Lutalo Muhammad’s bounceback from Olympic heartbreak started in the mixed zone.
He upgraded London 2012 bronze to silver in Rio but fell seconds short of gold in the last second of taekwondo’s weltwerweight final.
A BBC interview shortly after his defeat where the Walthamstow star was reduced to tears then went viral.
But that helped to fast-track Muhammad’s rehabilitation, allowing him to convey - and others to understand - the sheer depth of his disappointment.
“I think the first thing is just to have that period of time to be honest and open about your disappointment,” he said, on The SportsAid Vault podcast.
“I think one of the major benefits to me having an interview that went viral after I lost the Olympic final was that it was almost a sort of therapy in a way, because I was able to just express my emotions and get my disappointment out, or not even disappointment, my devastation out.
“I just remember the feeling. It was like the earth was going to crumble from underneath me and I was going to sink in. It was really a trying time.”
Muhammad believes he reached the peak of his powers in 2016, the Games where he and his father had planned for Olympic glory.
A testament to the man, he recognised the bigger picture and his inadvertent role in spreading the sport.
“I got to see Cheick Cisse, my opponent from the Ivory Coast go home to the capital city and the entire country stopped,” he recalled.
“I saw what it did for him, and I saw what it did for his nation. And honestly, that made me feel happy.
“I saw what it did for the continent of Africa. Taekwondo, my sport, is now a major sport on the continent. And I think deep down when I was watching, I thought, you know what, that is the bigger picture.
“Now African nations are a major force in this combat sport now. So, seeing the bigger picture, seeing what it can do for somebody, a nation, a continent, which is the perspective. Seeing that bigger picture was my silver lining.”
A lifelong devotee of the Olympics, Muhammad would compare his achievements to those of Games heroes like Michael Johnson and Linford Christie.
And it was only in the latter stages of his career, one that saw him become the most successful male in British taekwondo history, that he recognised how counterproductive those comparisons were.
“I remember when I got bronze or silver, I was just so angry at myself,” he said.
“Oh, my gosh, I am ruining it. I have not got a perfect record like Johnson; I have not got a gold medal like Linford. I really was hard on myself.
“And narrative changed in my head when I was like, well hold on. That is their story. This is my story. This is my journey.
“It is not perfect, but it is mine. And that is when I really started to appreciate and have gratitude for what I did. That was powerful for me.”
Sportsbeat 2022