When Tarik Moukrime finished eighth in the 1500m at the European Athletics Championships in Zurich last year, no-one could have known what lie ahead for the Belgian middle-distance runner.
That performance in August looked to be the next step in a progression which had seen him lower his personal best earlier in the summer to 3:35.96.
But then just three months later he was diagnosed with testicular cancer.
At the age of 22, he was now facing a barrier that was tougher than any race around a track.
But last Sunday, less than a year on from his life changing, he made a return to competitive athletics and did so in style with victory over 10km in 30:50 in Liège.
It was at the start of May that he went back into training and the result is a performance that will give him an excellent platform for whatever level of competition he plans in the autumn and winter season upon us.
He trained in Font-Romeu and Kenya and as he said to Le Soir earlier in the year: 'This disease…it's like a time bomb...I had quite a backlash when I realised what had happened. And I had a tendency to confine myself to myself … My goal is to return to the top level.'
His success in Liège is a great start and what a story it would be if he was back in that 1500m final at the European Athletics Championships in Amsterdam in July.
Yet just to run again is proof of how he is winning his battle.