But with a projected total of 20 Olympic champions participating in an edition of this competition that has been delayed by COVID-19 for two years - with the planned hosts of 2020, Nanjing, now due to host in 2023 - that is likely to be the case.

Poland enjoyed the 2017 event most of all in terms of gold medals, topping the table with seven, while Britons also enjoyed themselves as they earned five titles, with Scotland’s Laura Muir contributing victories in the 1500 and 3,000 metres.

The hosts won just one medal. But it was a gold, and it was earned through one of the most extraordinary performances of the Championships as Ivana Španović, who had secured an Olympic long jump bronze in Rio de Janeiro the previous summer with a national record of 7.08 metres, surpassed herself.

Her third-round effort of 7.24m, book-ended by efforts of 7.16m and 7.17m, put her third on the all-time indoor list behind Russia’s Galina Chistyakova, who recorded 7.30 in 1989, and East Germany’s Heike Drechsler, who set the world indoor record of 7.37m in 1988.

The Belgrade Arena reverberated with so much home noise that the ears buzzed as their girl turned golden; she will be competing again in her native capital this weekend, under her married name of Vukova, as she defends the title she won four years ago in Birmingham.

Španović, improved her national outdoor record to 7.10m in September 2016, but that is only enough to rank her joint-37th on the all-time outdoor list.

Bronze medals at the Olympics, the World Championships - twice - and a gold and silver in the European Championships speak for a hugely effective outdoor talent. But the fact remains that four of her five golds have been won indoors, given that she has now won three consecutive European indoor titles.

Which makes the anticipation of what the 30-year-old will produce this weekend all the keener.

In terms of the history of the World Athletics Indoor Championships, since they began as the 1985 World Indoor Games in Paris, the male and female athletes who have accrued the largest amount of gold medals have been anything but indoor specialists.

Maria Mutola of Mozambique holds the women’s record with seven golds, one silver and one bronze between 1993 and 2008, all in the 800m. But she also earned Olympic gold and bronze, plus three outdoor world titles in the same event.

As far as the leading men’s medal winners are concerned - Cuba’s Javier Sotomayor and Ivan Pedroso - the same holds true.

Sotomayor, the winner of four high jump golds, a silver and a bronze between 1985 and 1999, secured Olympic gold and silver, as well as two outdoor world titles, and his outdoor world record of 2.45 metres has stood since 1993.   

Pedroso, who won five consecutive world indoor long jump titles between 1993 and 2001, was similarly unerring outdoors, winning one Olympic and four world titles.

That said, one can certainly identify athletes for whom World and European Indoor Championships have proved particularly fruitful over the years.

For some it is the case that the shorter sprint distance of 60 metres suits them better than the 100 metres.

Nelli Cooman of The Netherlands was a clear example. This powerful, 1.59m - 5ft 3in - athlete dominated the shortest sprint in the second half of the 1980s and early 1990s, winning the 1987 and 1989 world indoor titles over 60m, as well as six European indoor golds.

She earned European outdoor bronze over 100m in 1986, but her best time of 11.08sec ranks her at joint 205th on the all-time list, while her 60m best of 7.00 was a world record in 1986 and still stands her 11th in the all-time list.

One place above her in that list is Poland’s Ewa Swoboda, who is rounding into the form of her life as she comes into the Belgrade 2022 Championships, having run 6.99 in Torun on March 5.

Swoboda’s 100m best of 11.07 rates her only 193rd on the all-time world list, whereas her Torun effort has put her 1oth on the all-time list for the women’s 60m.

The fast-starting 24-year-old from Zory has had her most notable successes so far on the boards, having won European indoor silver in the 2017 Belgrade edition, followed by gold two years later in Glasgow.

When it comes to distances contested on the indoor oval rather than the central straight, certain athletes have had marked success on the tighter bends of the 200m circuit, notably in the 400m, where getting to the halfway point ahead is often crucial.

Welsh runner Jamie Baulch, a chunky 1.75m - 5ft 9in - 400m specialist, won Olympic silver, world gold and two European golds as part of the British 4x400m relay team, but his individual triumphs came indoors, with a gold and two silvers at the World Indoors.

Baulch’s high point came at the 1999 World Indoors in Maebashi, where he bustled his way to the front as the runners broke from their lanes and dominated the race from thereonin, finishing in 45.73 with Milton Campbell of the United States second in 45.99.

In more recent years the specialism in that event has been demonstrated most effectively by Pavel Maslák of the Czech Republic, who, despite winning a European outdoor gold and silver over 400 metres, has been most productive indoors, where he secured European indoor golds in 2013, 2015 and 2017 and world indoor golds in 2014, 2016 and 2018.

The latter title came after he had finished in third place behind the first two men home, Oscar Husillos of Spain and Luguelin Santos of the Dominican Republic, were disqualified for stepping out of their lanes.

The good news for athletics fans is that, at 31, Maslák is back once again to defend his title in Serbia, and you wouldn’t bet against this wily and experienced performer finding the way to reach the podium once more.

Such are some of the particular charms and fascinations of indoor athletics…