Berlin, Aug 9 (DPA) Usain Bolt has the class to rewrite athletics history in a hyped 100 metres world championship showdown with Tyson Gay and can reach the status of the legendary Jesse Owens, according to world athletics supremo Lamine Diack.

In an exclusive interview with the DPA, Diack said the 100m world record may well fall in next Sunday's blue riband final in the Olympic Stadium where Owens famously won four golds at the 1936 Olympics.

Diack, 76, said he expects great competition in general at the Aug. 15-23 championships for which 2,101 athletes from 202 countries have entered to compete for 47 gold medals.

But the Senegalese Diack also vowed that the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) will be relentless in its fight against doping - even though he drew a sharp line between Jamaican sprint doping suspects and Bolt.

Bolt, who won the 100m, 200m and 4x100m gold in world record time at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, is expected to be the superstar, with the 100m final against the three-time defending world champion Gay of the US one of the highlight event.

'There are a number of events that will certainly be exceptional ... If you come to the stadium, you are almost certain to see the legend of Beijing, Usain Bolt ... His duel with Tyson Gay is certain to rewrite the history books of our sport.'

Gay leads the 100m world list with 9.77 seconds and 19.58 over 200m, with Bolt on 9.79 and 19.59 for the year. They two have not raced against each other this year but reportedly ran into each other at Munich doctor Hans-Wilhelm Mueller-Wohlfahrt a few days ago.

Diack is convinced that Bolt is cool enough to withstand the pressure and that his world record of 9.69 seconds is under threat in what promises a 'very special' race.

'I am very confident that Usain is ready to do something fantastic in Berlin and that he will also be pushed hard by Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell and the other top sprinters,' said Diack.

'If the weather is good and we fill the stadium, then I would love to see a new world record in the 100m!

'I have had the chance to meet Usain on a number of occasions and the most striking thing about him is that he loves his sport.