'); 'It takes a specific type of person to give 15 years of their lives to run that risk' What does it take to become an Olympian? Garry Doyle gets an insight from our leading athletes into the dedication required to make it to Tokyo. By Garry Doyle Saturday 17 Apr 2021, 8:00 AM 1 hour ago 4,809 Views 1 Comment SATURDAY AFTERNOON, MELBOURNE, Australia. It is 4.30pm local time and still the wee small hours back home. Bear with us as we briefly travel back in time, to 1956, the 1500m Olympic final, a field so competitive that the defending champion is eliminated in the heats. Twelve men enter the arena, one leaves as an icon, his name subsequently carved onto marble at the stadium entrance.