The headlines may have been dominated by Ariarne Titmus at the world short course swimming titles in China.
But the feelgood story was Thomas Fraser-Holmes, who has been hailed by Australian head coach Jacco Verhaeren as the "one to watch" in 2019 after launching a stirring comeback in the pool.
Verhaeren admitted 18-year-old Titmus had finally announced her international arrival with two gold and a world record at the short course titles in the 25m pool at Hangzhou which wrapped this week.
However, the name Verhaeren toasted in their post-titles team meeting was Fraser-Holmes after claiming 400m individual medley silver in his first international event since emerging from a 12 month ban.
"We had a short team meeting after the meet and he was a highlight," Verhaeren told AAP.
"He came back from a difficult time, a challenging time. Most of the year he was training on his own because he couldn't be coached or be part of our program.
"To see him return with a medal is absolutely exceptional."
It was a remarkable effort by ex-Commonwealth Games champion Fraser-Holmes who had been forced to train by himself until mid-2018 after copping the year-long suspension for missing three doping tests in 12 months.
But Verhaeren reckoned it may only be scratching the surface after seeing the 27-year-old return with renewed focus in China.
"It is great to see all that work has paid off for him. He has turned the corner in many areas," he said.
"He has shown he is still great in the medley but also showed form in 200m freestyle."
Dutch master coach Verhaeren seemed to be counting down the days until former Pan Pacs gold medallist Fraser-Holmes appeared at his next major meet - April's world titles selection trials in Adelaide.
"He needs a bit more racing to get to a higher level, he needs to get that competition toughness," he said.
"But he is getting better every race. I look forward to seeing what he can do at trials.
"He is one to watch because he is very committed and very passionate - let's hope he makes the long course team."
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