Men's 100 metres showdown takes shape

There has always been something epic about the men’s 100 metres. A long time ago before the internet and social networks, the legendary British TV commentator David Coleman added to the drama before an Olympics 100 metres final by lowering his voice and informing the watching millions that they were about to witness the race to determine the fastest man on the planet.

Justin Gatlin of the US (R) takes the lead as he goes on to win the men's 100 metres semi-finals Reuters/Fabrizio Bensch

There were no Twitter comments or Instagram distractions. Back then it was, by comparison, a very restrained frenzy.

There’s still a grandeur about the men’s 100 metres. None of the analysts or commentators have moved towards other disciplines into which they inject their poetry on form and imperceptible content.

Perhaps they can’t. For a discipline which is all about speed, we’re stuck with the old Manichean templates. In 1936 at the Berlin Olympics, the cinematographer Leni Riefenstahl was pumping out images of blonde wondrousness and the Aryan ideal. An American black man named Jesse Owens upset Adolf Hitler and his henchmen by winning gold in the 100 metres.

As victors write the history books, good won that round. During the Cold War, there was a geo-political edge to the race. And now we’re into bio-chemical moralities.

Three of the men likely to be in the final - Tyson Gay, Asafa Powell and Justin Gatlin - have all been banned for taking performance enhancing drugs. They have been deemed ‘dirty’ but have all served their suspensions and are once again allowed to compete.

Usain Bolt has won back-to-back Olympic golds in the 100 and 200 metres. He has also collected eight golds in the sprints at the world championships since 2009. But there is an underlying perception that if Gay, Gatlin or Powell win on Sunday night, they will be stealing Bolt’s limelight.

“I’m running for myself,” said 29-year-old Bolt in the prelude to the race. “People say I need to win for the sport but there are a lot of other athletes who are running clean and have been running clean throughout the years. It can’t be just on me because I can’t do it by myself. It’s the responsibility of all the athletes to help to save the sport. They all have to show that the sport can go far without drug cheats.”

Gatlin, who has run the season’s best time of 9.74 seconds, qualified for the semi-finals with a mark of 9.83 seconds. The 33-year-old is on a 27-race winning streak going back two years.

Gay and Powell also won their heats in the Bird’s Nest stadium. Bolt, who pulled out of two Diamond League races in Paris and Lausanne last month due to injury, clocked 9.96 seconds.

“Competitions are always about who is in the best form or who executes their race well,” said Bolt. “I’m ready to go and I think that’s the key thing. I haven’t had many races but I’ll be alright. I’m not worried. I never really look at statistics because it’s track and field, you never really know what’s going to happen.”

That’s a cool way of playing down one of the biggest talking points at the championships. Gatlin has the form. But does Bolt have the content?