Derrick Atkins (USA)(Tsiklitiria organisers)

Osaka, Japan - Derrick Atkins readily admits that he’s the ‘new kid on the block’ in the men’s 100m, but he also believes that his newcomer status shouldn’t keep him from playing a leading role as the battle for the title of world’s fastest man commences on Saturday.

“Everyone’s seen that those two are up there and I’m in the middle by myself, and then there’s the rest of the pack,” Atkins said, referring to the event’s current Big Two, world leader Tyson Gay (9.84) of the U.S. and World record holder Asafa Powell of Jamaica. “But I feel like if everything goes right on Sunday, we’ll see a difference with that gap.”

Two years ago, Atkins was only fifth at the Central American and Caribbean Championships and didn't survive the first round in Helsinki. What a difference a few years can make.

“In other peoples eyes it may have seen like an impossible dream but to me it wasn’t,” he said. “Every year was basically a stepping stone to work harder and keep my eyes on the prize of where I wanted to be, and I’m here right now.”

Quick learner

Just 23, the Jamaican-born Bahamian emerged from the crowded chase pack this season with a 9.98 national record in a small meeting in Berkeley, Calif., in late April. He followed up with a wind-assisted 9.86 (+2.5) at the adidas Track Classic in Carson a month later, and finished second to Gay in New York in early June, clocking a wind-aided 9.83 (+2.2).

“This year for me has been a learning experience,” Atkins said. “Those guys have been on the circuit running for awhile. I’m just the new kid on the block. It’s been about me getting used to running on a high level every day and every time I step on the track to compete.”

And he’s proven to be a quick learner. He further lowered his national record to 9.95 in Athens in early July, won races in Paris and Lausanne (10.00 and 10.04), and rounded out his pre-Osaka schedule with runner-up finishes to Powell, his second cousin, in Rome (10.02) and Stockholm (10.05).

“I’m pretty comfortable being in the shadows as those two guys do battle,” Atkins said. “But the 100m, at the end of the day, it’s from the start to the finish. If you focus on just two people, then you forget the guy in lane one. In 2003 Kim Collins won out of lane one. Right now I’m just enjoying the moment and enjoying being here and having the opportunity again to represent my country.”

Not intimidated by World record prediction

On Thursday, Gay said that a World record just might be needed to win this year’s title. Atkins welcomes the American’s prediction.

“It doesn’t intimidate me,” he said. “At the end of the day, World records are meant to be broken and meant to be set. I feel within myself that it probably will take a World record to win, but I’ll be just going out there and doing my best. And hope for the best.”