The men's 100m final was about to start. The athletes had assumed the position on their respective starting blocks.

It was a battle of the titans if ever there was one: Bolt, Powell, Dix, Frater and more.

The stadium announcer didn't even request quiet. The crowd was simply charged with such anticipation that it was like a 90,000-strong collective breath.

I've heard stadiums in silence for national anthems – that doesn't even come close to comparing to this. I could have heard a mobile phone ring on the other side of the Birds Nest.

Then – in stark contrast – the stadium erupted to a level I've never heard. The gun fired, the cameras flashed and Usain bolted!

From my position at track-side near the javelin throw, I couldn't see the finish line. But I didn't need to – I had a perfect view of most of the final 50m.

It was incredibly close up to that point and looked as though it was anybody's race. Then Bolt took control.

It was no longer a race for a gold medal – that was decided long before the finish line.

The numbers started popping up on the screen:

Bolt, WR – No surprise there.

Thompson – ok, Powell must have got third.

Dix – where's Powell?!

Martina – Powell started, right?

Powell …

I couldn't believe it. The man I – and probably half the world – had tipped to take it to the line with Bolt had faltered on the big stage and come in at fifth.

But it didn't stop the world turning for Bolt fans. The stadium was louder than ever and as the Jamaican ran an extra 200m in ecstasy, a wave of chants followed him.

I'll never forget that night – for that and one other reason.

WAIS athlete Kylie Wheeler set a new personal best in the heptathlon to finish 11^th.

A personal best is a massive achievement but to do it on the largest stage for your sport is another thing entirely.

Day one of the athletics at the Birds Nest saw the crowd scuffle in throughout the day in dribs and drabs.

Wheeler's first event – the 100m hurdles – opened the athletics. She finished with a time of13.68. It was a great start and a mere five one-hundredths of a second off her PB.

But it was the heptathlon's second event that had my brother and I on the edge of our third-tier seats. The high jump was an emotional roller-coaster for us – I hate to think what it was like for Kylie.

She entered at 1.71m and cleared it with ease. But after breezing over the next stage, the West Australian faulted twice at 1.77m.

I must have turned blue from holding my breath for so long. I sent a message out to her coach (and my mum) Lyn Foreman – “what's the chance of her clearing on her third attempt?”

No reply. Both my legs were jigging up and down furiously with nerves and anticipation. My fingers had barely enough skin left to contain the bones.

I was later told that it's all about experience on the final jump – something Kylie Wheeler has plenty of. Both Kylie and her coaches knew she could clear that height with ease – it was just a matter of pulling it out on the day.

Kylie started the run up, approached the bar – clear!

She jumped for joy – I rested my head against the hand rail in front of me. That was too close!

Then, as if mocking her previous falter, Kylie cleared a height of 1.80m on her first attempt. The then-event-leader Hyleas Fountain cleared 1.83m without even looking like she struggled.

I thought the nerve-racking part was over. Kylie had other ideas.

She aborted her first attempt at 1.83m – ducking the bar. It didn't fill me with a lot of confidence and again my legs started their jib.

Second attempt – failed.

Then, in what was starting to become a trend for Wheeler, she not only cleared that height on her final attempt, but she then equalled her personal best and cleared 1.86m first go!

My throat was sore and my voice was faltering, but I was going to be dammed if I let the Brit sitting behind us cheer louder!

Then Fountain silenced me with an easy clearance of 1.89m. Springs in her shoes – it's the only explanation.

Kylie had given it her all – as demonstrated by matching her PB. “Well done Wheels,” I thought. “You can leave this discipline a happy athlete.”

Not so. She wanted more.

With a fault on her first attempt, Kylie cleared 1.89m to match Fountain and set a new personal best! Both Fountain and Wheeler failed to clear the following height, meaning the West Australian finished the first session in fourth position overall.

I won't go into so much detail of the rest of the competition, but I'll just say that I was blown away by Kylie's spirit, determination and skill.

A twinge in her right leg on day two saw Wheeler abort her final long lump – one of her strongest events – meaning she walked away with a jump of 6.11m. Not bad, but not her best.

Kylie now had to lift for the javelin – one of her weakest events. Did it faze her? No way!

Other competitors jogged out a 50m run-up before launching their projectile – often with little result – but not Wheeler. She ambled through her short 10m start and let fly – her second throw smashing her previous best by more than a metre.

The rest is history. Kylie Wheeler set a new overall personal best of 6369 after putting another four years of intense training into practice and earned 11^th place, a mere one point out of the top 10.

I spoke to Kylie at the start of the year for a Sunday Times piece and she said her goal for Beijing was a top 10 finish. Despite her hard work and remarkable effort, I'm sure she harbours some disappointment at not achieving that.

At the time of writing this, the athlete that finished second – Ukraine's Lyudmila Blonska – failed her first-sample drug test. If Blonska's second sample returns positive, she will be stripped of her medal and disqualified. Blonska has previously served a two-year ban for testing positive to steroids in 2003.

If Blonska is again found guilty, Kylie will achieve her goal of a top 10 berth at the Beijing Olympic Games.

She fought through injury, she worked for it, she earned it and she did it fairly. I can't think of a more deserving result.

Keep smiling Kylie – and congratulations.