It was not Dilma Rousseff I was learning about, and the merits and pitfalls of impeaching a democratically elected ruler. Nor was it Sadiq Khan and the historical significance of a Western European capital’s first Muslim Mayor. But sport: a world of fair play, good spirit, straight competition, and, of course, as much skulduggery as everywhere else.

First up was an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Pan American Sports Organization (PASO) at which the main matter at hand was the small business of approving a new constitution. A body still coming to grips with the death last year of its sole ruler for four decades, Mario Vázquez Raña, the meeting was also a landmark opportunity for free and inconsequential debate.

“Mario did allow us to speak out of turn,” said one delegate. “But we were always punished for it…and rarely listened to.”

Elections to choose a new President to replace Uruguay’s interim head Julio Maglione are on the backburner, with no vote expected until December at the earliest, yet it was at the forefront of thinking throughout. A maximum limit of three four year terms for any future ruler was among the many new proposals accepted without fuss, but there were two areas of particular controversy.

The first, and least justifiable, of these, stipulated that all candidates must have "at least three years of experience immediately preceding their nomination as a President, vice-president or secretary general of their respective National Olympic Committees".

Some rather convoluted arguments were put forward beforehand about those lacking such recent experience being too unaware of public affairs, but essentially the plan appeared mainly a means to foil the leadership challenges of two likely contenders: Dominican Republic's José Joaquín Puello and St Lucia’s International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Richard Peterkin.

After several passionate speeches, including one from Peterkin, even Maglione came out in sympathy and the wording “immediately preceding their nomination” was dropped. Simply put, there was not enough political impetus behind the proposal and the duo became eligible once again.

The second bone of contention, over voting weightings among PASO members, proved more contentious. The Caribbean were desperate to scrap a system in which NOCs received an extra vote for every time they hosted the Pan American Games, up to a maximum of five. They called for one member, one vote, while an alternative motion was also submitted in which the 10 host countries would have one extra vote - but only in the election of host cities.

Debate began, with Mexico speaking first in support of vote weightings followed by Brazil, whose NOC head Carlos Nuzman, enjoying a brief respite from Rio 2016 preparations, put forward a “third option” in which they would be permitted one extra vote when choosing elected officials as well as host cities.

Confusion reigned, partly as our English translator told us Nuzman wanted three votes, and also because this amendment had come from the left field, and had never been mentioned in the preceding year of discussions. But immediately Argentina was speaking to offer their support, followed by Colombia and then Paraguay.

It emerged later that a meeting of the South American NOCs had taken place the night before as battle lines were drawn. Led by a passionate speech from St Vincent and the Grenadines general secretary Keith Joseph, like Nuzman a PASO Presidential contender, the Caribbean hit back and, when St Kitts and Nevis accused Brazil of orchestrating a coup d'état, the Biblical story of David and Goliath came to mind.

Maglione then intervened to call a successful motion for lunch - the first rule of Olympic politics is that nothing gets in the way of a meal break - before “option three” was taken to a vote after fierce debate between lawyers from both sides on “Robert’s Rules of Order”.

Like in cricket, surely the only sport built around lunch breaks, the Caribbean packed a good punch. But they were ultimately outplayed here, and after the first two options failed, they were forced into a volte face in which they voted for Nuzman’s amendment in order to avoid persevering with the current system.

The immediate significance is that, on the face of it, big countries having two votes may help Nuzman’s Presidential bid, although, in reality, it is much more complicated and this is less of an advantage than before anyway.

Aside from the three Caribbean candidates, the other confirmed entry is Chilean Olympic Committee President Neven Ilic. Nuzman is yet to confirm his intentions and will not do so until after Rio 2016, but I received a quizzical glance whenever I asked if he may throw in the towel after the rigours of organising the first South American Olympic Games. “Remember he is an athlete,” said one observer of the 74-year-old ex-volleyball player. “Athletes love the thrill of competition.”

Joseph, Peterkin and Puello met for breakfast after the EGM - apparently being nervously interrupted by Nuzman at one stage asking if it was a political meeting - to agree to work independently for the time being before two would eventually withdraw in favour of one unified Caribbean candidate. A formidable possibility but one that would be far from easy to achieve.

