The Paris 2024 Olympic Games saw glory across all disciplines from all corners of the globe, but who was the best of the best?
Sheng Lihao is undeniable in men's 10m air rifle final
Chinese athletes were stealing the headlines during the Olympics in Chateauroux, particularly due to an exciting cohort of teenagers who will be looking to keep the nation's dominance rolling for years to come.
Perhaps the most impressive of them was Sheng Lihao who could already be considered one of the favourites for gold at the age of 19, having claimed the silver medal at just 16 years old in Tokyo three years ago.
While Sheng eked their way into the final in Japan in the last qualifying spot, this time around it was hard to find a way to stop him. He ended qualification in first place and from there, never lost his lead.
He would open up the final with a first series score of 53.4 and remained the shooter to beat for the first of the competition. Another youngster in world champion Victor Lindgren from Sweden, was in great form too, yet could never get close enough to the leader.
Sheng swatted away the Swede, Miran Maricic and Arjun Babuta at different stages who all aimed to dethrone them. Testament to their quality, Sheng would break the Olympic record with a score of 252.2, only 0.6 off the world record set by his compatriot Yu Haonan in 2019.
Oh Ye-jin comeback leads to impressive Olympic record
Amongst the virality of Kim Ye-ji and the frenzy behind the nation of India for their golden girl Manu Bhaker, some may have suffered from oversight when recognising the achievements of Oh Ye-jin.
Just like Sheng Lihao, Oh was just 19 on the day of the women's 10m air pistol final and although a candidate for gold, was not running with the momentum she enjoyed in 2023 where she won the Asian title, silver at the Junior World Championships and the ISSF World Cup event in Jakarta.
That level of success was not as prominent in the Olympic year, yet Oh showed what she is capable on her best day.
In qualification, she finished with Veronika Major on the highest score of 582, and would take an early lead in the final.
However, just as Oh was gaining momentum, she lost it with one of the lowest-scoring series, with a total of 18.7, in the entire final. Her compatriot Kim and Bhaker were now ahead and she had to perform at her utmost best to have a chance of becoming the Olympic champion.
The response was immediate, with Oh scoring 21.1 - the best score of the final - from a possible 21.6. With two more exceptional scores of 20.2 and 20.8, she retook the lead. From then, her scores remained above 20 and by the last shots - where she faced Kim for gold - she had a comfortable cushion. Even with that low score early in the final, she was able to break the Olympic record with a total of 243.2.
Xie Yu performs under pressure on way to men's 10m air pistol glory
They say it is all about performing when it matters the most. That separates the champions from the rest.
Xie Yu was staring elimination in the face after four series in qualification. Scores of 94 and 96 meant there was very little room for error for the Chinese athlete going into the last two series.
He followed those up with a 97 and 98. As he rose, the likes of Sarabjot Singh, Pavlo Korostylov, Yusuf Dikec and Cho Yeong-jae faltered and failed to make the final. Xie made the final by two shots in the end.
Xie started the final well, sitting third behind the Italian pair Federico Nilo Maldini and Paolo Monna early on and continued to trail with just four athletes left in the competition.
While he was the closest to elimination with Korea's Lee Won-ho, he would outscore his opponents, jumping from third to first. From there, with the momentum on his side, Xie pulled away from the Italians, with Maldini claiming silver and Monna taking bronze.
Just when he looks out of the game, he just kept finding a way to keep fighting back.
Ban shows nerve beyond her years in women's 10m air rifle event
At just 16 years old, Ban Hyo-jin became the youngest woman to win an Olympic gold medal in shooting sport when she was victorious in the women's 10m air rifle final, but you could be fooled by her experience considering how strong her performance was.
To qualify for the final, Ban set a new Olympic record with a total of 634.5 - not too far away from Han Jiayu's world record.
In that final, the field looked wide open in the early stages, but it soon became a two-way showdown between Ban and Huang Yuting. After the Chinese led after more than half of the shots, Ban would take the lead and looked on her way to secure the gold heading into the final two shots. With a rare mistake, the Korean would lose the 1.3 lead she had and Huang was able to equalise.
Both athletes had equalled the Olympic record of Yang Qian, and now they faced a shoot-off, and Ban would outscore Huang by 10.4 to 10.3. All just at the age of 16.
Speaking of age, Ban was joined by the 17-year-old Huang and the 21-year-old Audrey Gogniat from Switzerland on the podium, making it one of the youngest podiums at the Olympic Games this year.
With six of the eight finalists being 21 and under, it was a true sign of shooting being a sport full of youth.
Hales near-perfect on way to men's trap title
Britain had been without an Olympic trap title since 1968 when John Braithwaite won in Mexico City, matching the Olympic record.
Nathan Hales had a Games to remember as he finished second in qualification following an unsuccessful attempt to beat Qi Ying of China to top spot in the shoot-off, before impressing in the final.
From the first series, Hales led the way, missing only one of his first 25 targets. He would miss just one other target on his way to the gold medal, finishing with a total of 48, a new Olympic record.
Particularly impressive was Hales' consistency. He would strike 18 targets down in a row at the end, holding off an impressive Qi who also bested the old Olympic record.
It was a perfect case of Hales peaking when it mattered the most - he was just one shot shy of his world record, which he achieved at the 2023 ISSF World Cup in Lonato.