Much of the talk both before and during the season was about which athletes would target both the European Championships and the Commonwealth Games. Could the athletes, especially the big names, really sustain their energy levels to do well in both August and October?

Many, including Jess Ennis, Phillips Idowu and Mo Farah, shied away from or didn't make it to the start line at both championships because of personal reservations, injuries or lack of desire. So who, therefore, gained the most from 2010?

The stars of the European Championships were clear: those athletes that contributed to the healthy 19 British medals won in Barcelona, including the shiny gold medals.

Abiodun Oyepitan, Katherine Endacott, Montell Douglas and Laura Turner took women's relay gold in Delhi. Photo: Getty

Ennis, Idowu and Farah's brilliant double led the charge. The gold of Andy Turner coupled with the business-like execution of Dai Greene was all top stuff.

Of course, you have to give a pat on the back to those athletes who once they had finished celebrating in the Spanish heat went on and continued their training and mental battle to stretch 2010 out a little more. It is sometimes a little easier when you have done well and are riding on the crest of a wave, but equally it can be good motivation when you have underperformed. But do not underestimate how hard it is for an athlete to refocus and continue a season after the mental and physical fight of one major championship.

Could therefore my highlights of the season be those sweet moments where Turner and Greene won gold again in Delhi, this time for England and Wales?

Both produced superb displays of hurdling after such a long season. Andy has been on a long rollercoaster ride in recent years. He was on lottery funding then deemed not good enough and taken off it. What a way to say, 'Hang on, I'm still a force to be reckoned with here!'

As for Dai, well Olympic gold (after possible gold at the World Championships in Korea next year) is there for the taking.

The steps forward he has made in 2010 have been huge: two titles and having run faster than ever before and beating the world's best. When I asked Kriss Akabusi about him potentially losing his British 400m hurdles record to Dai - he is only 6/100ths of a second away - Kriss was convinced it would go to Dai and added he would love him to do it in London 2012.

There were many other successes at the Commonwealths, but what differences will we see in our athletes next season? Will athletes such as Leon Baptiste and Louise Hazel be able to realistically step up another level in world terms?

Leon clearly took advantage of the absent Jamaican sprinters to win his 200m gold. I think this will give him a real confidence boost going into 2011, having been accused of failing to deliver on previous big occasions.

For Louise, well she came out the spotlight of Jess Ennis and took the opportunity to make a name for herself. She, like Leon, took advantage of the current best athlete not being there. This is just an example of two athletes where winning these titles will hopefully do wonders for them.

What about the likes of Christine Ohuruogo who missed the season with injuries? Will that ultimately prove to be a help or a hindrance?

Christine has come out and said she believes the enforced lay-off she has had will do her no harm. I tend to agree. Having had a lot of injuries in my career, they motivate you. Christine had a really busy time winning the World Championships and Olympic Games and this year kept ticking over, even if she wasn't as quick and race-sharp because of her injury problems. She has the ability to come back and with the world standard of women's 400m running not being very high, anything in the sub-50 second region next season, which she can do at her best, will have her in the mix.

These athletes will return to winter training with a different drive and determination. Although this was a long season, it will not be hard for them to get back into the daily grind. When you have tasted success, you want more. When you have had injuries and missed out, you want to get back and prove to people you are still a world-class athlete.

You want to be the one making the headlines.

Hopefully our athletes have found 2010 to be a good stepping stone to the World Championships next year and then to London 2012. But, for you, who has made the most of, or maybe even missed out on, the opportunities of 2010?

BTW, it's a tough call but if you're asking... my highlight of 2010: All that is the 24-year-old Welsh wonder David 'Dai' Greene.

Greene raced to gold in both Barcelona and Delhi this year. Photo: Getty

I am currently loving everything about him. Just brill!

The usual picture can not be painted for Merlene Ottey, the athletic legend who turned 50 in May.

Out here in Barcelona I have been interviewing many people: the stars of the Championships, an occasional exciting new star or Britain's next medal shot.

But when I was asked to go and interview the ageless Ottey I was delighted.

She has 27 of them - nine Olympic medals, three world golds she is still the third fastest woman over 200m of all time.

I arrived at her team hotel wondering if she would remember me. We both won medals at Sydney 2000 - I had just turned 26 and she was 40.

She used to train with my coach Linford Christie, who is also 50. He is not pinning on a number to race here in Barcelona, though. He's coaching the likes of medalist Mark Lewis-Francis.

Also there is the small fact that Linford can't sprint further than 10 metres now - his words not mine!

There she was sitting in reception, one of the best athletes the world has ever seen, flicking through today's programme for the Championships, looking exactly like she did 20 years ago.

We set up for the interview - she did remember me - and I started with the question that she must have been getting asked for at least the last 15 years: Why are you still competing?

Why at 50 years old are you still running and on the verge of breaking another record by becoming the oldest ever competitor at the European Championships?

Passion is the reason and I got a sense of 'because I can'. What struck me as we chatted was how her mood would change depending on the question, in a very subtle way.

She waxed lyrical about her many medals - not in a big-headed way - but then would show frustration at missing that elusive Olympic gold, despite competing in seven Games, beginning in Moscow in 1980, when she won 200m bronze for Jamaica as a fresh-faced 20-year-old.

The frustration was cut deeper by the fact that she had missed out on a few individual golds through the smallest of margins.

The two she said hurt the most? The 1996 Atlanta Olympic 100m final, losing to Gail Devers by 0.005 sec and the Stuggart World Championships in 1993, when Devers also beat her over 100m.

She was relaxed but guarded, citing the fact she had a Slovenian coach as the reason why - after so much success and adoration in Jamaica - she became naturalised Slovenian in 2002.

