Gebrselassie - distance legend (Getty Images).

Sergei Bubka - The Russian star won an amazing six straight world titles in the pole vault, setting stunning new standards in the event which no-one was able to match. Cleared six metres in Stuttgart in 1993 and went one centimetre higher in Athens four years later.

Daley Thompson - Thompson won only one world title but the fact he competed in Helsinki in 1983 was a miracle in itself as he had not trained for 14 weeks through injuries. Battling decathlon rival Jurgen Hingsen, who had bettered his world record a few months earlier, Thompson went into the dreaded 1,500m with a 21-second lead and held on for victory.

Colin Jackson - Jackson won two world titles some six years apart, but it is his victory in Stuttgart in 1993 which will be best remembered. The Welshman produced a perfect display of hurdling which saw him cross the line in 12.91 seconds to create a new world record. That record still amazingly stands today, only equalled by China's Liu Xiang at the Athens Olympics.

Ed Moses - The American 400m hurdler's unprecedented decade-long winning streak of 122 races included his world titles in 1983 and 1987, and demonstrated his amazing consistency at one of the toughest races in athletics. Moses ran 47.50secs in Helsinki and went even quicker in Rome in 1987, clocking 47.46secs to set a new championship record.

Allen Johnson - There must be something about hurdlers and longevity, as Johnson is going for his fifth world title this year, at the age of 34. The American won his first gold medal back in Gothenburg a decade ago, and followed up with triumphs in Athens, Edmonton and Paris, his streak broken by Jackson's second victory in Seville in 1999.

Haile Gebrselassie - The world's greatest distance runner has also won four titles over 10,000m and was only narrowly denied a fifth in Paris by the latest Ethiopian sensation, Kenenisa Bekele. Now concentrating on the marathon, the hugely-popular Gebrselassie looks a good bet to add to his medal haul in Helsinki.

Michael Johnson - His straight-backed style might not have been one for the purists, but Johnson possessed pure speed and dominated the 400m and 200m for years. He had already won three 400m titles and two over 200m when he arrived in Seville in 1999 and proceeded to produce a blistering run which saw him set a new world record of 43.18secs.

Jonathan Edwards - Edwards won two world titles but by far the most memorable was his first in Gothenburg in 1995. The clear favourite had already set a new world record earlier in the year but soared further still in the opening round with a leap of 18.16m. With the pressure off, Edwards then leapt further still with a flawless effort of 18.29m in the second round, a mark which still stands today.

Carl Lewis - Lewis first came to prominence in Helsinki in 1983 where he claimed the first of his myriad of golds in the 100m, long jump and 4x100m relay. The American was beaten into second place in the 100m by Ben Johnson in Rome four years' later, but Johnson's subsequent drugs ban after the Seoul Olympics saw the Canadian stripped of his medal and world-record time. Lewis lost out in a memorable long jump battle with Mike Powell in Tokyo in 1991 but set a new world record in the 100m as six men broke the 10secs barrier.

Hicham El Guerrouj - The Moroccan finally claimed Olympic gold amid emotional scenes in Athens last year after making the world title his own. El Guerrouj claimed his fourth title in Paris, in 2003, overcoming a partisan French crowd roaring on their hero, European champion Mehdi Baala.