Expert View Michael Johnson

The athletics events begin on Friday with the much-anticipated battle to become the fastest man in the globe, getting the Olympic meeting off to an exciting start. This could be one of the best 100m races ever.

Jamaicans Asafa Powell and Usain Bolt along with American Tyson Gay each have an equal chance of winning the gold. And each one of these athletes will consider it a major disappointment if, they are not crowned Olympic champion on Saturday night here in the National Stadium.

In analysing each one of them, I have broken down their strengths and weaknesses:

ASAFA POWELL (Jam.) 9.74s

Strengths: He is the most powerful of the three and that gives him an advantage at the start of the race, during the important drive phase, which takes place in the first 30metres of the race. He has broken the world record twice in his career and has the most sub-10 second performances of the three. He also has the most experience having participated in the last two World Championship and the 2004 Olympic 100m finals.

Weaknesses: He is the only one of the group, who is not a world class 200m sprinter so, the end of his race is lacking. He is mentally the weakest of the three sprinters and that has shown in past championships, when he has established himself as the favourite and failed to capitalise.

Advice: Powell has been erratic in the rounds in most of his championships; he can stop too soon, looking at himself as he runs, and he appears nervous.

TYSON GAY (US) 9.77s

Strengths: Probably the quickest turnover of the group, meaning he has the ability to simply turn his legs faster than the other two.

He has run his fastest times this year, which is a confidence booster. He is in great, consistent form and he can take this into this race. He is an exceptional closer, meaning he has the ability to overcome a poor start (over the first 30metres) and then, he can use his renowned 200m strength to catch the leader before the finish line.

Weaknesses: Tyson suffered an injury whilst running the 200m at the US Olympic trials, which was described as a severe cramp at the time by his coach. He hasn’t run a race since. A later diagnosis of the problem was that Gay had suffered a hamstring strain. The 100m requires event sharpness, which is the familiarity of the execution of the race.

Advice: Use visualisation as a tool, running the race over and over again in his mind, with perfect execution of his race strategy from start to finish. This will substitute for his lack of actual races. Focus on the start during each round with the objective of establishing consistency to ensure a good start in the final.

USAIN BOLT (Jam.) 9.72s (WR)

Strengths: Bolt is the most impressive of the three as a sprinter because of his height of 6ft 5in, which would normally limit his ability to execute a good start or achieve excellent turnover. As a 200m runner, which is what he was known as prior to this year, he was gangly and his technique was far from perfect.

Weaknesses: Inexperience is Bolt’s only weakness that I can see. This will be his first major championship at 100m and his first Olympics.

Advice: Bolt has had great success this year and he should approach this race as another 100m race. Be relaxed, but focused. He shouldn’t expect any more than that to execute his race in the same way he did, when he ran 9.76sec and 9.72sec this year.

Watch out for Walter Dix; the young US sprinter could take a medal here.