She spoke with passion and excitement about the dominance of Jamaican sprinting now, clearly aware of the big part she played in its rise.

When I told what Usain Bolt told me two weeks ago in Paris, that he didn't consider himself a legend yet like her, she was touched.

The most frustration appeared in her wrinkle-free eyes when speaking of the current women's 100m world record.

Did she ever in her career think she could challenge the 10.49 second mark set by Florence Griffth-Joyner in 1988?

Hang on, I'd hit a nerve!

It was a windy race and should never have been rewarded, is a shorter version of a passionate answer.

So Flo Jo should not be the women's 100m world record holder?

"No".

After the interview ended, I sat and thought about the person I had properly met for the first time.

She was understandably angry about unobtainable records, frustrated at missing the Olympic gold she so desired by the thickness of a hair, yet still very much in love with a sport she adores.

Why else at 50 would you still train and attend championships running a second slower than at your peak? I get the feeling that athletics is and always will be her life, and she has sacrificed many things for it.

For me it has meant that when I watch her run on the final leg for Slovenia here in Barcelona on Saturday, I will have an even higher admiration for as athletics legend.

A lot has already been said about the legacy of the Games, as it was such a big part of us being awarded the event in the first place.

Is the "L" word really going to materialise? Great strides are being made by many organisations, seizing the opportunities that an Olympic Games can bring.

Organisations like Sports Leaders UK are determined to make the Games have an impact in young people's lives. There are those who really want the Games to make a stamp on the whole country.

But what about the athletes, who could make history and become part of that legacy? You could argue they have the biggest part to play.

One name that keeps cropping up is Jodie Williams, who won the 100m in Moncton - her 149th successive race win - and came second in the 200m. She is also the current senior UK number one over 200m.

At 16 years old she is exciting and fresh. I see so much of myself in her. I read the articles and opinions of some who want her to fly and be Britain's greatest female sprinter ever, and others who don't believe she will continue to develop and say we shouldn't be excited by junior results.
The pressure and expectation on her takes me back 20 years!

When I started internationally I was 13. By 14, I was running 7.35 seconds for the 60m at Cosford in Staffordshire and the pressure arrived like a ton of bricks.

I had progressed quickly to that point but there was no way I was ever going to continue at that rate. If I had, I'd be running 10 seconds flat for 100m - physically impossible.

Instead I had to keep a fine balance between gaining experience and not putting myself under too much pressure.

Coaching and parental guidance plays a big part - those are the people who make the decisions for you. I was lucky, with sensible people around me. I've met Jodie and her family and I know she's in same environment, along with Mike McFarlane, who is an experienced coach.

There were previous junior greats like Lynsey MacDonald over 400m, who trained at the age of 15 as if they were 25 and burned out. They were directed wrongly.

Jodie is not doing the senior Euros and I think she should ignore the people who say she should join the relay for the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in October because there's a danger in doing too much.

The majority of successful junior athletes are bigger physically at the time, and unable to continue their progress when everyone catches up with them.

But Jodie is a whippet and will get stronger. I can see how she will develop more. She will plateau at some point but if she can do that at running 11.2 sec for the 100 or 22.7 for the 200 for a couple more years, then she will develop into senior medal contention.

I feel I coped well with the expectations and many off-track issues, to win a bronze medal in one the biggest Olympic races ever.

Williams is just one candidate from the current junior crop who could follow the same path. Deji Tobias and Jack Meredith are others.

But although there is more centralised training now, little has changed since my day in the development of young athletes: you still have to look after the basics yourself.

I'm not sure if we are doing enough for our juniors. We still wait for a great talent to come along - rather than having a national talent identification scheme - and simply see if they succeed or fail.

Do you think we should do things differently to bring talent through? And who are you tipping for medals in 2012?

With 14 meetings over the summer months in three continents, the Diamond League replaced the Golden League this season, with the aim of bringing the best of the best together to wow fans.

At the concept launch last November in Monaco, IAAF President Lamine Diack promised "world-class sport and entertainment" with a determination too see greater frequency of competition between the big names.

So has the new Diamond League lived up to its grand billing so far?

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Will the Aviva British Grand Prix in Gateshead be any different from previous years, before it was part of a series, or is it the same meeting with a new name?

After enjoying it so much last year, I worked again last weekend at the Nike Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, the sixth stop on the Diamond League tour.

Considering how inconvenient it is to get to Eugene on the north-west coast of the United States, it is testament to the meeting that is always attracts big names and - for the 15th year in row - a sell-out crowd of 12,000, but this year was deemed the best ever.

Chatting to the athletes over the weekend I had to ask them whether the Diamond League was any different. The general vibe was positive and that yes, it was different this year.

For a start, there are more head-to-head match-ups, something that all the athletes I spoke to were relishing. It isn't just about accumulating those Diamond League points to win the cash prizes and Diamond Trophy at the end of the season.

It is about the psychological advantages, the stamping of authority over your main rivals more often, as well as giving fans the races they all want to see more often.

There are 32 events in which you can score points, with each taking place at seven of the 14 meetings. The only event that has all 32 is the only two-day meeting, at London's Crystal Palace on 13 and 14 August.

Clearly the word "diamond" in the title is making a difference to some athletes. The Prefontaine meeting director's face was a picture when he heard that one of the African athletes had flown into Portland and got a taxi to Eugene - a 110-mile trip taking two hours!

I feel this 14-meet concept is working well this year as there are no global championships for many, so athletes who want to get performances on the board and cash in their pockets will have to take part.

It will be interesting to see if the starting line-ups are so loaded next year as the World Championships in Daegu, South Korea approach.

