The aim of the game is simple. Athletes compete against each other in a wide range of disciplines, collecting points according to their score or time, and the winner is the man or woman with the highest aggregate total. A whopping 10 points are on offer for a first-place finish in each event, seven go to second spot, four to third, two to fourth and one point goes to fifth place. But there is a catch. To prevent Mark Foster destroying all-comers in the pool, or Chris Boardman blitzing his heat in the biking, every contender is withdrawn from their "specialist" event. In the interests of safety, athletes may then opt out of the discipline they fear most - so John Regis, for example, can spare himself the indignity of drowning by dropping the swim.