However, if today's line up at the Allan & Sylvia Potts Classic track & field meeting is any gauge, then talent certainly isn't the issue.
The other heartening take-home message from the meet at the Hawke's Bay Regional Sports Park, is the back story.
What prompted the annual fixture was the death of Hastings' Sylvia Potts, who passed away in 1999 after a battle with cancer. Despite a stand-out career on the track, she's possibly better known for making a heartbreaking fall just metres short of the tape in the 1500m final of the 1970 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh.
Her husband, athletics talisman Allan Potts, who also died of cancer in 2015, was also an athlete but is remembered more for his endless commitment to nurturing the sport in the younger generations.
Their son, and two-time Commonwealth Games runner, Richard Potts has now taken on the mantle of an event that attracts both stellar talent and some much needed funds for the Hawke's Bay Cancer Society.
Potts junior comes across as someone proud to continue his parents' legacy (see page 2).
Yet the challenges of retaining talent and passion for the track beyond athletes' school years, remains real.
Maybe there's a message in there for Athletics New Zealand.
While local mentoring is a regional strong point, one wonders whether our national body could do more to nurture and develop this talent once athletes leave school.
Walker's win is rated one of the best middle distance races in track history. Who can forget his open-armed response to victory?
A new memory, courtesy of a new track gold almost half a century on, would be a fine thing.