Olympic 100m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser was generally very excited about meeting her main rivals regularly in the sprints, but world champion Christian Cantwell reminded me that - unlike the sprinters - shot-putters never avoided each other in the past, so it wasn't much different for them!

There was just a special vibe around Eugene, as I feel there will be in Gateshead, about being a Diamond League meeting. It's like a stamp of approval for meetings now, making them one of the chosen few.

But is it any different for the fans? For those who have watched the series so far on the BBC has there be a difference to you as a viewer?

Of course there are things the IAAF would like to make better and iron out. There were questions last weekend as to why the New York and Eugene meets were three weeks apart, making it difficult for athletes from around the world to stay on and do both in one trip.

Also, does the Diamond League threaten the future of other athletics meetings? Is there a fear that these may suffer if the big names are just doing the larger events?

Usain Bolt ran a 300m in Ostrava this season; will he and other big names continue to take part in anything other than the Diamond League meets? These other meetings are vital and need support.

Some meetings are no doubt better for the athletes, media and spectators than others. But overall it seems, six meetings into the first Diamond League season, it's a thumbs-up from the athletes.

That is why, for me, when Gateshead flies the flag on Saturday to herald the arrival of the Diamond League in the UK, it will be a bit more special. And remember we are the only country that has two of them.

Watch the Diamond League meeting in Lausanne on Thursday on the BBC Red Button and online (UK only), then Saturday's Aviva British Grand Prix from Gateshead from 1630-1930 BST on BBC Two, the BBC Sport website (UK users only) and BBC Radio 5 live.

The 20th European Championships kick off in Barcelona on 27 July and results in the Aviva European Trials and UK Championships will play a large part in selection.

Some athletes clearly have their seats already booked - world champions Jessica Ennis and Phillips Idowu are bound for Spain whatever happens in England's second city this weekend.

But many others will have to make an impression on head coach Charles Van Commenee, who puts a lot of faith in current form and performances under pressure at major events, rather than numbers and records set away from public scrutiny.

Qualifying is as complicated as ever, with A and B standards for each event, and rules that allow selectors to exercise discretion to make sure the best medal hopes will be in Barcelona.

However, the standards the athletes have to hit are the same as those for World Championships last year and similar to those for London 2012. Often in the past the bar for selection to the Euros - in effect an easier competition - has been lower.

I can see Van Commenee's reasoning in setting tough criteria to act as an incentive but does it mean that some young prospects, who could feature in 2012, will miss the opportunity to gain experience at a major championships?

I was watching the action in Bergen, Norway last weekend for the European Team Championships and I believe we have athletes in form to do the business this weekend Birmingham, and to hit the predicted medal target set of 10-15 in Barcelona next month.

I used to love running in what was until recently known as the Europa Cup, a team event I once captained.

The pressure is on. You really don't want to get fewer points than are predicted for you; you don't want to be the one who is pointed at for letting the team down. It creates a pressure pretty similar to that for a major championships.

Coming second to Russia was a great performance by GB - better than expected for the weekend.

So who stood out?

Colin McCourt - a 25-year-old Scotsman who seems to have come from nowhere in the 1500m - Mo Farah, Martin Rooney and Dwain Chambers - who put in a sparkling run in the 100m - all shone.

Then there were those that stood out for the wrong reason. Steve Lewis failed to make a clearance in the pole vault, giving ammunition for those who believe the British record-holder struggles under pressure.

All the ups and downs really set up an exciting weekend in Birmingham

Can anyone beat Chambers in the 100m now he is back in sub-10 second form? I think not.

UK number one Andy Turner continues his impressive form in the 110m hurdles, where Will Sharman will be his biggest rival.

It remains to be seen which of our women's 400m runners will even take part, as Olympic champion Christine Ohuruogu missed the trip to Bergen with a thigh problem.

I believe there was a bit of annoyance among some of the relay runners in Bergen that they were not allowed to take part in the individual events, which would have provided better preparation for this weekend.

Ennis stayed at home last weekend, choosing to train for the seven events she will contest in the European Champs heptathlon, rather than the three in which she is currently the leading Brit at the moment - hurdles, high jump and long jump.

She tackles four events over two days in Birmingham, including a head-to-head with the returning former Commonwealth and European medallist Jade Johnson in the long jump.

I want to see 800m runner Jenny Meadows - who missed Bergen with a sore Achilles - and triple jumper Idowu - who was second there and has been below his best so far this year - competing in the event which should always be an important part of an athlete's season.

Becoming UK champion always filled me with pride but if you want to do that you have to stay fit and deliver when it really matters.

Who do you think will be the star in Birmingham? Who will be Barcelona-bound and who will miss out?

Watch the European Trials and UK Championships on Saturday and Sunday on BBC Two and the BBC Sport website (UK users only), with updates on BBC Radio 5 live.

Forget Usain Bolt vs Tyson Gay, on Sunday the world of athletics was asking "Did the giraffe beat the fairy?"

I had never been to a London Marathon before, so when I was asked to work on the event I was looking forward to sampling the legendary atmosphere.

For a start, on Sunday morning it was interesting to watch one of the biggest cities in the world grind to a halt. That in itself was impressive!

Such was my excitement at being involved in the event, getting up at 5am was a breeze and by 7am I was at my reporting point, six miles along the course at Cutty Sark.

The police were in position and organisers were checking the barriers were in place, roads were closed and there had been no overnight graffiti on the advertising. We were all ready. Suddenly people started emerging from everywhere!

The French corner shop owner selling fresh bread and pastries started to have an argument with a young man employed to hold a board up all day promoting the local fast food joint outside his shop, concerned he would steal his trade on this busy day.

