DONETSK DIARY: A most memorable birthday, Donetsk-style

My birthday started well enough yesterday.

In fact, the celebrations had started the night before, when a group of us gathered at a local restaurant, before heading out for some drinks to ring in the actual birthday celebrations.

Things got even better when I stepped inside the Main Press Centre, where I was surprised to see photos of me - randomly taken throughout the week by a bunch of other media folks - posted on the wall.

It didn't stop there, as the IAAF and the Ukrainian Athletic Federation went a step further with bottles on top of bottles of champagne, and a bunch of cakes in what was a deeply appreciated gesture.

To top it off, the Jamaica team completed the job with a double gold medal-winning performance to top the medals table.

Simply amazing!!!

MANY THANKS

Big thanks to Laura, Yannis, Olga, Anna, Katie, Rache for the best birthday ever. It's greatly appreciated, and it's a memory I will always cherish.

Thanks also to everyone for the countless birthday wishes through my email, Facebook and Twitter. It meant a lot. I did not plan to spend this milestone birthday here, but it turned out that way in the end and I have absolutely NO regrets!

It really was a perfect day, well, until the news that rocked the track and field world - the positive drug tests of Asafa Powell, Tyson Gay, Sherone Simpson, and others.

I will not dwell on this situation, more than to say that we should always remember to be slow to judge, and take care in how we arrive at conclusions.

This will certainly have a major impact on Jamaica, the United States and international track and field in a period when we are all getting ready to watch, cover and compete at the World Championships in Moscow.