New javelin world champion Kelsey-Lee Barber did a mighty job filling the Sally Pearson-sized void for Australia at the Doha world athletics championships.
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But looking forward to the Tokyo Olympics and beyond, that needs to be a job for more than one person.
And the good news is that in Matthew Denny and Brandon Starc - and a decorated group who didn't even make it to Doha due to injury - Australia should be much better placed to share the load in 10 months time.
"It is a generational thing," said Australian high performance boss Christian Malcolm.
"It happens to all teams in all sports.
"You have someone (Pearson) who is there, who has been iconic and someone you can depend on and then all of a sudden someone else comes up and puts down their mark.
"Kelsey-Lee Barber had done a fantastic job at these championships, in the manner in which she won and kept a cool head."
In a discipline where athletes don't tend to peak until they near 30, 23-year-old Denny's sixth-placed effort in the discus final - complete with a personal best - deserved a big tick.
After battling a back complaint for much of the year, Commonwealth champ Starc could take plenty from his sixth-placed effort in a high jump competition dominated by local hero Mutaz Essa Barshim.
Youngsters Bendere Oboya (400m), Sarah Carli (400m hurdles) and Jemima Montag (20km walk) also left Doha with their reputations enhanced.
"We had a few good performances, a few finalists, some notable PBs," said Malcolm.
"The most important thing for me is seeing how some of the guys react to the step up at this level."
Then there are those who have already reached that level but missed out on the Doha world titles due to injury.
As superb as Barber has been in the javelin in 2019, it's easy to forget that in Kathryn Mitchell, Australia has someone who has thrown even further as recently as last year.
Mitchell will be 38 by the time the Tokyo Games roll around but is the reigning Commonwealth champion and sits seventh on the world alltime list courtesy of her massive 68.92m in the 2018 Gold Coast final.
Dani Stevens is a two-time world championships medallist who also finished fourth in the women's discus at the Rio Olympics.
Pole vaulters Kurtis Marschall and Nina Kennedy and long jumper Naa Anang would also be welcome additions to the Tokyo Olympics squad once they overcome injury concerns.
"This has been a difficult championships for everyone around the world," said Malcolm, of the Doha world titles, which were pushed back a couple of months to escape the worst summer heat.
"Where this sits in the calendar is a bit challenging for every country.
"In the southern hemisphere you're just starting to go into your season and in the northern hemisphere you're coming to the end of it.
"So our guys who haven't made it, this will give them an extra bit of time to get a bit of work in going into next season.
"I'm pretty confident they can turn it around."
Best Australian performances in Doha
Kelsey-Lee Barber - gold in javelin
Matthew Denny - sixth in discus
Brandon Starc - sixth in high jump.
Australian Associated Press