A band emerged from a house and were setting up speakers and microphones to entertain, then it started to rain. It was not the weather we had been predicting but it soon passed, as did the elite men and women. They flew past us at Cutty Sark, not that you could tell we were at the home of the famous 1869 tea clipper. Scaffolding and boards are still everywhere as the renovation after the 2007 fire continues.

Later in the day, Cutty Sark chief executive Richard Doughty confirmed one of the world's most famous vessels would be completed by the end of 2011. That should be just in time for the 2012 Olympic tourism boom!

I was primed and ready to pounce with my microphone as the masses arrived like a huge wave at sea. The colour and noise were fantastic. There was lively cheering from the crowds that had patiently gathered. All were looking for friends, family and colleagues to give support.

In total I must have interviewed about 15 people. There was a camel, a gingerbread man, Mr Bump and a fairy, to name a few. Their costumes may have been different but the drive, passion and fun they were having was all the same.

I loved the atmosphere, and it was clear the runners and spectators. Those running with their names on their vests were being cheered by strangers. Some runners were clearly uncomfortable, but their heavy costumes were lightened by the crowd support.

Having read beforehand many of the emotional stories and reasons for people taking part, I was hoping to maybe catch a glance and shout some support to those whose stories brought a tear to my eye, but not a chance.

The wave of people was fast flowing. I don't recommend jogging along side Gordon Ramsey doing an interview then having to turn back and plough through thousands of people. I felt like a salmon going against the flow!

We spotted Richard Branson in his butterfly costume and asked if he would say a few words for BBC.

"How can I do an interview, I'm running a marathon!" he said. But he was carefully led through the masses to the camera by my floor manager David, who held his hand as you would a child crossing the road.

Then it was all over, the brave runners continuing on their personal 26.2 mile journeys.

The French shop owner had run out of pastries in his shop, calming his earlier fears, and the band had packed up and retreated until next year.

I don't know whether the giraffe beat the fairy but I don't think it mattered. They reckon £50million is raised for charity by this one race and 36,000 people can cross the London Marathon off their to-do lists.

The online ballot for 2011 entries opens on the 4th May. Will you be aiming to take part? Having seen it live, I would love to do it one day. I'll just have to see whether my knees can take the training.

This is not just a big weekend for the host nation, who have been on a huge promotion drive drumming up excitement in the local neighbourhoods and have spent a lot of money on marketing.

It is also a big weekend for some of the world's best athletes and biggest world indoors, in terms of participation, since the first, in Indianapolis in 1987.

So which athletes are likely to please the fans - and the organising committee - in the Aspire Dome in Qatar's capital?

Can Dwain Chambers go one better than he did in Valencia two years ago when he shared the silver medal in the men's 60m?

The current world number two is, for me, the favourite because - despite the fact he has so few races because many meetings bar those who have served doping bans - his mental approach and clinical delivery is very impressive.

This is the only major championships the Americans will take part in this year so will be hungry.

Chambers' chances have been boosted by the withdrawal of the world leader from the USA Ivory Williams, but Michael Rodgers is in form and will be keen to grab gold.

A Jamaican has never won this title and Nesta Carter and Lerone Clarke could trouble the others. Twenty-one-year-old Harry Aikines-Aryeetey is also in good form and could conceivably add to the British medal tally.

In the men's 60m hurdles Dayron Robles, the reigning Olympic champion, clocked 7.44 seconds recently and - although American Terrance Trammell is topping the rankings - many eyes will be on Lui Xiang.

China's reigning champion is taking part in his first global championships since limping out of his home Olympics in 2008 with an Achilles tendon surgery.

On past performances, of course, he would be in the mix but his performance in clocking 8.05 seconds in Shanghai last week leaves me wondering if he really be a threat.

Jones-Ferrette and Jeter recorded the same time in Birmingham Photo: PA

In the women's 60m I would be quite happy for Laverne Jones-Ferrette and Carmelita Jeter to turn up and just go head to head! The top 12 times in the world this year are shared by these two athletes, with six apiece.

Jones-Ferrette the 28-year-old US Virgin Islander has the world lead of 6.97 sec but American Jeter is hot on her heels, recently jetting to 7.02 sec in the altitude of Albuquerque.

When I interviewed them together after the 60m race recently at the Aviva Grand Prix in Birmingham - where they both clocked the same time but Jeter was given the win - the body language was respectful but fuelled by a fierce rivalry. It was great!

All British fans hope Jess Ennis will be in contention from a very strong pentathlon field. All the Beijing Olympic medallists are there and will provide very strong competition.

Hopefully Jess is fully recovered from the foot injury that has disrupted her winter. Along with Jenny Meadows and our 4x400m relay team, let's hope the GB team can put a smile on head coach Charles Van Commenee's face as he sets his sights on four medals.

Which events are you looking forward to this weekend?

I have experienced three fantastic Olympic Stadiums in Atlanta, Sydney and Beijing, but have never visited one when it is being built.

I didn't know what to expect when I visited Stratford last week, apart from lots of hard hats and high visibility jackets.

The area is huge, although it wasn't as busy as I thought it would be.

There was noise, dust and workers beavering away like little ants. There was no Seb Coe wandering around shouting orders with a clipboard, just lots of people grafting to build their own little bit of history.

It must be someone's job every week to stroll around and sprinkle some fairy dust.

The guys and girls I spoke to say they ooze with pride every day they come to work. How cool would it be to say in 2012 that you laid the bit of track that Jessica Ennis won Olympic Gold on?

I made my visit with sport mad Hertfordshire School Sports Coordinator Annie Thomas who regularly takes trips to the park with teachers, among others.

She brings them to get excited, which they do, so they can go back to their day jobs and share that excitement and really make all feel a part of the Games.

