By Daniel Lane
Herb Elliott, who dominated the 1500-metre track event at the 1960 Rome Olympics, theorises that if life is a race, it is best to focus on personal perfection rather than revelling in an opponent's downfall.
Elliott, who turns 76 on Tuesday, embraced that philosophy when he was only 18 and read a holy book from the Orient in a shack near the sandhills that formed an important part of his training camp on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula.
Running man: Elliott celebrates with fans after winning gold at the 1960 Rome Olympics.Credit: Fairfax Archive
His coach, Percy Cerutty, described as a genius by his supporters and as a crackpot by detractors, knew how to nourish his athletes. Long before Australians heard of muesli, Elliott fuelled up on a mixture of oats, dried fruit and milk for breakfast, and at night digested books for deeper meaning.
''I had a wonderful coach in Percy Cerutty, and his philosophy was the backbone of my performance,'' Elliott said in a rare interview. ''It may sound strange but there's a pyramid of motivation, and the purest motivation is 'I'm going to do this as hard as I possibly can because it's going to make me a better person'.
Herb Elliot winning the mile at the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1958.
''That's a purer motivation than 'I'm going to do this as hard as I can because I'm going to make lots of money' or because 'I love killing the opposition'. The purer form was with Percy's encouragement. We read, for instance, when I was 18, the Hatha Yoga - one of the books behind Hinduism - and it covers self-mastery and conquering the ego … self-improvement.''
In an era where sport is promoted as war, Elliott said accepting the higher plane of motivation helped him cope when the glory and acclaim faded. ''I went to Cambridge University straight after the Rome Olympics, which was an exciting new challenge,'' he said. ''I was married, we had our first baby and I had lots of other things to occupy and fill my life with other than running.
''There's certainly an adjustment period. After I came back from England in 1963, I had a job at the Shell chemical company - I'd get on the train every morning with my little brown paper bag with my sandwiches in it, nobody on the train knew who I was; I'd do a day's work as a clerk, get back on the train and go home. It's a huge adjustment.
''You're suddenly a nonentity. If the motivation that drove you was money or beating other people, you wouldn't be able to - sitting on the train with your little brown bag - say to yourself the growth you got out of that experience made you a bloody good person.
''And beating other people, really? When you analyse it, you run around in circles four times and you do it faster than the next bloke. Who cares? What value is that to anybody, really? There was no money in it those days, so cash wasn't a motive. The motive was this: 'My weaknesses are going to be challenged all the time as I try to improve myself, and I mustn't give in otherwise I'm a lesser human being'.
''That takes you through all the ups and downs to victory - if you keep doing it.''
Elliott, who has mentored numerous Australian Olympians and was successful in business, made it clear nothing comes easy, and he still relates to any athlete who needs to dig deep to subject themselves to yet another torturous session.
''Every training session was painful,'' he said. ''I'd wake up in the morning and think 'Damn, I have to train today' and you'd start thinking - as we all do - reasons why you couldn't train. 'I have something more important to do', 'That twinge in my muscle hurts', 'It's too hot'. You just have to ignore it and get on.''
Perhaps the lesson for today's athletes to take from Elliott as he continues his quest for perfection at 76 is to ask why they compete. The answer could be the key that propels them from being an elite athlete to a champion for the ages, like Elliott.