Meteoric highs and devastating lows, British taekwondo hero Lutalo Muhammad has been through it all.
And - barring one specific TV interview - he has managed to keep his instantly recognisable grin intact throughout.
Renowned as one of the nicest guys on the circuit, the 29-year-old has a lot to smile about, with two Olympic medals and a European gold contributing to a CV that makes him the most successful male in British taekwondo history.
Having claimed bronze in his home city of London back in 2012, Muhammad went one better four years later, albeit in the most heart-breaking fashion - a last-second reverse turning kick denying him gold.
As part of Team GB’s Moments That Made Me podcast, Muhammad spoke to Radzi Chinyanganya and told him about the moments that have come to define him as an athlete.
The full conversation is available on the Moments That Made Me podcast, in association with the University of Hull, and is available on iTunes, Google, Spotify and SoundCloud.
Simply search Team GB wherever you get your podcasts from and you’ll find the Moments That Made Me podcast.
Moment One - First international medal
Muhammad had started to make waves on the junior taekwondo circuit since becoming one of the youngest people in the UK to gain a black belt aged nine, and seven years on he really came of age.
Just 16 - and still a junior - the Walthamstow-born athlete travelled to the German Open - considered one of the most prestigious events in the taekwondo calendar - and shocked everyone en route to the final.
But Muhammad refused to settle for silver, and demonstrated a new-found mental strength to emerge victorious in Hamburg, which he believes laid the foundations for his future success.
“I went into that tournament as a rookie - it was the biggest stage I’d ever been on and nothing was really expected of me,” Muhammad said.
“I remember I just kept going through the rounds without it ever really dawning on me that I could win - until I reached the final. Then, it was as if I decided I was going to win.
“The final was against a really strong German fighter - I think he was world No.1 at the time - and I managed to come out on top, from nowhere.
“That tournament gave me a new level of confidence, because I knew now that I could not only mix it with the best in the world but I could beat them as well.
“I think 2008 was a very formative year, because as well as achieving personal success, I saw Sarah Stevenson win bronze at the Beijing Games - GB’s first-ever taekwondo Olympic medal.
“Knowing that I was at the standard to win tournaments and that the next Games were going to be in London really gave me a focus and fast-tracked my life, for sure.”
Moment two - Rio heartbreak
For Muhammad’s second defining moment, we fast forward all the way to the Rio Olympics in 2016, where he was considered among the favourites for gold having claimed bronze four years earlier.
Merely landing in Brazil was a relief for the-then world number four - having battled injury that had threatened his Olympic place - but he looked at the peak of his powers as he stormed to the showpiece finale against Ivory Coast’s Cheick Sallah Cisse.
Muhammad said: “Standing on the podium in London and seeing what it meant to the gold medallist [Argentina’s Sebastián Crismanich], I was so inspired to go for gold in Rio. I was fit, I’d got over my injury and everything seemed destined for glory.
“I’d arguably beaten the favourite in the semi-final [Azerbaijan’s Milad Beigi Harchegani], and I was most people’s choice to win the gold.
“I felt in control going into the final ten seconds and I can remember hearing the crowd counting down. I heard the ‘one’ and I remember thinking it was the longest second ever, and then in that moment he scored and suddenly the gold medal was gone.”
In the immediate moments after such a painful defeat, Muhammad couldn’t hide his emotions while being interviewed live on the BBC.
He said: “Even though I was in a stadium of 10,000 people, it was such a cold and lonely feeling. The emotion I showed in the interview was just exactly how I was feeling - there wasn’t time to put a filter on it.
“I felt I’d let my supporters, Great Britain and myself down. Then to have to stand on the podium again and see someone else take the gold was hard, and it brings back emotions even now.
“But I soon realised that life goes on and I think Rio was an important lesson for me. It was one of the most painful defeats possible and it showed me that I can bounce back and I’m now more determined to make sure I don’t have to feel pain like that again.”
Moment three - Proving himself in London
Four years earlier Muhammad was preparing for his Olympic debut in his home city, yet his preparations hadn’t been quite as he had dreamed growing up just a few miles away from the Olympic Stadium in Stratford.
Much to the dismay of many, Muhammad was picked ahead of then world number one Aaron Cook - who later went on to represent Moldova - in the -80kg category for the London Games.
“It was a dream to be picked for a home Olympics, but I wasn’t prepared for the media backlash,” Muhammad said. “There was hate mail - some of which was very racist - and I felt pretty isolated.
“I trained with a speaker playing jeers and boos so I could be mentally prepared if that’s how the crowd were going to react to me, which was quite tough in my home city, just around the corner from where I grew up.”
Fortunately, Muhammad was greeted by a hugely warm welcome, which inspired him all the way to a bronze medal, despite a quarter-final defeat to eventual silver medallist Nicolás García.
He said: “I was devastated to lose in the quarter-finals because it just provided ammunition to the haters, and my immediate reaction was one of dejection. But, my coaches sat me down and told me to treat the bronze medal as the new gold in the repechage, and something just clicked in my head.
“That was another low period from which I was able to bounce back stronger and it’s helped me believe that the more bumps in the road you have, the more beautiful the last chapter is going to be.”
Sportsbeat 2020