We will get an idea tonight whether the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Osaka has signalled some sort of renaissance for Australian track and field, or whether it has gone the way of so many other international meets in recent times and proved to be a complete bust.

On the evidence of the first five days’ competition in Japan, only the most ardent optimist will be holding their breath about the chances of an Australian revival.

It defies logic, and explanation, that a nation which produces world champions as if from a production line in fields as diverse as surfing, motorcycle racing, squash, cycling and aerial skiing finds it difficult to produce a gold medalist in any running, jumping or throwing event.

Not since the 1968 Mexico Olympic Games has Australia claimed more than one track-and-field gold at an Olympics or world championships. Ralph Doubell’s 800-metre win at Mexico remains the most recent men’s success on the track, and that happened all of 39 years ago. The world titles in Helsinki two years ago almost drew a complete blank, until Craig Mottram rode to the rescue with a gallant bronze-medal performance in the 5000 metres on the final day.

Is it any wonder that, in their desperation, the Australian Sports Commission and Athletics Australia have embarked on a nationwide search for talent? In launching their talent quest into the indigenous communities, AA is trying to unearth someone with the talent and ticker to take on the world. Already, schools in Oodnadatta, Marree and Coober Pedy are involved in the Athletics Outback Challenge; all that remains now for AA is to identify the next Cathy Freeman.

The five days in Osaka so far has produced a depressing litany of results. The much-publicised and well-hyped Tamsyn Lewis came fourth in the heats of the 800 metres and progressed no further. Benita Johnson was spiked and fell in the 10,000 metres final, finishing 17th. Kym Howe came 11th in the final of the women’s pole, the same result as Bronwyn Thompson in the long jump.

For the men, Patrick Johnson, who once smashed the 10-second barrier for the 100 metres, and Josh Ross both bombed out in the quarter-finals of the men’s sprint. A dispirited Ross has pulled out of the 200m and 4x100m relay, and is now flying home. John Steffensen and Sean Wroe were gallant in their 400-metre semi-finals, Wroe running a PB, but not quite good enough to make the final.

But, salvation may be at hand tonight. Jana Rawlinson (nee Pittman) races at 9.25pm (AEST) in the final of the women’s 400m hurdles, only eight months after giving birth to her son, Cornelis. Rawlinson, the 2003 world champion, has drawn lane five with her main threat, Russia’s Yuliya Pechenkina, in lane six. This race represents one of the very few that Australia has a genuine chance of a gold medal.

About 20 minutes later, Mottram will run in the first round of the 5000 metres and should qualify without too much fuss. The final, in which he will run against the might of the Kenyans, Ethiopians and Moroccans, is scheduled to be run on Sunday evening, in prime time for Australian television.

Also tonight, world No. 1 and 2 Steve Hooker and Paul Burgess will seek to earn a spot in the pole vault final. Then, on Saturday, reigning world record holder Nathan Deakes will try to waddle his way to victory in the 50-kilometre walk.

If we can’t garner gold from one of that lot, then it’s back to the drawing board for Athletics Australia. And that means sending the talent scouts to scour the outback, to Oodnadatta, Coober Pedy and beyond, and see if we can’t find one track and field champion somehow, somewhere in this wide brown land of ours.