London 2012: Usain Bolt, Team GB and Olympic demands

“Certainly you see a lot more British athletes in commercials and endorsing companies than you would have done four or eight years ago.”

It may be, though, that a run of form that peaks perfectly for the Games might be less well timed for an athlete’s bank balance.

“Athletes who have done well in 2011 may have missed out a little bit,” explains Simms.

“Companies were contracting in 2009 and 2010 with their campaigns planned out 18 months in advance.

“Phillips won the World Championships in 2009 and, along with Jess Ennis, that meant they were perfectly positioned to capitalise heading into 2010 and 2011. But Christine Ohuruogu had injuries in 2010 – her big years were 2006, 2007 and 2008.”

If athletes are too keen to exploit commercial opportunities, though, they can endanger the very success their bankability is built on.

In May, British diver Tom Daley donned his trunks and posed on the end of the board. But this wasn’t training, it was the launch of his autobiography in a central London bookshop.

The 18-year-old’s myriad of commitments have been questioned by Team GB diving coach Alexei Evangulov who feared they may damage his chances of a medal.

All of Simms’s clients, even Bolt, have finished their pre-Games public relations business, with any new adverts and campaigns that emerge in the run-up to the Games filmed and finished well before.

“I think that time is over now. The next two months are about preparation and anyone who is out doing PR stuff is taking a very big risk,” he adds.

But Simms admits that as a track and field specialist, his job is easier than for those for whom publicity is scarce outside the Olympic fortnight.