Single-minded Simbine prepares to climb the mountain

Sitting on a makeshift seat on a cramped bus heading to the team hotel, newly crowned African 100m champion Akani Simbine grips a metal bar above his head, in order to maintain his balance as the vehicle bounces through the backlit streets of Asaba.

“So,” I ask, “what are you going to do to celebrate your title? Can you have a beer?” Simbine responds with a cheeky grin.

“I might have a drink,” he says, albeit rather sheepishly. “Geez mate,” I think to myself, “if I had won a gold medal I would have smashed 10 beers before I got to the bus.”

And that is one of many reasons I’m not the African 100m champion.

Unlike most professions, athletes in various sports have to commit fully to their jobs. Life, as most of us know it, has to be put on hold if they are to make it to the top, and spontaneity is a hindrance better done without.

Instead, life consists of training, recovery and refuelling, and every hour is planned.

Athletes are not free people. Not in the same way as the rest of us.

They’re biological machines and they need to keep themselves fine-tuned.

And the fine-tuning can’t start mid-season. It starts pre-season, which is just a different way of saying post-season, and in reality they have little respite from their intense commitment until they retire.

According to Time magazine, of the 10 New Year’s resolutions which are most commonly broken, five are related to health and/ or fitness.

Among them: lose weight and get fit; eat healthier; quit smoking; drink less; and be less stressed If I had made any of those resolutions this week, I would have broken all five of them on day one.

For an athlete, however, all five must be strictly maintained from January until the end of the season.

I’m sure Simbine was being honest when he admitted he gives himself the occasional break, and over the holiday season most athletes no doubt had their fair share of pie and an extra slice of cake.

But indulgence for most of us, who are able to regularly switch off from work and take a break, does not mean the same as it does for an elite sportsman or woman.

For many of them, including Simbine, this Olympic season could stand out as the pinnacle of their careers.

And for anyone who wants to stand out on the global stage, it is the persistent dedication to their respective codes which will keep them in the hunt.

While I tackle life with a drink in one hand and a smoke in the other, others commit themselves to physical excellence, and I don’t envy them.

If they do reach the top, however, they deserve a tremendous amount of adulation because they’ve climbed a mountain which most of us will never attempt.

As such, if any South African earns a medal in Tokyo, I will be honoured and privileged to record their achievements on paper.

I’m just glad I get to watch them in action, and though I might have a smoke in hand when Simbine hits the finish line, I am quietly grateful that he consistently forces me to put down my drink and pick up a pen.

My liver, I’m sure, is thankful too.