The cheering, at least what there was of it, has stopped. The tens of thousands of Osakans who attended the track and field world championships at Nagai Stadium are back to their regular lives.

The world championships failed to take over their city. The fact that this meet did not have a world record may be good news in light of the sport’s long-running problems with doping. The fact that this meet did not have a genuine buzz is probably more problematic.

The world’s second-most important track and field event could not fill a stadium with only 36,000 available seats in an affluent area of nearly nine million people that has excellent public transportation. It seems that the sponsors are more excited than the public about athletics in Asia, although that could change at next year’s Beijing Olympics, when the Chinese star Liu Xiang runs in the 110 m hurdles.

But before the world and Liu leap ahead to 2008, a quick look back at Osaka.

BEST SINGLE
Some medallists make a habit of hogging the glory. But Blanka Vlasic of Croatia, the daughter of a decathlete, made the most of her one event, winning a particularly high-level edition of the women’s high jump. Vlasic is agile for someone who stands 6 feet 2 inches, and she was also tough enough mentally to clear 6-8 ¾ on her third and final attempt.

BEST DOUBLE
Taking into account the heat and the humidity, the nod goes to Kenya, which finally managed to sweep the marathon gold medals. Even with 7 am starts, these were uncommonly brutal tests of endurance and character. While many others failed to finish, Luke Kibet and Catherine Ndereba earned the highest marks.

... contd.