Bianca Walkden is talking about the day her Olympic world came tumbling down.
Taekwondo’s golden girl was riding the crest of a heavyweight wave in Rio, recently crowned queen of the world and gunning for Games glory after toppling defending champion Milica Mandić in the quarter-finals.
Long-term nemesis Zheng Shuyin was all that stood between Walkden, then 24, and a shot at Olympic nirvana.
But as the three-time world champion remembers, things didn’t go quite to plan.
“Every match to me was like life or death,” Walkden, 29, says. "Each one was getting a little bit closer to the ultimate goal I wanted.
“The semi-final went so quickly. Going in there it was just like: ‘this is it, I’ve got to go in and give my soul trying for this.’ But I lost in sudden death. I remember lying there thinking: ‘I don’t want to do this – I want to go home, to bed and cry.’
“I was absolutely devastated. Words couldn’t describe it – I went into the back room and collapsed onto the floor crying. I didn’t want to move, I didn’t want to be there, I was crying like a little kid and just wanted it to be over and to redo it again.”
At her first ever attempt, Walkden was unable to scale the heights of her Olympic Everest.
But like any great competitor, the two-time European champion dusted herself down, licked her wounds and had to go again.
An Olympic bronze medal – against Morocco’s Wiam Dislam – remained firmly on the table.
And the rest, as Walkden so vividly remembers, is history.
“I totally forgot I had to go out there and fight for my bronze medal again,” she adds.
“It was very difficult – all the teammates and my coach were trying to pick me up and I’ll never forget, my coach said to me: ‘you’ve got to make sure this bronze medal you’re fighting for is like the gold medal. You’ll regret it for the rest of your life if you don’t go out there and give your soul.’
“That changed my attitude around because he was right, I would have absolutely regretted it if I didn’t come back with a medal.
“It still wasn’t quite 100 per cent there – I remember walking out wishing I was in the final and fighting for gold and not bronze.
“But as soon as I won I was so happy – I’d still achieved such an amazing thing.
“Knowing that I was part of this journey and coming out with a bronze medal – I felt a part of something special.”
Walkden’s bronze medal currently sits in her mum’s ‘achievement cupboard’ and forms just one small part of her glittering collection.
The Merseyside star has racked up a stunning three World Championship, two European and five Grand Prix titles but remains acutely aware Games glory is the final box to tick on her bucket list.
Walkden’s training has been largely unaffected by the pandemic as she’s locked down in Manchester with two-time Olympic champion Jade Jones and boyfriend of 14 years – and three-time European king – Aaron Cook.
She’s revelled in indulging her competitive side and can’t wait to take to the mat once more at this month’s European Championships.
Walkden says: “I think I’ve had it luckier than normal in lockdown – I was locked down with a double Olympic champion and a triple European champion, so had some pretty good training partners.
When you still believe in your dream and you have to do whatever it takes to keep fighting 🥇 WE CAN DO THIS @jadejonestkd & @aaroncooktkd #HomeTraining #before&after #olympics #goldmedals #StayHomeSaveLives pic.twitter.com/KnmK0lDe7f
— Bianca Walkden TKD (@BiancaW_tkd) March 23, 2020
“Everything was competitive no matter what we did – we played every game under the sun: Cluedo, Monopoly, Snap, and it got so competitive and everyone had to win every time.
“But having that motivation and competitiveness was a positive out of the whole thing.
“I think having a major competition will let us know where we are at for the Olympics.
“Hopefully I’m in the best shape I can be and can come back with a nice shiny gold medal.”
If any, Walkden’s stunning CV possesses just a solitary blot but the +67kg and +73kg star has a golden opportunity to put that right this summer.
The Rio bronze medallist has fond memories of 2016 and will never forget immersing herself in the Games’ idiosyncrasies in the ‘super-human’ athletes’ village.
She couldn’t be prouder to fly the Team GB flag and hopes soaring to Tokyo gold can cement her legacy as the greatest female heavyweight of them all.
“To represent your country on such a massive stage and scale like the Olympics, and to be part of a journey that is so special and prestigious, is a memory I’ll never forget,” she adds.
“I can’t wait to get out there, do it again and be proud to be part of Team GB.
“For me to become Olympic champion would mean the absolute universe. It’s the last thing I need to tick off my list and achieve greatness, and hopefully I can go out there and die trying.
“If I could tick that last box off, it would make me realise even more than I’ve left a legacy – and can become one of the greatest female heavyweights in the sport.
“Hopefully I can go out there, get that last one and it would put me in that bracket.”