Rhys Williams successfully defended his 400m hurdles title at the Welsh Championships in Cardiff on Saturday.

But the 31-year-old was disappointed with his time of 51.90 seconds ahead of the British Championships in Birmingham on 3-5 July.
Williams is continuing his comeback from a four-month ban for failing a drugs test in July 2014.
"I didn't expect to run so slow today... but with a few tweaks I should run a bit quicker next week," he said.
"I'm expecting to run under 50 seconds but it's no good me talking about it, but I've trained hard and I can only do what I can do."
Williams is bidding for a place in the Great Britain team for August's World Championships in Beijing.
But he would have to finish in the top two in the British Championships to be selected and also needs to meet the qualifying time of 49.50sec at an event before Beijing.
Williams only returned to competitive action in May after his ban, which he served after UK Anti-Doping found that he and fellow Welshman Gareth Warburton had inadvertently taken a contaminated food supplement.
Elsewhere at the Cardiff Athletics Stadium, 17-year-old Hannah Brier claimed her first senior women's 100m title in a wind-assisted 11.40sec - just outside the national record of 11.39 sec and all-comers record of 11.27sec.
"I just wanted to concentrate on my start as I've been chasing times a lot and that's not very good," Brier said.
"I'd forgotten that I had to concentrate on my start and I was really happy with that - 11.40 was up there with some of the fastest times I've run this season."
Brier, who added the 200m title on Sunday in 23.62sec, now hopes to be selected for the World Youth Championships, which begin in Colombia on 15 July.
"I've run the qualifying standards quite comfortably, so it's just whether the selection panel now think I'm worthy enough of going out there," she added.
Sam Gordon took the men's 100m title in 10.36sec, with defending champion Dewi Hammond having to withdraw after picking up an injury when winning his heat.
Navid Childs won the triple jump with 14.68m, while Sian Swanson retained her women's triple jump title with 11.06m.
Olly Sheppard was the 3000m champion in 10min 47.52sec, with Vicki Cronin running a personal best of 11.56.23 in the women's event.
Brett Morse successfully defended his discus title with a throw of 58.69m, as did Awen Rosser in the women's event with 39.54m.
There was also success for Cardiff-based pole vaulter Holly Bradshaw, returning to action after 16 months out injured, whose 4.50m led the field and also achieved the mark necessary to qualify for the World Championships.


Global investment in renewable energy hit a record US$285.9bn (Â£202.3bn) in 2015, beating the previous high of $278.5bn set in 2011, a study shows.

The 10th Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment also showed that investment in developing nations exceeded that in developed countries.
In another first, more new renewables capacity than fossil-fuel generation came online during 2015.
But it warned that much more had to be done to avoid dangerous climate change.
The assessment, produced by the Frankfurt School-Unep Collaborating Centre for Climate and Sustainable Energy Finance and Bloomberg New Energy Finance, showed that the developing world committed a total of US$156bn (up 19% on 2014 levels) in renewables (excluding large hydro) while developed nations invested US$130bn (down 8% from 2014 levels).
"A large element in this turnaround was China, which lifted its investment by 17% to US$102.9bn, or 36% of the world total," the report observed.
However, other developing nations also contributed as six of the top 10 investors were developing nations.
In the foreword, UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon said the report's findings increased confidence that a low-carbon world was obtainable.
He wrote: "We have entered a new era of clean energy growth that can fuel a future of opportunity and greater prosperity for every person on the planet."
However, he warned that in order to avoid dangerous climate change required an "immediate shift away from fossil fuels".
UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative's Eric Usher, one of the assessment's co-authors, said the findings were, overall, positive and seemed to indicate that a shift was occurring.
"Renewables investment is at a new high, and investment is shifting geographically with developing countries investing more than developed countries for the first time (55%/45%)," he observed.
However, he did add that there were areas that caused concern when the focus shifted to regional or national levels.
"There is a still a lot of uncertainty, especially within Europe, with a degree of policy backtracking or the phasing down of support for the (renewables) industry," he told BBC News.
Fellow co-author Ulf Moslener, head of research at the Frankfurt School-Unep Centre, said the latest figures indicated that shifts in attitude, as well as structure, were occurring.
"This level of investment means... more than half of the capacity added to the global energy mix is renewables-based," he said.
Prof Moslener added that renewable generation was still dwarfed by fossil fuel-based sources, and only accounted for 10% of the global mix.
"That shows us that we are quite far from having a system that is based on renewables," he told BBC News.
Lead author Angus McCrone, chief editor at Bloomberg New Energy Finance, said that although global oil prices had fallen sharply recently, the cost of generating electricity via renewables had also decreased significantly, adding that there were also other factors that made the industry attractive to investors.
"One advantage that renewables has is that it can be built very quickly," he explained.
"If you are a power-hungry emerging market in Africa or South America, for instance, you can put up a wind farm in six to nine months, or a solar plant in three to six months.
"However, if you want to put up a coal-fired power station, it is going to take three or four years. A nuclear power plant is going to take substantially longer than that."
Despite the record level of investment in renewable generation, the long operating life of coal-fired and gas-fired power stations meant that vast carbon emissions were locked into the global energy mix for decades every time a new power station came online, unless carbon capture and storage technology became a commercial reality.
"That is the true challenges in the decades to come," said Prof Moslener.
"If you really want emissions to go down, it is not sufficient to just crank up renewables but - at some point - you have to stop using coal-fired and gas-fired power plants.
"This is a challenge where policymakers will also have to play a role."
At the recent UN climate summit in Paris, nations agreed to the goal of net-zero carbon emissions by the end of the 21st Century.
To date, electricity generation from renewable sources has prevented an estimated 1.5 gigatonnes of carbon from being emitted into the atmosphere.
However, an assessment by Unep, published at the Paris climate talks, suggested that current efforts were falling well short of what was needed to prevent dangerous climate change.
It said that carbon emissions needed to be cut by 10 gigatonnes each year in order to limit warming to 2C (3.6F) above pre-industrial levels.
"What we have seen through renewables is the first low-carbon industry that has matured to a scale that policymakers can see that it is a significant part of the solution," said Eric Usher.
"Is it enough? Well, clearly not. Therefore, there is going to have to be quite considerable scaling up in renewables but also in energy efficiency, agriculture, transport etc."
Mr Usher said the scale of the challenge to decarbonise the global economy by the end of the century meant that every sector had to play its part.
"The biggest concern is when you need to start peaking into order to start going towards zero carbon.
"We have to start peaking fairly soon but then you get into the problem of these coal plants that are not at 'end-of-life' any time soon."
Follow Mark on Twitter: @Mark_Kinver


Plans have been submitted to Swansea council for the rebuilding of a factory destroyed by fire.

The Pure Wafer factory was damaged in a blaze before Christmas last year.
A total of 68 firefighters tackled the fire at the silicon chip recycling plant on Millbrook Drive, Llansamlet.
Gleeds Management Service, on behalf of Pure Wafer, have now submitted plans for external cladding, a new roof, structural steel frame and internal works at the site.
At the time of the incident, chief executive Richard Howells said he was thankful no one had been injured at the factory which employs 130 staff.


Stephen Colbert, the new host of The Late Show on CBS, is one of the best-known and least-known figures in late-night US television.

