Michael Johnson column

By Michael Johnson 400m world record holder and BBC pundit

Sorting out who are the best athletes this season will not be measured by who did what at the Commonwealth Games.

Too many people try to put these championships on a par with the World Championships or the Olympics but they are not - never have been, never will be.

Just ask the athletes, they know because they have to compete against the best in the world.

Christine Ohuruogu made a major breakthrough in Melbourne

Even if they have won the Commonwealth gold medal they will still tell you that.

The Games serve their own purpose and that is to give athletes who would not have a chance to qualify for the Worlds or the Olympics the experience of competing in a major event.

It acts as a springboard for them and I think Melbourne could be a stepping stone for athletes like Christine Ohuruogu, Steven Lewis and Martyn Rooney.

Christine's performance was the one that impressed me the most out of everything I have seen.

She beat Tonique Williams-Darling who is the Olympic and world champion and probably the best 400m runner in the world.

Pole-vaulter Lewis is only 19 but he got a bronze medal and has proven he is a young talent. Rooney did the same by reaching the 400m final.

Jamaican sprinter Sherone Simpson has also come through, but the difference is you could take her to the World Championships and she could get on the podium there too.

Rooney won't win a global medal yet but he has come here and will be encouraged for the future.

To have a presence on the international stage, you have to compete against the best in the world

We have seen some very good competition in Melbourne and some good performances but I do not think we have seen any that were truly world-class.

The times in the sprints were not great. You are not going to even get a medal at world level running 20.47 seconds like Omar Brown did to win the 200m.

In the 100m Asafa Powell took gold in 10.03 but you won't get on the podium on the world stage unless you go under 10 seconds.

To expect world-class performances in March, when most of the athletes are not used to competing until the summer, is not going to happen.

I think the Australian athletes had an unfair advantage because this is their normal season and they did not have to adjust their training.

That has been constantly on my mind every time I saw another Australian athlete win because I thought maybe that athlete probably isn't the best athlete.

Asafa Powell is capable of better times than he set in Melbourne

What people do not understand about track and field is that it is all about being the best.

Americans Justin Gatlin and Jeremy Wariner will not race in any major championships this season but that does not matter. Their main focus will be to finish 2006 as the world number one.

A way of working out who is the best is to look at what competitions the athletes are running in this year, that means the Golden League and the Grands Prix.

Asafa Powell will be in the Golden League and he will get more credit for what he does there than winning Commonwealth gold because he will be racing against the best.

I think that truth gets lost on the British media, the fans and the athletes themselves because they hardly compete outside of their country.

Athletes like Jason Gardener, who could qualify for the Golden League, choose not to go. They would rather stay at home and compete in London, Sheffield, Manchester and Gateshead.

But to have a presence on the international stage you have to compete against the best in the world.

When a British - or Australian for that matter - athlete does well, people want to make it fit like an Olympic or World medal but it is just not the same level.