It looks like Asafa Powell and Tyson Gay are going to go head to head just a couple of weeks before the Olympics at the London Grand Prix.  This is a big prize for the London organisers, and to be honest a bit of a surprise that they would put themselves on the line just a couple of weeks before the big meeting.

If we put aside some of the cynicism that has built up around the 100m sprinters in the last couple of years because of all the drug problems then this is a big clash along the lines of some of the great ones over the years (although Usain Bolt may have something to say about this at the Olympics).

The days of Coe and Ovett spring to mind, and it is great to see that the sprinters aren't ducking out of competing with each other as these two did in the 80s.  Having said that, it was always a great build up to the big races they did have with each other, as you were never quite sure how they were going to react when head to head in competition.

The other clash of the 80s was Jurgen Hingsen against Daley Thompson, a two day titanic struggle between two of the greatest ever exponents of the decathlon.

It all led me to thinking about the clashes, across the ages that I would have liked to have seen.  I'll come to that in the next installment, but it would be good to hear some of yours in the meantime.