91Èȱ¬

For a team that was supposed to be critically weakened by injuries to its key components, the British squad in Berlin had a remarkably successful nine days.

A final haul of six medals, one more than performance director Charles van Commenee had predicted, left GB , with their best medal haul since 1999.

Beyond that simple statistic, however, there are several more complex reasons why the forthright Dutchman will be flying back to the UK with an extra bounce in his stride.

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So, after nine sunny, splendid and spectacular days, the - or should I say Leichtathletik Weltmeisterschaften - have come to an end. And a rather good edition they've been, too.

As the Olympiastadion empties all around me, and random punters try to sneak past security to have a quick dash down the distinctive blue track (I'll be having a crack as soon as I spot an opening), thoughts turn to the various deeds of derring-do we've witnessed over the last week and a half.

What made Berlin so special? Which performances stood out from the rest, and which characters will forever be associated with the class of '09?

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Sometimes sport can throw up some strange anomalies. If an athlete has won two successive Olympic titles, taken European gold in between and dominated Golden League meetings all over the place, you'd imagine they'd have at least one world title to their name.

Not always. , javelin superstar and pride of Norway, has a big empty space in his trophy cabinet. And he's rather keen on filling it.

"A lot of people expect me to win," he says. "I also expect me to win. But first I have to do the work."

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Irony, declared , is having 10,000 spoons when you all need is knife. That's probably because she'd never attempted to train for a one-hour decathlon in a city hosting an athletics world championships.

In theory, it should be the easiest thing in the world. The best decathletes on the planet are here. There are top-class coaches and retired legends all over the shop. The entire city is geared up for track and field.

But that's the problem. Every facility in the city is in use. There is simply no room for the casual amateur looking to work on his 8.3m shot put or 25m javelin (I know. Not good).

If I was simply training for a 1500m, it wouldn't be so bad. The is a fantastic park right in the heart of Berlin, full of shaded trails that are perfect for interval work. What it doesn't have is a help-yourself stash of javelins, a pole vault bed and a long jump pit filled with the soft golden sand.

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Sitting in Berlin's Olympiastadion, its stone columns and surrounding parade grounds almost exactly as they were in 1936, it's impossible not to let the mind drift back 73 years to the Olympics of Jesse Owens, Luz Long and Adolf Hitler.

We've all seen the winning his famous four golds, watched infamous footage and seen the stills of the Nazi salutes on the Olympic medal rostrum. But what was it like to be there?

There are very few people left alive today who can tell us, but Rudi Thiel and Werner Textor are among their number.

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He's been the breakout star of these world championships, delighting audiences at the Olympiastadion with his high jinks and high energy celebrations. Yup, Berlino the Bear has made almost as big an impact as .

The emails and have been arriving in their thousands, asking me to conduct the definitive sit-down interview with Berlino - his hopes and dreams, how he likes to kick back, whether there's a Mrs (or Mr) Berlino on the scene.

Sadly, since he's both (a) an eight feet tall bear, and (b) mute, this has proved impossible.

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If that's running tired, keep me awake for weeks.

? 19.19 seconds? Usain Bolt has created a new art form: Scoreboards We Thought We'd Never See.

Available in a series of four, limited-edition prints, each adorned with the artist's unique archer's motif. Value: Golden.

Has there ever been a sequence of runs like this? Like most things Usain, never before.

Four major finals, four gold medals, four astonishing world records. 9.69 seconds in the Olympic 100m, 19.30 secs in the 200m just days later, 9.58 secs in the 100m on Sunday and now 19.19 seconds. You want to include the relay? Then make that five, with a sixth maybe to follow at the weekend.

It's a track record without parallel, in both senses of the phrase.

Ever since he came out at the start of last year with a golden glimmer in his eye and a magical spring in his step, Bolt has redefined the boundaries of what was believed to be humanly possible. It sounds like hyperbole, but it's not. It's just Hyper Bolt.

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When Usain Bolt is no longer the main topic of conversation at the World Championships, you know something dramatic must have happened.

There had been whispers circulating about South African 800m prodigy Caster Semenya ever since she ran a spectacular 1 minute 56.72 seconds in a low-key meet on 26 July.

Not only was it the fastest time in the world this year by more than a second, it meant she had improved her personal best by seven seconds in less than nine months. And, she said afterwards, she could have run even quicker had it not been for a strong wind on the back straight.

For once, the tittle-tattle was not the usual sort about performance-enhancing substances. This was more basic and a whole lot nastier: was the 'she' actually a 'he'?

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Phillips Idowu wears a lot of metal jewellery. There's the bar through his eyebrow, the hoops through the ears and the red stud through his tongue. And now, to top it all off, to hang round his neck, too.

Almost exactly a year after , Idowu proved himself a true champion in Berlin on Tuesday night.

Behind again to Portugal's Nelson Evora, the man who destroyed his hopes in Beijing and out-jumped him at the last Worlds in Osaka, he produced a lifetime best when he needed it most to finally fulfil a talent that has sometimes threatened to go unrealised.

