WITHOUT wishing to take anything away from the brilliance of Lewis Hamilton, it was a shame that his win in Japan so totally overshadowed last weekend's other outstanding individual performance.

It came from Haile Gebrselassie, who shattered the world marathon record by 29 seconds in Berlin, lowering it to 2hr 4min 26sec. That's a big chunk to take out of a record which has been reduced very gradually since Morocco's Khalid Khannouchi clocked 2:05:42 in 1998. It was three years later before be lowered his mark by four seconds in London, beating Gebrselassie and Paul Tergat in the process.

Tergat went on to break the record in Berlin four years ago, and that had stood until last Sunday, when it was claimed by the extraordinary athlete who won the 10,000 metres gold at the Atlanta and Sydney Olympics.

Gebrselassie is now a legend to rank alongside his fellow Ethiopian Abebe Bikila, who was the first African to claim Olympic gold when he won the marathon in Rome in 1960, running barefoot. His time was 2:15:16, which he lowered to 2:12:11 with the help of running shoes in defending his title in Tokyo four years later.

THE beauty of Lewis Hamilton's Fuji triumph was that it reversed his decline - something of which young sportsmen are rarely capable in the same season. They might start with a bang, but once the rot sets in they usually need the break between seasons to get themselves back on track.

Hamilton's hiccup coincided with the furore surrounding the McLaren team's pinching of Ferrari secrets, which again belittled Formula One at a time when Hamilton was doing so much to restore its reputation as a sport worthy of some interest.

The argument that technology triumphs probably still stands, but in overcoming team-mate and reigning champion Fernando Alonso, Hamilton has shown remarkable skill as well as single-minded dedication and the temperament to overcome a variety of obstacles.

He was long since nominated here as a racing certainty for Sports Personality of the Year, and they'll be able to weigh the votes rather than count them once he is crowned the youngest world champion, which will hopefully happen in China this weekend.

THE only person who might rival Hamilton is Jonny Wilkinson if he again kicks the winning drop goal in the World Cup final. First he has to mastermind a repeat of the Sydney final four years ago when England tackle Australia tomorrow.

Partly on the grounds that England should have won that game comfortably and didn't, I can't see the current inferior side finding a way past the Aussies, although we have more chance than the Scots against Argentina.

While the absence of any northern hemisphere sides from the semi-finals will be a blow, at least the established order has been upset with Argentina and Fiji making it to the last eight. Italy would also have been there but for the metronomic boot of Scotland's Chris Paterson, now considered the best kicker in the world.

Jonny is not quite as dependable as he was, but if he produces any more moments of inspiration like the crossfield kick which produced Paul Sackey's superbly-taken first try against Tonga there might still be a flicker of hope for England.

IT IS difficult to decide which is the greater waste of time and money - the inquest into the death of a princess who was laid to rest ten years ago, or the employment tribunal investigating umpire Darrell Hair's alleged loss of earnings.

The fact that Hair is also suing the ICC for racial discrimination and injury to feelings shows what kind of man he is. It provides confirmation in itself that they were right not to offer him any more Test matches after his role in the abandonment of the England v Pakistan Test at the Oval last year.

The tribunal s expected to last 12 days and with both sides employing leading barristers the costs will be staggering. And all because a double-chinned Australian umpire, who will not be short of a bob or two, has suffered a dent to his pride brought about through his own lack of diplomacy in accusing the Pakistanis of ball tampering.

ANOTHER example of cricket-related madness was the revelation by a team of sports scientists from that renowned academic institution, Salford University, that Durham had more luck than any other county with the toss and the weather this summer. A professor was quoted, but what he said is irrelevant. The only point of interest is that supposedly academic people are prepared to waste time and money on such mind-numbing trivia.