My greatest race: John Mayock

British middle-distance runner looks back on the Bislett Games in Oslo on July 5 in 1996 when he placed third in the mile in 3:50.32

That summer, I made sure that I was in the best shape I could be to win the trials to guarantee my place at the Olympics. I’d had a little bit of history in the past when I hadn’t been picked for certain things like the World Student Games in Sheffield, so my coach said to me: “John, you have to win.” Once I’d done that, it took the pressure off. I could just go and get ready.

I had good coaches in Pete Watson and Peter Elliott. I had a good training group. I had a little bit of money from sponsors, so I didn’t have to worry about paying the mortgage, but I also loved to race and I raced three times between the British Championships and the Olympics starting.

I had listened to Seb Coe, Steve Ovett, Steve Cram and Peter saying that, once you’re in a purple patch, that’s when you’ve got to crack on and go for it because it’s when you’re going to get your personal bests. It depends on the athlete but that period could last a couple of weeks or a couple of months.

So I had the opportunities. Once you get to a good level, the last thing you want to do is slow down and take your foot off the gas in your racing and in your preparation. For me, the best thing to do was to race some of these people that I’d probably be racing in the Olympics, to give me a little bit more confidence to challenge these big names.

I went into the Olympics as a bit of an underdog to get through to the final. It was such a competitive year and there was such an abundance of talented athletes in the middle-distance ranks that if you did drop out or take a race off or decide not to do it, there were so many people coming to take your place. 

If they ran fast, they would maybe get the slot next time around in a future Grand Prix or Golden League meeting. It was a dog-eat-dog kind of world, so I had to make this decision, one that would allow me to go into the pre-Games camp in Tallahassee feeling ready.

As a youngster, I was inspired by watching Coe and Cram on TV, and watching some amazing British athletes compete in Oslo over the mile. Bislett is just electric. The crowd is so close to the track.

I was still relatively new to the Grand Prix circuit and there was only a select few, in those early days, who would be selected to take part. Luckily, I had a good agent in Kim McDonald and he got me in…