In both the men’s and women’s field the 400m sprints look set to provide an entertaining spectacle. The men’s race will be dominated by the rivalry developing between the two American sprinters, LaShawn Merritt and Jeremy Wariner. In his own right, Jeremy Wariner is already an athletics legend having won two gold medals in the 2004 Athens Olympics and further gold medals in the 2005 and 2007 World Championships. LaShawn Merritt will be hot on the heels of the Olympic champion and has defeated him twice already this year. However Wariner has the superior experience in racing and winning on the world stage and has run the fastest time this year, clocking 43.86 in Paris.

The 400m women’s race seems likely to see Britain take on the US for gold in Beijing. Controversial British star Christine Ohuruogu, who was banned from competing for a year for missing three drug tests, will hope to build on the success of her 2007 World Championship gold in Osaka. However despite this success and her undeniable talent as a 400m athlete, Ohuruogu has only raced four times in the build up to Beijing with a best time of 50.80s.

Fellow Brit Nicola Sanders, who won the silver medal in Osaka, will also be looking for a podium finish. Sanders has struggled with injury throughout her career and as a result she decided to change from the 400m hurdles to the 400m flat run. If Sanders can remain fit then she has every chance of repeating her performance from the World Championships and finishing on the podium. Her bronze medal-winning run in the 400m relay at the World Championships was particularly impressive because she became the first female UK runner to break 49 seconds for a 400m relay leg, clocking 48.76 seconds.

If the British duo is to repeat their World Championship finish of gold and silver then they will need to overcome US athlete Sanya Richards. She will undoubtedly prove to be their toughest opponent and this is highlighted by her personal best time, which is over a second quicker than that of Ohuruogu’s. Richards is certainly the in-form runner and with Allyson Felix absent from this event she will certainly be the favourite to win gold.