The first two saw huge upsets. The American Jamaica-born favourite, the glamorous Sanya Richards who is celebrated for winning her races in the middle stretch, was overpowered in the home stretch and relegated to bronze medal place, with Britain’s Christine Ohuruogu and Jamaican Shericka Williams taking gold and silver. Fortune favours those who make the most of it, and Williams certainly did, winning her medal by running a personal best (49.69 seconds, against Ohuruogu’s 49.62 and Richards’s 49.93).

In the 100m hurdles, the favourite, American Lolo Jones, embodiment of the American dream with her rags to university scholarship story, hit the ninth hurdle and saw six hurdlers go past her. Her compatriot, Dawn Harper, won the race with a personal best of 12.54, with Australian Sally McLellan taking the silver in a photo-finish with the abundantly ecstatic Priscilla Lopes-Schliep (12.64).

But the ladies were beaten to the press conference by the middle-distance runners. The volunteer on duty said the women had either been caught up in long media interactions elsewhere or were still at the doping control centre. (The Americans must be wondering about that. Richards had last week raised her eyebrows at the fact that Ohuruogu was in Beijing at all, after having served a one-year ban for missing doping tests.)

The new men’s 1500m Olympic champion, who takes the crown from the legendary Moroccon, Hicham El Guerrouj, should have been happy to finish the media tasks of the day earlier than expected. Bahrain’s Rashid Ramzi, also Morocco-born, says he is still wondering whether to attempt an El Guerrouj-like 1500/5000m double because his body clock still has not adjusted to Beijing time. With Bahrain the time difference is seven hours, and so, “I have problems sleeping.”

Maybe someone needed to wake him up and tell him that in his sleep-affected state he did win (3:32.94).

Nineteen-year-old Asbel Kipruto Kiprop had kept up the lead with fellow Kenayan Augustine Kiprono Choge, but had to settle for silver (3:33.11) after Ramzi ran a blistering last 200m. Nicholas Willis surprised everybody, including by all evidence himself, by cheerfully taking bronze (3:34.16). In a track press room that sounds more and more like a cricket conclave, with Jamaican reporters dominating it as charismatically as their sprinters have Beijing’s Bird’s Nest, Willis said his win showed the growing geographical spread of competitors in middle-distance races.

But clearly everybody wants to be Jamaican these days. Estonia’s Gerd Kanter, who had taken the discus gold earlier in the night and so is obviously a big man, grabbed his national flag and suddenly ran the 100m, finishing it up with an Usain Bolt-like archer’s gesture. By the crowd’s cheer, it is obvious they want more.

And they may get it on Wednesday. In his 200m semi-final Bolt too appeared to be running just the 100m, slowing down dramatically in the second half. Of course, he won his race, making his 200m final Wednesday night exceptionally awaited.

The Bird’s Nest has not hummed like it did when Bolt ran his oddly comical 100m world record. What he would do if he did deliver on expectations and break the 200m world record is difficult to imagine. If you have to choose just one event to watch in the remaining days of the Beijing Olympics, it should be Bolt’s race.

That is, of course, after checking out the fate of Bhiwani boxers Jitender and Vijender Kumar earlier on Wednesday night.