On Saturday, 16th day of August,with the temperature dropping slightly and the flag-waving of 91,000 people halted for a moment, eight men will take to their starting blocks for the most important race of these 29th Olympic Games.

Of those eight men, a quirk of fate has brought together the three quickest in history for their first meeting: Tyson Gay, the world champion; Asafa Powell, the former world record-holder; and Usain Bolt, the fastest man of them all.

Stand by for a rewriting of the record books. It is likely a Jamaican will become Bailey's latest successor. In the space of three months, the tall, imposing figure of Bolt has brought a fresh wave of optimism to an event, let alone a sport in the doldrums. An athlete, who has progressed from spectacular junior to a senior, making gradual inroads at his chosen distance, the 200m, has suddenly found that he's pretty nifty at the 100m, too. Never mind a bolt from the blue, this summer the 6ft 5in star has changed the perception of the two men who were most likely to challenge for Olympic gold before his emergence.

On a rainy night in New York at the end of May, Gay, who was 26 recently, finished second as Bolt, 21, broke Powell's 100m world record of 9.74sec with a run of 9.72sec.

What these three know is that the reputation of the 100m is on the line once more, and its biggest audience is watching the responsibility they are carrying in less than 10 seconds. "It upsets when athletes go the other way, the wrong way, because there are athletes out there who compete with their natural ability, but when people say that athletes who run fast are on drugs, it is something you have to live with."

When America's Jim Hines became the first man to run under 10 seconds with electronic timing when he took the Olympic title in Mexico 40 years ago, nobody could have imagined what lay ahead. 20 years later, Ben Johnson brought a disgrace to sprinting that has never really gone away as he won Olympic gold in Seoul and then tested positive for steroids.

Since Johnson, Bailey is the only Olympic 100m champion, who has not been linked with drugs or tested positive, and that is why he remains a respected voice. "If you get up everyday and you set yourself goals, and that is the limit that your body is going to take you to, then you can be satisfied with it," he says.

"It's amazing," says Bolt. "It's an ambition of mine to run that fast over 200m, but I don't know if it will happen. Michael is the greatest that there has ever been. I have put in so much technical work on the 200m over the years that it has become part of me."

As he continues to explain his devotion to a distance where he made his name as a record-breaking world junior champion in 2002, he laughs. He knows the reason. We are in the company of the quickest man to run the 100m, and he has not even talked about it. It is a raw and innocent dismissal of the blue-rib and event of the Olympics, but it is typical Bolt. On occasions, the 100m does not really seem to be on his radar; it is why he has become so dangerous at it.

"One thing is for sure, the Olympic record will go," says Bailey. "But what you have to remember is that while Usain is the fastest among them, it is also him who has the most improvement to make. The guy is 6ft 5in, he ran 9.72sec with a mediocre start, a very good acceleration in the middle and he was shutting it down at the end. He can eclipse that mark by getting stronger and a little more technically sound. If he is as technically sound as Asafa or Tyson, he will be a man among boys."

Bailey believes that the outcome will be decided after about three seconds. "The race will be won at 30m," he says. "Asafa and Tyson cannot make a mistake in the first 30, Usain can. Tyson is war-tested and has won, Asafa is war-tested and has not, but he has no pressure at these Games. Usain is bigger and he clearly possesses the most speed."

Do not expect Bolt's rivals to express any worries, though. "I haven't had anxiety about the whole Olympics because I've been in rehab, so I think it's really helped mentally.

It might be fast enough to win gold, and it might not. With Bolt around, it might be enough only for silver, but it will be something that cannot be missed. Let's hope that Prisoner 84868054, who was sentenced for lying about her use of performance-enhancing drugs, is put to shame on the big night.