U.S. track dominant at worlds

OSAKA, Japan (AP) — The dress rehearsal was a smash. Next comes the big show in Beijing.

The U.S. track and field team never had a better performance at any world track and field championships than the one it had in Osaka.

In the nine days of competition that ended Sunday, gold medals came in the sprints, the distance races, the pole vault and the shot put.

“This is the most complete team we’ve ever had,” said Craig Masback, chief executive officer of USA Track & Field, the sport’s governing body in the United States.

The Americans will be back in Asia in less than a year, and the team they field for the Olympic Games undoubtedly will be a strong one.

“This group is very special,” said Angelo Taylor, one of the few old-timers on the U.S. squad. “We have a lot of young talent.”

Leading the way

Allyson Felix and Tyson Gay lead the way by winning three golds apiece. Gay was the third man to do it at a worlds, Felix the second woman.

Among other things, the U.S. was the first team to sweep all four relays, and Kenyan-born Bernard Lagat was the first to win a 1,500 and 5,000 meters at a world meet. Lagat did it in his first international meet wearing a U.S. uniform.

Out of the 26 medals the U.S. won, 14 were gold.

The United States got a bronze medal in the women’s 10,000 by Kara Goucher and came within 0.03 seconds of getting another one from Matthew Tegenkamp in the men’s 5,000.

The performances, by Gay in particular, helped bury the embarrassment of having Justin Gatlin test positive for steroids and testosterone last year.

Another drug scandal could erase the good vibes the U.S. team felt in Japan.

Gatlin, world 100 and 200 champion in 2005, remains banned from competition, but is trying to lessen his penalty.