Asafa's got the edge »

Asafa Powell

BEIJING, China (CMC):

Ever since Hasely Crawford and Don Quarrie won Olympic Games gold medals in 1976, no Caribbean male athlete has been to the top of the podium in the Olympics.

That could change at the 29th Summer Games in Beijing, China, where the Caribbean has a strong hand in the men's sprints and gold is a real possibility.

These golden prospects rest with Jamaica's Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell, the fastest two men in the world.

Bolt enters the arena as the favourite. He has the world record, formerly held by Powell and has beaten 2007 World Champion Tyson Gay.

On top of everything, he has a slew of fast times and just one loss, to Powell in Stockholm by 0.01 seconds. That is the plus side.

Experience level

On the other side of the ledger, he understandably lacks experience in the 100 since this is his first season in the event.

Powell is not the big meet rookie he was four years ago and has overcome some injuries to reach peak form just in time.

He has won his last three races, all with times under 10 seconds. The last one was a gem, timed in 9.82 seconds, in Monaco.

This was achieved with no aiding wind and on a track not known for fast sprinting. Despite this, questions remain about his temperament in big meets.

Gay has lost some training time recovering from his US Trials mishap (hamstring injury) and has not run since.

End of the pursuit

That puts the gold into Jamaican hands and should end a pursuit that started when the late, great Herb McKenley lost by a whisker in the 100 metres in the Helsinki 1952 Games.

Despite near misses by Lennox Miller in 1968 and Quarrie in 1976, no Jamaican has ever won Olympic gold in this event.

Powell's big meet experience - Olympic fifth, Commonwealth gold and World Championship bronze in 2007 - and his renewed confidence, plus his consistent starts give him the edge over Bolt.

Gay is the X factor. If he is 100 per cent fit, he'll be a handful.

Four of the 2004 finalists return - runner-up Francis Obikwelu of Portugal, Powell, Kim Collins of St Kitts and Nevis, the 2003 World Champion, and Ghanian Aziz Zakari, who has just returned from a drug suspension.

New star Richard Thompson and 2002 World Junior Champion Darrell Brown give Trinidad and Tobago additional hopes of places in the final and perhaps on the podium.

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