Two-time world shot put champion David Storl will be seeking a hat-trick of titles in Beijing later this year.
Here the newly crowned European indoor champion gives us a taste of some of the best aspects of his life.
My best friend in athletics
Tomasz Majewski, the two-time Olympic shot put champion from Poland. We have had a lot of competitions together including the 2012 Olympic Games (when Majewski denied Storl the gold by just three centimetres). We have great respect for each other and that is why we have built up such a good friendship.
My best achievement in athletics
I have to say the most important achievements in my career were winning my two world titles in 2011 and 2013. It was very important to me and I was proud to win two in a row.
My greatest disappointment
My answer is no great surprise; it was missing out on the Olympic gold medal to Tomasz Majewski by just 0.03. I led from the first round of the competition only for Tomasz to go ahead of me with his final throw. It was heart-breaking to miss out by such a small margin.
My best rival
It is Ryan Whiting, the US shot putter (two-time world indoor champion), who has thrown a best of 22.28m. I've had many good competitions against him and he always performs to a high level. I think he has a very good technique for a spin thrower and is very consistent. He nearly always throws beyond 21m at every competition.
The best athlete of all time
Ulf Timmerman, the former shot putter and 1988 Olympic champion from Germany (Timmermann stands second on the all-time lists with 23.06m). He had a very good glide technique, which is very impressive for me. I still watch a lot of his videos on YouTube.
My greatest weakness
For me, it is the strength and powerlifting aspect to training. I find it very hard to make improvements in this area.
The best competition venue
The most impressive stadium I have competed in was the London Olympic Stadium. I really enjoyed competing there with so many spectators watching. It was a lot of fun. I also competed in London when I threw my personal best of 21.97m last year. The venue at Horse Guards Parade was also very impressive.
My best achievement outside of athletics
Finishing my education with the German Police because I studied there for four years.
My best ever throw
My PB throw last year in London. It was a very fast throw with good technique. I was very happy with this throw. There were no shot put markings in the competition area, so it made it quite hard to judge exactly how far I'd thrown it, but I knew it was a long distance.
My greatest indulgence
I'm a big fan of Scotch whisky. Sometimes too much, but not before a competition. I like Bowmore 18 whisky the best.
Steve Landells for the IAAF
