The most anticipated event of the 2008 Summer Olympics will take place on Saturday night at about 9:30 p.m., St. Louis time.
That is when the finals of the men’s 100-meter dash will take place. All of the events at the Olympics serve as a great warm-up to the track and field competition, with the men’s 100-meter finals as the showcase event.
Fireworks are expected as three of the fastest men ever are expected to clash for the title of “World’s fastest human.” World champion Tyson Gay of the United States should battle current world record holder Usain Bolt of Jamaica along with fellow Jamaican Asafa Powell, the former world record holder. These three men have all covered the 100 meters in the 9.7-second range, so the entire track and field world is expecting an explosion on the track on Saturday night when they step to the starting line.
The 6’5” Bolt comes into Beijing as the favorite and the world-record holder. He broke the record with a 9.72 clocking in New York City on May 31. A silver medalist in the 200-meter dash at the 2007 World Championships, Bolt suddenly emerged as a force in the 100 with his record-setting performance in the Big Apple.
The old record was 9.74, which was set by Powell in September of 2007 in Italy. Powell has been on his game in the Grand Prix meets heading up to the Olympics Games. Powell also defeated Bolt in a pre-Olympic showdown in a meet in Stockholm, Sweden in July.
Gay, the American record holder in the 100, will be trying to break up the Jamaican party. He beat Powell in the 100 at the 2007 World Championships in Japan. Gay turned in a wind-aided 9.68 at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore. last month. He set the American record of 9.77 in the finals. However, he suffered a hamstring injury during the prelims of the 200-meter dash. This week, Gay announced that he was 100 percent fit and ready to go in Beijing.
And it would not be an Olympic 100-meter dash final without a little pre-race boasting. It came courtesy of Powell, who declared that neither Bolt or Gay will beat him if he gets out of the blocks first.
“A lot of people are saying Usain and Tyson are strong finishers, but if I get out in front of them, no matter how they are finishing, they won’t even close on me,” Powell told a pool of reporters in Beijing this week.
Buckle up folks, this race could be one for the ages.
