Robert Harting, the outspoken champion

Robert Harting knows how to get attention. After winning a competition he rips open his jersey and lets out a roar. After winning the gold medal in the men's discus at the London Olympics in 2012, the British media dubbed him "The Incredible Harting," a reference to the comic-strip figure "The Incredible Hulk."

However, Harting is neither green nor fictitious and it is not anger but ambition that drives him to perform.

He loves the challenge of a one-on-one battle against a strong rival - this is when he is at his best. Such was the case in 2009, when the IAAF World Championships in Athletics were held in Berlin, the city, which Harting now calls home.

The first attempt by his longtime rival, Piotr Malachowski of Poland, was 68.43 meters and in his fifth attempt he increased that mark to 69.15 meters. Then Harting won gold with a toss of 69.43 meters, drawing a loud cheer from the 32,000 spectators in attendance at the German capital's Olympic Stadium.

The 32-year-old Harting thrives on pressure.

"You are only a complete athlete once you have become an Olympic champion," he said prior to the London Games - before going on to win Olympic gold, the only major title that had previously eluded him. It was his 29th consecutive victory. This made Harting the reigning Olympic champion, world champion (2009, 2011, 2013) and European champion (2012, 2014).

"If I don't win gold, my sport will die out," Harting quipped in 2013.

That may sound arrogant, but Harting has never been one to bite his tongue. The International Olympic Committee's (IOC) recent decision against imposing a blanket ban on Russian athletes over widely documented allegations of systematic doping was no exception.

Sharp criticism of IOC President Bach

Speaking at a media event outside of Berlin, Harting told reporters just days before the start of the Rio Games that he blamed IOC President Thomas Bach for the decision.

"As far as I am concerned he is part of the doping system, not the anti-doping system. I am ashamed of him," Harting said. "I have often expressed my disappointment in Thomas Bach, but this is a new dimension of disappointment."

Sometimes, Harting has been known to rub people the wrong way. One of these occasions was when he criticized a protest organized at Berlin's Olympic Stadium, when an organization representing victims of doping in the former East Germany distributed cardboard glasses to shield the spectators' eyes from doped athletes.

"When the discus rises I hope it hits those glasses, then they really won't see anything," Harting said.

However, Harting can also be self-critical and brutally honest, as he was in 2007 when he described the "Hartin of yesteryear" as an "idiot" who as "far too ambitious, ruthless and grim. Actually I couldn't stand myself."

For many years, Harting refused to work with a sports psychologist, but in 2011 he sought help to ward off a looming bout of burnout.

Principled stand

In 2014 Harting had himself removed from the list of candidates for world athlete of the year, in protest against the nomination of US sprinter Justin Gatlin, who has twice been banned from athletics over positive drug tests.

Injury woes

A series of injuries forced the native of Cottbus in eastern Germany to sit out the 2015 athletics season, not taking part in a single event. He made his first appearance at an outdoor event since regaining full fitness at the Diamond League meeting in Rome in early June, but he skipped the European Championships in Amsterdam.

"I just need to use the next few weeks for training in order to be competitive at the Olympics," Harting explained.

However, before this, he captured his ninth German title, beating his younger brother Christoph, to punch his ticket for the summer Olympics - the third of his successful career.