To compete and be the best you have to be in peak condition for those exact three weeks, once every four years.
In a sport like athletics it's even more precise you have, to paraphrase Linford Christie, to peak on the B of the bang of the starters gun. Trying to get the timing right for Beijing this year are three local athletes with varying chances of getting on the plane to China.
Sprinter, Emily Freeman from Mirfield is an established Great Britain international. Sarah Holt, who comes from Dewsbury but trained at Spenborough in her formative years, is a hammer thrower. She is trying to break into the squad after appearing for Great Britain's junior squad in Beijing. The third member of the local trio is Josh Cayenne who is a member at Spenborough AC. The teenager is a highly regarded sprinter who has caught the eye of British selectors at numerous school and club events.
All three are currently hoping the timing is right for them and are counting down to their first big hurdle, the British Olympic trials on July 11 at the Alexander Stadium, Birmingham. It is there that the fate of these athletes will be decided – until London 2012 that is.
For 27-year-old Emily Freeman the time must be right -now. It appears that it could be coming good for the former Mirfield athlete, whose home club is still Wakefield Harriers.
In April this year, Mirfield Sports Council selected her as their senior sporting achievement award winner a welcome recognition from her home town who are behind her all the way. That award came after an outstanding season in 2007 which saw Emily become a key member of GB 4x100 relay team which finished fourth in the World Championships in Osaka.
But in a sense that has been eclipsed by Emily's individual progress in 2008. This month (June) in particular has been a turning point for her, in the last two weeks she has become one of the five fastest British women ever over the 200m distance.
On June 8 at a meeting in Regensberg, Switzerland, Emily clocked a personal best time of 23.01seconds for the 200m. The following weekend she was in action again at the Golden Spike meeting in Leiden, Netherlands going under the 23 second barrier for the first time for a new personal best time of 22.72 seconds. It was the quickest time by a British woman for nearly five years. The aim must now be Kathy Cook's 1984 record of 22.10 seconds.
The personal best time run in Leiden was too late to qualify Emily for the 200m spot in the Great Britain women's team at last weekend's European Cup in Annecy, France where the 200m spot went to Emily's nearest rival Christine Ohuruogu. Instead Emily showed her versatility and ran in the Extra Performance race winning it in 11.37, one hundredth of a second behind her personal best 100m time of 11.36.
Emily is ahead of Ohuruogu in this year's rankings by 0.22 seconds and is equal fifth on the all time rankings with Bev Callendar who set her time in the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, the year Emily was born.
The performances recently must give the Great Britain selectors a nudge while giving Emily confidence and perhaps giving her rivals plenty to think about in the countdown to the moment of truth on July 11.
Knowing that it must be now or perhaps never with the Olympics Emily has dedicated herself to her athletics training. After studying civil engineering at Birmingham University and University College, London, Emily gave up a job in structural engineering to train, with the support of lottery funding, she was able to take part in warm weather training during the winter and it's all paying off in her improved times and increased competitiveness.
As an athlete she seems to take everything in her stride and won't be looking too far ahead, certainly not to Beijing, her next target is to peak in Birmingham in a fortnight's time to and secure the ultimate Chinese take-away.