Usain Bolt and David Rudisha lit up the Olympics while British athletes, led by Jessica Ennis, thrived at home
Three days before the start of the biggest sporting spectacle of the year, Usain Bolt made a statement that would have been termed arrogant had it come from any other athlete on this planet.
"This will be the moment, and this will be the year, when I set myself apart from other athletes," Bolt told Britain's The Guardian daily. "A lot of legends, a lot of people, have come before me. But this is my time."
The rangy Jamaican had left a trail of question marks behind him in the build-up to the Olympic Games, an event he picked out for anointing himself as a legend of his sport. Defeats to compatriot Yohan Blake in the 100M and 200M at the Jamaican Olympic trials had dented his armour. The imposing races he produced to win the sprint gold medals in Beijing and Berlin seemed impossible to replicate.
But when the time and the place arrived for him to prove himself, Bolt was true to his word. The Olympic Stadium was a sea of humanity on a balmy London night but it represented only a small percentage of the fans who tuned in to watch the race of the year worldwide. In a breezy 9.63 seconds, the second fastest 100M of all-time behind his world record of 9.58, Bolt silenced his doubters, relegating Blake and Justin Gatlin to minor medals.
Four days later, the Jamaican was back to light up another wonderful night, this time in the 200M. In a time of 19.32 seconds, he pushed Blake to silver-standard again and when he put his finger to the lips at the finish, the message was crystal clear. "People can talk but when it comes to the championships, it's all business for me," said Bolt who then went on to demolish the world record in the 4x100M relay along with his Jamaican team-mates to become the first man to retain these titles in Olympic history.
"I am now a legend of my sport, bask in my glory," declared Bolt as the curtains came down on the championship after ten days of riveting contests that lifted the sport to never-before highs. The Olympic Stadium, packed to the rafters, was a cauldron of emotions as athletes from around the world gave it their all in the highlight of the season.
Even amidst Bolt's brilliant surges on the track, individuals emerged and thrived outside his giant shadow. None was more awe-inspiring than David Rudisha, whose determination to etch his name in the Olympic books saw him smashing the world record in the 800M. The tall Kenyan set an incredible pace in the first lap and maintained the momentum through the second to clock 1:40.91, erasing his own previous mark. The Masai warrior's electrifying pace also took six of the other seven athletes to their career-best performances with the world junior record also falling in the process, to Botswana's Amos Nijel.
Britain was also a big winner in London with the home athletes drawing inspiration from the massive crowds to perform to their potential. Mo Farah's sensational double in the 5000 and 10000M eclipsed African powerhouses while Greg Rutherford delivered the gold in long jump. But for sheer popularity, they couldn't touch Jessica Ennis, the poster girl of the Games who dazzled over two days to nail the heptathlon gold in a personal best of 6955 points.
Ennis, who had been outshone by Ukraine's Natalia Dobrynska and Russian Tatyana Chernova previously, rose to the occasion splendidly with three personal bests in the first six events.
"I told myself at the start that I'm only going to have one moment to do this in front of a crowd in London and I just wanted to give them a good show," said Ennis as she was swept away by a wave of adulation. "Come on Jess, come on Jess," was the full-throated chorus of the 80,000 crowd but pressure, if any, only lifted Ennis.
Pressure also brought out the best from two classy athletes of our time, 100M hurdler Sally Pearson and high jumper Anna Chicherova. Back problems didn't dent their determination as they fulfilled their destiny with striking performances.
Amidst the shower of gold, three remarkable athletes faded away. Pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva, for so long the face of women's track and field, returned with only a bronze from London. Her 5.01M indoor world record earlier in the season seemed an aberration as she failed to raise the bar at the Olympics. Ethiopian great Kenenisa Bekele too struggled to match his reputation, ending fourth in the 10000M while for Liu Xiang, the electric-heeled 110M hurdler from China, it was Beijing revisited as he hobbled off with an injury.
As Liu departed in a tearful repeat, Aries Merritt stormed centre-stage in London. Merritt's season only got better, with the American smashing the world record with a 12.80-second burst in the Brussels Diamond League. World record was the norm for another American as well, Ashton Eaton setting the new standard of 9039 points in decathlon at the US trials before going on to clinch the gold in London.
If these were on expected lines, London also had a couple of unexpected verdicts, with a true shocker coming in men's javelin. Trinidadian Keshorn Walcott, all of 19, delivered it, leaving the European powerhouses rubbing their eyes in disbelief. Youth had its say in another event, with Kirani James winning Grenada's first Olympic medal by triumphing in the men's 400M to add to the world title he had won in Daegu a year ago.
Tirunesh Dibaba's return from injury and Meseret Defar's return to form marked Ethiopia's Olympic highlights even as their men suffered body blows in distance races. Dibaba showed her sprinting powers were intact as she won the 10000M while the Kenyan double world champion Vivian Cheruiyot slipped badly.
Of course, an athletics season won't be complete without a doping tale and this year, it was the turn of Belarusian Nadezhda Ostapchuk to enter the book of infamy. Having won the shot put gold in London, she failed a dope test, leaving New Zealander Valerie Adams with a deserving piece of yellow metal. The disturbing footnote, though, took little away from a season of unbridled joy and unmatched excitment in track and field.