The Podium: Was Beijing the dawn of athletics' revival?

As the IAAF World Championships descended on Beijing, the future of the sport hinged on one man: Usain Bolt. Could he perform a near-impossible operation and save athletics’ soul?

The early indication was no, he couldn’t. Controversial sprint rival Justin Gatlin was flying in the 100 metres preliminaries, while swathes of unsold tickets hinted at a repeat of Daegu 2011 and Moscow 2013 – empty seats, a disinterested public.

Had the Chinese capital banged the gavel, refusing to pay attention while the integrity of the sport was in doubt? Was the latest batch of doping revelations a final blow?

Fortunately, there was reprieve. A triumphant return to the Bird’s Nest, home of the 2008 Olympics, saw the home crowd quickly warm to the championships, cramming in to see Bolt snatch another sprint crown. But the Jamaican was correct. He alone couldn’t save the sport. It needed other athletes to step forward. And boy did they…

Christian Taylor’s flirtation with Jonathan Edwards’ triple jump world record; Jessica Ennis-Hill’s return to the heptathlon summit; YouTube-inspired Julius Yego’s longest javelin throw in 14 years; Almaz Ayana breaking rising distance queen Genzebe Dibaba over 5000m; Aston Eaton crushing his decathlon world best; Blanka Vlasic’s near-miss with the high jump title; Mo Farah adding another long-distance double; Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce moving towards athletics immortality; Greg Rutherford defying his critics once more. This was much, much more that Bolt.

As for the home audience, perhaps the defining image wasn’t any of the above. On the final day of action, with little Chinese interest in the 4x400m relays, attention was fixed on the high jump apron and javelin runway. Zhang Guowei and Lu Huihui were their stars – the former striking a crane pose with each successful soar, the latter crushing the Asian record.

Ultimately, both were denied top spot in heart-breaking circumstances. Zhang was edged out in a gold medal jump-off; Lu was overtaken with the final throw of the competition. But it didn't matter. The championships were a huge success and not every silver medal was rued by the host nation. A deafening roar greeted United States’ disqualification in the 4x100m relay, a call that promoted China into second spot behind Jamaica.

Even Gatlin, public enemy no.1 following his drugs bans, handled himself with decency – arrogance toned down, a seemingly gracious loser.

There's no point kidding ourselves that a complete spectrum of clean performances occurred. According to pre-event claims, a huge chunk of competitors could have slipped under the doping radar and onto the podium. That's for Sebastian Coe's new era at the IAAF to quickly start addressing.

For it was folly to suggest Bolt could save the sport on his own. Everyone striving for a clean sport has to chip in, even if it means shaming global stars and hindering the sport further. In reality, Beijing was about the lesser stars who stepped up and reminded the world why athletics is the jewel of the Olympics.

- - -

‘I’ve got the perfect shot: the champion lapping up the applause on his lap of honour. Just keep that camera steady. Hang on… Why am I veering right? Please stop. I’m going to hit him… Oh no.’

It was the viral hit of the championships. A Segway-roaming cameraman colliding with Usain Bolt moments after the Jamaican had wrapped up his fourth consecutive 200m title.

Still, the Jamaican got a friendship bracelet out of it. A worthy winner of this week's most awkward moment.

- - -

Usain Bolt on the above Segway incident…

Gatlin’s response?

Introducing the most pointless lap of honour in history...

Mare Dibaba won the women's marathon – equivalent to just over 105 laps of the track – then decided to run another 400m in the stadium and celebrate in front of... well, no one really.

Cringe-inducing or wonderful addition? Opinion was split over the theatrical relay entrances in Beijing. But let’s be honest… They were super.

Our favourites? Take your pick between these two beauties, courtesy of the American 4x400m relay teams (women above, men below).

Glorious.