THE SPIRIT of the Olympics is all about heart-warming tales. Few give off a glow as bright as that of Rob Mullett and his coach.

Rob was due to travel to Rio without Dave Leach who has guided his career for the last 16 years since teaming up at Lewes Athletics Club.

The trip to Brazil was too expensive for Mr Leach and there was another problem - he didn't have a passport and had never been on a plane.

But after coaching for 25 years without pay at the local track the members of Lewes AC decided not going to Brazil to witness the highlight of Mullett's career was simply not an option for the 57-year-old.

They clubbed together to raise £5,000 to pay for his airfare and after Leach had hot-footed it to London to pick up a passport he was on his way to Rio to fine-tune Rob's preparations for the heats of the 3,000m steeplechase on Monday.

Rob said: "Dave had pretty much given up on going to Brazil because of the cost but he kept getting nagged by various people at the club who all thought he needed to go.

"They decided they were going to send him so behind his back set up the crowdfunding page and raised the money needed in 36 hours. Everyone at the club have been incredible and it will be great to have him there.

"It will make everything feel a bit more normal which is what you want. He's really excited too although I'm not sure whether he enjoyed the flight over!"

Rob finished sixth at the European Championships last month and is realistic about his chances in Rio.

He said: "I definitely want to make the final. I know it won't be easy but that is my aim and I feel like I am in shape to achieve it.

"If I run a PB and don't make the final then at least I knew I give it my best shot. I might only get one shot at an Olympics so I want to try to make the most of it."

INSIDE A LONG-RUNNING PARTNERSHIP

ROB Mullett began working with Dave Leach at the age of 13 when he began running at Lewes AC “only because my sister was swimming there so it was a choice of either sitting watching her or doing athletics”.

Their bond is so strong that it has held firm despite Mullett moving to America in 2009 to go to Butler University in Indiana and remaining there after graduating.

A mere 4,000 miles is nothing when you have complete faith in someone to help you achieve your goals.

Mullett added: “Dave has been with me ever since my 13th birthday except for a couple of years when I was at university in America. We seem to work well together and he knows what makes me tick.

“It’s a case of if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.

“It’s really not that difficult being so far apart in this day and age. I speak to him at least a couple of times a week and we’re on WhatsApp every day.

“He might miss out on some of the day to day stuff from my sessions but I’ve been running long enough now to almost make those kind of decisions myself.”

While Mr Leach has been a constant driving force behind Mullett’s journey to Rio his dad Bill also had an influence – even if it may have only been sub-consciously.

Bill was an international steeplechaser in his day but Rob admits he only switched to the event when he realised he was never going to cut it as a middle-distance runner.

“My dad never really pushed me into steeplechasing,” he said. “I knew he did it so I wanted to give it a go but I have to admit I didn’t love it at first.

“From the age of 18 to 23 I didn’t run a single steeplechase as I just did 1,500m but I went back to it as I knew it was my best opportunity to make teams and be successful. I knew I was never going to be a great 1,500m runner and needed another avenue so I decided to jump over stuff and get wet!”