Our guide Jean, a local lass of 43 years in Newham, was in a constant state of excitement, nearly shedding tears of pride as she said, "They are my Olympics."

I have to admit I was a little disappointed when I saw pictures of how the stadium will look. It looks a bit plain to me.

I know we do not have the budgets that China had for the Bird's Nest Stadium or Sydney for Stadium Australia, in which I raced in 2000, but even after my tour I am yet to be convinced.

Am I being unkind? Maybe I cannot help but compare it to previous Games.

Chief architect Rob Sheard said the stadium would make a big impact, but not in the same way that previous Olympic venues have.

"This is not a stadium that's going to be screaming from the rooftops that it's bigger and more spectacular," he said. "This is just a cleverer building. This is a cleverer solution."

Looking at the whole park from a bird's eye view, it is clever and it's all coming together just like a big jigsaw puzzle.

Everything is taking shape and I can picture the British athletes in the stadium running, jumping and throwing in front of 80,000 expectant fans.

Trust me there is nothing like being in the cauldron of a capacity filled Olympic Stadium - 112,000 Aussies deafened me, Cathy Freeman and the others in our Olympic 400m final in Sydney, so I must make a note to give the heads-up to my mates how loud and emotionally charged it will be!

An artist's impression of what the London 2012 Olympic stadium will look like. Photograph: Getty

Some athletes initially groaned when London won the bid on 6 July 2005, with the allure of Madrid, New York and Paris in the running.

Now with less than two-and-a-half years to go, not one British athlete would have it in any other place. I felt a wave of jealousy wash over me when in the presence of the stadium. Could I make a comeback to run in London?

I snapped out of that dream very quickly. I can't even run for a bus now!

Like a contestant on a TV makeover show, this part of east London will be sparkling and ready to go when the crowds and athletes descend for both the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The stadium may not be as breath-taking as its predecessors but the prospect of seeing it full is still exciting.

That was my final question when I interviewed the former Olympic and World 100m champion Justin Gatlin recently.

"That's a good question," said the 27-year-old American.

Gatlin is ready to lace up his spikes and return to the track when his four-year ban from the sport ends in July.

By the end of the season will we have seen the return of an athlete who, since the day he failed his second drug test in July 2006 for testosterone, has proclaimed his innocence?

Gatlin's story could easily give a prime-time soap opera a run for its money, with the fastest man in the world encountering lawsuits, unpaid bonuses and broken noses, with accusations of phone tapping and sabotage by his masseur.

The story looks complicated, but for some people it is very straightforward. They would argue that he is a cheat who should never set foot on a track again.

But has anyone ever wondered if he is telling the truth?

Gatlin celebrates 100m gold at 2004 Athens Olympics

Let me make this clear, I am not saying Justin Gatlin is innocent. Only he knows the real truth.

Being coached by Trevor Graham - who was convicted in the Balco scandal - and having training partners testing positive left, right and centre, all looks bad, but Gatlin was never proven to have been involved with Balco - the company at the centre of the biggest drugs scandal of modern athletics.

It got me thinking. If, after the greatest race of my life at the Sydney Olympics, my bronze medal had been taken away from me and I'd been called a cheat and possibly a lot worse, knowing that I was 100% clean, how would that have affected me?

Would I have had the mental strength to come back from it? Diane Modahl returned after her ban was overturned in 1994 but was she ever the athlete she had once been?

At the height of my career, could someone have set me up? Yes. Could someone have destroyed my career? Yes.

I was careful and diligent, but I had to rely on a team around me, which included medical, nutritional and coaching support. I had 100% trust in my team. Not everyone is so lucky.

I have been in athletics for 25 years and am in no way naïve. There is a massive difference between an athlete who systematically cheats and one who is caught up in cheating. It is the same as the difference between an athlete who fails a drugs test and an athlete who just misses one.

How devastating would it be to know you're telling the truth and few believe you?

Of course, people can let you down.

I truly believed, until Dwain Chambers said otherwise, that he was a victim, let down by those around him.

Of course, if you decide to surround yourself with people of questionable character and then fail a test yourself, it doesn't look good, but does it mean that you have chosen the same questionable path?

If you listened to the interview on Thursday's London Calling programme on BBC 5 live you may think I should have given Justin a tougher time and demanded that he never set foot on a track again

You might suggest that the very mention of his name is a stain on the sport.

But Justin Gatlin has maintained his innocence. What if he is telling the truth, and already served a ban that was not of his making?

Usain Bolt is relaxing in his Jamaican home, with the same smug, content feeling that the Roadrunner must have had after never being caught by Wile E. Coyote. No doubt Usain is proudly rewinding and watching his world records on video.

That means it is time to reflect on what has been a great track and field season.

As an athlete I would sit down and evaluate at this time of year before starting back winter training: what worked, what didn't work and how I could make things better.

I would eat all the foods I was not allowed for the previous 48 weeks and enjoy 'real life' for a bit before the routine starts again.

So what will certain athletes have on their report card for 2009? Mission accomplished, or could have done better?

Missions were definitely accomplished for several athletes including Bolt, heptathlete Jessica Ennis and those that stepped up in Berlin after Olympic disappointment and delivered like high jumper Blanka Vlašić and triple jumper Phillips Idowu.

In a previous blog I asked whether Bolt and Ennis would dominate their respective events in 2009 and they did so in great style.

Bolt continues to be the tonic the sport craves and Ennis has become the new 2012 pin-up.

Those that need to go back to the drawing board are any of Bolt's competitors and, as 2012 approaches faster than the man himself, several British athletes need to come back strong from either injuries or disappointing performances.

