Breaking Bolt

The blue riband event of any athletics meet, the men's 100m final is always a big deal. In the Olympics, it is - for many people - the centrepiece of the whole fortnight, the chance to find the fastest human on the planet. It is safe to say, though, that rarely has there been the sort of excitement that surrounds the event in London.

Of course, Usain Bolt's performance in Beijing didn't just light up the Bird's Nest Stadium. It ignited a whole new level of interest in the race, and launched the Jamaican into the stratospheric tier of global mega-stars. This year, though, it hasn't been the mind-blowing times or Bolt's domination of the event that has people talking - it's the possibility that he might be beaten.

The list of pretenders to the crown is indeed impressive. Justin Gatlin, back from a drug ban, is a former Olympic champion in his own right. Yohan Blake is the reigning world champion after Bolt's disqualification in Daegu. Asafa Powell is a former world record holder, and Tyson Gay is the only human aside from Bolt to have gone under 9.7 seconds. But can any of them really beat Bolt?

Well no. Not really, like. Without sounding too patronising - or putting a pseudo-philosophical twist on things - only Bolt can beat Bolt. Whether it's injury, a false-start, complacency, whatever, there needs to be a reason that the fastest man in the field is not the fastest man on the night. If the race is run at a 9.75 pace, there are at least five men who could take it. If it's run at 9.7 dead, it could be between Blake and Bolt. If the clock stops at 9.6 - or even below - there's only one name that could be next to that time.

Bolt admitted he has had an injury issue lately - the same injury which was pointed to as the reason for his defeats at the Jamaican trials. But he seems close to his best, and frankly a Bolt close to his best is still better than the rest. He is also the coolest man on the planet; it is close to impossible to imagine the mental frailties that have plagued Powell taking hold of Bolt.

The intrigue is definitely there, and the heats this morning suggested the track is absolutely lightning - Ryan Bailey's 9.88 proving the speed we can expect. Tomorrow night will see a spectacle - expect Bolt to be at the front of the pack.