By Tim Hutchings

I think Jonathan Edwards is a hot favourite.

Jonathan is very, very experienced.

He's the old man of the British team but he's a siwe old head and I know he's much happier inside his,elf but he has at last got that Olympic title.

I know he was very disappointed to come second to Kenny Harris back in 1996 at the Games.

He almost has a permanent smile on his face, he enjoys his sport.

He's a 2.2 family man and he earns a good living from his sport.

He is at peace with the world and when he is in that frame and he's the world No1 they are very difficult to crack.

Steve Backley has a couple of Olympic silver and three European titles and produced a 90m throw at Crystal Palace a few weeks ago.

Steve, of course, cannot control what other people do so even if he throws another 90m throw, somebody else might step up and go further.

He could make the rostrum here, in fact I'm sure he will.

Whether or not he will take gold is a tough one. What is on his side is his good form recently.

Steve can win but he was so close to gold in Sydney last year and Zelezny just denied him.

Possibly Gatsoudis the Greek could beat him but I think Steve's cossistency in major championships should bring him at least a silver.

Dwain Chambers has been tailing himself up all season and I saw him run 10.01 in June back in Seville.

I thought this man is going to run very fast this summer.

But every time he has met Maurice Greene he has lost and lost convincingly.

And we believe Greene has been running with a slight injury.

So I don't think Dwain is up to beating Greene.

They always say a good big man will always beat a good little man and Green has several years more training in his limbs.

I think Dwain will be on the rostrumn but I don't believe he will beat Greene.

I think Christian Malcolm has a chance in the 200m.

Dwain and Maurice are real bulls in physique while Malcolm just flows over the track.

We have yet to see the best of him and he could be right there in the 200m.

Mark Richardson has won three races since his comeback from his ban but I don't think he'll mnind me saying this but he will do well to make the final here.

He has struggled to break 45 seconds so far this season and that is the benchmark for world-class running.

Both him and Iwan have had all sorts of different problems and though they weill both go there and run proudly in a British vest, I don't think Matk will make the final and I certainly don't think Iwan Thomas will.

We have done well in multi-events recently and we have Dean Macey in the decathlon.

It has been very quiet in Dean's camp and remember the surprise when he took the silver in the 1999 world championships.

Don't forget back then he was virtually unheard of. He had taken silver in the 1996 World Juniors and then had been in the doldrums with injuries for two or three years and was not even part of international athletics.

He has been hit by injuries and playing his cards close to his chest.

There's always a controlled leaking from inside these camps so maybe Dean is going well and I think he will give a very good account of himself and he might just spring another surprise.

Of course, we always looked for medals in the relays in the past, especially in the 4 x 400m but those days are long gone.

The names are the same, Jamie Baulch, Iwan Thomas, Mark Richardson but they have all had problems this season and they are certainly not firing on all cylidners.

The sprint rely team certainly have the squad fora place on the rostrum.

They had an illegal in the first round at Sydney last year so they have got a great deal of making up to do for that.

Yes, on paper they should at worst take the silber medals behind the ISA and I think that's the way it will go.