For nine years Colbert, masquerading as a self-obsessed conservative talking head, held court on his Comedy Central show, The Colbert Report. At times his act was so convincing it was difficult to tell whether his guests were playing along or taking his over-the-top quips and opining at face value.
Now Colbert is stepping out from behind his previously ubiquitous persona and replacing late-night legend David Letterman. As US television audiences get their best look at the "real" man this week, here are five things to keep in mind.
Politics was Colbert's bread and butter on the Colbert Report. He took particular relish in meeting with - and poking fun at - some of the lesser lights in the political fixture.
During the 2008 and 2012 elections, presidential candidates of all stripes paraded onto his show. Some, such as former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, became official "friends of the show", in Colbert's words.
His Better Know a District segment featured interviews with members of Congress - many of whom seemed to have little idea what was in store for them. He coaxed California's Brad Sherman to talk like a robot, asked Florida's John Mica if he had to remove his toupee to go through airport security and combed New York's Eliot Engel's prodigious moustache.
Although new Democratic members of Congress were once advised to steer clear of the show, Colbert often boasted of a "Colbert bump" - a boost in support for politicians who made appearances. One study found Democratic candidates received a 44% boost in fundraising following a spot on the Report.
A look at Colbert's guest list for his new show reveals that, despite the change of venue, politics will still be front and centre - and, with a presidential campaign season in full swing, he'll have plenty of material.
Republican presidential hopeful Jeb Bush, Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders and Vice-President Joe Biden all are scheduled to appear in the first two weeks.
In 2006 Colbert delivered the monologue at the White House Correspondents Dinner - a role typically reserved for traditional comedians delivering safe, unthreatening one-liners.
Instead Colbert proceeded to skewer President George W Bush, who was seated nearby, and the entirety of the Washington press corps in attendance.
"I stand by this man, because he stands for things," Colbert said of the president. "Not only for things, he stands on things - things like aircraft carriers and rubble and recently flooded city squares. And that sends a strong message, that no matter what happens to America, she will always rebound with the most powerfully staged photo-ops in the world."
As for the press, he told them: "Here's how it works. The president makes decisions. He's the decider. The press secretary announces those decisions, and you people of the press type those decisions down. Make, announce, type. Just put them through a spell check and go home."
In the days after the speech, much of establishment Washington brooded over the insults. "Colbert was not just a failure as a comedian but rude," sniffed Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen.
Colbert's fans loved him for it, however, and the moment helped cement his rise as political agitator.
"I just want to do things that scratch an itch for me," Colbert said in a recent interview with GQ magazine. "That itch is often something that feels wrong. It's wrong because it breaks convention or is unexpected or at times uncomfortable. I like that feeling."
Another thing to keep in mind as Colbert works his way through his first few weeks as Late Night host is that Colbert is a nerd at heart when it comes to the sci-fi/fantasy genre - and his guest list often reflects that.
Colbert is a passionate fan of the JRR Tolkein fantasy epic The Lord of the Rings. He reportedly can speak Quenya, the fictional language of the elves used in the book, and is well versed in Tolkien lore.
He had a cameo appearance in the film The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, taking advantage of a live video chat to ask director Peter Jackson about the genealogical differences between Mirkwood and Sindarin elves.
Colbert likes to boast that he was one of first to see the original Star Wars films - he won a ticket to a sneak preview when he was a child in South Carolina - and his love of the sci-fi saga has only grown since then.
He once ended a show with a faux light-sabre duel with Star Wars creator George Lucas and asked viewers to create Star Wars-themed videos based on footage of the show's host jumping around in front of a television green screen.
With a new Star Wars film in just a few months away, expect to see Colbert go into full geek mode as the premier approaches.
Colbert comes from a large Southern family with 10 siblings. His childhood was marred by tragedy when, at age 10, his father and two brothers were killed in an plane crash in North Carolina. He's also totally deaf in one ear due to complications from surgery to repair a perforated eardrum.
After struggling in high school, Colbert discovered a love of acting. He graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in theatre and took a job with the well-known Chicago comedy improvisation group Second City - originally to answer phones and sell souvenirs.
He worked his way onto the troupe's touring company in 1988, then headed to New York to work for several television shows before landing a job as a correspondent on Jon Stewart's The Daily Show, where his Stephen Colbert-as-right-wing-pundit character was born.
As host of the Report, he developed a cult following. A treadmill on the International Space Station is named after him, as are four animal species, including a spider native to California, the Aptostichus stephencolberti.
Despite his comedic persona, Colbert can at times play it straight. In 2010 he put his satirical persona to a more serious use, testifying before the US Congress on expanding legal rights for undocumented migrant labourers.
"I like talking about people who don't have any power," he said in a more serious moment during questioning during a testimony that was otherwise heavily satirical. "It seems like some of the least powerful people in the US are those who come to the US and do our work and don't have any rights when they're here. And then we ask them to leave."
Like his White House Correspondents Association speech, his testimony received mixed reviews - with some conservative critics saying it demeaned the proceedings.
Throughout the course of his nine-year show, Colbert often led drives to raise money for US veterans. He spent a week broadcasting his show from Iraq and began his visit by having his head shaved under orders by President Barack Obama.
In May Colbert made headlines when he donated more than $800,000 - raised from the sale of his Colbert Report desk - to fund every public school teacher request from South Carolina made on the crowd-funding site DonorsChoose.org.
Colbert is also a devout Catholic and teaches Sunday school at his local church. Some of the rare times he seemed to break out of character on the Report were when the topic turned to faith.
In an NPR interview in 2007, he explained how he answered a question from his son about the meaning of hell.
"Well, if God is love, then hell is the absence of God's love," he said. "And, can you imagine how great it is to be loved? Can you imagine how great it is to be loved fully? â€¦ And imagine if you knew that was a possibility, and then that was taken from you, and you knew that you would never be loved. Well that's hell - to be alone, and know what you've lost."


A Sydney man who helped seven young men travel from Australia to Syria to join the Islamic State conflict has told a court he is "not a terrorist".

Hamdi Alqudsi, 42, was found guilty of violating Australia's foreign incursion laws for making travel arrangements for a group of would-be jihadists in 2013.
Giving evidence for the first time at a sentence hearing, he expressed regret and said that he loved Australia.
Alqudsi also claimed he thought that IS would help civilians.
He faces a maximum 10 years in jail for seven counts of providing services with the intention of supporting hostile acts.
"As an Australian I should have minded my own business," Alqudsi told the New South Wales Supreme Court.
"I love Australia, I always have."
On Wednesday, Alqudsi admitted for the first time that he knew the seven men he assisted in 2013 planned to take up arms against Syrian government forces.
He said he should have limited his involvement to taking donations for Syrian civilians trough registered charity groups.
Alqudsi broke down in tears while giving evidence, saying he now realises he was breaking the law.
"At the time, I felt it was the right thing to do," he said.
"I am really, really sorry for what I have done."
Two of the seven men Alqudsi helped were killed in Syria. Two others have returned to Australia, another was arrested before he could leave the country, and the fate of two other men is unknown.
Alqudsi said his first impression of the Islamic State group was that they were a force for good.
The prosecutor put it to him that it was obvious the men intended to travel to Syria to fight.
"You knew these men were going to be out in the fields of Syria engaging in warfare," David Staehli SC said.
"Yes, I did," Alqudsi replied.


A man who strangled his roommate with a cord then left his corpse in their house while he went out has been jailed for life.

Damir Begmatov, 25, will serve a minimum of 15 years for the murder of Bobir Esanov in Reading on 27 December.
Begmatov claimed to have discovered his housemate dead when he returned to their London Road home in the early hours, Kingston Crown Court heard.
The killer fled to Swindon where he was arrested on 9 January.
The jury at his trial heard the pair had "consumed substantial amounts of alcohol" before Begmatov killed 36-year-old Uzbek national Mr Esanov.
District crown prosecutor Tracey Johnson-Brown said: "This case represents a tragedy for Bob's family and friends who have been devastated by his death.
"I would like to pay tribute to Bob's family, friends and the witnesses for their wholehearted support of the investigation and prosecution."


A "good Samaritan" who suffered multiple head fractures when he was punched was told by paramedics he was not seriously hurt, a court heard.

Michael Kane was knocked unconscious by a single punch to the face when he was apparently helping two women.
At Nottingham Crown Court earlier Ricky Scott, 29, admitted the attack but said he was protecting his girlfriend.
East Midlands Ambulance Service said it appeared his treatment "fell short of the standard expected".
Mr Kane was described by police as a good Samaritan when they released footage of him being knocked out by the blow in March.
In the CCTV images, shown to the court, he is seen approaching two women before a man runs up and punches him.
Scott, of Albany Road, New Basford, handed himself in to police after an appeal in the media, and at Nottingham Crown Court earlier he admitted the attack.
But he said he was trying to protect his girlfriend who had been racially abused.
Paramedics were called after Mr Scott made his own way back to his hotel but they did not consider his injuries to be serious, the court heard.
But when his condition deteriorated, a friend took him to hospital where doctors discovered he had multiple fractures to his skull and jaw.
In a statement, East Midlands Ambulance Service said: "It would appear that the service experienced by this gentleman fell short of the standard expected, and if this is the case then we are very sorry."
Scott has been bailed on a charge for wounding and will be sentenced at a later date.


Residents in the Japanese city of Hiroshima are commemorating the 70th anniversary of the first atomic bomb being dropped by a US aircraft.

A ceremony, attended by PM Shinzo Abe, was held at Hiroshima's memorial park before thousands of lanterns are released on the city's Motoyasu river.
The bombing - and a second one on Nagasaki three days later - is credited with bringing to an end World War Two.
But it claimed the lives of at least 140,000 people in the city.
A US B-29 bomber called the Enola Gay dropped the uranium bomb, exploding some 600m (1,800ft) above the city, at around 08:10 on 6 August 1945.
On that day alone, at least 70,000 people are believed to have been killed. Many more died of horrific injuries caused by radiation poisoning in the days, weeks and months that followed.
People across Japan have observed a minute's silence to mark the anniversary. In Hiroshima a bell tolled at 08:15 local time - when the US aircraft dropped the bomb that flattened the city centre.
Addressing 40,000 people who attended the commemoration ceremony at Hiroshima's peace park near the epicentre of the 1945 attack, Mr Abe called for worldwide nuclear disarmament.
He said that that atomic bomb not only killed thousands of people in Hiroshima but also caused unspeakable suffering to survivors.
"Today Hiroshima has been revived," the prime minister said, "and has become a city of culture and prosperity.
"Seventy years on I want to reemphasise the necessity of world peace."
Mr Abe and Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matusi were joined by US Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy for the official ceremony of remembrance on Thursday, which included silent prayers, the release of doves and a declaration of peace.
Mr Matsui described nuclear weapons as an "absolute evil" while urging the world to put an end to them forever.
"To coexist we must abolish the... ultimate inhumanity that is nuclear weapons. Now is the time to start taking action," he said in his annual speech.
Later in the day, thousands of paper lanterns will be released on the city's Motoyasu River - symbolising the journey to the afterlife of those who died.
The anniversary comes as divisions in Japan rise over Mr Abe's bid to pass unpopular legislation to expand the country's military role worldwide.
The 'sanitised narrative' of Hiroshima's atomic bombing
In pictures: The first atomic bomb


Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has had his phone tapped for the past year on the orders of judges investigating alleged campaign donations from Libya, it is claimed.

And Le Monde newspaper says the phone taps have revealed evidence of tampering with the justice system.
It says a senior prosecutor in the country's highest court was feeding Mr Sarkozy confidential information.
Mr Sarkozy's lawyer denies the claims and says the phone taps were illegal.
The BBC's Hugh Schofield in Paris says that the investigators who ordered the taps were looking into allegations, unproven, that Mr Sarkozy had taken illegal payments for his election campaign from late Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi.
According to Le Monde, what the investigators discovered from the phone taps was that Mr Sarkozy was getting inside information from the courts about the course of various inquiries into his past.
This information was allegedly being fed from a senior prosecutor at the appeals court whom, Le Monde says, Mr Sarkozy tried to reward with an official post in Monaco.
Mr Sarkozy's lawyer, Thierry Herzog, said on Friday that his client "is probably still being tapped" and denounced what he said was a politically motivated plot against him.
He told AFP news agency: "There was no attempt to pervert the course of justice and in due course this monstrous violation will be shown to have been a political affair."
Mr Sarkozy is planning a political comeback, and our correspondent says that the drip of allegations like this has the potential to do him harm.
It was in 2011 that Col Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam, accused Mr Sarkozy of taking millions of his father's money for illegal campaign funding, a claim Mr Sarkozy has strongly denied.
At the time France was spearheading Nato's military campaign in Libya.
Mr Sarkozy, who lost the 2012 presidential election to Francois Hollande, is also under formal investigation over claims he received illegal donations for the 2007 race from France's richest woman, 90-year-old L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt.
He has denied all the allegations.


