Surin is 33 and Bailey 32. Both plan to stick around for next year's world championships, mostly because they will be in Edmonton. There are those who believe Bailey and Surin might be playing possum, purposely holding back to confuse the opposition. It has happened before. Sprinting is a funny game, filled with egotistical, high-maintenance athletes.
Mind games abound.
Perhaps with the exception of Sports Illustrated, which picked Surin to finish second in the 100 final, most insiders figure Bailey and Surin are fading quickly. The overwhelming favourite is Greene, the world champion and world record-holder at 9.79 seconds. Only 26, Greene is just hitting his prime. It's conceivable that Greene and his clubmates, Trinidad and Tobago's Ato Boldon, a double bronze medallist from the 1996 Atlanta Games in the 100 and 200, and American Jon Drummond, who ran a career-best 9.96 this season, could all be on the podium. It has been a weird year on the international track circuit.