Kelly Sotherton and Marlon Devonish, the Midland athletes who came here hopeful of a medal or two - whatever the colour - did nothing to lift the spirits of a Great Britain camp that remains in severe danger of their worst World Championships after another day of underachievement.
The pervasive colour was grey when both might have harboured dreams of gold, silver or bronze and it was not just because of the dank conditions at the Olympic Stadium.
Birchfield Harrier Sotherton finished eighth in the long jump, capping a miserable week after her disappointing fifth place in the heptathlon, while Coventry Godiva sprinter Devonish failed to live up to the bravado and his own expectations when he crashed out of the 200 metres semi-finals along with Christian Malcolm. The sprint pair's slump was bitterly disappointing as they finished last and seventh in their respective races.
Britain's dismal showing in the championships was exacerbated by Nathan Douglas, one of the best hopes of a medal, who crashed out of the triple jump after finishing 15th in qualifying.
The previous worst championships were in Edmonton in 2001 when the team won only two medals - gold for Jonathan Edwards in the triple jump and Dean Macey's decathlon bronze.
In last night's long jump, Sotherton jumped 6.42 metres with her third effort to earn another three attempts. But the 28-year-old then registered three fouls in the pouring rain to remain in eighth position.
Sotherton said: "I can't expect more than that because I'm so tired. I didn't have anything left. I was running on empty.
"To get to the top eight in the World Championship final is an achievement when I'm ranked only in the top 30. I've really given myself a pat on the back. You don't realise how much the heptathlon takes out of you."
It is debatable whether or not her own satisfaction will appease team GB and those who agree her lottery funding.
Devonish, a member of the Olympic gold medal-winning relay team in Athens, described his performance as "rubbish, just rubbish".
"I have very high expectations of myself. I wanted to get to the final of the 100m and 200m and I'm disappointed," he said.
"My mental preparation coming in was good but it just didn't happen."
Amid the gloom came a glimmer of light when Cardiff's Tim Benjamin became only the third British athlete to qualify for a final when he defied terrible conditions in the 400m.
The 23-year-old was third in his semi-final but his time of 45.66 seconds was the fifth fastest overall. Team-mate Robert Tobin failed to qualify after finishing fourth in his semi.
Benjamin, who broke the 45-second barrier when beating Olympic champion Jeremy Wariner at Crystal Palace recently, said: "It was so cold it was very hard to concentrate and you couldn't see what was going on during the race."
Estonian Andrus Varnik, who lives 40 miles across the border from Helsinki, upstaged his more fancied rivals, in particular the host nation's world leader Tero Pitkamaki, to win the men's javelin with a stunning throw of 87.17 metres.
Tonique Williams-Darling's experience won her a thrilling women's 400m title ahead of rookie Sanya Richards in 49.55 seconds, remarkable time amidst a continuous downpour. It was a first individual world track title for Bahamas.
American Bryan Clay won the decathlon with a worldleading score of 8,732 points, gaining revenge over Olympic champion Roman Sebrle, the Czech who defeated him in Athens.
Moroccan-born Bahraini Rashid Ramzi won an uneventful men's 1,500m race in three minutes 37.88 seconds.
