Timejust BasicforHana

“IF you’re on time, you’re late,” says Hana Basic, Australia’s top women’s hope in the 100m in Tokyo.

The child gymnast-turnedsprinter is talking about training for the looming showdown against the world’s fastest women.

The discipline required for that challenge has seeped into everything she does.

She always arrives 15 minutes “early” at the track, which isn’t early at all for someone determined to be competitive on the world stage.

That 15-minute cushion means she has done her stretching and got mind, body and gear all tuned for the instant that coach John Nicolosi is ready. All part of the plan.

Basic’s performances this year have been impressive.

In February, she dropped her best time to 11.45s, then 11.37. In March, she ran 11.18, about as fast as Australian women run.

At 25, she has blitzed the domestic scene, “sizzling her way down the straight with a series of eye-catching runs”.