Three Commonwealth medals, four European titles and a new world record in the 50m breaststroke are among a glittering list of achievements made by 19-year-old British swimmer Adam Peaty this year.
The Uttoxeter-born athlete burst onto the elite stage in 2014 and showed why he is likely to be tipped as one of the main prospects for gold at the Rio Olympics in two years' time.
As well as snatching honours in the pool, the teenager, who clinched three silvers and a new British record in the world short-course championships in Doha, is one of 10 nominees for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award.
Last month, Sports Mole caught up with Peaty to discuss his success in the major meets of the season and how he's been proving his critics wrong.
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Firstly, congratulations on being nominated for Sports Personality of the Year. How did you feel when you found out?
"Absolutely amazing! It's one of those things you grow up watching and you think 'can I actually be that kind of profile up there?'. Thankfully I have and I woke up the other day and thought, 'right, this is actually becoming a dream'."
On social media you gave a special thank you to the people who doubted you - have you experienced that quite a lot through your career?
"Yeah, there's always people out there who want you to fail, there's always people out there who want you not to succeed in your dreams. There's always people who will doubt you. At school when I've gone swimming, people would say, 'you'll never really make a living off it or make anything out of it'. It fuels me every time I'm in the pool, it fuels me every time when I'm just swimming up and down. It's great to prove them wrong."
You've had an amazing year - if we look back at the Commonwealth Games, you got two golds and a silver. What were you realistically hoping for heading into Glasgow?
"Heading into Glasgow, realistically I wanted a medal. In the 100m breaststroke I knew Christian Sprenger, Olympic silver medallist, was in there so I knew it was going to be hard to get a medal, but thankfully I overcame those kind of fears and went to perform my best for the country."
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You continued your winning run at the European Championships. Was it quite easy for you to handle big competitions back-to-back like that?
"Yeah, definitely. I've been a lot more relaxed than I would have been this time last year - it's just become second nature. I know what to do, I know how to perform and it's great to have that kind of experience behind me."
You set a new world record in the 50m breaststroke. You came close to it at the Commonwealths, so was the possibility of setting a new record already in your mind heading into Berlin?
"There was always a possibility that I could go there and do it. Even if I did make the semi or the final in the 200m breaststroke, I was going to pull out because I wanted the world record in the 50m. I went in there believing I could get it and I did."
What kind of tactics and training methods were you focused on during preparation for the meets this year?
"I've done a lot more of the same like last year, but with more intensity. I've been doing a massive winter block now to keep my aerobic fitness up and then from January I'll be doing a lot of anaerobic stuff to keep my anaerobic tank full. Coming down that last 50m, hopefully I'll have enough stamina and enough speed to hold on."
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Due to your success so far and the fact that you're only 19, do you feel pressure to keep that run going?
"Not at all. I'm kind of a simple guy, so I don't really overthink anything. I'm not too worried about anything. At the end of the day, it's an opportunity and it's about making the most of the opportunity, which I will, and perform to my best."
Do you think that you'll take that same kind of attitude to Rio 2016, because you'll definitely be talked about as one of the main prospects? Do you want that kind of pressure or would you rather go under the radar?
"I think it's always good to be under the radar, but even if I am one to tip and win it, it doesn't really get to me. It fuels me in a way. I don't really understand pressure, I don't really get it that much, but it's good to have quite a bit of pressure on you, just not too much. It's about getting the balance right."
It's clear how much all of you within the British team support one another. Even though you're all naturally competitive as swimmers, would you say that there's a strong camaraderie between you all?
"Yeah definitely. We're all there for each other, we're there to perform as a country. We came together at Europeans and Commonwealths to perform as a nation and we came out and did even better."
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We spoke to Siobhan O'Connor recently and she described you and Ross Murdoch as two of the most talented swimmers that she's ever seen. It does feel like this year you've really burst onto the scene at an elite level, does it feel like that for you? Like it's all happened at once?
"Yeah, Siobhan herself is a really, really talented swimmer and we have come on quite far quite fast. It is really nice to have that compliment behind you but it's all about progressing on and moving it all on and not looking behind."
Finally, you've got more competitions ahead and it's still two years away, but do you let yourself think about Rio yet?
"It is a little bit too far at the moment, but I keep reminding myself now and then of it. It's one of those things that's always in the back of everyone's minds, but I'm going to focus on getting a really good season behind me before Rio."
Danielle Joynson
