Osaka, Japan – The dress rehearsal was a smash. Next comes the big show in Beijing.
The U.S. track and field team never had a better performance at any world track and field championships than the one it had in Osaka.
In the nine days of competition that ended Sunday, gold medals came in the sprints, the distance races, the pole vault and the shot put.
“This is the most complete team we’ve ever had,” said Craig Masback, chief executive officer of USA Track & Field, the sport’s governing body in the United States.
The Americans will be back in Asia in less than a year, and the team they field for the Olympic Games undoubtedly will be a strong one.
“This group is very special,” said Angelo Taylor, one of the few old-timers on the U.S. squad. “We have a lot of young talent.”
Allyson Felix and Tyson Gay lead the way by winning three golds apiece. Gay was the third man to do it at a worlds, Felix the second woman.
Among other things, the U.S. was the first team to sweep all four relays, and Kenyan-born Bernard Lagat was the first to win a 1,500 and 5,000 meters at a world meet. Lagat did it in his first international meet wearing a U.S. uniform.
Of the 26 medals the U.S. won, 14 were gold.
The United States got a bronze medal in the women’s 10,000 by University of Colorado graduate Kara Goucher and came within 0.03 seconds of getting another one from Matthew Tegenkamp in the men’s 5,000.
The performances, by Gay in particular, helped bury the embarrassment of having Justin Gatlin test positive for steroids and testosterone last year.
Another drug scandal could erase the good vibes the U.S. team felt in Japan.
Gatlin, world 100 and 200 champion in 2005, remains banned from competition, but is trying to lessen his penalty. His greatest hope would be to become eligible for next year’s Olympics, where he is the defending 100 champion. An arbitration panel is expected to rule on his appeal soon.
Regardless, the U.S. team could be even better next year.
Defending world decathlon champion Bryan Clay pulled out of the competition with a strained quadriceps muscle. If he’s healthy, he will be a medal contender.
Lashinda Demus, runner-up at the 2005 worlds in the 400 hurdles, took the year off to deliver twins.
Walter Dix of Florida State has the world’s second-fastest 200 time (19.69 seconds) and fifth-fastest 100 time this year (9.93 seconds), but chose not to compete at the worlds.
Then there’s Sanya Richards, who dominated the 400 a year ago and has the fastest time in the world this year. Richards said the medication she is taking for Bichette disease saps her energy when she has several rounds before a final.
Richards, who failed to qualify to run 400 at the worlds, was fifth in the 200 but anchored the winning 1,600 relay team.
“I think our team is just getting stronger and stronger,” Richards said. “In 2005 we won 25 medals. This year to win 26 is just showing that the Olympic Games are going to be great for the U.S. We’re going to have some phenomenal athletes on that team.
“Hopefully I’ll be able to bring home more than just one gold.”
