Glasgow 2014: Meet power couple Jack Oliver and Sarah Davies

“I’ve read him in English and Ancient Greek,” the London 2012 Olympian tells me, as if it’s nothing especially impressive.

“He talks a lot about the Persian Wars, about ‘soft’ people and ‘hard’ people, and how the Greeks won those wars because they were ‘harder’ with fewer luxuries in their lives.

“I try to put that into practice in weightlifting. You don’t need all the best equipment or kit – no fanciness. You just need to work hard and that’s where the results will come from.”

Oliver wants to “show people what he can do and put things right” in the 77kg category, after going into the Delhi Games four years ago with injury problems which prevented him from fulfilling his potential.

Despite still only being 23, it could well be his best chance to shine as, post-Glasgow, he will no longer receive a funding grant. That means he will have to juggle training with an as-yet-unfound full-time job.

But while Oliver shuns glamour in favour of graft, girlfriend Davies manages to find room for both.

The 21-year-old only lifted her first weights when Oliver encouraged her to do so when she was bored watching him train.

Less than three years on, she is one of the group of women whose results have helped British Weightlifting secure some restored funding from UK Sport.