But on Wednesday night Josh Kerr, a 25-year-old from Edinburgh, rekindled those golden memories with a world championship 1500m victory for the ages.
Few gave Kerr much of a chance against the Olympic gold medallist, Jakob Ingebrigtsen. But Britain's newest champion had not spent eight months living a monkish existence to settle for second.
As Kerr revealed after his thrilling victory, his preparations had included training away from his fiancee and eating an ultra-strict diet for months. Shortly before the championships in Budapest he even gave his phone to his fiancee to avoid distractions. In its place came a basic model with only two apps: Fantasy Football and Duolingo - Kerr is learning Spanish.
"I think the best athletes are making sacrifices on a daily basis," said Kerr, who now trains in Seattle. "I don't live in Scotland any more, I live over in the US away from my parents and family. I currently live in a different state to my fiancee as well. I've put in the hard yards, I've done it an honest way, and I know that if I come into a championship without missing any days through injury or illness then I'm going to be in a position to medal. To be fair, I had a slice of pizza after my win, after maybe having a champagne or two," he added. "It's not sitting well already, so might be going back to chicken and rice today."
Denne historien er fra August 25, 2023-utgaven av The Guardian.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra August 25, 2023-utgaven av The Guardian.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Post Office boss asked about his pay and bonuses 'more than expected', says board member
The chair of the Post Office's remuneration committee has said she was surprised at how frequently the company's boss, Nick Read, asked about his pay and bonuses, given the pressure it was under due to the ongoing fallout from the Horizon IT scandal.
Murdoch property group raises offer for Rightmove to £6.2bn as deadline looms
Britain's booming wine-growing industry has been compared to \"California in the 70s\", with annual production more than doubling to 12m bottles a year, according to a report.
Viral load Social media putting rare species in danger
With its striking plumage, impressive size and rowdy displays, a capercaillie is many birders' dream. Only about 530 of the woodland grouse survive in the wild, most in Scotland's Cairngorms national park.
Toll of 20 dead in storm-hit south-eastern US could rise as flooding hampers rescues
Hurricane Helene has reportedly killed at least 20 people and left 4m consumers without power across the south-eastern United States after crashing ashore in north-western Florida late on Thursday as a potent category 4 hurricane, according to officials.
Closing borders Electoral pressures put EU's freedom of movement under threat
In 2015, when more than 1.3 million people headed to Europe, mostly fleeing a brutal war in Syria, the response of Germany's chancellor, Angela Merkel, was to say: \"Wir schaffen das\" (\"We can manage this\"), and open the country's borders.
Fight does not end here, say critics, as Wimbledon wins the go-ahead to expand
Wimbledon's controversial plans to build 39 new tennis courts have been given the green light after a deputy mayor of London ruled that the \"very significant benefits\" of the scheme outweighed any potential harm to the environment.
Sue Gray Advisers to the PM are often targets of sniping but is it sustainable?
For someone who was not even in Liverpool for the Labour party conference, Sue Gray was the subject of a remarkable amount of conversation.
Revealed Alli gave PM a further £16,000 gift of clothing
Keir Starmer was given a further £16,000 worth of clothes by the Labour peer Waheed Alli, which was declared as money for his private office, the Guardian can reveal.
Tributes paid to 'one of a kind' in seven decades on stage and screen
Maggie Smith, the prolific, awardwinning actor described by peers as being \"one of a kind\" and possessed of a \"sharp eye, sharp wit and formidable talent\", has died aged 89.
Diplomacy Netanyahu insists Israel is winning on 'seven fronts'
Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, shrugged off global appeals for a ceasefire in Lebanon and Gaza yesterday, using a defiant speech at the UN general assembly to denounce the world body as an \"antisemitic swamp\" and insist Israel is \"winning\" its multi-front wars.
