Sportspeople: They're only human and we've got to remember it, but so have they.

In other news, I saw one of our aspiring Olympians today. On a train in Sheffield, so quite likely training at Pond's Forge or the EIS. Whether her particular sport had given her excellent posture and comportment or it was just an inflated sense of self-worth that made her walk like her nose was attached to a zeppelin, I know not. In any case, even I was briefly caught up in the aura of awe that seemed to follow her. That instantly recognisable white, blue and red tracksuit with the 2012 logo seemed, just for a second, to set our subject aside as something other than human.

Given the penchant of sci-fi directors for making tracksuits simply the must have fashion item of the dystopian future, this other-worldliness was enhanced at least ten-fold. I wonder, are we facing an invasion of the body builders? This air of superiority to the rest of us mere mortals recalled to me a joke friend of mine and I share that transhumanists are likely to cause global civil war, with only one result of course: that being that the vastly superior transhuman army is routing the armies of the regular humans, until me and said friend step in to save the world, get the girl (one each, sharing would be creepy) and generally have that Spielberg ending.

All joking aside, I wish the young lady luck in her endeavours this summer as the weight of expectation to haul in a gold on home soil will be immense and a whole stadium or arena will be expecting this woman to show superhuman ability if necessary, and that pressure can't be nice to perform under. But I also hope she finds some humility when the final results come in. The attitude of a sportsman should always be magnanimity, but there are very few people in all of the world who can combine talent (in any area) with genuine grace.

Last night I felt honoured when, though only through the medium of television, I witnessed arguably the greatest sportsperson of our generation (or any generation) further enhance his reputation. The gentleman in question is one of the most humble people one could wish to meet. He truly realises how lucky he is to be in the position he is in and never fails to thank God for his successes. Whatever you think about the religious implications, you have to admire a humility that is almost as spectacular to behold as the talent it comes with.