Women's Boxing:Ireland's Katie Taylor will know whether she will be competing at London 2012 on Thursday evening, when the decision on whether to include women's boxing in the Olympic programme is due to be announced.
Golf and rugby union sevens are also set to learn whether they have been granted Olympic status in 2016 when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) meets in Berlin.
The Olympic newcomers are among a number of sports vying for two spots in 2016 with the likes of karate and baseball also seeking a place in the schedule.
At 22, lightweight Taylor is the dominant boxer in the women’s amateur game, with back-to-back world and European titles to her name. The only thing missing from her CV is an Olympic gold.
The pursuit of that dream has been a frustrating one but this week's announcement could install her as the overwhelming favourite to bring home a gold for Ireland.
One of three things can happen
The IOC can opt to deny women’s boxing a place on the Olympic stage, it can give it the green light or it can choose to defer the decision until prior to the 2016 Games.
If it is admitted it is likely to mean some restructuring for the men’s competition because the IOC has capped the amount of medal events in the Games.
Some of the men's divisions will therefore have to be cut altogether.
In making the decision, the IOC may also consider if the sport is “universal”, meaning it is practiced in 150 of the 205 countries in the Olympic family.
While boxing undoubtedly is, the discipline of women’s boxing is not and the decision then rests on whether it is considered the same sport.
The admissions process is already counting it as an existing sport, in that, unlike rugby and golf, it will not have to be approved by the Olympic Congress in Denmark in October if it gets the go ahead this week.
A refusal of the International Amateur Boxing Association’s (AIBA) request would, therefore, seem contradictory.
