Kyle Langford nearly produced a stunning and shock bronze medal with a storming run in the 800m final at the World Championships.
The days since the dominance of British men over middle distances are long over but Langford so nearly became the first since Peter Elliott, 30 years ago, to win a world medal.
Few considered him a podium prospect before these Games, arriving in the capital ranked 38th in the world.
But the 21-year old brims with self-belief and while others congratulated him on a valiant display - rewarded with another personal best - he admitted to feeling only disappointment.
And he vows next time he'll have no regrets, after his 1:45.25 time left him just four hundredths of a second off the podium.
"I've got a mentality that says I want to win everything," he said, after the race won by France's Pierre-Ambroise Boose.
"Perhaps you could say I would have taken fourth a few months ago but I wanted a medal and I'm gutted.
"I told my coach in the winter that I'd make the final and then pull out something special. I came here to win and I was so, so close. I need to take it on the chin and just learn from the experience.
"It was a scrappy race and perhaps I left it too late but I won't be making the same mistake come Tokyo 2020, I can promise you I'll be getting that gold.
"I'm only 21 and I've got lots of time. I'm a confident athlete and I'm just driving for that ultimate goal. I know a lot of people said making the final was good but in bed last night I thought it was destiny for me to get a medal."
At least, it saved his parents a few quid - they'd promised free fish and chips from the family-run chippy in Watford if he made the podium.
“I think they would have taken me getting a medal over free chips but hopefully everyone in Watford will still go to the chippy," he added.
Elsewhere, team captain Eilidh Doyle booked her place in the women's 400m hurdles final and insists anything could happen as she seeks to improve on her fifth and sixth place finish at recent World Championships.
At last year's Olympics - where she finished eighth - she had an anxious wait to find out about her qualification. But, running in the final semi-final, she quickly learned that her 55.33s time, good enough for third in her race, was just enough.
"With hurdles anything can happen," said Doyle, though Olympic champion, American Dalilah Muhammad, again looks the one to beat.
"It’s just who executes the best race on the night, who gets the strides right, who nails the hurdles and who doesn’t make mistakes.
"It always is an opportunity, making the final, but the hurdles has been wide open this year.
It’s been so close that you could run a PB and not make the final, or you could win a medal.
"I knew the times didn’t seem to be too fast out there. I wanted to get top two, but I knew that if I ran as fast as I could I still knew I could sneak in.
"It could be anybody’s, but at least I’ve put myself in there so I can be in contention to do that."
And there was more British success in the women's 200m heats as Dina Asher-Smith, still making her comeback from a broken foot earlier in the year, ran a season's best of 22.73s to win her heat.
Compatriot Bianca Williams will also line up in the semi-finals after qualifying as the fastest loser, but there will be no third Brit in the next round after Shannon Hylton could only finish fourth in her heat.
Sportsbeat 2017