Volkswagen's top executive in the US is stepping down nearly six months after the German carmaker became engulfed in the diesel emissions scandal.

Michael Horn, president and chief executive officer of Volkswagen (VW) of America since 2014, is leaving "through mutual agreement", the company said.
The statement made no mention of the emissions issue, disclosed by US regulators last year.
Another US executive, Hinrich Woebcken, takes over on a interim basis.
Mr Horn's departure comes as VW continues to negotiate with US environmental regulators, the Department of Justice, and lawyers representing consumers who are suing the company for compensation.
VW said Mr Horn's departure was "effective immediately".
In VW's statement, Herbert Diess, chief executive of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand, said: "I want personally to say 'thank you' to Michael Horn for the great work he has done for the brand and with the dealers in the United States."
The company has admitted that its Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche diesels, marketed as environmentally friendly, were equipped with devices that lowered emissions results during tests.
Almost 600,000 VW cars in the US are affected, but the company says about 11 million vehicles worldwide were fitted with the engine software.
VW has acknowledged that the costs for recalls, compensation and fines could run into many billions of euros.
Last September, just after US regulators disclosed VW's use of the so-called "defeat devices", Mr Horn, 54, said at a vehicle launch event that the company "totally screwed up".
He was the senior VW representative to appear before a Congressional committee investigating the scandal. Mr Horn said the emissions devices were the work of a few individuals, but not VW's top leadership.
Mr Woebcken, the North American regional chief and chairman of Volkswagen Group of America, takes over immediately.


A Jordanian man has been killed, and an Israeli and another Jordanian wounded in a shooting incident at the Israeli embassy in Jordan's capital Amman.

The two Jordanians were working for a furniture firm and entered the embassy before the shooting, police say.
Few details have been revealed and what sparked the shooting is unclear.
Security forces have sealed off the embassy with the Israeli authorities evacuating staff.
The shooting happened in a residential building used by the Israeli embassy, Jordanian police say.
The three people were hospitalised, with one of the Jordanians dying from bullet wounds, according to a statement. It said investigations were still in their "initial phases".
Israeli authorities are not commenting on the incident and have imposed reporting restrictions.
The heavily protected embassy is located in the Rabiyeh neighbourhood, an affluent part of Amman.
On Friday, thousands of Jordanians protested in Amman against Israel over the installation of metal detectors at a site sacred to both Muslims and Jews in East Jerusalem.
Jordan, which occupied East Jerusalem from 1949 to 1967, is the custodian of the site, which is known to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif and Jews as the Temple Mount.
Tensions between Israelis and Palestinians over the site have surged in recent days in response to the metal detectors, which were put in place following the killing of two Israeli policemen.
Security cameras have now also been installed at a gateway leading to the site.


Businesses in Lancashire are counting the cost after the weekend's floods inundated many of their premises.

In some cases, damage is running in to hundreds of thousands pounds.
On St George's Quay in Lancaster, water swept through the Wagon and Horses pub flooding the cellar and ground floor.
Beer, food and electrical equipment including freezers and a large PA system were ruined in the flood.
Landlord Paul Tarry estimates the cost of repair to be in six figures. And his pub could be shut until the New Year.
"I've got a terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. But our team is very supportive and our customers have been fabulous.
"We've lost £10,000 in stock. There's £10,000 per month in lost business.
"Add to the cost of repairing the building, the electrics and replacing all our damaged equipment and it could be as much as a hundred thousand pounds."
In the city centre, shopkeepers have reported groups of people rummaging through skips laden with water-damaged goods.
I witnessed one group removing items, many of them electrical, from a skip outside Simply Baby.
The shop's owner, Julie Shaw said: "It's disgusting. We're loading damaged goods in to a skip that need to be disposed of and it's an absolute free-for-all. People have no regard for what's going on."
Large businesses haven't escaped unscathed.
The large Sainsbury's supermarket in the city centre has been so badly damaged it has been shut for the foreseeable future, according to the company.
Back on St George's Quay, Paul Tarry's neighbour Robert Mason has also been clearing up.
He runs the Quite Simply French restaurant. Here too, filthy flood water came three feet up his walls.
Without a cellar, his clean-up has been much more straightforward. But he's still looking at a bill of thousands of pounds.
"We've literally thrown every piece of food in to the bin. It wasn't fit for human consumption.
"I can't imagine what they're going through in the city centre."
Robert Mason said that with the selfless contribution of his staff and volunteers, he should be open for business again by Thursday.
The total cost of the floods in Lancashire and Cumbria could run into hundreds of millions.


Manchester United have held talks with representatives of ex-Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, the BBC understands.

The 53-year-old Portuguese, who was sacked by the Blues in December, is increasingly hopeful of succeeding Louis van Gaal at Old Trafford.
No agreement has been reached, and the club have made no comment, but negotiations have begun.
Dutchman Van Gaal, 64, is expected to leave United at the end of the season - one year earlier than scheduled.
That would leave the way clear for Mourinho, who is known to be excited by the prospect of taking over at Old Trafford.
The United hierarchy are thought to be keen to respond after Manchester City secured the services of coveted former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola earlier this week.
Mourinho's arrival would mean a resumption of a rivalry that began in Spain when he was coach of Real Madrid between 2010 and 2013.
Twice in recent weeks, Van Gaal's tenure has seemed perilous.
However, defeats by Stoke on Boxing Day and Southampton on 23 January have been followed by an improvement in both form and performance.
United, who are five points adrift of the Champions League places, play Chelsea on Sunday (16:00 GMT).
It is widely assumed the most obvious alternative to Mourinho is Ryan Giggs, Van Gaal's assistant.
The Welshman, who joined United aged 14, made a record 963 appearances for the club and won 13 Premier League titles.
The 42-year-old took over as manager on an interim basis in April 2014 following the sacking of David Moyes.
Although he has not spoken about the United job since Van Gaal took over, it would be a surprise were he not interested in replacing the Dutchman should the opportunity arise.
However, while Giggs was happy to further his education under Van Gaal, he is unlikely to be as willing to work with Mourinho.
Mourinho's first spell as Chelsea manager lasted from 2004 to 2007, and included two Premier League titles.
On his return, he again led the London club to the title, but left just seven months later.
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He made a disastrous start to this season, losing nine of the first 16 league games, and departed with the team 16th in the league, one point above the relegation zone.
The former Porto boss fell out with the Blues' medical team, in particular club doctor Eva Carneiro, after describing them as "naive" for running on to the pitch to treat midfielder Eden Hazard during a draw against Swansea in August.
Carneiro, who left the club on 22 September, is taking legal action against Mourinho and the Blues.
Mourinho has never hidden his admiration for United, and particularly their legendary former manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
Speaking before taking his Inter Milan side to Old Trafford for a Champions League last-16 tie in 2009, he said: "I want to face the best and United are a team of champions with a super coach in Alex Ferguson."
But after being linked with the manager's job following the departure of Ferguson in 2013, he declared his allegiance to Chelsea.
"I would have turned down every job in the world - the Manchester United job, every one - for Chelsea," he said.
There were reports last month that Mourinho had written a six-page letter outlining his suitability for the United role, but that was dismissed as "absurd" by his agent.
Simon Stone - BBC Sport football reporter
Before the red carpet is rolled out to welcome Manchester United's new manager, a word of warning.
Talks should not be interpreted as an agreement, as an offer, or even the promise of one. None of that has happened.
Neither should we assume Ryan Giggs is out of the running, nor that the merits of Laurent Blanc and Mauricio Pochettino, the two other realistic candidates for the job, have been discarded.
The fact is, given the pressure Louis van Gaal has been under recently, United's hierarchy simply would not be doing their jobs properly if they did not at least get some idea of the thinking behind the major candidates.
And what of Van Gaal?
He may have twice looked as though he was on the brink of being sacked, but he is still in a job and on Tuesday his side delivered their best performance of the season in beating Stoke 3-0.
Even Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini accepts United are not out of the Premier League title race just yet - and if they did win it, there would be no vacancy for Mourinho to fill at the end of the season anyway.


Oetzi, the 5,000 year old "Iceman" found in the Italian Alps, may have been ceremonially buried, archaeologists say.

