Men's track preview

Last week I gave you a glimpse of what to watch for in the women's Olympic track competition. Now here's a look at what to watch for in the men.

Men's 100: Always a marquee event at the Olympics, it should more than live up to that this year. At the end of the 2007 season, it looked like the storyline was set: Jamaica's Asafa Powell set a world record of 9.74 seconds in September, but was beaten badly by American Tyson Gay at the world championships, their only meeting of the year. So, world champ vs. world record holder. Then along came Usain Bolt, another Jamaican who concentrated on the 200 until this year. Now he's taking the 100 seriously, and everyone else had to take him seriously after he broke Powell's world record and defeated Gay by running 9.72 seconds in June. Bolt went on to beat Powell at the Jamaican Olympic Trials. But Powell did come back to edge Bolt in a race in Europe last month. Gay, meanwhile, scorched the track at the U.S. Olympic Trials, but later injured himself. If he's at full strength, it will be one of the best three-way showdowns in Olympic history. Not enough for you? Then throw in darkhorses Walter Dix of the United States and Derrick Atkins of the Bahamas, Powell's cousin and the silver medalist at the world championships.
A second Bolt-Gay showdown at 200 metres was scuttled by Gay's injury, but Bolt should get a challenge from Americans Dix, Wallace Spearmon and Shawn Crawford, the defending Olympic champion.

Men's 400: Jeremy Wariner grabbed the torch from Michael Johnson (now Wariner's agent) in this event when he won in Athens. Since then Wariner has been basically unbeatable. Then this winter he curiously fired his coach (who also coached Johnson). Wariner then lost twice, including at the U.S. Trials, to LaShawn Merritt. Wariner has rebounded with two victories over Merritt of his own, but all four races have been barnburners. Expect another one in Beijing. Canadian fans should keep one eye on the battle for third; Tyler Christopher, the world indoor champion, should be considered one of the favourites to grab the bronze.

Men's 800: This event is wide, wide open. There are probably some serious medal contenders who won't even make the final. The most interesting contender to my readers is probably Gary Reed, Canada's best chance for track gold. Reed missed winning the world championships last year by 0.01 seconds. He's also shown he's a master of peaking at the right time. Reed will face many challengers, led by Abubaker Kaki of Sudan. Just 19, Kaki won the world indoor championships (Reed didn't run) and has the world-leading time this year. Other key contenders include Kenya's Alfred Kirwa Yego, the man who edged Reed in Osaka last year, and defending Olympic champion Yuriy Borzakovsky of Russia. U.S. champion Nick Symmonds isn't much of a medal threat, but I encourage readers to root for him because, like me, he ran track at an NCAA Division III school. Big stuff from a small school!

Men's 1500: Bernard Lagat won bronze in 2000 and silver in 2004 for Kenya. The Flagstaff resident will try to climb to the top step as an American after becoming a citizen in 2004. His main challenges will probably come from his homeland, in the form of Augustine Choge and last year's junior champion, Asbel Kiprop. Canada's Kevin Sullivan is running in his third Olympics; it would have been four but he missed 1996 with an injury. Sullivan was fifth in 2000, but his best days are probably behind him. Nonetheless, he is my all-time favourite runner, so I'll be rooting for him. He's an excellent tactical runner, and has a good kick, so if he makes the final and is near the front...youneverknow.

Men's 5000: Lagat is the world champion and rarely loses this event. Ethiopia's Kenenisa Bekele is the world record holder and rarely loses this event. They can pull that off because this is the secondary event for both, so they race it less frequently. They are both entered in Beijing, however, and if they both run it could be a salivating matchup. Bekele will want to try to get away from Lagat before the last lap to avoid his kick. The most likely spoiler to the big two is Kenyan Edwin Cheruiyot Soi.
Bekele will be the heavy betting favourite in the 10,000, but the sentimental favourite will be his teammate, Haile Gebreselassie. Gebreselassie is the world record holder in the marathon, but decided not to run that because of the heat and pollution in Beijing. He won gold in this event in 1996 and 2000, but it would be a monumental upset if he grabbed a third here.

Men's 110 hurdles: Liu Xiang probably faces more pressure than any other athlete in these Olympics. He's China's only real chance for a gold medal on the track, the marquee events of the games. He won gold in Athens, won the world championships last year and held the world record. But the pressure won't just come from the fans. Cuba's Dayron Robles broke Liu's world record this summer by running 12.87 seconds. Americans David Oliver, David Payne and Terrence Trammell should provide more competition for the two frontrunners.

Field events: Gerd Kantner and Virgilius Alekna will battle for gold in the discus, although it may not get much play outside of the Baltic area: Kantner is from Estonia and Alekna is from Lithuania. The men's shot put will get more play, as the three big contenders are all American. Reese Hoffa, Adam Nelson and Christian Cantwell will battle for gold, with Hoffa the slight favourite.

Relays: I didn't mention this in the women's post, though I should have. The women's 400m relay should be a real battle between the Americans and the Jamaicans, while Great Britain and Russia will join those two for a really good four-way battle in the 1,600 relay. The men's 400 relay will also be a duel between the USA and Jamaica, but the Americans should claim the 1,600 easily - as usual.

Videos to pump you up:
Bolt's world record
Reed is edged by Yego in Osaka
Lagat's silver in Athens (one of the great races in Olympic history).