Mens 100m - PREVIEW

Tyson Gay outclasses Asafa Powell in the final stages of the men's 100m final (Getty Images)

Rarely in Olympic history has the race to be crowned the worlds fastest man served up quite the range of debate and drama like it has so far this season. But should the three fastest men in history make it in one piece to Beijing we could be set for the greatest Olympic 100m final in history on the night of August 16.

Leading the contenders is Jamaicas Usain Bolt, who caused a major tremor in the sprinting world by powering his 6ft 5in frame down the track in 9.72 to shatter the world 100m record in New York in May.

Prior to that race the 21-year-old was previously better known as a 200m sprinter but since blitzing to that mark he has recorded 9.85 to win the Jamaican Championships and finished second in Stockholm, after a disastrous start, in 9.89.

The man who beat him that night, Asafa Powell, represents the second of the big three. Powell not only lost his world record mark to Bolt but also struggled early season with a shoulder injury. Yet he has bounced back. He not only claimed a morale boosting win over Bolt in Stockholm but he blitzed to victories in London (9.94) and Monaco (9.82) in his last two warm up races before Beijing.

However, as much as Powell has often looked imperious on the Grand Prix circuit, he has yet to convert that undoubted ability on the major championships stage. He finished a disappointing fifth in the Olympic final in Athens and won only bronze when many predicted gold in the 2007 World Championship 100m final.

The third, but by no means least, of the major contenders is Americas world 100m champion Tyson Gay. The Kentucky native was shellshocked to finish 0.13 behind Bolt as the Jamaican stormed to his world record in New York. However, he recovered his composure to blitz to the US title in the fastest ever recorded time of 9.68 albeit with an illegal wind for record purposes. But his preparations were stopped in their tracks when he pulled up lame with a hamstring injury in the 200m at the Olympic Trials. What was initially believed to be a relatively minor problem has sidelined Gay for much longer than he would have wanted and when he take to the start line in the 100m heats he will not have competed for almost six-weeks. Yet such is his fearsome competitive record few will underestimate his gold medal potential.

The second and third string US duo - Walter Dix and Darvis Patton - must also be respected as sub-10 second athletes.

Trinidad boast two sub-10 second sprinters this year in Richard Thompson (9.93) and Marc Burns (9.97) and the third string Jamaican Michael Frater is another class act.

The top European challenger is Francis Obikwelu, of Portugal, the Olympic silver medallist from 2004. Watch out, too, for 2007 World championship silver medallist Derrick Atkins, of Bahamas, Churandy Martina of the Netherlands Antilles and Jaysuma Saidy Ndure of Norway.