Teenager Greg Rutherford showed there is light at the end of the tunnel for British long jumping as he won Great Britain's first medal - a silver - at the European Championships.
His older team-mates Nathan Morgan and Chris Tomlinson have hinted at potential to succeed at world-class level, but have failed to produce the big jumps when it has mattered most.
On Tuesday in Gothenburg Rutherford showed he is the man for the future.
The 19-year-old from Milton Keynes, who won last summer's European junior title, has matured tremendously since that success.
After injuries and some erratic form, everything came together in Gothenburg's Ullevi Stadium as Rutherford clinched the silver medal with his closing leap.
Lying third after a second-round effort of 8.03metres, he saved his best for last with a jump of 8.13m.
The clearance fell short of his recent personal best of 8.26m, but it significantly took him a centimetre clear of Russia's Oleksiy Lukashevych.
It also meant Rutherford finished just seven centimetres behind world junior champion Andrew Howe, who won the gold medal for Italy.
Not since Lyn Davies took silver in 1969, in Budapest, had a British athlete won a long-jump medal at the European Championships.
Davies, also the 1964 Olympic champion and 1966 European gold medallist, presented Rutherford with his medal.
"I wanted a silver - even the gold," said Rutherford, reflecting on his thoughts ahead of his final leap.
"I'm chuffed with that - I don't think people thought I could hack the pressure."
Rutherford had finished a disappointing last at the SPAR European Cup in June, and he added: "People saw me as up-and-coming and didn't think I was mature enough.
"This proves I can go out and do it. This is so much more enjoyable, I'm loving it."
A former Aston Villa trialist, Rutherford's great-grandfather Jock Rutherford played 11 international football matches for England between 1904-08.
Tomlinson and Morgan - on a night when they were completely overshadowed by Rutherford - failed to make the the last eight cut, finishing ninth and 11th with distances of 7.74m and 7.65m.
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