An autopsy showed that Oetzi had been murdered, dying of an arrow wound.
While this is not disputed, a new study suggests that months after his death, Oetzi's corpse was carried to the high mountain pass where it was found.
The discovery site therefore may not be a murder scene after all, but a burial ground.
The new study, led by Professor Luca Bondioli of the National Museum of Prehistory and Ethnology in Rome and his US-Italian team, is published in the journal Antiquity.
Oetzi was discovered on the alpine border between Italy and Austria in 1991.
Although thought at first to be the corpse of a modern climber, scientists later proved that the mummified body was more than 5,000 years old.
An autopsy in 2001 further showed that he had been killed by an arrow wound to the shoulder.
Dead and buried
In the new study, researchers produced a detailed map of where the corpse and artefacts were found.
Based on guesses about how the artefacts had dispersed down slope over time, they inferred that the body had originated on a rock platform nearby. They argued that this was a later burial site, and not the original scene of his murder.
This "burial theory" may explain some perplexing facts about Oetzi.
For example, analysis suggests he died in the spring because the pollen of plants that bloom at that time of year is found in his gut. However, pollen within the ice suggests that the corpse was deposited in the late summer.
Professor Bondioli and his team say that these facts makes most sense if the body was deliberately carried to its site of discovery many months after death.
This suggests a burial.
Professor Bondioli elaborated: "Oetzi must have been a very important person to be taken to this high mountain pass for burial. Perhaps he was some sort of a chieftain."
Not bullet proof
However, Professor Frank Ruehli of the University of Zurich, the medical doctor who performed the original autopsy, is not totally convinced by the burial theory.
He remarked: "The left arm of the corpse is in a weird position. This must have happened at the time of death."
"If Oetzi was a chieftain, why did his people not move the twisted arm into a more natural position?" he told BBC News. "This would be expected in the burial of an important person".
Also somewhat sceptical is Dr Wolfgang Muller of Royal Holloway University of London. He studied the chemistry of Oetzi's teeth and bones to track his migration route through the Alps.
"It's an interesting new interpretation but it's not bullet proof," he said. "However, if Oetzi was buried they must have carried the body a long way because the nearby villages would have been at a low altitude."
While much remains to be learned about the enigmatic Iceman - as the mummified corpse has been dubbed - one thing is certain: This famous mummy will remain the subject of intense speculation and new research for decades to come.


A national exercise is taking place to test how the UK would deal with a potential outbreak of the Ebola virus.

In the eight-hour exercise, actors in various parts of the UK are simulating symptoms to test the responses of emergency services and the government.
Ebola has killed more than 4,000 people worldwide, and a UN expert has said the world will live with it "forever" unless global action stops the virus.
Passenger screening is to be introduced at key UK airports and rail terminals.
Similar measures are being taken in the US, with screening under way at New York's JFK airport and checks at some other airports due to start in the coming days.
As part of the UK effort to help contain the outbreak, the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Argus, a medical ship, is being loaded with supplies in Falmouth ahead of a mission to Sierra Leone.
Meanwhile, Macedonian officials have said test results have proved a British man suspected to have died of Ebola did not have the virus.
The national exercise, ordered by Prime Minister David Cameron, is expected to include a simulated meeting of the government's Cobra emergency committee, to be chaired by Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt.
Some hospital staff were expected to wear personal protective equipment during the exercise.
A Department of Health spokesman said officials had been planning the response to an Ebola case in the UK for "many months".
"It is vital that we test these plans in as realistic a situation as possible - with real people," the spokesman said.
Figures from the World Health Organization show there have been 4,024 confirmed or suspected Ebola deaths in the worst-affected West African nations of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone during the current outbreak.
In total, there have been 8,399 confirmed or suspected cases, mostly in West Africa.
Dr David Nabarro, UN special envoy on Ebola, said "just about every country in the world", and many non-governmental organisations, needed to support afflicted countries, otherwise it would be "impossible" to get the virus quickly under control.
If this was not done, he said, the world "will have to live with the Ebola virus forever".
"This is a real challenge to all of us that's going to require every piece of ingenuity and collective action that we can mount," he told the UN.
Dr Nabarro said in many of the West African communities affected, the day of death was one of important rituals which, if not observed, undermined "the very fabric of society".
"Yet people who are dying of Ebola are very dangerous and if they're touched and if they're held at that moment of death they can infect large numbers of other people," he said.
The government this week said people arriving from areas hit by Ebola would face "enhanced screening" at Heathrow and Gatwick airports, as well as at Eurostar terminals.
Ministers initially said there were no plans to screen people arriving from Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.
However, a Downing Street spokesman said the decision to introduce Ebola screening had been based on advice from the Chief Medical Officer, Dame Sally Davies.
Ebola symptoms: What to do in the UK
Symptoms of Ebola include fever, headache, vomiting, diarrhoea and bleeding - but these are similar to more common infections like flu and some stomach bugs.
If you have these symptoms and have had contact with an Ebola patient, ring 111 first. Do not go directly to A&E or a GP.
If there has been no contact with Ebola, seek help from 111, your GP or A&E if necessary.
The chances of developing Ebola in the UK are low.
Passengers will be asked questions and potentially given a medical assessment during the screening process, Downing Street said.
The Department of Health said further details about how passengers will be checked will be announced next week before the measures come into effect.
In a statement it said "government departments, health protection agencies and the transport sector are continuing to work closely together to minimise the risk" of the virus.
"It is important to stress that given the nature of this disease, no system could offer 100% protection from non-symptomatic cases but the overall risk to the public in the UK remains very low," the statement said.
Mr Cameron said it was right to take action "to keep our own people safe" from Ebola.
"What we do is we listen to the medical advice and we act on that advice and that's why we're introducing the screening processes at the appropriate ports and airports," he said.
Mr Cameron said the government was focussed on taking action "right across the board to deal with this problem at source".
"We're making a bigger contribution than almost any other country, in West Africa, to help deal with the crisis at its source," he said.
However, David Mabey, professor of communicable diseases at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said the screening was a "complete waste of time".
There are currently no direct flights to the UK from the affected areas, but people can fly via Paris or Brussels.
"Are they going to screen everyone from Brussels, Paris, Frankfurt and Amsterdam? That would lead to a lot of delays and disruption," he said.
More than 750 military personnel and RFA Argus are being sent to West Africa to help in efforts to contain the outbreak.
RFA Argus, which has a fully equipped hospital including critical care and high-dependency units, will leave for Sierra Leone next week.
It will travel with three Merlin helicopters, aircrew and engineers to provide transport and support to medical teams and aid workers.
Personnel from the Army's 22 Field Hospital have been training in York and are expected to be sent to west Africa in the coming weeks to run a 12-bed facility specifically to treat medics who have caught Ebola.
Surgical cap
Goggles
Medical mask
Scrubs
Overalls
Apron
Double gloves
Boots
Respirator
The cap forms part of a protective hood covering the head and neck. It offers medical workers an added layer of protection, ensuring that they cannot touch any part of their face whilst in the treatment centre.
Goggles, or eye visors, are used to provide cover to the eyes, protecting them from splashes. The goggles are sprayed with an anti-fogging solution before being worn. On October 21, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)  announced stringent new guidelines for healthcare personnel who may be dealing with Ebola patients. In the new guidelines, health workers are advised to use a single use disposable full face shield as goggles may not provide complete skin coverage.
Covers the mouth to protect from sprays of blood or body fluids from patients. When wearing a respirator, the medical worker must  tear this outer mask to allow the respirator through.
A respirator is worn to protect the wearer from a patient's coughs. According to guidelines from the medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), the respirator should be put on second, right after donning the overalls.
A surgical scrub suit, durable hospital clothing that absorbs liquid and is  easily cleaned, is worn as a baselayer underneath the overalls. It is normally tucked into rubber boots to ensure no skin is exposed.
The overalls are placed on top of the scrubs. These suits are similar to hazardous material (hazmat) suits worn in toxic environments. The team member supervising the process should check that the equipment is not damaged.
A minimum two sets of gloves are required, covering the suit cuff. When putting on the gloves, care must be taken to ensure that no skin is exposed and that they are worn in such a way that any fluid on the sleeve will run off the suit and glove. Medical workers must change gloves between patients, performing thorough hand hygiene before donning a new pair. Heavy duty gloves are used whenever workers need to handle infectious waste.
A waterproof apron is placed on top of the overalls as a final layer of protective clothing.
Ebola health workers typically wear rubber boots, with the scrubs tucked into the footwear. If boots are unavailable, workers must wear closed, puncture and fluid-resistant shoes.


Later this week Brazil's President, Dilma Rousseff is scheduled to declare the new Itaquerao football stadium in Sao Paulo officially open.

