Andrew Whyte has only one thing on his mind - next year's Rio Olympics.
The 400m ace is so determined to clock an A (45.40sec) or B qualifier (45.80sec), he left his banking job in Auckland to return to Dunedin and train full time six weeks ago.
Whyte (22), who grew up on a farm near Clinton, had lived in Auckland for only a couple of months before realising it did not suit him.
''I worked in institutional banking and decided it wasn't for me,'' he said.
''I couldn't do that and train, and I decided I just wanted to train full time. Auckland is all right, but you just couldn't work 10 hours a day and train.
''You've only got a limited time to run, so you may as well make the most of it while you're young. You've got to give it everything.''
Whyte, who is living with his parents in Mosgiel, receives support from Athletics New Zealand, as he is a carded athlete.
Realistically, he is Otago's best chance of producing another Olympic or Commonwealth Games athlete.
Not bad for someone who only started seriously training three and a-half years ago, when he moved to Dunedin to study a finance degree at the University of Otago.
Whyte's personal-best in the 400m is 46.25sec, which is the Otago senior record and sixth-fastest time in New Zealand history.
He clocked that two years ago in Sydney, before being hindered by tendinitis in his soleus, and hamstring and hip injuries since.
However, he is now fit and undertaking a ''heavy'' training load, which includes two hours of track work each day.
Whyte, whose personal-best time is the national junior record, hopes to add the national senior 400m record to his name this season.
To do that, he will need to shave 0.17sec from his personal-best to top Shaun Farrell's 46.09sec mark, set in Wanganui in 1998.
The Hill City-University runner last competed in January, before being sidelined by a hip injury after the Time Buster race in Dunedin.
The past week was the first time he has trained at full-speed since then, and Whyte feels like he is progressing well early in the season.
He does not plan on competing at a weekly track and field meet at the Caledonian Ground for at least anther month, and he is anxious ahead of his first race.
''That first race sort of dictates where you are at,'' he said.
''Normally, you can only expect a 1sec improvement over the season, so I'm nervous about that first one. I just want to run a personal-best.''
Whyte, who spent six months at the University of Texas on a scholarship last year, plans to hit the track for his first serious race at the Canberra Track Classic on February 20.
He will then line up at the national track and field championships, which double as an Olympic qualifier, in Dunedin in early March, before a couple of other races in Australia.
If Whyte does not clock a qualifying time in New Zealand or Australia, he will head to Europe for a couple of months to pursue it.
The Dunedin runner has only ever run the 200m and 400m, but plans to start running the 800m after a few more years focusing on his specialist event.
Whyte is considering part-time study while he trains, and his former employer in Auckland has indicated he will be welcome back in the future.
