On Tuesday last week Harrow AC star Dean Macey announced his retirement from athletics after he failed to qualify for the Olympics in Beijing.
Just days after the curtain came down on the decathlete's illustrious 15-year career he spoke to Harrow Observer reporter David Baker about his highs and lows and his plans for the future.

When Dean Macey woke up following the disappointment of missing out on next month's Olympics and struggled out of bed with an array of ailments he knew it was time to throw in the towel.
He knows his body can no longer endure the intense pressure of the 10-sport discipline and his injury-plagued career was destined to end.
But far from feeling rested and relieved since the decision, Macey admits retirement is not all it is cracked up to be.
The 30-year-old said: "It's crap. At the moment I can barely walk and I'm struggling to move around.
"Retirement might feel a bit better if I was 60 and giving up work for good but unfortunately I can't afford to just stop working altogether.
"I suppose the strangest thing is that every morning since the announcement I have woken up and thought 'should I go for a jog or get on the bike or do some circuits'.
"It was a difficult decision to make because I'm confident I could still make the teams at major championships but I can't ignore the fact I just don't believe I can stay healthy enough."
Ever since he first stamped his authority on the sport with a silver medal win in the 1999 World Championships in Seville, as a virtual unknown, it has been this difficulty to stay healthy that has dogged his career.
A problem which he adds provided many of his lowest moments since turning professional.
The 'Dean Machine' said: "I'm a very proud man and quite honestly I'm a pretty hard guy too so having to keep going to my doctor or physio to say I was hurt again was, for me, very embarrassing.
"I always swore blind I wouldn't take the mick out of those who helped me get to where I did, so as my body found it tougher and tougher to cope I found it harder to ask for help.
"Being injured is awful and you go through some low periods but up until the very last competition I never, for one second, believed I wouldn't secure the points needed to win."

For more of this interview see this week's Harrow Observer or Wembley Observer.