A few days later the same upbeat scene will be repeated at the Arena da Baixada in the southern city of Curitiba.
And so, perhaps while acknowledging things have been a little bit late (because that's how things work here in South America) all will be judged to have been a great success.
The opening match, on 12 June, between Brazil and Croatia will go ahead in a festival atmosphere and all of the doubters who questioned Brazil's ability to organise, finance and deliver such a big global event will have been proved wrong.
But that cosy scenario would hide a multitude of sins and what has been a chaotic and at times disastrous process of preparing to host the 2014 Fifa World Cup.
Indeed, even if the embattled Ms Rousseff does kick a ball from the centre spot and declare the new stadium open for business, Fifa's secretary general made it clear on a recent tour of the venue that it would not be ready "until the last minute".
I took a close look at the inside and outside of the stadium last week, which after the World Cup will be home to Corinthians FC, the main club here in Brazil's biggest city.
There are stands still to be finished, access roads to be completed and an awful lot of building work still to do.
Sure, the pitch looks good and seemed to stand up well to the rigours of a kick-about match between construction workers (one of the official test events crammed into the last few weeks) but the last of the seating, much of the cabling and the broadcast facilities are all still to be installed.
Sao Paulo is not an isolated case. Half of Brazil's 12 World Cup stadiums missed the end of year deadline. It was a situation that left Fifa with no choice other than to accept the delays, having previously declared that any venue which went beyond the December 2013 deadline would be dropped from the schedule.
Even then, venues like Curitiba and Cuiaba had to be publicly admonished as further delays and wrangling ran well beyond the new year.
Brazil, and the construction companies building the stadiums, have emphatically denied they are cutting corners and taking risks as the last, immovable deadline looms - kick-off day itself.
But a total of seven workers have died during construction at World Cup sites in Brazil, including three at the Sao Paulo venue.
I have also spoken to construction workers, drafted in from home and abroad at haste to help finish the job, who told us about inadequate safety procedures. In some cases, they said they had not been paid for weeks.
Luis Fernandes may "only" be Brazil's deputy sports minister but he is the government official who is, politically at least, charged with overseeing the World Cup project.
He is a career economist who, without question, is passionate about Brazil proving itself on the world stage and has put an awful lot of work and effort into tying to oversee what has been a difficult process from start to finish.
When I suggest to him, perhaps provocatively, that the delays and overspends prove that Brazil is not yet ready or mature enough as a nation to hold such big events as the World Cup and Olympic Games he responds by suggesting my question is "paternalistic, even colonialist".
"It's not a good plan to try to limit the right to host major sporting events in the world to a small group of rich countries," said the minister from his office overlooking Rio de Janeiro's Guanabara Bay. "That doesn't reflect the reality of the world anymore in the 21st Century."
What Mr Fernandes does acknowledge is that the process has damaged Brazil's relations with Fifa.
The "excessive" demands of international sporting organisations do not always go down well with host nations who are ultimately paying for everything.
At one stage, when world football's governing body began to show public concerns about progress in Brazil, a spokesman said what Brazil needed was a "good kick up the backside".
At an anti-World Cup protest in Sao Paulo last week, there was hatred and disdain for Fifa and the Brazilian government in almost equal measure. The message coming from the streets was very different to that emanating from the sports ministry.
The Nao vai Ter Copa (There Won't Be a Cup) protests are not as big as they once were but there is no question the World Cup and the money being spent on it have thrown up some deep divisions in Brazilian society.
Most Brazilians would consider themselves passionate football fans but many are deeply unhappy about the estimated $15bn (Â£8.8bn) of public money that is being spent on the tournament - having initially been assured the vast majority of funding would come from the private sector.
Fifa, meanwhile, is widely accused of being a money-making machine, making huge demands of Brazil but leaving little in terms of benefits for the nation.
The noisy, angry protests will continue throughout the month-long tournament, say those organisers I spoke to in Sao Paulo.
But the huge numbers of heavily armed and intimidating riot police carefully shepherding the protesters last week suggested the government is determined these minority protests will not be allowed to disrupt the World Cup in the same way they dominated many of the headlines during last year's Confederation Cup.
One big reason for all the public anger is the long list of promised infrastructure projects that are going nowhere.
There are dozens of late or quietly abandoned schemes across Brazil. They are mainly urban public transport initiatives that were part of what was meant to be a wider World Cup vision - what event organisers these days call the "legacy" dividend.
The monorail in Sao Paulo, the tram network in Salvador, similar projects in Manaus and Cuiaba... The list goes on, all schemes that have now been radically downsized or delayed for months as all efforts go into getting the stadiums, at least, finished on time.
Christopher Gaffney is a visiting professor at the federal  Fluminense University and is a specialist in urban planning.
"The World Cup has been a missed opportunity for Brazil to materially improve the lives of people in cities," he tells me as we stand in the choking chaos of downtown Rio de Janeiro - a city that should be reaping the rewards of the World Cup and Olympic Games.
"The World Cup hasn't been used as an opportunity to do that so Brazil has basically lost the World Cup already."
One thing that may ultimately save people's reputations and political careers is if the host nation wins the tournament and in the subsequent wave of euphoria, all is forgiven.
Most people here are still football mad and there is a buzz building with a month to go before kick-off.
But inside the new Itaquerao/Corinthians stadium the scale of what remains to do is clear.
The "mission accomplished" banner running alongside the pitch is ridiculously premature and as usual here, it will all go down to the wire.


Rowan Cheshire has become the first British female skier to win halfpipe gold at a World Cup event with her victory in Calgary.

Media playback is not supported on this device
Rowan has been performing incredibly in training for some time and we felt it was only a matter of time before the results started coming.
Cheshire, 18, secured her win in the third of four halfpipe Freestyle Skiing World Cup events this season, with a score of 80.40 from her first run.
Fellow Briton Emma Lonsdale finished with a career best tenth in Canada.
Jilly Curry was the last British woman to win gold at a World Cup event, in aerials in 1992.
Cheshire, who is from Stoke, won bronze at last season's World Junior Championships in Valmalenco.
She has met the Olympic qualifying standard for the Sochi Olympics.
But Cheshire, who is currently second, must remain in the top 24 of the International Ski Federation list and, along with Lonsdale, will learn whether she has a quota place when the team is announced on 22 January.
"Rowan has been performing incredibly in training for some time and we felt it was only a matter of time before the results started coming," coach Pat Sharples told BBC Sport.
"She's worked so hard to get to where she is and I feel the best is still yet to come."
The fourth and final halfpipe event of the Freestyle Skiing World Cup takes place at Northstar in the United States on 10 January.


The NHS in England is to offer pregnant women their own "personal budgets", worth at least £3,000, so they can pick and choose the care they receive.

Women will be able to use it to pay for anything from one-to-one midwifery care to home births, the use of birthing pools and hypnotherapy.
The move is part of a shake-up in maternity care unveiled by NHS England to increase the choices women have.
The overhaul is also aimed at improving safety in maternity services.
It has been agreed to on the basis of recommendations from an independent review of services.
This was set up by NHS England in the aftermath of the inquiry published last year into the failures that led to the deaths of babies at the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust.
The review - chaired by Conservative peer Baroness Julia Cumberlege - said it had never been safer to give birth in England, but improvements still needed to be made to ensure care was "world class".
The review's report said that while the numbers of still births and deaths shortly after birth had fallen by over a fifth in the past decade, about one in 17 births resulted in some level of harm.
It also highlighted the £560m spent each year by the NHS on clinical negligence cases relating to maternity care.
The review took evidence from thousands of families about their experience of maternity care and found they "did not always have confidence" that complications would be picked up or problems investigated properly.
To improve care, the review has called for:
Women also complained about the lack of choice they were given, despite existing policy stating they should be able to choose where they give birth.
Nearly nine in 10 women give birth in hospital, but just one in four says this is where she would want to have a baby.
The review team felt personal budgets, already used by the elderly, disabled and those with long-term conditions such as heart disease, would help empower women.
The system, to be piloted later this year before a national rollout in 2017, would give women a notional budget they could then use on whichever NHS-accredited services they liked.
These could include:
The review authors said low-risk, standard births cost the NHS about £3,000, so women could expect that sum at the very least.
Baroness Cumberlege said: "To be among the best in the world, we need to put women, babies and their families at the centre of their care."
NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens said the review had set out a five-year strategy which the health service could now work towards.
"The NHS could and should raise its game on personalised support for parents and their babies," he said.
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the publication of the review was a "significant moment" and would give women more choice and make services safer.
Royal College of Midwives chief executive Cathy Warwick said she was "delighted" with the plans, but warned more midwives would be needed to deliver the ambitions.
There are currently 21,500 working in the NHS, but the college believes another 2,600 are needed.


The daughter of the woman at the centre of a presidential scandal in South Korea has been arrested in Denmark, say South Korean police.

Chung Yoo-ra, 20, is accused of staying in Denmark illegally, they said. They have requested her extradition.
Her mother is accused of using her friendship with President Park Geun-hye for personal gain. Both women apologised but denied the accusations.
After weeks of protest, parliament voted on 9 December to impeach Ms Park.
One of the ways in which Ms Chung's mother, Choi Soon-sil, is alleged to have mis-used her friendship with the president is by getting Ms Chung into a top Korean university.
South Korea's presidential scandal
South Korea's recurring corruption scandals
A friendship too far in Seoul?
South Korean authorities had asked for Interpol's help in tracing Ms Chung - a former member of the national equestrian team - after she failed to return to answer questions about her role in the scandal.
Her mother Ms Choi is in detention having returned from abroad to face questioning.
She has been charged with various offences, including abuse of authority, coercion, attempted coercion and attempted fraud.
South Korea's constitutional court has six months to uphold or overturn the impeachment vote against Ms Park.
Until then she remains formally president but stripped of her powers, which have been handed to the prime minister, a presidential appointee.


Sir Bradley Wiggins is a five-time Olympic cycling champion, but will the 37-year-old's plans to swap his racing bike for a rowing boat see him reach a sixth Games?