The British team, though, with their six medals in Berlin, did well, when you consider our medal hopefuls were dropping like flies before the Championships. Head coach Charles Van Commenee will be another man with a little smile on his face.

In his first season at UKA I think Charles can be pleased at what has been achieved. A lot has been said and written about his arrival and that of other overseas coaches.

I personally do not have an issue where our expertise and coaches come from, as long as the British coaches have a chance to shadow them, develop and learn from them.
Surely combining the experience and knowledge of others with our own is the way forward?

So what should we expect next season?

A fully fit Tyson Gay going eyeballs out, stride for stride with the big man, will be superb. I am not saying the 27-year-old from Kentucky can beat Bolt, but he will race Bolt, and that will be interesting.

Gay clocked 9.69 seconds over 100m this season, effecively on one leg because of groin trouble and with really bad starts. I can't wait until he comes out of the surgery room with a fixed groin to give us all the 'real' battle we have been wanting to see for two years.

Will Kenenisa Bekele. continue to match Bolt with his dominance and not get the same level of attention? Probably.

It has been a great season and of course pats on the back have to go to all those who made it so, including the great performances of our athletes who now head into 2010 with a super busy season including the European Championships at the end of July and the Commonwealth Games in October.

I remember in the Autumn of 1999 sitting down with my coaches and setting out the plan to peak at an Olympic Games that was towards the end of September. Not easy.

As many, including the Americans, concentrate on grand prix races and big times, distances and heights, our athletes will have to peak several times and very late in New Delhi.

The Commonwealth Games is fourth on the list of priorities to athletes, after the Olympics, Worlds and Europeans and again next year, with it being so late we may see many athletes either under-performing or not even bothering to do it.

Is there an argument for the home countries to send a developmental team to these Championships?

It was a great season so feel free to share your highlights. Roll on 2010.

Katharine will be discussing the big issues in Olympic sport on BBC Radio 5 live's London Calling programme on Thursday at 2000 BST.

A new season meant a new mission and this season that means the World Championships in Berlin.

There are those who left Beijing last year with gold and want to add another too show the world they are deserving of being the reigning Olympic champion.

And there are those who, in their minds, under-performed or had injuries in Olympic year, so want to make up for that.

One thing that stands out for me this year is potential head-to-head battles between athletes who got it right in Beijing and those who didn't.

Here are just three. Who do you think will win?

This battle between Mr Entertainer and Mr Quiet must be one of the most eagerly anticipated in athletics history.

Since putting in performances hotter than the Olympic flame in Beijing, Bolt has become a superstar, not just because of his fast feet but for his exuberance.

But the triple Olympic champion and world record-holder currently lies second in the world rankings behind American Gay, who went into the Olympics carrying a hamstring injury and failed to qualify for the final.

They are different characters, with different techniques but they have the same mission: to be number one on the only stage that matters this season. Bolt wants the world to see that he can beat anyone and Gay wants to show the world that Bolt can be beaten.

Many believe that, if Gay he not been injured, he could have challenged Bolt in Beijing. I don't. Many think Gay could challenge Bolt in Berlin, I don't.

The reason why? I don't believe with the injury set-backs Gay has had, he has raced enough and is fit enough to go through the rounds and still challenge a man who can win whichever way he runs a race.

After his 200m victory at the London Grand Prix, Gay was very tired, walking the slowest lap of honour of the two-day meet.

I interviewed him there and felt that maybe time is not on his side leading into a major championships.

MEN'S TRIPLE JUMP: NELSON EVORA v PHILLIPS IDOWU

When I say Phillips Idowu didn't get it right, let me explain. Phillips himself says he didn't get it right.

"It hurts" and "I fell short" are just two of the phrases Phillips will say when you ask him about missing the "Big G" by just 5cm to Portugal's Nelson Evora.

Evora, the reigning world champion, leads this year's world rankings but is just 6cm ahead of the man who took silver in Beijing.

Knowing how long it took him to finally box his Beijing disappointment and bury it in the garden, I hope Phillips he hops, steps and jumps his way to the top of the podium.

WOMEN'S 400M: CHRISTINE OHURUOGU v SANYA RICHARDS

There are two big questions here. Is Christine Ohuruogo fit enough to defend her title and will America's Sanya Richards finally judge her race properly when it matters?

Christine has raced this year with the weight of the world title and the Olympic gold medal round her neck. It's a nice weight, but a weight nevertheless. Her plans have been knocked off track though because of a virus and hamstring injury.

At both the 2007 Worlds in Osaka and in Beijing last year Christine has, quite rightly, taken advantage of Sanya's poor racing tactics in major finals.

Sanya may have the current world-leading time, as she did going into Beijing, but we all know Christine has a superb habit of getting it right when it matters, whatever circumstances she is coming into the Championships from.

When I was an athlete I didn't pay much attention to selection times or the criteria.

My coaches Ron Roddan and Linford Christie always had the national trials in my competition schedule and my remit was to win them and to consistently go under the qualification standard I needed beforehand.

Some athletes are already confirmed in the GB & NI team for next month's World Championships in Berlin.

But many athletes face a sleepless night on 27 July, with the full team announced the following day, taking into account performances at the Aviva London Grand Prix at Crystal Palace which is being televised live on the BBC this Friday and Saturday.

With the likes of Phillips Idowu and Jess Ennis already packing their bags, who else will be Berlin bound?

In the men's 100m we have six athletes who have achieved the 'A' qualifying standard of 10.21 seconds this season. Simeon Williamson, trials winner with 10.05, is definitely in, but what about the others?

Dwain Chambers, ranked second in the UK with 10.06 and second at the trials, while Tyrone Edgar, ranked number three and third at the trials in Birmingham. They would be the three athletes I would select, at the moment!

