You could argue that nobody has ever managed a better Olympic record than Kenya's Noah Ngeny. He competed in just one Olympic Games, ran in two heats and one final – and won all three races. What's more his gold medal came thanks to victory over one of the biggest stars of his sport.

There are few sights more thrilling in track and field than a long-distance race that comes down to a sprint for the line, as athletes who have run thousands of metres at top speed are then forced to dig deep to find that extra bit of energy needed to push themselves to the finish.