Idowu golden bid is one step closer

Yet, actually, Idowu's pre-eminence has been such this year that he reckons he would have had the answer to anything that even a rejuvenated Swede could have thrown at him.

"I have no fears. I just get on with doing what I've done all year; that is, keep cool, keep level-headed and keep winning," Idowu said. "You never know, there's always someone, somewhere, who'll come out and do something, like jumping 17.99 metres with no spikes on. I'm just making sure that I'll have enough ammunition in my gun to reply and fire back."

Indeed, that ammunition could, he believes, take him close to jumping 19m; an athletics landmark so off the scale, improving Edwards's current record by 71cm, that it would fall in the freakish Bob Beamon 1968 Mexico long jump category.

It is a remarkable statement of intent from a man yet to even break the 18m barrier but Idowu was adamant: " My coach [Aston Moore] believes I can do 18.80m. We're getting close to 19m then. There's a lot we need to achieve before then but getting as close to 19m as possible is the ultimate goal. I believe anything is possible."

Idowu does not feel as if he has to make a statement with a big performance in the Aviva London Grand Prix at Crystal Palace considering that he's probably already done that by winning all eight of his competitions this year with consummate ease.

Yet, he admits he hasn't yet jumped a "shocking, massive distance" to demoralise his Beijing opponents, so Friday night does offer him the chance of a perfect send-off leap.

Meanwhile, the world's two fastest men, Jamaican sprint stars Asafa Powell and Usain Bolt, were flying into London today to prepare for their final races before Beijing with both men claiming to be satisfied with the result of their remarkable 100m showdown in Stockholm.

Powell, the former world 100m recordholder, returned from injury to clock 9.88secs and beat his young rival Bolt - who took the record down to 9.72sec in New York in May - and announced: "I showed the world today that Asafa Powell is still here."

Yet Bolt, who had overcome a poor start to devour the track and eat into the early gaping lead, was only pipped on the line and might even have won if, like Powell, he had dipped at the line rather than running through upright while glancing at his opponent's shoulder.

It was a run which suggested Bolt had much more in the locker. So did his dismissive post-race comment: "That doesn't change anything."

On Friday night at Crystal Palace, Powell will attempt to continue his resurgence with a 100m against his old US nemesis, Tyson Gay, while Bolt runs the 200m on Saturday.

For one other Jamaican sprinting legend, though, the Olympic dream is over - at the tender age of 48.

Merlene Ottey, now running for Slovenia, failed in her last-ditch bid to become the first athlete to compete in eight Games, some 28 years since she first medalled in Moscow. Ottey failed to hit the qualifying time in the 100m by 0.28sec at a meet in Maribor.

Tickets for the Aviva London Grand Prix at Crystal Palace on Friday and Saturday are available on 08000 556 056 or online at www.ukathletics.net