Veronica Campbell-Brown of Jamaica wins the women's 200 metres final ahead of Carmelita Jeter and Allyson Felix of the USA (© Getty Images)
Will Veronica CampbellBrown become the first woman to win three 200 metres gold medals, a feat never achieved? Or will she finally bow at Olympic level to the sword of her great American rival Allyson Felix?
Certainly in a stacked field they are not the only two contenders for victory but their past rivalry at both Games and World Championships has been for the last eight years a highlight of 200m finals.
Now the pair are slated to go head-to-head for a third successive occasion with Campbell-Brown - unbeaten over the distance in 28 finals and 42 races between 11 March 2000 until 22 July 2005 when beaten by Felix at the London Diamond League - looking more vulnerable than before her victories in Athens and Beijing.
But few if anyone would argue against the 30-year-old Jamaican lifting herself once again to move ahead of the brace of gold medals which Barbel Eckert/Wockel gained in 1976 and 1980 when wearing the blue vest of a virtually unstoppable East German sprint circus.
Currently the statistical site "All Athletics" for finals only, lists Felix as holding the upper hand 6-4 with her most important victories coming at the 2005, 2007 and 2009 World Championships with Campbell-Brown apart from her two Olympic successes taking away that accolade last year in Daegu.
This season they have avoided another with Felix very much the quickest with a world leading time and personal best of 21.69 - the sixth fastest of all-time and only beaten by her fellow American's Florence Griffith Joyner and the tainted Marion Jones - clearly in the driving seat.
Campbell-Brown by comparison whose PB of 21.74 saw her rub even more salt into festering Team USA wounds when beating Felix by 0.19sec four years ago with fellow Jamaican Kerron Stewart third, was produced after all three 100m medals had fell to the Caribbean nation, has a modest 22.38 under her belt.
But the sprint ace who in 2000 became the first woman to win both the World Junior Championships 100m and 200m titles and then picked up an Olympic 4x100m relay silver medal will be determined in London to continue being the nemesis of Felix.
What looks like being another battle for the top honours will see the Americans fielding last year's World 100m champion Carmelita Jeter and 2008 Olympic 400m bronze medallist Sanya Richards-Ross who adding more arrows to their bows in their second string events, will fetch lifetime bests achieved this season of 22.11 and 22.09 to the competition.
So too will reigning Olympic 100m title holder Shelley-Ann Fraser Pryce, winner of the Jamaican trial in a time of 22.10 while the third Jamaican runner Sherone Simpson has a season'e best of 22.37 but at her best is a 22.00 performer.
Not a single European sprinter made the Beijing final but Russia's Aleksandr Fedoriva, a 4x100m relay gold medallist four years ago will after clocking 22.19 at the Russian Championships, have serious ideas in that direction. Murielle Ahoure of the Ivory Coast with a best of 22.42 and wins at Samsung Diamond League meets in Oslo and Paris will also rate her chances.
David Martin for the IAAF
Certainly in a stacked field they are not the only two contenders for victory but their past rivalry at both Games and World Championships has been for the last eight years a highlight of 200m finals.
Now the pair are slated to go head-to-head for a third successive occasion with Campbell-Brown - unbeaten over the distance in 28 finals and 42 races between 11 March 2000 until 22 July 2005 when beaten by Felix at the London Diamond League - looking more vulnerable than before her victories in Athens and Beijing.
But few if anyone would argue against the 30-year-old Jamaican lifting herself once again to move ahead of the brace of gold medals which Barbel Eckert/Wockel gained in 1976 and 1980 when wearing the blue vest of a virtually unstoppable East German sprint circus.
Currently the statistical site "All Athletics" for finals only, lists Felix as holding the upper hand 6-4 with her most important victories coming at the 2005, 2007 and 2009 World Championships with Campbell-Brown apart from her two Olympic successes taking away that accolade last year in Daegu.
This season they have avoided another with Felix very much the quickest with a world leading time and personal best of 21.69 - the sixth fastest of all-time and only beaten by her fellow American's Florence Griffith Joyner and the tainted Marion Jones - clearly in the driving seat.
Campbell-Brown by comparison whose PB of 21.74 saw her rub even more salt into festering Team USA wounds when beating Felix by 0.19sec four years ago with fellow Jamaican Kerron Stewart third, was produced after all three 100m medals had fell to the Caribbean nation, has a modest 22.38 under her belt.
But the sprint ace who in 2000 became the first woman to win both the World Junior Championships 100m and 200m titles and then picked up an Olympic 4x100m relay silver medal will be determined in London to continue being the nemesis of Felix.
What looks like being another battle for the top honours will see the Americans fielding last year's World 100m champion Carmelita Jeter and 2008 Olympic 400m bronze medallist Sanya Richards-Ross who adding more arrows to their bows in their second string events, will fetch lifetime bests achieved this season of 22.11 and 22.09 to the competition.
So too will reigning Olympic 100m title holder Shelley-Ann Fraser Pryce, winner of the Jamaican trial in a time of 22.10 while the third Jamaican runner Sherone Simpson has a season'e best of 22.37 but at her best is a 22.00 performer.
Not a single European sprinter made the Beijing final but Russia's Aleksandr Fedoriva, a 4x100m relay gold medallist four years ago will after clocking 22.19 at the Russian Championships, have serious ideas in that direction. Murielle Ahoure of the Ivory Coast with a best of 22.42 and wins at Samsung Diamond League meets in Oslo and Paris will also rate her chances.
David Martin for the IAAF
