Having won gold at the London 2012 Olympic Games at just 19 years of age, one would assume Jade Jones would approach Rio 2016 with an air of confidence, knowing she had proven on multiple occasions that she was the very best in the business.
So it may come as some surprise to hear that Jones – the first Brit to win taekwondo Olympic gold - more than felt the weight of expectation on her shoulders, something she feared may be detrimental to her title defence.
But there was no doubt in the 23-year-old’s mind that she was going for gold once more in Rio, and making more history in the process.
Jones had lost in the quarter-finals at the last two World Championships but looked nerveless as she picked off competition round by round to face Spain’s Eva Calvo Gomez in the final.
Nicknamed ‘The Headhunter’, she took the lead with two perfectly timed headkicks before Gomez stormed back into the contest.
It was close throughout the second round, but Jones unleashed her signature move once more to win 16-7, a victory that saw her become only the third British woman to ever defend an Olympic crown.
But no sooner had a new shiny medal been placed round her neck, she was looking ahead to the next challenge – becoming the first fighter to ever win a trio of Olympic golds.
“It feels surreal to be honest,” she said in Rio. “It still doesn’t feel real that I won in London so to have done it again is just crazy.
“I think the first time in London it was just pure happiness and like ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe I’ve done it!’.
“I’m so proud of myself because I didn’t realise how much pressure I would feel coming into these Games.
“I started crying before the semi final because I was just so nervous and felt so much pressure. But I pulled it off when it mattered so I’m just so happy.
“I obviously knew I’d feel some pressure as the reigning Olympic champion but I didn’t realise how much it would be.
“I know inside I’m the best but you can still lose so it’s such a scary feeling. You’ve trained for four years of your life, six hours a day, and when it pays off it just feels amazing.
“I’m going to have to go for Tokyo 2020, purely because no-one in the world has ever got three gold medals in taekwondo so I’m already up there with the greats of my sport, but to beat them and get three, that would be incredible.”
Sportsbeat 2016