We already knew the quality of Britain’s 4×200 freestyle men by the time the 2017 World Championships rolled around. After all they had won the world title in 2015 and Olympic Silver in 2016. Hopes were high, therefore, that they could retain that gold medal in Budapest.

By the time of the 2006 European Championships it was 7 years since Britain had sent a proper team. In Budapest, a stirring performance from the women’s medley relay team heralded the start of a period of sustained success in that event.

When Alys Thomas mounted her blocks for the final of the 200m butterfly at the 2018 Commonwealth Games as the fastest qualifier, she probably thought she had a great chance of a medal. She may even have thought she could win. What was clear from her reaction at the end of the race was that she clearly didn’t think it would be that good…

Back in 2013, when the ISL was so far fetched as to seem like the wildest of fantasies, we simply didn’t get to see the world’s greatest swimmers going at it head to head in team competition. A dramatic conclusion to the 2013 Duel in the Pool alerted us all to the posssibilities in this format.