Back at the last World Championships in 2007 though, I, like many, got it wrong. Williamson was the UK's number one sprinter after winning the European Under-23 Championships in 10.10 beating Craig Pickering. He then missed the World trials with a chest infection and with that infection went his place at the Worlds.

Marlon Devonish, Craig Pickering and Mark Lewis Francis, who had all run slower than Williamson were given the three places; the first two by right as they finished one and two at the trials. Lewis Francis was given the nod over Williamson. Williamson didn't even figure in the relay squad. This was unfair to Williamson.

Athletes who will be sweating and really needing to pull a performance out of the bag this weekend are the likes of high jumpers Tom Parsons and Olympic silver medallist Germaine Mason.

The 'A' standard is 2.31m and the 'B' standard 2.28m. Neither jumper has got any standard this season. If both achieve the 'A' standard this weekend, added with their top eight finish in Beijing, they're in; otherwise small print needs to be read!

Talking to athletes and reading the document which explains the qualifying criteria for Berlin, I find it quite confusing, as do some athletes. I would try and explain it to you but I do have a word limit on my blog!

So do the selectors give too many places based on reputation?

Will we see again this year relay members who are questionable on current form, but make the team based on their 'reliability' and 'experience'?

How many times have we seen selectors sometimes go with the top names when often they are not deserving. It is not just football where that happens!

Many countries, including the United States, Russia and Kenya for instance, insist the athletes must compete in their trials. British athletics authorities simply make a request that athletes compete.

Are we being too lenient?

Should UK Athletics put more emphasis on our trials and make them really mean something?

The question is: can we afford to do that?

Where many people get frustrated, athletes and coaches included, is when there is one rule for one athlete and another rule for others.

This season I have heard athletes and coaches moaning at all age group Championships where their athlete has been told to run at a trials event and some other athletes are missing in action.

There will always be a reason for athletes not turning out, whether they are ill or injured, and all in the sport are left to wonder whether they truly believe it or not.

Consistency has to somehow be found.

So why not do it like the Americans?

They know who is going as soon as the results are flashed up on the screen in the stadium at the national trials. Athletes know they have to finish in the top three and achieve the qualifying standard.

This is the rule and the athletes accept it.

All American athletes now know where they are - they are either concentrating on their final preparations for Berlin - or seeing how they can fill their time between the 15th-23rd August.

One of the arguments against a hard and fast trials-based selection policy in the UK, is that we do not have the same depth of athletes - we simply do not have that luxury.

If one of the big names in the US fails to deliver, in most of the events, they have back-up. We don't.

A hard line selection policy like that in the UK would reduce a team to being tiny.

Currently we have 39 athletes who have hit the 'A' standard needed in events outdoors this season, minus the three currently injured and one who has just retired.

That leaves us with 35 athletes who are technically capable of mixing it with the best in the world.

But they all can't go.
Of that number only three of the 'A' standards achieved are by field eventers; Chris Tomlinson, Phillips Idowu and Kate Dennison (four if you put Jess Ennis in that total).
Our weakness is big at the moment in the field.

I personally liked the old system of selecting the first two past the post at the trials who made the 'A' standard.

Maybe the criteria should be based on three things:

1) Trials performance
2) Head to head battles
3) An athlete's top three performances (in the outdoor season)

I'd love to hear your thoughts and suggestions folks.

On 19 August last year, 25-year-old high-jumper Mason made a first time clearance of 2.34m to equal his personal best and grab an Olympic silver medal.

He stood proudly on the podium as the simulated wind in the flagpoles fluttered the red, white and blue of the union jack. Team GB cheered and Jamaica cheered too.

Born in Jamaica in 1983 to a British father, Mason switched allegiance to Great Britain in 2006. He wasn't the first athlete to switch vests in sport and will definitely not be the last.

Germaine always talks for his love of Great Britain, with his mother and family living in London, and the pride he feels representing this nation.

I know his reason for choosing to represent GB was purely because he wanted to, but how many times do we see athletes jumping ship to represent a different nation for other reasons and is it right?

This is a complex debate and it opens up a big can of squirming worms!

British sport has inherited many successful stars as a result of dual citizenship, like Greg Rusedski in tennis and cricketer Kevin Pietersen. I always remember hearing Rusedski was British when he won and Canadian when he lost.

Meanwhile, footballer Manuel Almunia of Arsenal, with no British family connections, will qualify for citizenship after living here for five years.

Do we truly embrace athletes that can be considered 'not one of us' because they have non-British accents? Does it really matter who an athlete competes for? Is it not the performance that counts?

Germaine Mason lives and trains in Jamaica with the likes of Asafa Powell, alongside coach Stephen Francis. He doesn't feel removed from the GB team and is in a great situation of having the support of the Jamaican people, who know deep down it's also a medal for them.

There are many reasons why athletes switch nationalities.

These include the following:

• The athletes and their families will be financially better off.

• They can't make their own national team, by not being good enough or because of other rules. One example is Dwain Chambers being banned from the Olympic Games by Team GB, hence the rumour of him being snapped up by a Middle East country for 2012.

• Or maybe an athlete just wants to compete for another country because of family ties.

Zenebech Tola from Ethiopia and Stephen Cherono from Kenya are two high profile names in athletics. You may know them better as Maryam Jamal of Bahrain and Saif Shaheen of Qatar.

Jamal, the reigning World 1500m champion, and Shaheen, the world record holder for 3000m steeplechase, both changed alliances and both have very different stories.
Jamal was reportedly seeking political asylum.

She applied for citizenship in three different countries before Bahrain granted rapid citizenship, with conditions.

