Powell and Gay to go head-to-head at London Grand Prix two weeks before Olympic Games

World 100 meter record holder Asafa Powell will race world champion Tyson Gay at the London Grand Prix meet in July, two weeks before the Beijing Olympics.

The July 25-26 meet at Crystal Palace stadium, which is also set to feature Olympic pole vault champion and world record holder Yelena Isinbayeva, will likely be the sprinters' only head-to-head before the 100 meter final in Beijing on Aug. 16.

"He has the title of being the world record holder and I have the title of being the world champion," Gay said. "If I run back-to-back rounds in London that will catapult me to the Olympics, so I am really looking to run fast times in London."

Powell ran the 100 meters in 9.74 seconds last year to break the record.

Gay beat Powell to win last year's World Championships in Osaka, Japan, with the Jamaican runner finishing third behind the Bahamas' Derrick Atkins _ apparently giving up when he realized he was out of contention for the gold medal.

The winner of the 100 meters will win 25,000 pounds (US$49,527; euro31,436), with 360 athletes from 35 nations expected to attend.

UK Athletics chief executive Niels de Vos said Friday it was the "strongest grand prix lineup ever seen in the UK."

British sprinters Marlon Devonish and Craig Pickering are also using the event as part of their preparations for the Aug. 8-24 Olympics.