Powell-Gay showdown looms

Former world 100 metres record holder Asafa Powell has confirmed he is fully fit for his showdown with world champion Tyson Gay at the Aviva London Grand Prix next Friday.

The 25-year-old Jamaican star pulled up in his heat at the recent AF Golden League meeting in Rome, prompting fears he may have picked up an injury.

Powell is due to face fellow countryman Usain Bolt - the man who broke his world record - in Stockholm on Tuesday.

And he said: "What happened in Rome was just a cramp. It is nothing and will not keep me out of the Grand Prix at Crystal Palace.

"I resumed my complete training on Monday as if nothing had ever happened.

"I am very much looking forward to taking on Tyson Gay and the rest of the guys on July 25.

"Beijing is very close now, so this race is very important for me."

Bolt, who set his world record of 9.72 seconds at New York's Reebok Grand Prix, will also be competing at the south London venue - but in the 200m where he is the defending champion.

He explained: "Despite the fact I have been mainly running 100m this season, I still see the 200m as my best event.

The former world junior champion, still to announce whether he will chase a sprint double in Beijing, added: "I know I am capable of something very special over the longer distance.

"I can't wait to get out there and show just what I can do over 200m at the Aviva London Grand Prix."

There will be 36 Beijing-bound US Olympians competing at the two-day event, including world champions Bernard Lagat and Allyson Felix.

Lagat, who scored a 1500m and 5000m double in Osaka last summer, will race in the prestigious Emsley Carr Mile.

UK number one Andy Baddeley, winner of last month's 'Dream Mile' in Oslo, will be looking for a repeat of that form in the same event.

Felix is entered for her global medal-winning distance of 200m and a top-class field including American 100m champion Muna Lee is being lined up to face her.

The Crystal Palace meeting will also be an exciting send-off for Britain's top athletes before they head to Beijing.

Christine Ohuruogu and Nicola Sanders, the world gold and silver medalists, are scheduled to go head to head for the first time this season.

Olympic heptathlon bronze Kelly Sotherton will take part in a four-series event over both days while world indoor triple jump champion Phillips Idowu is also in action.