WHAT a flop of a World Athletics Championships.

Our squad slumped to an all-time low, collecting only one gold and one bronze through triple jumper Jonathan Edwards and decathlete Dean Macey.

Our team of crocks were a real disappointment -- hardly worth the sleepless nights I've endured following my favourite sport.

I, and other fans, will be glad they're over so that we can recover.

On the whole the Edmonton games were a shambles with hardly any crowds early on, poor starting and the judges making even the 800m runners stand up because one had his fingers a quarter of an inch on the line. As though it would make a difference.

The star of the show was the 22 stone American Samoan who turned up for the heats of the men's 100m.

Shotputter Trevor "the tortoise" Misapeka, the follow up to Eddie the Eagle and Eric the Eel in last year's Olympics, trundled down the track in the slowest time ever recorded at 14.8 sec.

But at least he gave his best which is more than can be said for some of our lot, who should spend more time training instead of in the hairdresser's having their hair dyed.

And bring back commentator David Coleman -- boy was he missed.

One highlight for me was the women's high jump, despite our top woman Susan Jones Fosbury-flopping out in the heats.

My ears pricked in the early hours of the morning when one of her coaches got a mention -- Tyldesley's John Howcroft, a former Leigh Harriers' trainer who moved to Wigan and for years helped to nurture the young lady in her rise into the British squad.

The retired Leigh St Joseph's RC Junior School teacher must have been a very proud man.