By Tom Fordyce BBC Sport at the Stade de France

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The sheer number of fantastic races with thrilling finishes will be one of the abiding memories of Paris 2003 - from the men's 3,000m steeplechase and 200m to the 5,000m on the final afternoon.

The 3,000m steeplechase was solid gold viewing for spectators

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With the exception of the distance races, the overall standard of some of the events was somewhat average.

The 100m was won in the slowest time since 1983 and the winning marks in certain field events were below what one would expect in a world championships.

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The crowds in the Stade de France were a sight to behold and hear after the muted reception given by Edmonton in 2001, and confirmed the wisdom of holding the big events in countries which have a long-standing appreciation of athletics.

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The new false start rule was supposed to speed up track events and prevent long delays to key races.

On too many occasions it did exactly the opposite.

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These were a championships above all about fresh talent.

And who fresher than Eliud Kipchoge, the 18-year-old from Kenya who out-sprinted both Hicham El Guerrouj and Kenenisa Bekele to win one of the greatest 5,000m races of all time?

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For a strop that would have embarrassed a two year old, Jon Drummond should hang his head in shame.

The impotent officials who tried without success to red card him weren't much better.

Drummond wouldn't take his disqualification lying down - er well almost

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We knew that she was special after her victories at the Europeans last summer and World Indoors in March, but Sweden's Carolina Kluft confirmed her position as one of the new stars of world athletics with a heptathlon triumph that lit up the Stade de France.

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The American team might have topped the medal table, but the doping cases of both Kelli White and Jerome Young and the way they were handled muddied the reputation of US Track and Field.

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If you wanted one magic moment with which to sum up the championships, you would look no further than Eunice Barber and the last-round jump that took her to long jump gold.

The support and then reaction from the French crowd almost lifted the roof off.

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We came to Paris hoping that Jonathan Edwards could defy the years and snatch another world gold.

But it was not to be, and with his retirement British athletics waved farewell to one of its all-time greats.

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No doubt about it the stand-out performer for Britain was Darren Campbell.

Performing right at his best when it really mattered, he won half of the team's medals and was only a hundredth of a second away from another in the 200m.

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Overall it was a hugely disappointing championships for the British team two silvers and two bronzes to follow the gold and bronze won in Edmonton.

The Sydney Olympics promised so much, but that momentum is in danger of being lost.