It feels like we had all been looking forward to Pratoni since the curtain came down on Tokyo. The build up as palpable as the previous year and for me personally… The build up had been a little turbulent, with the trip on and off and back in again.

The dust lay around like perfectly sieved black icing sugar, sprinkled across the top of the Pratoni cake… and just about everything and everyone became decorated in it. And it turned out Volcanic dust sticks to everything.

Championships are different gravy; the buzz, the camaraderie in the media centre, the excitement of who will win those coveted medals. It’s so much more important yet so many are just happy to have reached that point. An educated crowd frantically waving their country flags. Anticipation of special moments about to be witnessed first hand.