"It's been a long time coming," he admitted afterwards, relief smeared across his pierced face, before bursting into a big dopey-eyed grin. "Calm down, Mum..."

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Ever since Sunday night, there's only one thing anyone in Berlin has been talking about: .

On trains, in bars, on the streets - everyone wants to discuss , how he did it and .

Of course, when it comes to talking sprinting genius, some conversationalists are more interesting than others - which is why I made a beeline for four-time Olympic gold medallist and eight-time world champion .

Here are his considered thoughts.

ON WHAT HE THOUGHT BOLT MIGHT DO IN THE 100M FINAL

"I actually didn't know what he would run. You take what you know he is capable of doing and then what he's done so far this year, but it's still hard to say.

"You look at some athletes and you know that a big final and being excited is worth something, but for him you don't know what motivates him. He always seems to be so relaxed, so you don't know if adrenaline really flows for him when he starts to run. He's a different type of athlete."

ON WHAT HE DID DO

"It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen. It's different from his 9.69 seconds last year because he shut down 30m from the finish and still , but I've never seen a performance like it before.

"I don't think there are very many words to describe the race. It was simply amazing."

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For years I've wondered what goes on when you see a coach seated trackside, shouting to their athlete in the middle of a world final. What are they saying? What can they see? Can the athlete even hear them, let alone change technique and performance?

So, for the women's pole vault final, I abandoned the usual seat on the 91Èȱ¬ commentary row and went down trackside with Steve Rippon, coach to . And it did not disappoint.

You think you know a bit about a sport. Then you watch it from mere feet away with a real expert, and suddenly it's brought into new and stunning focus.

Team Dennison is four-strong. Along with coach Steve, there's current ; a former track official called Nick noting down on a clipboard who's cleared what on which attempt; and a video analyst filming it all for instant playback.

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One day Usain Bolt is going to do something that a normal human being might do. He'll spill his tea, or drop his chicken nuggets, or trip over his shoelaces.

One day. For now, he astonishes and astounds with everything he does. summed it up beautifully: "The Earth stopped for a second, and he went to Mars."

Almost exactly 73 years ago in this Olympiastadion, produced an athletic performance that made sporting history. Before Sunday night, it seemed impossible that anyone could ever match those deeds.

That was before . That was before Usain landed.

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Jessica Ennis says that, should there ever be a film made of her life, she would like to play the lead role.

Eva: get your weights out, break out the protein shakes, swap your high heels for the high jump and insert your own 'handling a javelin' joke here. The biopic could be on the horizon.

In the last two days in Berlin, Ennis has metamorphosed from talented contender to proven champion, just when British athletics was starting to wonder where the next star might be coming from.

It's one thing to come into a world championship as the favourite, quite another to produce your best ever score when all eyes are on you and the best heptathletes on the planet are chasing you down.

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It's the biggest just-under-10 seconds of your year. Eighty thousand people are screaming in the stadium, millions more watching around the globe. Alongside you are the fastest men in the world.

How do you deal with that dreadful pressure? What do you do to stay calm the evening before, how do you sleep that night and what happens when your arch-rival tries to intimidate you on the blocks?

Seeking answers ahead of Sunday's showdown in the Olympiastadion between Usain Bolt, Tyson Gay and the cream of the world's sprinters, I picked the brains of 2003 World 100m bronze medallist and 2004 Olympic 4x100m gold medallist Darren Campbell.

Darren, here in Berlin as an expert summariser for 91Èȱ¬ Radio 5 live, was famous for making the absolute most of his talent and chances in the big finals.

"Whether you're the favourite or not, you'll all be feeling nervous," he says. "The difference between success and failure is being able to deal with the pressure."

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If Jess Ennis was feeling the pressure of being Britain's big hope for gold at these World Championships, she's doing a very good job of disguising it.

On a day of fierce sunshine in Berlin, Ennis turned up the heat on her more experienced rivals to leave them wilting like the currywursts on sale all round the Olympiastadion.

The optimists had hoped she would be leading going into day two. What no-one dreamed was that she would be doing so by 307 points, after notching up the third-highest first-day tally in history. Only and have ever scored more.

"I can't believe it," she kept repeating afterwards. "That's mad."

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One of the first things you see on the way into Berlin - after the glistening and the adverts for the in September - are enormous billboards featuring images of Usain Bolt, Tyson Gay and the simple message "Grossen duell".

There is much more to the next nine days of athletics than just the battle for sprinting supremacy between Bolt and Gay, but their showdown is dominating the thoughts of both fans and organisers in this sport-mad city.

Athletics desperately needs stars, and star rivalries, to grab the world's attention, and not just because of the World Fireworks (memo to Seb Coe: why didn't Britain bid for that too? Motto: "Bonfire's Coming 91Èȱ¬"; fund-raising slogan: "Penny for the Guy").

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At least the scenario is a simple one. One Test to go, one victory needed. If England win at The Oval, the Ashes are theirs, no matter what horrors Headingley witnessed.

