He went for the title again six years later but was too exhausted to finish, and a year later noticed he was becoming short of breath in everyday activities.

When he went to the doctor in March 1995, the diagnosis was staggering: Gauder, an incredibly fit man, had an inflammation of the heart, probably caused by a virus, and would need a transplant.

A year later, when he was so ill he was unable to climb the stairs, he had an artificial pump fitted to his heart. It became infected and he came close to death before a donor was found.

Three days after his transplant he was walking in the hospital. Within months he was training again, and in 1998 he completed the New York Marathon.