The 2012 Tour de France winner retired from cycling in December 2016 and has taken up rowing in the gym to keep fit.
He first raised the idea of switching sports in his 2012 autobiography My Time, and has now outlined his intent to compete at the British Indoor Rowing Championships in December.
"I might be being a bit delusional, but the times suggest I'm not," he said. "I'm going to see how far I can take it. Maybe a sixth Olympic gold?"
So can Wiggins turn his rowing dreams into a reality? How does he go about bringing those plans to fruition? And what obstacles stand in his way on the road to Tokyo 2020?
BBC Sport asked three-time Olympic champion Andrew Triggs Hodge what it will take for the mercurial cycling talent to become rowing royalty.
Triggs Hodge, 38, has won gold medals at three different Games, adding four World Championship titles to boot, and the now-retired Great Britain rower is excited to see what Wiggins can offer the sport.
"It's awesome Wiggo has thought about transferring to rowing," he told BBC Sport. "I think that's never been done before, so congratulations for at least attempting it.
"I love the fact that he is trying, and I can't wait to see what he can do.
"He's going to have to do something that hasn't been done before, so I wish him all the luck and he will be welcomed into the sport with open arms."
With the experience of five Olympic Games behind him on a bike, Wiggins appears to have put his hopes of reaching a sixth in a boat.
Rebecca Romero, who became the first Briton to win medals in two sports at a summer Olympics, successfully made the switch in the opposite direction, so how will Britain's most decorated Olympian fare?
"The best advice I can give him is he is going to have to put all that to bed," added Triggs Hodge. "If he comes on to the scene expecting to be an Olympic champion, he will put himself under a lot of pressure.
"If he has got the confidence and the presence to say 'OK, I will start off as a novice rower and expect nothing more' but train with that desire and that passion to put himself in the picture and let his body dictate to him a little bit, then I think he will get the most out of himself.
"I hope everyone will give him the time and space to explore the sport at his own pace, not put any pressure on.
"Give him the respect first for trying, and then give him the few years he'll need to start performing - it will be a long journey and his last stroke will be his best.
"Until that point he is on a trajectory and we should definitely give him the time and space and credit for venturing on this journey."
Wiggins is not averse to attempting new things. He successfully made the transition from winning on the road to winning on the track and back again, clinching world and Olympic titles in both disciplines.
Triggs Hodge says the former Team Sky rider obviously boasts a "great engine", but weight could be an issue for the 2012 Tour de France champion.
Wiggins said himself: "I'm trying to get to 100 kilos, so I'd be 31 kilos heavier than when I went on Tour."
And British Rowing performance director Sir David Tanner echoed those concerns in May: "He's not the biggest of guys, so I'd guess if he did want to do rowing he'd want to be a lightweight, for which we only have two places these days."
"Physiologically he might be up for the challenge," explained Triggs Hodge. "He's got a lot of work to do with his core and his upper body, especially when he gets into the boat, that'll be a big component.
"There's an aspect of retraining his body, retraining his aerobic system, his lactate system with the new muscles, a different capacity on his heart - there is a lot there to work and retrain.
"The tactical side in cycling is also huge. Getting a tactical advantage when you're in the peloton or in the time trial, so his advantage there is probably less so in rowing.
"But his biggest challenge is going to be the technical side. Rowing is a whole different ball game to cycling."
One obstacle facing the 37-year-old is his age. By the time the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games arrive, Wiggins will be 40.
Even the likes of Sir Steve Redgrave and Sir Matthew Pinsent bowed out before hitting the same age, and Triggs Hodge says transferring any skills later in life is a challenge.
"Most of the top people retire between 35 and 40," added Triggs Hodge, who announced he was hanging up his oar shortly before his 38th birthday earlier this year.
"The reason being, the training volume really takes a toll on the body. Less specific muscles or bones, more just the metabolism, your kind of 'wholeness'.
"Physiologically, if you are able to take it a bit easier you can go on indefinitely. It depends how his body is going to be able to adapt."
Triggs Hodge says the challenge for a lot of  young rowers is coping with the volume of training needed, rather than actually progressing as a rower.
"You tend to see that first when people get into the national team," he added. "They'll take a step back or stay static for a few years. When their body is then able to cope with the training, they will move forward and progress.
"He'll have to cope with some adjustments and it usually takes a youthful body to get over that hump.
"It won't be easy. Everyone is mortal, everyone only has one body and he will to have to take his time like the Redgraves and Pinsents did when they were young."
Wiggins plans to showcase his talent at the British Indoor Rowing Championships in December at Lee Valley VeloPark in London, where competition takes place on static rowing machines.
He has yet to reveal whether he has been in the water, and Triggs Hodge says Wiggins' biggest challenge may be transferring from the gym to the regatta.
"If he's going to give it a go, he needs to get into a boat as soon as possible," said the 38-year-old.
"There's a classic saying in rowing that Ergos (rowing machines) don't float. As much as I know British Rowing are pushing indoor rowing, it simply isn't a water sport - it doesn't have the grace or elegance or even probably the injuries that the water sport has.
"There's no way to get side-by-side than to actually get on the water. He needs to see what it's like to get in a boat, that's where the magic lies in this sport.
"Especially when you are inside of it, you get to really appreciate what the sport has."
Wiggins is used to competing as part of a team, winning Olympic team pursuit gold medals in 2008 and 2016 and experiencing success on the road, but Triggs Hodge says the tactical element of rowing is different.
"Cycling teams yield to the main guy, the one that is leading and one you want to push to the front," he said. "In rowing, it is a whole new dynamic in the team environment."
So is there a particular event that would suit Wiggins best?
"It's going to be tricky whatever," added the Molesey Boat Club rower. "The best he can do is get himself into the middle of an eight, that's where he'll pick up the skills the fastest.
"The challenge with rowing in an eight is the team aspect is the most different to an individual sport or a sport where you have a leading star. There is a big challenge there to integrate into a top team.
"The smaller the boat class you go, down to the pairs or a single, you rely on more precision technique - it's more about the individual. You have just got to dive in and see where you prefer to be, accept the challenges wherever they may lie.
"All credit to the guy. He's going to have a big challenge but I look forward to seeing him have a go."


Two sailors had to be rescued after their small wooden sailing dingy took on water before it capsized in high winds and 1.5m (4.11ft) waves.

The two men, who were wearing lifejackets, were thrown into the water in the incident between Fortrose and Avoch.
Kessock Lifeboat was launched at 12:30 and reached the pair seven minutes later.
The men were taken aboard the lifeboat before being airlifted to hospital.
It was thought the men may have been in the water for about 35 minutes before the alarm was raised.
The North Kessock-based lifeboat crew found the men had managed to climb back into their water-swamped boat. They were suffering from the effects of hypothermia.
A coastguard rescue helicopter and Inverness Coastguard Team were also involved in the rescue.
Volunteer helmsman Stan MacRae said "The dingy started taking on water because of the conditions.
"The two men found they couldn't bail it out fast enough, which led to the capsize.
"When we assessed their condition it was obvious they needed further medical attention and the best thing to do was to get them winched into the helicopter and away to hospital as fast as possible."
The men were aboard the helicopter by 12:56 and flown to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness.
Kessock Lifeboat crew were able to save the sailing boat and tow it to Fortrose.


The British Museum has loaned part of the Elgin Marbles to Russia's Hermitage Gallery in St Petersburg.

The loan marks the first time any of the artefacts from the Greek Parthenon have left the UK since they were brought to London by Lord Elgin at the turn of the 19th Century.
Shrouded in secrecy, the transfer has raised questions about the statue's security amidst fractious relations between the UK and Russia.
The reaction of those campaigning for the return of the Marbles to their original Greek home will also be closely watched.
According to the British Museum's Neil MacGregor: "The Hermitage had been planning its 250 year anniversary for some time - and they are really the twin of the British Museum - so a couple of years ago the director, Mikhail Piotrovsky, asked if we might make one big loan to mark the fact we are both the great enlightenment museums.
"The trustees said 'yes' and the Hermitage decided what they wanted more than anything else was a symbol of the great shared European heritage and the greatest one of them is one of the Parthenon sculptures."
According to The Times, which followed the journey of the Marbles to Russia, it was carefully boxed up on 20 November after a "good dusting" and kept in storage until Tuesday. It was then loaded on to a passenger plane bound for St Petersburg. Among the passengers, only its courier was aware of the important artefact stowed in the cargo hold.
Neil McGregor said: "The British Museum lends great sculptures all around the world. There are lots of sculptures from the British Museum elsewhere in the world.
"Anyone who has been to the Parthenon gallery in the past week will have seen that it's not on show and we simply said it was being prepared for a display."
The British Museum will have ensured the standard procedures for loaning works are in place.
It has an official letter from Russia's Ministry of Culture guaranteeing the statue will be under the protection of the Russian Federation.
The UK has made similar assurances to Russia in the past. In 2007, parliament implemented a law to protect Russian paintings from being impounded on British soil because of disputes over ownership.
The change in legislation was brought forward at the behest of the Russian culture ministry, which had threatened to block the export of the paintings by Van Gogh and Matisse, amongst others, for an exhibition at the Royal Academy.
Sir Anthony Brenton, who was British Ambassador to Russia during the time of the law change, says not.
Recalling the negotiations, he told the BBC that Russian had given no assurances it would introduce reciprocal legislation for "immunity from seizure".
However, his advice was that Russia is not so law-bound that it would be possible for an artwork to be seized against the wishes of the government.
He added that the government had promised to return the Marbles and so that will happen - particularly because it wants other institutions to lend it artworks in the future.
Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras pulled no punches in his reaction to the news.
"The decision by the British Museum to give out on loan one of the Parthenon sculptures for exhibit in St Petersburg is an affront to the Greek people," he said.
"The Parthenon and its Marbles have been looted.  The sculptures are priceless.  We Greeks are one with our history and civilization, which cannot be broken up, loaned out, or conceded.
Speaking earlier on BBC Radio 4, the British Museum's Neil McGregor had expressed his hopes for a more positive response.
"I hope that they will be very pleased that a huge new public can engage with the great achievements of ancient Greece.
"People who will never be able to come to Athens or London will now, here in Russia, understand something of those great achievements in Greek civilisation."
But the chairman of the Marbles Reunited campaign, Liberal Democrat MP Andrew George, said: "Neil MacGregor justifies his decision by claiming that these sculptures should be 'shared and enjoyed by as many people... as possible'.
"But these sculptures have not been 'shared and enjoyed' by the Greeks for over 200 years, since they were purloined in a dodgy deal by Lord Elgin during a period when Greece was occupied by the Ottomans."


Paralympics GB and England cerebral palsy star Jack Rutter meets Ben Ridd, who is playing in the FA People's Cup for the first time.

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You can watch a highlights programme from the first round of the FA People's Cup on the iPlayer.


Russia has been pressing demands that the US give it access to two diplomatic compounds seized in the US last year.

