One of the firmest favourites of the championships, Jeremy Wariner (USA), has had an even better season than ever, improving his PB to 43.50 at the Stockholm Grand Prix.

That time ranks him fourth on the all-time list after Michael Johnson, Butch Reynolds and Quincy Watts.

The Olympic and defending World champion, he has not had an unblemished season, but his stumble out of the blocks on an inclement night in Sheffield, England, can hardly be called a loss except to the weather gods.

One man, however, considers he has the beating of Wariner and that is his compatriot, LaShawn Merritt, who made an attempt to upstage him in London only to see the Johnson protégé ease away from him in the straight.

But Angelo Taylor may also have something to say about Merritt’s aspirations since he beat him to the US title in 44.05.

The Olympic champion over the 400m Hurdles in 2000, Taylor has reinvented himself as the ninth fastest runner over one lap.

So the stage is set for an American cleansweep with a supporting cast including US collegiate champion Ricardo Chambers (JAM), Gary Kikaya (COD), World bronze medallist Christopher Tyler of Canada and World relay bronze medal-winner Sanjay Ayre of Jamaica.

Osaka 2007 News Team/mb