It is thrilling enough to be the host country for the major athletics event of the summer - and that excitement grows even more as the team gradually starts to be chosen.
Which is the case with Switzerland who have now announced their first names for events to be held at the Letzigrund Stadium when the city stages the European Athletics Championships in Zurich in August.
At the start of May, Swiss Athletics revealed 11 of their 12 marathon runners and they are now joined in the squad by 200m sprinter Lea Sprunger, 800m runner Selina Buchel and pole vaulter Nicole Buchler.
The trio is among 17 men and 25 Swiss women who have reached the qualifying standards and their final team will be between 40 and 45 athletes for the Championships.
The European Athletics Championships take place from 12-17 August and Switzerland are aiming to give the home crowd a magical moment to remember.
Peter Haas, the technical director of Swiss Athletics, said: 'Our goal is and remains that the audience can look forward every day for at least a Swiss highlight.'
Of those selected this week, Sprunger will be part of the Swiss team in Nassau this weekend for the first IAAF World Relays while Buchel had a fine winter, just missing out on a medal at the World Indoor Championships in Sopot when she finished fourth in the final.
Buchler has started the outdoor season in good fashion and is joint-fifth in the European Athletics rankings after her 4.43m at the first Diamond League meeting of the season in Doha just under a fortnight ago.
Along with individual medals in the marathon, the European Marathon Cup will be part of the event at the European Athletics Championships and nations can select a maximum of six runners for each team.
The Swiss athletes chosen so far were named earlier this month and include the defending men’s champion Viktor Röthlin who triumphed when the marathon was last staged at the European Athletics Championships in Barcelona in 2010.
The marathon teams are:
Men
Tadesse Abraham (subject to authorisation), Christian Kreienbuhl, Adrian Lehmann, Michael Ott, Viktor Rothlin, Patrick Wieser.
Women
Patricia Morceli, Maja Neuenschwander, Jasmine Nunige, Nicola Spirig, Martina Strahl.