There were rumours that his glorious career might be nearing its end but Yuriy Borzakovskiy is gearing up to run again, which could mean the defence of his 800m crown at this summer's European Athletics Championships in Zurich.
It has been some year for the 33-year-old Russian, who was forced to miss the IAAF World Championships in Moscow last August after illness and then, in December, suffered the death of his coach Vyacheslav Yevstratov.
He said: 'Vyacheslav was my coach, and father, or even grandfather. I miss him.'
With the help of Vladimir Kazarin - who coaches his fellow Russian teammate Mariya Savinova, the multiple 800m champion - Borzakovskiy is now slowly planning for the months ahead.
He has had surgery on a fractured foot in October and, speaking to Sport-Express, he said: “After my coach passed away, I asked Vladimir to help me as his training methods are very similar.
'We seriously discussed our plans and he didn’t make any corrections in my running.
'My ligaments and muscles are not so strong. I need to strengthen them, especially as I didn’t train during last half of the year because of injuries.
'After fracturing the foot, I had surgery, I injured a knee and finally I sprained an ankle in February. That is why I do many general restorative exercises for now.
'I plan to begin intensive running in training in May to June and only then I will start to plan my competitions for the season. But most probably my first track appearance will be at the National Cup in Sochi at the end of May.'
Borzakovskiy has become one of the great distance runners of modern times, an athlete renowned for saving his best for the final stages of races, his amazing late surges becoming a trademark of his brilliant career.
He has 10 major medals at the 800m and it was back in 2001 that he won his first senior gold with victory at the World Indoor Championships in Lisbon.
A decade ago this summer he was crowned Olympic champion in Athens and then in 2012, he won the European title in Helsinki.
Time catches up with every athlete and at the end of last season there was talk of him retiring but as he said: 'I want to continue performing.'