Shaheen caused a big stir, when in 2003 he changed his Kenyan shilling for the Qatar riyal, with reports there was a lot of money on offer. Who are we to judge an athlete's decision based on improving their lives and those of their families?

For many countries it is sometimes obvious that these switches are done on the basis of need and those countries are happy to take sporting names on board when they lack indigenous talent.

So when it is acceptable to change?

I presently see past the colour of an athlete's vest and cheer and applaud great sporting performances, including Germaine Mason jumping to an Olympic medal for Great Britain.

Even though I was a Nike-sponsored athlete for 12 years of my career, and the company is a major part of this event, I never made the start line here, normally because of injury.

Since touching down here on Thursday I have felt like I have been living in a little world that sits on its own, detached from the rest of the USA.

Everyone has said with amazement, "You have never been to Pre before? I can't explain why, but you will love it".

If I am honest, I wondered what the fuss was all about as athletics isn't very big in much of the USA.

In Eugene, Oregon, though, it is huge. It is called Tracktown USA because the town knows it track and field and the athletes love competing here.

The US Olympic trials were here last year and they had, over the 10 days, 200,000 spectators. Already Eugene is booked to host every major US Championships trials until at least 2013, including the London Olympic 2012 trials.

Bring athletics to Eugene and it goes down a storm, partly because of the town's history and passion for track and field, and partly because of the man the meeting is named after, Steve Prefontaine.

Prefontaine, who was tragically killed in a car accident in his running prime aged just 24 years old in 1975, helped inspire the "running boom" in the 1970s.

Primarily a long-distance runner who once held the American record in the seven distance track events from the 2,000 to 10,000m, Prefontaine enrolled at the University of Oregon to train under coach Bill Bowerman.

Bowerman co-founded Blue Ribbon Sports, later known as Nike, and Prefontaine became the first athlete to sign with the company in 1974.

For the 35 years since his death, they have an annual athletics meeting in Prefontaine's honour.

He is an icon in these parts, and the story that followed Wednesday's bad electrical storm, when the meet director's computer malfunctioned, showed that perfectly.

The director took the computer to the store to fix and they said it would be a week, he mentioned he needed it working ASAP as it was for the Prefontaine meeting and the older guy working there said: "For Pre, give me an hour".

The man was, as all are here, a Prefontaine fan and said he would sit most days with his friends when he was younger outside as Steve Prefontaine would do his daily run past.

They would say "Hi Pre", Prefontaine would say "Hi" back and the friends would talk about it for an hour.

Once I had delivered my live, 20-minute video presentation and done some interviews for the passionate 11,000 crowd, introducing over 30 Beijing Olympic medallists, I had the pleasure of standing on the finish line and watching a 20-event, two-hour meeting that was awesome.

The athletic performances, including Dwight Phillips jumping 8.74m for the fifth best long jump in history, were outstanding but it was as much about the vibe.

I then understood what everyone had been talking about all week.

The energy and emotion was electric. I have never in my 24 years in athletics felt anything like it, and I was part of one of the most iconic Olympic finals in history, with 112,000 people in the stadium in Sydney.

The Prefontaine family were in the stadium, as they are every year, and it was great to feel that for one day every year, a country that doesn't really do athletics, does it wonderfully.

Am I in the shape I think I am in? I wondered on the hour, every hour, in the build up to my first outdoor race of the year. Training gives you a guide, but there is nothing like a competition to tell you exactly where you are really at.

One man who has a very clear idea is Usain Bolt.

The 22-year-old triple Olympic champion now has another record to his name after running the fastest ever 150m. The lightening bolt from Trelawny in Jamaica is simply untouchable at the moment.

In case there were any doubts whether he had recovered from his recent car crash - which he described as "frightening" - and whether he could handle his new-found fame and pressure, he surely can take great comfort in the fact that when he is only 80% fit - as he says he is - he can still make the rest of the sprinters in the world look ordinary.

I had the pleasure of working on the Bupa Great Manchester 150m races and interviewed him twice before he raced. Before the race, I wondered whether he could he repeat in 2009 - if not better - what he did in Beijing last year. Yes he can!

So what does this mean for his competitors? Can anyone challenge the young man who could potentially have the world at his fast feet for many years to come?

He confirmed to me that medals rather than records are his motivation but, let's be honest, he could become the Yelena Isinbayeva of the sprinting world and break his own world records at will.

For fellow athletes his superiority could be devastating. How do you focus, train and even start to believe you can challenge someone like that?

If it were me, I would be leaving no stone unturned in making sure I was the best I could be. You cannot control what other athletes do.

Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell have the ability to challenge, if they stay fit and pull it together when it matters, but are there any British contenders?

Dwain Chambers believes he can be a challenger, but then so did every athlete in Beijing and look what happened to them!

Meanwhile, it's great to see Jessica Ennis back competing after the heartbreak of injury last summer.

In her first heptathlon competition back she posted a personal best and world lead, and deserves a huge pat on the back, as does her coach Toni Minicello.

Will 2009 see the changing of the heptathlon guard, with Athens Olympic medallist Kelly Sotherton handing the baton over to her younger rival? Knowing Kelly, she won't let go without a fight.

I love head-to-head competitions, especially in our on back yard. I still have frustrations that Donna Fraser and I never had the rivalry we could have, because of injuries we suffered.

So Ennis and Sotherton will no doubt battle over the coming months, and a full picture of the post-Olympic year will really start to take shape over the next few weeks.

But who will be able to keep up with Usain Bolt?

Katharine and the team discussed Bolt, Ennis and the new season on BBC Radio 5 Live's London Calling programme on Thursday. Listen again to the programme on iPlayer (for seven days after broadcast) or listen to Kath's interview with Usain Bolt.