Judging by what happened in Stockholm on Tuesday night, Beijing could see one of the closest men’s 100 metres finals as well as one of the fastest.

Asafa Powell and his fellow Jamaican Usain Bolt gave us a thrilling little appetiser for the main course in August when they faced each other in an IAAF Grand Prix.

Powell won in 9.88 seconds but it was desperately close, with Bolt finishing just one hundredth of a second behind after recovering from a terrible start to give his fellow Jamaican a bit of a fright.

Bolt recently deprived Powell of his world record by clocking 9.72 in New York in May, but will the 21-year-old have the nerve to win in Beijing?

Powell has the greater experience, having finished fifth in the final in Athens with a time of 9.94.

There is also world champion Tyson Gay to consider, and we should get a better idea of his form when he races against Powell in another warm-up at Crystal Palace in London on Friday.

Who is your favourite for the men’s top prize this time? Let us know in the comments.

PHOTO: Jamaica’s Asafa Powell (L) pulls ahead of compatriot Usain Bolt to win the men’s 100 meters in Stockholm July 22, 2008. REUTERS/Bob Strong

By the way, there are a few candidates for closest ever 100m Olympic final. One of the tightest was in Helsinki in 1952 when Lindy Remigino (or at least his right shoulder) hit the tape just ahead of Herbert McKenley. Allan Wells beat Silvio Leonard by just a few inches in 1980 in Moscow, while the 2004 final mentioned above was also desperately close, with Powell one of five men to finish in under 10 seconds.