Joseph, perhaps the most advanced of the three who has already circulated a manifesto, appeared to have instigated this meeting. But, while Peterkin may be content with accepting an Executive Committee position, probably treasurer, in return for support, Puello appears ambitious.

A Latin American, yet one who studied in Britain and speaks perfect English, he may be able to bridge the divide, particularly as he also hails from a middling country that did host the Pan American Games once, in Santa Dominago in 2003, where Puello chaired the Organising Committee. Yet, at 76, is the neurosurgeon too old for the role?

The official answer is no, with no age limit proposed in the constitution. But it is certainly an issue people are aware of when they consider Puello. He would be too old, for instance, to become an IOC member, something seen as important for the next PASO leader. Nuzman is a fellow septuagenarian, but as an IOC honorary member who is already so well connected, this appears less of a hindrance, although there are some lingering doubts about his health. Joseph is arguably limited by coming from a small NOC with less electioneering muscle, and would need to expand his reach beyond the English-speaking Caribbean, but is an experienced and respected operator who seems to have some key support.

Nuzman would be hard to beat, with Maglione - who has vowed not to run in order to focus on International Swimming Federation (FINA) elections next year - thought to be among his backers. But neither is his victory guaranteed, with some of his South American support having been snatched by Ilic, who cannot be discounted but needs to do more than, at 54, simply present himself as a “young alternative”.

It promises to be a fascinating few months as an unusually open and unpredictable electoral process unfolds.

Fast forward two long-haul flights and I find myself battling jetlag in London at an Elective Congress of the European Swimming Federation (LEN). Italian incumbent Paolo Barelli, a former swimmer and senator from Rome, is up against his vice-president, Dutch lawyer Erik van Heijninden in a two-horse race for the top job.

Van Heijningen has, by sporting standards, run an aggressive campaign, calling for change, better governance and a stronger anti-doping stance to avoid problems “killing the sport”. Barelli, in response, said nothing publicly and refused questions from my colleague at a press conference on the eve of the vote in order to avoid distractions.

And yet, as soon as the Congress started, it was obvious the way the wind was blowing as a Presidential address unfolded in which a message of four years of success and stability was rammed home over and over again. Three delegates then stood-up to offer their congratulations, including Nordic representative Hörður J. Oddfríðarson of Iceland. Van Heijningen was then permitted a 10-minute speech before Barelli reminded us of the essentials of his appeal.

The result was decisive: victory for Barelli by 77 votes to 27. For good measure both van Heijningen and his Russian ally Vladimir Salnikov were voted off the ruling Bureau completely as a document, entitled “Barelli’s team” was distributed around the room, colour-coded in the same way as the voting ballot. The five vice-presidents and nine Bureau members ultimately chosen were identical to this list, with some figures having even tactically and silently withdrawn shortly beforehand, presumably to avoid the pro-Barelli vote being split. Nordic countries, perhaps coincidentally after Oddfríðarson's interjection, gained three new representatives.

In short, it was brutal political annihilation with van Heijningen dispatched with ruthless efficiency. Barelli pulled off his quest for power in a fashion - albeit thankfully without the bloodshed - in which many vying rulers in television series Games of Thrones would have been proud of. “A landslide,” crowed his willing acolyte and freshly elected general secretary David Sparkes afterwards. Mario Vázquez Raña would also have approved.

Like with PASO, it did mark an improvement on previous elections. A fully closed ballot system was used, for example, unlike previously when it had been hard to hide a ballot paper from prying neighbours. Barelli consulted and made electoral pledges to voters, I was told, which was a “good thing” so long as they are upheld, although what exactly these "pledges" constituted I am not sure.

Clearly, sports administration has always been and will always be political. Yet in our modern world there are standards which have to be obeyed and many of these I felt LEN were only paying the faintest lip service towards. At a time when the public is concerned about drugs use in swimming, for example, the word doping was not mentioned all Congress and, in this day and age, I struggle to justify a candidate standing for a such a position without delivering any public messages, effective as an electoral strategy as restricting oneself to back-room lobbying may be.

PASO, which still lacks a functioning website and Twitter account, has work to do in fully accessing the modern age, but does at least appear to have recognised a need to change. LEN, so far as I can see, is yet to do that and may one day suffer the consequences.

And they need only look at FIFA, beginning its annual Congress this week in Mexico City, to learn the dangers of not evolving.