Anyone with Olympic ambition who says they arent allowing for the extra dimension brought by the prospect of Paris is a liar, writes Katharine Merry

With athletes now well into winter training, Ive been watching a few updates on social media recently which have made me smile. I sent a message offering my thoughts and prayers to Andrew Pozzi after I saw a picture of him doubled over after a session. Hes being coached by Colin Jackson now and had clearly been put through his paces. I do not miss that!

I always found it horrible coming back after my end-of-season break. It was the recurring realisation of how long something takes to achieve and how quick it is to lose. As soon as you take two to three weeks off, your fitness just goes out the window.

What happens is that you are tapering and maintaining for the whole of June, July and August and all of your sessions are completely different but then you completely change everything up and go back to donkey work. Thats the killer.

Youve taken a bit of time off during which you might have enjoyed your life but then youre going back into a completely different regime and your body goes: What the hell is going on here?

The positive is that you always felt like you started with a blank canvas every winter and you were motivated to get back. If youd had a bad season, been injured or hadnt really achieved what youd wanted to, then this was a reset button. That was a nice feeling because it was a case of: Right, whats happened before doesnt matter.

On the flipside, if youve done well then youre trying to cling on to that momentum and keep it going.

Something that makes a huge difference, regardless of what your form has been like, is going into the winter right before an Olympics. If youre fully focused, every winter should be a big one but going into Olympic year heightens the senses. Theres more tension, greater expectation of whats to come, youre very, very aware of whats on the horizon and you look at things a little bit more intensely in terms of your preparation.

Weve even seen it already over the course of 2023, with some athletes making decisions with Paris in mind about whether or not to compete in the summer just gone. Jake Wightman, for example, could have raced in the latter part of the summer after his injury troubles but he knew he wasnt quite where he needed to be so he called it quits for the season.

Through those early months of winter training, youre very much aware of playing it a little bit more carefully. We never needed the Olympics as an extra motivation it was more of an awareness in terms of decision-making and fitness. You try not to let it seep in but anyone who says theyre not catering for it (if you are of that level) is a liar!

That extra tension will have been amplified, too, for those British athletes waiting to hear if they had made it on to the Lottery funding lists for the year ahead. As we all know, the sport is not awash with money and the funding is such a big deal to so many people. For many its a game changer and can be the difference as to whether they can stay in the sport full-time or not.

Every year its the same and its no surprise when some people are left upset or unhappy at being excluded. Its completely understandable when so much is riding on a decision which is so subjective. Theres always some controversy over some names included or missing from the list.

But, if theres a better way of allocating the money then Id like to hear it and I certainly dont know it.

Would you like to be the one sitting down to make the decisions across all of these athletics disciplines? In a sport like ours which is so varied, you cannot compare apples and pears. Its so difficult when you have to compare the potential from event to event. I think the majority of people would like things to be more black and white, but athletics just isnt like that.

Another matter that grabbed the attention of competitors on these shores was the surprise departure of Stephen Maguire as UK Athletics Performance Director, to be replaced by Paula Dunn.

Dina Asher-Smith was quick to point out the contribution he has made to the team and the set-up which this summer enjoyed the most successful World Championships since 1993.

Yes, its a big move. Yes, its a bold move from UKA chief executive Jack Buckner, given how successful Budapest was, but they have their reasons and I am delighted Paula has been given this opportunity and I think the athletes will respond well to her.

Regardless of who is in the role, in all honesty it shouldnt make too much difference to the day-to-day lives of those who have Paris very much on their minds. The immediate concerns will be taken care of by their own individual coaches.

No one wants to see the boat rocked too much, and ideally it would be plain sailing towards Paris, but it wouldnt be Olympic year without a few waves being made along the way.