Everyone in Beijing kept talking about the Jamaican hurricane and fastest man in the world, Usain Bolt. No sooner had people discussed his recent injury, which had kept his fans from following him on the track, than talk turned to whether he could regain his sprinting dominance and enjoy his favourite pastime at the World Championships in Beijing, and whether he could match America’s Gatlin there. Bolt answered questions from the press and fans at a press conference in a manner different from what everyone expected – where all had expected him to strike his trademark pose of defiance, he instead expressed sadness at what was being said about doping and other technical matters in the sport, saying he was saddened by all the talk about doping, and that as champions they had to change this reality to preserve athletics’ standing. The Jamaican revealed he would run for the sake of athletics and for his own ambitions, while respecting IAAF rules.
47 gold medals at the 15th edition of the World Championships
The 15th World Championships are seeing a record turnout in both quality and numbers, along with an unprecedented presence of athletes and unprecedented competition to prove that athletics is in good health and deserves everyone’s respect as the mother of sports. Men will compete in 24 different events, and women in 23, meaning there are 47 gold medals on offer, and as many silver and bronze
Historically, the United States tops the medal table with a total of 300 medals (138 gold, 88 silver and 74 bronze) across 14 editions, while Russia topped the medal table on home soil at the last edition in 2013 with seven golds, followed by the United States and Jamaica with six golds each, then Kenya (5) and Germany (4)
