Olympic champions normally capitalise on their good fortune and hard work with a substantial increase in appearance fees, endorsements and the like - almost from the moment they step off the medal podium.

Nearly eighteen months after striking gold in Athens, American pole vaulter Tim Mack finally looks ready to assume his rightful place at the top of the heap opening his season in Reno on January 28th.

A strain in his left calf suffered over the 2004 Christmas holidays - four months after the Athens Olympics - curtailed his training for what seemed an eternity. When he finally got fit enough to compete last summer he struggled to a disappointing 7th place finish in the US outdoor nationals. For a man who cleared 6.01m (19, 8") to win the IAAF World Athletics Final shortly after the Olympics the injury was a complete heartbreaker.

"Oh yeah, it killed me. That was the hardest part. I am sitting there and I want to go to a competition and I want to show people that I was the Olympic champion for a reason," he recalls. "But I had those thoughts going through my head plus the thought of 'I know I am not where I should be.' The best way I could describe it is going to a gunfight with a knife."

"I knew what it took to get that gold medal: It was consistency, it was staying healthy, it was a whole year's training without missing a beat whereas last year I missed January, February, March, and half of April. The way I design my program you can't do it."

For the record, the gold medal is stored in a safety deposit box at a Knoxville bank. Once he took it out to show it at the gymnastics club where he sometimes trains. Naturally, the bank employees wanted a look too. It was returned to the vault immediately.

Fortunately, Mack is now back training enthusiastically four or five hours a day, running, lifting weights, going through gymnastics manoeuvres and of course, continuing rehabilitation to keep the injury in check. It is with a great deal of patience that he approaches the upcoming season.

"I know the world indoors are this year but I can't push my training, especially after what happened last year. I realised after how I gear my training, especially the last few years, my highest indoor jump in the last three years I think maybe was 18, 8" but that's because of the hard training. If I get 18, 4", 18, 8", possibly higher, I am going to be setting myself up. I am not stupid these days and I know what it takes and I know how my training progresses over the year."

Following the Reno meet he,d like to jump at the prestigious Millrose games on February 3rd before heading overseas to compete in the Sergei Bubka Pole Vault Invitational in Kiev. Mack who is history's 7th highest outdoor jumper has nothing but respect for the world record holder especially his incredible consistency. And despite the fact he is now 33 years old he also has his eyes on Jeff Hartwig's American record of 6.03m.

"Yeah, it's always a target. Anytime the clock reads 6:04 I look at it and it,s the first thing I think about. I notice that more and more now maybe before I looked at my watch at 6:04 but never really thought about it," he reveals, "But it's like 'of course.' Something like that, it's not something that is given to you."

"And that's sometimes my problem. I think that is going to cost a little bit more - meaning time and my training and recovery. So if I am out there doing a lot of appearances it's time that is wasted and could be used for mental time off. It takes a lot to do that. I am willing to do what it takes."

The resident of Knoxville, Tennessee, now refuses all appearance requests and even stopped coaching high school vaulters, something he has enjoyed and had tremendous success doing. Though it might sound rather Machiavellian he utters no apologies.

"I did a few appearances last year. But now I want to get back on track with my vaulting. I hate to turn people down but I am like "you know what, especially at this age, I don't have much time," he declares.

"Thirty minutes turns into three hours. As much as I want to do it I can't. I will do some more later in the off season but even then I just like to relax and not think about things. I know the Olympic year was great, and I have always been this way, like if I had won a national championship its "what do I have to do now, what the next step" I have to get my training in."

Seriously committed to his profession, Mack also realises that Bubka's world record of 6.14m (20, 1.75") will one day fall.

"Yeah I do. It's attainable. Anything is attainable. Am I the person? I don't know," he says. "I never thought I would take an attempt at the world record. I still got to the point where I put the bar up there in Monaco after the 6.01m. I thought, 'I am not supposed to be attempting the world record because I am definitely not the fastest or the strongest whatever but I think I am really good in a lot of things.'"

"And yes, it's unbelievable what he has done. I think if I had the physical abilities he had, wow, I could do that and maybe even higher because I bring a lot of things to the table. It's unbelievable how he can do that so many times. I look at the height I had over 6.01m and I have seen what height he had over 6.01m. It's ridiculous. He was about a foot over it!"

When he sets about plotting the outdoor season with his agents, Mark Block and Chris Layne, he will take into account which competitions will provide training opportunities as well as good quality opposition. Clearly, he is a perfectionist.

Mack graduated from the University of Tennessee and plans to coach after retirement. He also enjoys a round of golf whenever he can get away for an afternoon. Occasionally he is asked to play in celebrity charity tournaments.

"I have been invited to local golf tournaments," he admits. "They are usually held over the summer and so it's hard to make those because I am over in Europe."

"I can hold my own (on the golf course) but again if I wasn't pole vaulting I would be a lot better. I get out once every few weeks. Sometimes I play once a week. Over the summer I don't get out at all, that's one thing I would like to do is when I go to a competition is to take advantage of some of the golf courses in Europe. That would be neat."

But first, he has a mission on a pole vault runway.