These world athletics championships are the Olympics that Tokyo was supposed to have.

They are the quasi-Olympics, the consolation prize for hosting an unwanted guest four years ago. They haven’t got the whole Games back, but they have got the Games’ biggest sport back – and the chance to witness it, and embrace it, like it’s an Olympics.

The cavernous stadium that echoed to the sound of runners’ footfalls in 2021, when there were no crowds at the Olympics staged in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, is now heaving with the roars of 67,750 people. Over half a million tickets have been sold. The first three nights at the world athletics championships, there was not a spare seat to be found. As the weekend rolls into mid-week, the stands have not been as full, but crowds have still been strong.

In 2021, there was no announcer on the public address system, because there was no public to address. There was (mercifully) no music pumping through the speakers, either.

When Australia’s Cedric........

© The Sydney Morning Herald