However, Zelezny comes into these Games with doubts surrounding his fitness and there will be no more popular winner among the British team than 35-year-old Backley, if he can snatch his first Olympic title and secure his place among the truly great Olympians.
In a wide open contest, Britain's other representative in the javelin qualifying round tonight is 32-yearold Nick Nieland.
Abi Oyepitan was on a high today after she emerged as Britain's most highly-qualified athlete for the next Olympics in Beijing in 2008.
The 24-year-old may not have caused a huge stir globally with her equal seventh place in last night's 200 metres final in Athens. But it was the most promising performance from Britain's new generation of athletes.
Britain's women are replacing the male stars in centre stage, with newly-crowned Olympic 800m winner Kelly Holmes leading the charge.
Competing in her first Olympics, Oyepitan became the first British woman to reach a 200m final since Kathy Cook in Los Angeles 20 years ago, she ran the fastest time of her life in the heats with 22.50 seconds.
Although she could only run 22.87 in the final, Oyepitan is confident that she can launch a challenge for a 200m medal at next year's world championships in Helsinki.
She said: "I need to improve my strength next winter. I was more fatigued than I thought here but I can work on that. Hopefully next year in the world championships I can be even stronger."
Britain's male sprinters have regularly picked up medals over 200m in the last two decades. But after getting into Olympic finals in the 1960s and at the boycott-hit 1980 Moscow Games, British women have rarely made an impression in the sprints.
Oyepitan's breakthrough has been vital after Darren Campbell and Christian Malcolm failed to reach tonight's men's 200m final.
Last night's session also witnessed the first appearance of controversial triple Olympic champion Marion Jones at the Games following her much-publicised drugs scandal.
Jones, who won the 100m and 200m in Sydney, as well as a relay gold, made a low-key entrance into the stadium before successfully qualifying for tomorrow's long jump final.
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