“I just kind of trust the process, but definitely the hardest thing for an athlete do is to say no. That's one of the biggest things because you always want to push, you always want to find that extra percent.”

“I'd always heard horror stories about bicarb, people getting it wrong, so I was a bit ‘Oh, what if it does that to me?’ But I think, you know, that Maurten have got it quite figured out and I've never had a problem with it. I've run some of my best races this year using it.”

The 800 meters is special — existing in the twilight state between sprint and middle distance. A game of cunning breathlessly played out over two laps of the track in an ever-intensifying lactic fever dream. Tactical, tenacious. Torturous.

“I like to think I thrive in a competitive environment with rivalries and just everyone running to be the best in that race. I think that's what I actually really enjoy.”