Sprinters gear up for battle on the track

THERE is nothing quite like the Olympics to satisfy our appetite for sporting drama and heroic tales.

The dominance of Michael Phelps, the courage of Nicole Cooke and the gravity-defying grace of the Chinese gymnasts is just a selection of a whole host of stories thrown up during the opening week of the games.

But the highlight of the show, the big spectacle, is just around the corner and it will be over in less than ten seconds.

The Olympics is all about watching men and women pushing their body to its limits and there is no greater thrill than watching man running as fast as he can go in the 100 meters final.

There is no mystery to it, it’s just eight men running in a straight line as quickly as possible, but the sheer adrenaline rush and blink-and-you-miss it speed makes it the headline act of any Olympic games.

This year’s final on Saturday also has the potential to be one of the great Olympic contests as three fantastically gifted sprinters, Asafa Powell, Usain Bolt and Tyson Gay, go head to head.

We have all been awe-struck by Phelps’ destruction of his opposition and it may have inspired many, but surely the kind of rivalry in prospect for the 100m is what sport is all about.

Three genuinely world class runners who all may have been head and shoulders above the rest in another era will be competing against one another with even the experts unable to call the winner.

The trio all have their own stories to tell as well.

Powell is the laid-back Jamaican with phenomenal ability and perfect physique but a reputation for choking on the big occasion.

His compatriot Bolt is the reluctant 100m sensation who came from nowhere and still claims to be a 200m specialist despite breaking the world record at the shorter distance.

Then there is Gay, the all-American hero on a mission to restore the reputation of his nation’s sprinters after it has been tarnished by drugs scandals in recent years.

All three of them are capable of winning and all of them in a record time – if they all turn up on the day (particularly Powell) it could just be one of those moments that we see replayed again and again - I hope I haven’t built this up too much!

It does seem slightly unfair to the likes of Phelps who repeatedly show their brilliance, but their glory could be completely overshadowed by one of these three speedsters in less than ten seconds of perfect sprinting.