Only Steve can save the men

No British athlete made the final of the men's 100m or 200m in Athens, the first time that has happened since the 1976 Montreal Games. Darren Campbell's hamstring injury has added to the woes of the 4x100m squad.

So it is left to Backley, a bronze medallist in 1992 and silver medallist in 1996 and 2000, to save the day before he walks away from athletics at the age of 35.

The omens are not good. Last night Backley only just qualified for the javelin final with the 12th best throw of 80.68m. His battered old body is going to have to produce something spectacular to become the only British athlete to win four medals at consecutive Games.

Ever since a positive drugs test ruled out European 100m champion Dwain Chambers, the sprinters have looked doomed.

When Campbell, Jason Gardener and Mark Lewis-Francis all failed to make the 100m final at the London Grand Prix at Crystal Palace last month, it was clear that the past successes of Linford Christie and Allan Wells were not going to be repeated in the Greek capital.

Tonight the 4x100m squad will try to rescue something in the heats. Campbell is a doubtful starter and may only come in for tomorrow's final.

Lewis-Francis, Christian Malcolm, Gardener and Marlon Devonish are likely to make up the squad.

The 4x400m team, deprived of the injured Chris Rawlinson and Daniel Caines, are given little chance of repeating their magnificent silver medal from Atlanta.

There is an argument that Athens is witnessing a changing of the guard and it is hard for a new generation to step into the huge shoes of the Edwards and Colin Jackson.

But it has provided excellent experience for younger athletes before the Beijing Games in 2008. Last night Chris Tomlinson, 22, produced his best performance of the season to finish fifth in the long jump final with 8.25 metres.

However, Ricky Soos went nowhere near qualifying for the 800m final after clocking 1:46.74 in the semis.

So it is left to the women to leave a British mark in the Olympic Stadium before Sunday's closing ceremony.

Paula Radcliffe will attract all the attention tonight if she goes ahead with her bid to recover from her marathon calamity in tonight's 10,000m. But before that Jade Johnson, who just finished out of the medals at last year's world championships, is in the long jump final.

Britain's women's 4x400m squad are also an outside bet for a medal. They are in the heats tonight with the quartet selected from Lee McConnell, Christine Ohuruogu, Catherine Murphy, Helen Karagounis and Donna Fraser.

But Holmes and Sotherton have already saved the team from their worst performance since Brendan Foster won Britain's only medal on the track at the 1976 Montreal Games.