Speed stars all set for final showdown

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Osaka (Japan) Aug 23: Jamaican world record holder Asafa Powell and American sprint king Tyson Gay are finally about to meet.

After dashing across the United States and Europe without lining up in the same race this season, the pair are set for a 100 metres showdown in the 11th IAAF world championships beginning on Saturday.

Their final on Sunday could be the defining moment of the nine-day global meeting.

''Whoever wins is definitely going to have that edge going into (the 2008 Olympics in) Beijing even if they lose every race after that (this year),'' Powell's manager Paul Doyle told Reuters.

The 25-year-old Gay is seeking world titles at both 100 and 200, while Powell, 24, runs only the 100, in which the world record could be under threat.

Gay came close to claiming that honour in June when he clocked 9.76 seconds, one hundredth of a second faster than Powell's world mark, with a favourable wind.

The Kentucky thoroughbred clocked 9.84 seconds in the 100 and 19.62 seconds in the 200 for impressive wins at the US trials, both times being the year's fastest.

Injuries sidelined Powell at the 2005 championships, while Gay finished fourth in the 200, an event in which he will be among the favourites in Osaka along with Jamaican Usain Bolt and 2005 world silver medallist Wallace Spearmon Jr of the United States.

Double 2005 sprint champion Justin Gatlin is suspended for a positive doping test.

SPEEDY TEXAN

American Jeremy Wariner, the 2005 world 400 champion, also has his eye on a world record.

The speedy Texan clocked 44.02 seconds in Osaka in May, then sprinted a sizzling 43.50 seconds in Stockholm this month.

''If it (the record) doesn't happen here, maybe next year in Beijing,'' world record holder Michael Johnson, Wariner's agent, told reporters.

Ethiopian world record holder Kenenisa Bekele seeks a third successive 10,000 world title.

American long jumper Dwight Phillips, Lithuanian discus thrower Virgilijus Alekna, Belarus hammer thrower Ivan Tikhon and Ecuadorian walker Jefferson Perez also have opportunities to win third consecutive golds.

But Africa's firm grip on world 5,000 titles could be under threat with Australian Craig Mottram confident of improving on his Helsinki bronze medal.

American Alan Webb leads world 1,500 times but question marks remain as to whether the 24-year-old can dominate a multi-round competition.

Rashid Ramzi of Bahrain is the 800 and 1,500 defending champion, but runs only the 1,500 in Osaka.

In the jumping events, Sweden's hopes of being a double winner were blown when Olympic champion triple jumper Christian Olsson pulled out with a hamstring injury, but Stefan Holm, also a winner in Athens, is a live chance in the high jump.

For Japan, Olympic hammer champion Koji Murofushi is hopeful of a medal.

No one will face more intense scrutiny, though, than Chinese world record holder Liu Xiang, the 110 hurdles favourite.

Although the Olympic champion and record holder, he has thrice missed world championship gold. His highest finish, a silver medal, came in Helsinki.

Chinese officials and an adoring public are hoping for a different colour this time.

Reuters>