Usain Bolt was the most prominent victim in his farewell show, in a world athletics championships of surprises in front of the biggest crowds the showcase event has ever seen.
More than 700,000 fans showed up at the Olympic Stadium for a Guinness Book of Records entry, giving the sport a much-needed boost after some have suggested that Bolt alone kept athletics in the global spotlight over the past years with his fast running and showmanship.
Bolt came to London with 11 world titles and eight Olympic golds but left almost empty-handed. He only took home bronze in the 100 metres and pulling up injured in his last race, the 4x100m relay.
He however returned to the stadium for an emotional final lap of honour to another ovation from the adoring fans — vowing never to return as an athlete but also not regretting that he didn’t quit last year after another Olympic treble in Rio.
“No, I’m fine. My fans wanted to see me compete for one more year,” he said. “One championship doesn’t change what I’ve done.”
Bolt was also aware that he wasn’t the only one to come up with less than expected from the 10 days of competition with 48 medal events.
“I think the whole champs has seen bad luck for certain athletes. It has been a surprising championships with lots of shocks. It is just the championships, not to do with me personally,” he said.
It didn’t go down well with many that American two-time doping rule offender Justin Gatlin won the 100m gold as he was jeered, while second-placed fellow American Christian Coleman would have been a more popular winner as one of the new faces.
Apart from Bolt, British icon Mo Farah was also denied a dream finale as after another glorious 10,000m gold he was beaten in the 5,000m by rising Ethiopian Muktar Edris — who even stole Farah’s ‘Mobot’ after crossing the line and insisted: “I am the next champion.”
The man billed to become the new face of the sport, South African Wayde van Niekerk, also didn’t go unscathed, winning the 400m but having to settle for 200m silver behind Turkey’s Ramil Guliyev.
Other surprise winners included Pierre-Ambroise Bosse of France in the 800m, young Norwegian 400m hurdler Karsten Warholm and American steeplechase winner Emma Coburn.
Sebastian Coe, head of the ruling body IAAF, said athletics has “a terrific wealth of talent” and the departure of Bolt and Farah “gives us the opportunity to cast light on young talents out there.”
Bolt’s home country of Jamaica suffered badly, down from seven golds in 2015 to just one, from 110m hurdler Omar McLeod, in London. Their men’s and women’s sprinters finished without a gold for the first time since 2005. 
Instead, the US ruled the championships with a record haul of 30 medals, among them 10 gold, double the five of next-placed Kenya. Sprinter Allyson Felix is now the top worlds athlete ever with 11 gold 3 silver and 2 bronze — better even than Bolt (11-2-1).
The 19 Russians allowed in as neutral athletes finished with gold from high jumper Mariya Lasitskene and five silvers — two more medals overall than the four Russia got before the suspension over doping practices.
“The number of neutral athletes shows clear progress regarding the reinstatement of Russia,” Coe said.
The Russia issue and doping in general, corruption allegations and waning interest in the sport are the key issues the IAAF has to tackle, and London could have provided a major boost.
“London 2017 has given athletics its belief back,” organising committee CEO Ed Warner said.
London presented the sport well but Coe said the IAAF would continue to innovate and also not shy away from competition format changes as the worlds still appear too long.
“If we don’t get it right everything here will be a happy memory but no springboard for the future of our sport,” Coe warned. 
That especially applies for the next worlds 2019 in Doha, Qatar, far away from Britain, a place Coe called “hardcore athletics territory”, and a major challenge for the IAAF.
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