A stunning 2024 season for Liu Yukun made him an obvious recipient of the ISSF Athlete of the Year award.
The 27-year-old had the word "lucky" embroidered onto his uniform during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, but rest assured, there was no such thing for the Chinese athlete.
He would claim the gold medal in the men's 50m rifle 3 positions final, his first elite global title. Finishing top in qualification and overcoming Ukrainian Serhiy Kulish with consistent single standing shots, Liu would become the Olympic champion and celebrated with great emotion.
"There are multiple reasons to my success in last season, and the most important reasons are a strong inner-self and continuous support from my family," said Liu.
"My team reassured me so that I could focus on the competition and obtain a psychological edge over my opponents."
While Liu's Olympic title was the highlight, he was clinical in the ISSF World Cup too. In the back-to-back events in Baku, he would strike gold twice. He would finish fifth in the Munich World Cup too, before placing fourth at the ISSF World Cup Final in New Delhi.
But perhaps his greatest memory this year will be a special day with his wife.
"My greatest achievement outside of competition in 2024 is getting married and starting to build my own small family," said Liu.
"In 2025, I will spend more time with my family - that's another kind of playing field for me where I should work hard for a better future."
2024 truly was the emergence of Liu as the man to beat on the international circuit. While he heads into the new year with great confidence, he looks back on the past 12 months with great gratitude.
"I'm so glad and honoured to be awarded the title," he said.
"My great appreciations go to my family, my country, our team support personnel, and the ISSF for the recognition of me."