Olympics: Years of graft the only way to glory

It is now just 74 days until the Olympic Games kick off in London. For many athletes this will be the Everest of their sporting careers. Getting there is an achievement in itself - going on and winning a medal is in another stratosphere altogether. To put this in perspective, since the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, New Zealand has won 24 medals of which nine have been gold. In this time there have been approximately 800 first division Lotto winners.

Of our 24 medallists - 22 were ranked in the top six or better in the lead up to the Games. Of the last 21 medallists - 17 had been world champion or world number one. All nine gold medallists had been world champion or world number one before winning.

A contemporary of mine has likened winning an Olympic medal to a jewel heist such is the level of planning and detail required. Extraordinary talent, rocking up on the day and willing oneself to Olympic glory is a fallacy - New Zealand's medallists have learned how to win before the Games and have delivered repeatedly. This has been brought about by years of hard work, specialised training and commitment unfathomable to those watching the "greatest show on earth" from the comfort of their lazy-boy in 42inches of HD splendour. The two weeks of sporting Valhalla we experience is the culmination of on average nine years of total dedication for an Olympic medallist.

They will be on the start line knowing 100 per cent what they are capable of, having done everything humanly possible. Luck has been a hard-earned commodity.

For those athletes where London will be their first Olympic experience there is the old adage of having to go to one, before you win one. The Olympics can be overwhelming and all consuming so it is important to have strategies to keep focused and grounded.

However, at the end of the day they are competing against the same people, on the same ground, under the same rules, with the same equipment as any other international competition - it's just there are these funny rings plastered all over the place.

Follow Waiariki's Olympians at their webpages www.luukajones.com and www.mikedawson.co.nz.