After high-level talks between both sides, one Russian official involved said the row had "almost" been resolved.
Russia has been angered by the move, with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov calling it "daylight robbery".
In December the US expelled 35 Russian diplomats and shut the compounds over suspicions of meddling in US elections.
The talks saw US Undersecretary of State Thomas Shannon host Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov in Washington on Monday.
Mr Ryabkov sounded upbeat after three hours of talks with the American diplomat.
He was asked by reporters if the spat over the diplomatic compounds had been settled, and he replied: "Almost, almost."
US officials did not comment and there has been no official press briefing.
The meeting was meant to have been held in June in St Petersburg, but was cancelled after the US government added 38 individuals and organisations to its list of sanctions over Russian activity in Ukraine.
Before the talks Russia made clear it was demanding restored access to the facilities.
"We consider it absolutely unacceptable to place conditions on the return of diplomatic property, we consider that it must be returned without any conditions and talking," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Mr Lavrov said that this was not the way decent and well-brought-up people behaved.
"How can you seize property which is protected by a bilateral, inter-governmental, ratified document and, to return it, act according to the principle 'what is mine is mine, and what is yours we'll share'?" he said during a visit to Belarus.
Last week Russia said it was considering "specific measures" in retaliation, including the expulsion of 30 US diplomats and seizure of US state property.
Ex-President Barack Obama acted against Russia after US intelligence sources accused Russian state agents of hacking into Democratic Party computers to undermine Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.
Luxury Russia resorts in US crosshairs
President Donald Trump's team is under investigation over alleged Russian collusion during last year's presidential campaign. The Kremlin has denied interfering in the election.
The Obama sanctions came on top of existing Western sanctions imposed because of Russia's role in the Ukraine conflict.
At the time Mr Putin refrained from tit-for-tat retaliation - unlike in previous diplomatic spats. Mr Trump had been elected to succeed President Obama just weeks before.
Russia says President Trump presented "no plan to resolve the crisis" when the issue was raised at the G20 meeting in Hamburg on 7 July.
Russia would retaliate if no compromise was reached at the meeting between Mr Ryabkov and Mr Shannon, the Russian newspaper Izvestia reported.
Barbara Plett Usher, BBC News, Washington
Russian officials welcomed the tone of the recent meeting between the two presidents.
But the political climate in Washington has only grown more toxic, with the ongoing inquiries into allegations of Russian meddling in the presidential election, and possible collusion with the Trump campaign.
That makes any concessions to Moscow controversial.
Russia's threat to expel some American diplomats if it does not get its property back would further complicate the strained relationship.


Peterborough United chairman Darragh MacAnthony has spoken about supporters who criticise his running of the club.

The 40-year-old joined Twitter in 2011 and often interacts with fans through his personal account.
"They have no clue how to run a football club," MacAnthony told BBC Radio Cambridgeshire.
"No disrespect to them, yes they buy a season ticket, but they're not in a position where they have to make a decision that affects people's lives."
He continued: "You're talking about the hundreds of people who work for you, you're talking about the family of the player, you're talking about the player himself, the after-effect if you don't do business.
"It's all about how you handle that, I've always felt I've got that right."
MacAnthony, who is celebrating 10 years as Posh chairman, has been most hurt by criticism of his transfer policy, with fans often accusing him of selling the club's best players.
"I was getting it last year with Conor Washington, they were hammering him, he was one of my favourite players and I thought he would come good," said MacAnthony.
"When I got £2.8m from QPR for him I felt like tweeting a picture of the agreement and going with two fingers to all the people who had, non-stop, had a go.
"In other words: 'I know what I'm doing, back off, if you think you know what you're doing go buy a football club.'"
Despite his public run-ins with angry fans on social media, MacAnthony has no plans to delete his account.
"Winners never quit, quitters never win," he said. "I wouldn't change it, I love it, it's great fun. You do get trolled, you do get hammered, there are the ups and the downs."
And MacAnthony has reiterated his pledge to secure promotion from League One this season.
"I'm giving it everything this season," he added. "We're going up, there is no tomorrow, it has to be now and it has to be this season.
"You could say that puts a lot of pressure on the players and the manager, they're all aware, they know what they need to do. It's time to stand up and be counted, let's get out of this league.
"There is no looking back for me after this season. I'm only talking about Championship football."
Listen to an extended interview with Darragh MacAnthony via the BBC iPlayer.


Sam Allardyce is back in football at Crystal Palace - after his dramatic rise and fall in 67 days and one game as England manager he has returned in the familiar role of firefighter at Selhurst Park.

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The 62-year-old's reputation was heavily damaged after he left his dream job with England in September after being caught up in a newspaper sting speaking about how to "get around" rules on player transfers and using his role to negotiate a deal worth £400,000 to represent a Far East firm.
The Football Association said Allardyce's conduct was "inappropriate" but his track record and expertise at dragging clubs out of trouble still meant he was Palace's first choice when Alan Pardew was sacked on Thursday.
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The clue will be in the instant reaction of Palace chairman Steve Parish, who admitted a switch to a more "expansive" style this season had failed and it was now time to "wind the dial back the other way".
This could almost be code for "we've conceded too many daft goals", so Allardyce's first task will be to give Palace some defensive backbone, a managerial job he has been adept at in the past.
It will certainly present a different scenario to Allardyce, who has often - not always with justification - been criticised for not being expansive enough when in charge at clubs, such as Newcastle United, Blackburn Rovers and West Ham United.
Allardyce walks into Selhurst Park with the bar set low. They are the worst performing of all 92 Premier League and Football League sides in 2016, below York City - who are bottom of the National League - with 26 points from 36 games, an average of 0.72 points per games.
The Eagles are in 17th place, just a point off the relegation places having conceded 32 goals. Only Hull City and Swansea City, both below them, have worse defensive records.
Allardyce's base camp, familiar territory for him, will be to make Palace tough to beat again. Strong foundations throughout the team will be his tactical watchword. He is likely to want strong, experienced defenders, such Scott Dann, to help him achieve that.
At Sunderland he saw similar failings and spent £6m on Lorient defender Lamine Kone, who was outstanding, while shoring up his midfield with Bayern Munich's Jan Kirchhoff. It was classic Allardyce as both January signings played key roles in the Black Cats' survival.
He has cast-iron faith in his own methods and rails against the suggestion he is simply a long-ball disciple.
In the past, Allardyce has employed width and power and has weapons to suit that style in the likes of Andros Townsend and Wilfried Zaha plus powerful spearhead Christian Benteke.
Allardyce can also produce evidence of his willingness to work with flair players - not simply those who will adhere slavishly to limited managerial principles. At Bolton, he successfully incorporated France World Cup winner Youri Djorkaeff, Nigerian maverick Jay-Jay Okocha and Real Madrid legend Fernando Hierro into his set-up.
This may give hope to the likes of midfielder Yohan Cabaye, but initially Allardyce will want Palace to rid themselves of the soft underbelly that has made them such a miserable proposition for the past 12 months.
Allardyce may have been discredited by his 67-day England experience - but the reaction to his appointment has been that Palace have got the best around at ensuring they are not in the Championship at the start of next season.
Allardyce was appointed England manager on the back of saving Sunderland from relegation last season rather than winning silverware or making a significant impact at home in Europe.
His reputation as a troubleshooter is actually enhanced by the fate of two clubs who sacked him. Newcastle United and Blackburn Rovers both dispensed with his services - in January 2008 and December 2010 respectively - and down the line both eventually dropped into the Championship.
It is a fallacy, however, to suggest Allardyce is simply an impenetrable shield against relegation. He has proved much more than that.
Allardyce, as he never been slow to mention to his critics, has always been at the forefront of sports science and modern managerial techniques. Some may quibble about his style but none can question his preparation.
He is sure to bring his own analysts and fitness coaches to Selhurst Park.
The statistics suggest that if Palace survive this season, and Allardyce is then given time, he will prove he is more than a one-trick pony and avoiding relegation is not his only speciality.
When he got Bolton Wanderers promoted to the Premier League via the play-offs in 2000-01, he consolidated in 16th and 17th place for two seasons before four successive finishes in the top 10 and Uefa Cup football, before announcing his intention to leave on 29 April 2007 with Bolton in fifth.
Newcastle were 11th when he was sacked and he took Blackburn from 19th to 15th after he was appointed in December 2008. They were a highly respectable 10th the following season and were in 13th place when he was sacked by new owners Venkys.
And on to West Ham United, where he fulfilled his mission to get the Hammers back into the Premier League before consolidating them in the top flight. They finished 10th, 13th and 12th after promotion before his departure by mutual consent in May 2015.
So yes, Palace are getting a manager well versed in keeping teams in the top flight, but the image of an operator who is only at home scrapping it out to avoid relegation can be exposed as something of a myth.
Palace may be getting the Allardyce who guarantees survival. If he does that, they may get much more.
Allardyce inherits, in potential at least, one of the strongest squads Palace have possessed in the Premier League but the club's American major shareholders, David Blitzer and Josh Harris - who each purchased an 18% stake a year ago - will back him to strengthen in January.
He will look to make similar deals to those that brought Kone and Kirchhoff, as well as survival, to Sunderland but will also look to make the best of Palace's heavy summer investment.
Allardyce will have a genuine goal threat at his disposal in Christian Benteke, a £27m signing from Liverpool, while Wilfried Zaha can be a thrilling talent out wide and through the middle. He will also hope to reignite winger Andros Townsend's career.
If he can get the threat right, he also has the tools to shore up Palace's porous defence.
He is the sort of manager who may bring the best out of Dann, while he also has James Tomkins in central defence after his £10m summer move from West Ham United.
It remains to be seen whether Cabaye is to his taste and he may want to add a goalkeeper with first choice Steve Mandanda out injured.
Allardyce will not have been wasting his time while out of the game - he will know what Palace need.
This most enduring managerial figure will undoubtedly be working the markets as usual - but he will know he has talent at his disposal instantly that can benefit from his organisational skills and tactical nous.
Allardyce cut a discredited figure when he left the England manager's job after 67 days and one game - a scrappy 1-0 World Cup qualifying win in Slovakia.
He hinted recently, however, that he was ready to return as he admitted: "I don't think I can leave it where it ended." And he will not as he takes over at a club that looks the perfect fit for his abilities.
And the good thing for Allardyce - arguably the only good thing - to come out of that 'blink and you'll miss it' England reign is that he was not in the job long enough to damage his reputation as a manager who can get results when needed.
The turbulent tenure as national team boss will be an indelible scar on his CV, especially as this was the job he had openly craved for more than a decade. It was not, however, ever likely to be Allardyce's career-ending moment.
Allardyce will be welcomed back by Palace's passionate supporters and once the dust settles, and he is back in an environment where he remains a popular personality with many, his recent misdemeanour may just fade a little further into the background.
He is also thick-skinned enough to deal with any fallout that comes his way. After all, he openly and politely addressed his England departure with reporters on the drive of his house the day after his departure.
Palace will get a manager motivated by the pain of what happened with England as well as a character who is always happy to defy his critics.
Survival will suffice for this season's journey - but Allardyce will not see this as winding down towards retirement as a fit and healthy 62-year-old.
Few will bet against him keeping Palace in the Premier League - and with Steve Parish still an ambitious chairman, in partnership with the club's owners, they have proved their continued ambition with the re-investment of the £25m received from Everton for Yannick Bolasie and more besides to land the likes of Benteke, Townsend, defender James Tomkins and goalkeeper Steve Mandanda in the summer.
Selhurst Park remains one of the most atmospheric, intimidating arenas in the league and if Allardyce can harness this, inspire his team and add a few new faces of his own, he will prove more than just a sticking plaster applied to their immediate troubles.


