Beijing Olympic Games

Anna Kessel reviews the major players, record breakers and - inevitably - drugs cheats on and off the track and field

How it changed for the better At long last anti-doping in athletics became a genuine force. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) was established, along with the introduction of whereabouts rules for testing. But the single most significant anti-doping event of the decade came in 2003 when a US federal investigation brought about the biggest drugs bust in athletics history - the BALCO scandal.The man responsible - Victor Conte - supplied some of the world's best athletes with Tetrahydrogestrinone (THG). The discovery sent shockwaves through the sport as Marion Jones, whose five gold medals at the Sydney Olympics made her the darling of athletics, was accused, and imprisoned. Tim Montgomery, Kelli White and Britain's own Dwain Chambers were also rumbled.

How it changed for the worse As the drug testers grow more sophisticated, so do the dopers. If Victor Conte is to be believed then only the "stupid" are caught taking drugs, the rest – like Jones – require a federal investigation to catch them. If those who are caught – and Olympic and world championship winners test positive every year – are the stupid ones, then what lurks beneath the tip of the iceberg?

Decade's top five

1 Usain Bolt A phenomenon, a freak of nature, a beast – words fail to describe the man who has turned sprinting upside down. He has not only moved the goalposts of what is now possible in the sport, but reinvented athletics culture.

2 Paula Radcliffe When she smashed the women's marathon world record in 2003, many wondered if anyone would ever again come close. An Olympic medal still eludes her, but she has won everything else out there.

3 Kelly Holmes The first British woman to win two Olympic gold medals nearly destroyed herself in the process, as a career dogged by injury led to depression and self harm. That famous photo from Athens – eyes popping out – as she triumphed in the 800m says everything about how much it meant to achieve.

4 Carolina Kluft When she announced her retirement from the heptathlon in 2008, the rest of the world breathed a sigh of relief, the Swede having won every gold medal going in every major international competition since 2002.

5 Haile Gebrselassie The greatest distance runner in history, with 26 world records to his name, the Ethiopian is still going strong at the age of 36. Only last year he broke his own marathon world record again by 27 seconds.

Race of the decade Bolt winning the 100m at the Beijing Olympic Games – if you can even call it a race, the young Jamaican sprint star leaving the competition trailing even as he jogged to the finish line. Spectators could not believe their eyes as Bolt slowed 10m from the line, and still lowered his own world record to 9.69 seconds.

Most memorable moment Christine Ohuruogu winning Olympic gold in the 400m. After the negative publicity she received for missing three drugs tests in 2006, not many wanted to celebrate her world title the following year. In Beijing she appeared distant, while the fastest woman in the world, Sanya Richards, waved to the crowd. Ohuruogu lost the popularity contest, but she won the fight on the track and pulled off the biggest upset of her career.

2020 vision In 10 years' time there will hopefully have been increased investment in undercover anti-doping investigations. Athletics has survived the Balco scandal; maybe now the governing body can believe that fans of the sport want to live without the rose tinted glasses – they want to see real winners, not drug cheats.

To read our experts' reviews of the decade in other sports, go here.

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