Claiming Dajka had never got over missing the 2004 Olympics, he said his death should serve to highlight the dangers faced by top level athletes when they take a wrong turn.

"That is the case with Jobie, but I am not going to point fingers," said Neiwand, a four-time Olympic medallist. O'Sullivan is regarded as the most naturally gifted snooker player of his generation, but he is no stranger to black moods.

The fact his father is nearing the end of a 17-year jail term for murdering a former bodyguard to London gangsters the Kray twins may in part explain some of O'Sullivan's social and sporting mis-cues.

But despite finally coming to terms with the 'demons' that sent him from drink to a drying-out clinic then onto Prozac, O'Sullivan says his depression can strike any time.

"When I can't play the bread-and-butter shots that make the game simple, I lose my rhythm and think, 'This ain't good.' All season I've been struggling with them feelings. I become nervous inside because I'm not sure what I'm going to produce next," he told the ‘Guardian’.

Citing the kind of exercise that has pleasure, and not pressure, as the main driving force, O'Sullivan's love affair with running has helped clear his mind.

For Hamilton, that same approach might be necessary now he has retired after last week's news of a positive test for a banned steroid in February - his second such test.

After shooting to fame as part of Lance Armstrong's Tour de France winning team, US Postal, in 1999 and 2000, Hamilton's fall from grace has been steady but now it is final.

... contd.