In the end, the man with the accidental mullet came up just short in his quest for gold as Kieran Reilly had to settle for silver in the BMX freestyle.
It was originally a haircut gone wrong but Reilly kept it anyway, rode at the World Championships and won gold.
It became his lucky charm for every competition since but wasn’t quite enough to give him the gold on the biggest stage, the Olympics, denied by a single point by the Argentinian Jose Torres Gil.
Reilly felt like he’d done enough to win on his Games debut lifting his hands aloft in celebration but then the doubts came in, gesticulating in prayer that the judges landed on his side.
He improved on his first-round score but he couldn’t better Gil’s first outing and one of the earliest of the hour-long competition.
It marked the latest chapter in the journey of the Gateshead lad, who grew up with a football field and skatepark just outside his front door.
At the age of nine, after years of imploring, his parents bought him his first BMX bike and he likened it to love at first sight, initially making a name for himself with YouTube clips and then shining in competitions, most notably the World Championships.
In scorching heat, he did well to complete two high-scoring rounds in the 93s.
In contrast, French favourite Anthony Jeanjean, usually so reliable, fell on his opening run and, while he moved into the bronze medal position, he hung his head in his hands as the outcome of the competition became official in front of his home crowd.
There were a number of fallers, among them the defending champion Logan Martin from Australia, who ended up well outside the medal positions.
At 23, Reilly will likely have another opportunity to go for Olympic gold in four years’ time in Los Angeles.
He prides himself of doing tricks never seen before as the first man to produce a triple flair but the man with the tattoo of a tiger on his back come up just short.
