two years ago.

Unlike the London Olympics, when the build-up was characterised by concerns about its organisation, the only distractions appear to be the EU referendum or the private life of Culture Secretary John Whittingdale, the Minister responsible for sport. Neither justifies the Government sitting on its hands this summer.

It also does not require the level of state intervention – and control – seen in China where President Xi Jingpin has ordered his country to win football’s World Cup by 2050. Sport should always be enjoyable.

What it does need, however, is willpower so, for example, every leisure centre and sports club in the UK could hold free events and taster sessions for youngsters in the 100 days after God Save The Queen is first played in Rio.

For many, this will not be a problem. Community clubs, run by those volunteers who are the unsung and uncelebrated heroes of society, do not receive sufficient credit for the positive work that they already do with young people from all walks of life.

For some clubs – and indeed those leisure centres where opening hours are having to be reduced because of financial pressures – they may not have the resources, or coaching expertise, that will be required when they throw open their doors to the under-18s. After all, not every child is fortunate enough to own a bike or know how to swim or have a local park where they can play football safely.

This is where the Government needs to step in. It needs to make the necessary money available so such events can be held in every parish in the country in the crucial post-Olympic period.

No excuses, please. If there is a will, there is a way – even in these supposedly financially straitened times when Ministers are still undisputed champions at wasting public funds.

After all, the power of sport to change lives is palpable – as evidenced by the furore earlier this month when Stoke Gifford parish council near Bristol sought to impose a charge on the organisers of a free 5km fun run for footpath repairs.