Track fans are in for a treat on Friday 5 September as the three fastest men in the history of track and field will go head to head in the 100m at the Belgacom Memorial Van Damme meeting in Brussels, Belgium.  

Usain Bolt, Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell, will meet for the first time and the result will likely define the winners place in history at the end of his career.

Meet organizer Wilfried Meert said such a select field is unique.

"This has never happened before," Meert said.

Bolt ran a breathtaking 9.69 seconds at the Olympics to break his own world record and has been in great form since.  He has run 9.83 in Zürich and 19.63 for the 200m in Lausanne.

Powell also ran in Lausanne where he set a personal best of 9.72 which followed up a superb 9.87 in cold, rainy weather at Gateshead a few nights before.

"I'm very happy, after all that I've been through this year," Powell said after his run in Switzerland.

By contrast, Gay has yet to reproduce the form which he showed at the US national trials.  After winning the 100m in a windy 9.68 seconds, many had him as a favourite for the sprint double at the Beijing Olympics.  However, as fate would have it, he got injured in the 200m at the trials and was forced out of competition during the weeks leading up to Beijing.  He ran 10.05 and was eliminated at the semifinal stage.

Gay isn't sure how his leg will hold up because of the lingering hamstring injury.

"I don't think I am as sharp right now, considering my leg, to be very, very, competitive with those guys," he said, indicating he could still decide to skip the race.

Even if Gay decides to skip the race, Powell in his Golden League comfort zone versus "Superman 2" is expected to produce a super fast time, maybe even a world record.

The only thing that might prevent a world record is the weather. Forecasts call for rain and cool temperatures.

"It will all depend on the weather, and it doesn't look too good," Meert said. "It will be very difficult for the athletes that come out of the heat of Beijing."