LONDON, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Restored confidence can be seen at the London World Championships and young talents will take the baton from retiring Jamaican great Usain Bolt, said the organizers on the final day of the competition on Sunday.
London organisers Sunday gladly announced they set an official Guinness World Record for number of ticket sales for an IAAF World Championships with over 705,000 sold. Marathons and race walks broke new ground for the Championships with iconic locations and historic moments; over 150,000 people lined marathon course, they said.
Some thought the record could be seen as a sign of restored confidence in the sport which had been in crisis with a series of doping scandals in recent years.
"London 2017 has given athletics its belief back," organizing committee CEO Ed Warner said. "Sport is great theater and drama, and the end is unscripted. We wanted to provide a great stage for this drama."
Athletics' ruling body IAAF chief Sebastian Coe agreed.
"I have beening witnessing growing confidence within the sport last year, growing confidence to take tough decisions, growing confidence of reforms which have not just to make the sport safer, but come to a culture shift," he said.
At last year's Rio Olympic Games, athletics revolved around the topic of doping while almost the entire Russian athletics team were banned from the Games. While at these Championships, over a donzen Russian athletes competed as authorized neutral athletes and won one gold medal and five silvers.
Darya Klishina, who was the only Russian athlete competing in Rio Olympic athletics event as her drugs-testing record was established in the United States, where she is based, rather than in Russia, was glad she could just focus on her result.
"I was enjoying this championships and it was without any nerves -- for the first time in my life. It was good for me and I could be focused on just my result," said Klishina after taking a long jump silver on Friday.
As the curtain was down on the Championships, the sport bade farewell to its greatest star of the time Usain Bolt who had hoped to go out as the "unbeatable" but had to settle for 100m bronze and then limp off the 4x100m final due to cramp.
Coe said the world will surely miss the Jamaican "lightning", 11-time world champions and 8-time Olympic titlist for his charming personality.
"As I said earlier, what we are going to miss Usain Bolt isn't just the three Olympic Games, the clutch of world records or medals. He is an athlete with an opinion and view. He fills the room and interests you guys," said Coe. "We need more athletes with accessibility instead of looking nervously at agents and handlers."
However, Coe said athletics has "a terrific wealth of talent" and the departure of great stars like Bolt and Mo Farah "gives us (the) opportunity to cast light on young talents out there."