Essex head coach Chris Silverwood has set his sights on "the holy grail" of winning the County Championship before their return to red-ball action.

Silverwood's side head the Division One table by 41 points with five games remaining, the first of them at home to Somerset starting on Monday.
Only Notts, in 2005, have won the title following promotion the previous year.
"In our first year back up in Division One, to bring it home would be pretty special." Silverwood told BBC Essex.
Essex lifted the trophy six times in the days of a single-division Championship, most recently in 1992 when Graham Gooch was captain.
Now, current skipper Ryan ten Doeschate has the task to leading the team to their first silverware of any kind for seven years following the end of their involvement in this summer's T20 Blast.
Only two of Essex's last five matches are at home, and they will have to manage without England batsmen Alastair Cook and Tom Westley, their two leading run-scorers in the Championship, because of the current Test series against West Indies.
"We are in a great position, but there's still a lot of work to be done and we won't take anything for granted," said Silverwood.
"We have got five games of Championship cricket left and we can look at them with a lot of excitement. We'll go out there and give every ounce of energy, blood sweat and tears.
"It's the holy grail, and certainly in our dressing room and among the members, although it's great to win (other) competitions, we want to bring that one home."


Kieffer Moore scored a late winner as Torquay beat Dagenham, who slipped out of the National League play-off places.

The hosts' Luke Guttridge almost opened the scoring against the side he had represented at youth level, but saw his shot superbly stopped one-handed by Brendan Moore.
In the second half, the hosts remained dominant, and Moore pulled off another lunging save to deny Jordan Maguire-Drew.
Torquay came alive in the latter stages. Moore had a header turned on to the bar by Elliot Justham, but in the 76th minute the same man found space in the box to slot home the winner.
Report supplied by the Press Association.
Match ends, Dagenham and Redbridge 0, Torquay United 1.
Second Half ends, Dagenham and Redbridge 0, Torquay United 1.
Kieffer Moore (Torquay United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Goal!  Dagenham and Redbridge 0, Torquay United 1. Kieffer Moore (Torquay United).
Substitution, Torquay United. Nathan Blissett replaces Jamie Reid.
Substitution, Dagenham and Redbridge. Christian Assombalonga replaces Jordan Maguire-Drew.
Dan Sparkes (Torquay United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Second Half begins Dagenham and Redbridge 0, Torquay United 0.
Frankie Raymond (Dagenham and Redbridge) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
First Half ends, Dagenham and Redbridge 0, Torquay United 0.
Substitution, Dagenham and Redbridge. Paul Benson replaces Oliver Hawkins.
First Half begins.
Lineups are announced and players are warming up.


The crimson banknote is worth 5,000 kyats ($4; Â£2.60) but it could turn out to be priceless.

Signed by the three most important figures in Myanmar's recent history, it's being seen by some as a sign that a deal is being struck between Aung San Suu Kyi and her long time adversaries in the Burmese military.
Since first being made public on Facebook on Saturday night, a picture of the money has gone viral on Burmese social media. It was uploaded by a young man called Nay Shwe Thway Aung.
For the last few weeks he has been acting as an intermediary between Aung San Suu Kyi and his grandfather, one of Myanmar's most notorious and controversial leaders - the former dictator Than Shwe.
Than Shwe ruled Myanmar with an iron fist between 1992 and 2011.
They are remembered as some of Myanmar's bleakest years, with harsh internal repression coupled with international isolation. Aung San Suu Kyi, spent most of it cut off from the world, under house arrest.
Then four-and-a-half years ago Than Shwe retired from politics. He stepped back from public view but few believe he truly let go. Though he's now 82 there are many who believe he still makes all the major decisions.
So on Friday, amidst much cloak and dagger, Aung San Suu Kyi met Than Shwe at his house in the capital Naypyitaw. The only account we have of that meeting is from the man who organised it, Nay Shwe Thway Aung.
On his Facebook page he said that the meeting had lasted two-and-a-half hours, a clear sign that discussions went beyond pleasantries.
By way of comparison, Ms Suu Kyi last week met separately with President Thein Sein and the Commander in Chief of the Army Min Aung Hlaing. On paper they are Myanmar's two most powerful men, but neither discussion lasted more than an hour. Perhaps Than Shwe was the main event.
Nay Shwe Thway Aung said after the meeting the participants agreed to release two short comments for him to publish on Facebook.
Ms Suu Kyi played a straight bat. She was quoted saying she had no feelings of revenge or hatred and had wanted to meet with Than Shwe to discuss working with the military to build a successful Myanmar.
Than Shwe's comments are more intriguing. Remember, this is a former dictator meeting with a woman he has spent decades detaining and trying to thwart.
"It is the truth that she will become the future leader of the country after winning the election," Than Shwe said. "I will support her with all of my efforts if she works for the development of this country."
Two phrases stuck out. What did he mean by "future leader" and what sort of "support" might he have in mind?
Than Shwe could of course just have been using "leader" in the same way as Ms Suu Kyi has been using it of late. She has been stressing that though the constitution bars her from becoming president, because her sons are British, she will still effectively "lead" the government and will consider herself an authority "above" the president.
But the choice of words encourages speculation that an improbable deal might still be on the cards. Might Than Shwe "support" an agreement to allow Ms Suu Kyi to become president in February 2016.
It would certainly need some constitutional contortions, but if there was the will amongst the Burmese military, a way would almost certainly be found.
It is notable that amongst army ranks there has been no attempt to pretend that the electoral landslide on 8 November was anything other than a ringing personal endorsement for Ms Suu Kyi to lead.
"Now that people have selected a person who they think can fulfil their needs, the next thing is for the elected person to fulfil their desires," the current army Commander in Chief Min Aung Hlaing told the Washington Post two weeks ago.
A few have suggested that the offending clause, 59F, might somehow be waived to avoid the constitutional dog's dinner that Ms Suu Kyi is threatening.
In the cold light of day it still feels the longest of long shots. Myanmar's military leaders, with Than Shwe first among them, have spent the last 25 years trying to restrict Ms Suu Kyi's freedom and political power. Are they really willing to bend their rules for her now? Could the election really have changed everything?
So back to the banknote. Posted to Facebook by Nay Shwe Thway Aung on Saturday night, it contains the signatures of Than Shwe from 2009, the current President Thein Sein from 2012, and Aung San Suu Kyi from when she met with him on 19 November.
According to Nay Shwe Thway Aung, the signatures were gathered either when the person was Myanmar's leader or on their way to becoming leader.
The symbolism is clear - Than Shwe to Thein Sein to Aung San Suu Kyi - a line of succession that few thought possible.
Underneath the picture of the banknote are more than a thousand comments lauding Nay Shwe Thway Aung for his efforts. One even suggests a Nobel Peace Prize might be in order.
Ms Suu Kyi and her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), have so far refused to comment in any detail on the ongoing negotiations. But it is a measure of how far she has come, that the discussion is no longer whether the former political prisoner is going to lead the next government, but precisely how.
The campaign to win Myanmar's election was very public. The battle to win the military over is taking place very much in secret.
With information scarce, the Burmese public are clinging to every hint that emerges, even if it is written on the back of a banknote.


A cloud-free atmosphere has allowed scientists to pick out signs of water vapour on a distant planet the size of Neptune: the smallest "exoplanet" ever to reveal its chemical composition.

Previously, only larger, Jupiter-like giants have been studied in this way.
Working with three space telescopes, astronomers deduced the presence of water by measuring the colours of light the planet absorbed when it passed in front of its star.
The find appears in the journal Nature.
It was made by a team of researchers led from the University of Maryland, US.
The planet, designated HAT P-11b, orbits a sun in the constellation Cygnus some 124 light-years - about a quadrillion kilometres - from Earth. It is roughly four times the width of our home world.
The scientists studied the planet's atmosphere with the aid of the US space agency's Hubble, Spitzer and Kepler telescopes.
Their observations were also greatly assisted by there being no clouds on HAT P-11b, which would otherwise have frustrated their attempts to probe its gaseous envelope.
The team determined that the far-off world's atmosphere contained about 90% hydrogen, but also significant quantities of water vapour as well.
Commenting on the findings, Dr Eliza Kempton from Grinnell College, Iowa, said the Maryland group had taken another important step in the study of exoplanets - planets beyond our Solar System.
"Astronomers have detected water vapour in the atmospheres of larger planets - planets that are closer in size to Jupiter.  But you can imagine that eventually we want to be able to detect molecules in the atmospheres of even smaller planets.
"We'd like to be able to look at an Earth-sized planet and measure its gaseous composition.  So this is a step on the ladder; we're stepping down the ladder towards smaller and smaller planets," she told this week's Science In Action programme on the BBC World Service.
Water has obvious implications for life, although HAT P-11b is too close to its star - and therefore too hot - to be habitable.
But in the future study of Earth-sized exoplanets, the presence of water will be an important consideration as scientists search for biology elsewhere in our galaxy.