That's the easy bit. Rather more complicated is how exactly they do that. At least three of the top five batsmen are out of touch. The bowling attack was dismantled in Leeds. Australia, having struggled for much of the series, appear to have hit form at exactly the right time.

Lots of posts on these blogs over the past few days have called for substantial changes to the England side. Ravi Bopara has copped the most flak, followed closely by Ian Bell and Steve Harmison.

Calls have been made for the recall of 39-year-old , despite the fact that he last played for England seven years ago and averaged a meagre 27 in over 50 Tests. Kent's is another popular name, as is Warwickshire's .

But, as far as former England spinner Phil Tufnell and ex Aussie opener Matthew Hayden are concerned, that's not the way England will turn things around.

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After England's farcical performance in the first two days of the fourth Test, there was more than a faint whiff of about Headingley when defeat was sealed on Sunday.

First came the apocalyptic warnings about the rest of the series - "We're doomed - doomed!" Then came the frantic call to arms for the aged and infirm, in this case 39-year-old Mark Ramprakash and the retired Marcus Trescothick. Then, as everyone remembered that it's actually 1-1 rather than 0-4, Andrew Strauss took on the role of Corporal Jones: "Don't panic, Mr Mainwaring!"

All the while, the beaming smile never left Ricky Ponting's face.

Punter has enjoyed himself in Leeds from the moment he arrived. The fact that a full-on English autopsy is now being conducted by the fans and media just makes it even sweeter for him.

"Ah, that's obviously all started, so for us that's terrific," he said with satisfaction in his post-match news conference.

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So then. Woe for England, delight for Australia. Here's my ratings for the two sets of players after the fourth Test - dive in with your own when the fury/joy has subsided a touch.

A word of explanation, too: we've all got our own systems, and under mine, you'd only get a 0 if you bagged a pair/went 0-150 and then dropped at least two catches, and only get a 10 if you scored a chanceless double-ton or took at least 10 wickets in an unplayable spell.

ENGLAND

Andrew Strauss - 4
A horrible few days for the England skipper. When he won the toss on Friday, he can have had little inkling of what would unfold in the next few hours. Failed to replicate his form of earlier in the series with the bat and struggled to gain any control in the field, although his bowlers let him down badly.

Alastair Cook - 5
Hung around for a while in both innings without ever looking settled - but then which England batsman did? Fell twice to pokes outside off stump, and has an aggregate of just 203 from seven innings in the series.

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At the north end of Headingley, draped across two storeys of the half-built new pavilion, is a huge yellow banner that reads 'ROAR FOR ENGLAND'.

By the close of play on Saturday, with Australia trampling the home side joyously into the Yorkshire dirt, England supporters could have been forgiven for dragging it to the ground and burning it like some dreadful effigy.

If ever there was a performance when Leeds felt less like roaring for England, this was it. Roaring at England, certainly, as well as weeping, gnashing teeth and removing own hair with force - but by the end even that felt like too much effort for the resigned hordes stumbling out of the ground.

These days were meant to be over. This Australian team is not the fearsome beast of old. It contains no , no , no . Warne and Hayden are confined to the commentary box. Half this team could walk unrecognised down Kirkstall Lane.

Despite all that, this has been as one-sided a Test as any of thrashings dished out down the years by that classy coterie.

That England were the team one up in the series seemed incomprehensible. This has been a steamrollering, a hammering, and old-fashioned spanking all rolled into one. Was it really only two days ago that there was talk of sealing the Ashes with one Test to go?

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We've all had bad mornings, but the one endured by England in Leeds on Friday will go down as one of the great stinkers of all time.

breakfast spilt down trousers, enormous pile of work dullness awaiting in the inbox - none of it even gets close.

When Andrew Strauss's men went to bed on Thursday night, they were just five days away from winning back the Ashes. By the time their lunch was served, the little urn suddenly had it again.

The troubles started earlier than anyone expected - 0450, to be precise, when a fire alarm at the England hotel forced the team out into the rainy streets. Remarkably, it actually got worse from there.

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A little while ago, my regular travelling compadre Ben Dirs and I appealed for info, assistance and tips for Stop Two on our MMMFLT - Colchester.

And now, with the new season upon us like an express train, we can reveal our findings.

Ipswich fans - try to be charitable. Fans of comic timing and smooth presentation - this may not be for you. Everyone else - get stuck in and enjoy, and let us know what you think.

And more importantly, which club we should go to next...

If Ricky Ponting is worried - about his misfiring bowling attack, about the prospect of becoming only the second Australian captain to lose two Ashes series in England, about being booed whenever he takes the field - he's doing a pretty good job of disguising it.

With Leeds basking under unexpected blue skies, Ponting was doing almost as much beaming on Thursday afternoon as the August sun overhead.

The bowlers? Mitchell Johnson is "back in form", Brett Lee "at full pace". The 1-0 series deficit? Two games left, mate. And as for his reception among some England fans - if you think Ponting is hurt by the opinion of a bunch of blokes dressed as nuns, chain-gang convicts and the cast of , you probably haven't been paying much attention to his career so far.

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