These are testing times for British sport. Tim Henman has finally accepted that he is more suited to the life of fireside tabby cat, Andrew Flintoff is still treading water long after being rescued from his pedalo and the athletics team have been written off even before touching down in the land of the rising sun.

So it was good to hear Marlon Devonish, the Great Britain team captain at the World Championships, talk of getting involved in “something historical” ahead of one of the most eagerly awaited clashes in recent times.

The men’s 100 metres gets under way in Osaka on Saturday with Asafa Powell and Tyson Gay squaring up for a potentially explosive ten seconds. It is Jamaica versus the United States, the world record-holder against the fastest man in 2007. The British No 1, meanwhile, insisted that he did not intend to be a bit-part player.

“I probably shouldn’t say this but I don’t think Powell and Gay will both turn up for the final,” Devonish said. “I think Francis Obikwelu might wreck the party, and I’ve beaten him this season. I see myself as an outside medal chance.”

Devonish will probably need to break the ten-second barrier for the first time to realise that ambition, but he is more relaxed than ever. Flushed with confidence after a summer in which he peaked with a run of 10.06sec, the late-blossoming 31-year-old believes that his spell winter training with Obikwelu has facilitated his progress. However, UK Athletics did not want him to make the trip and that raises question marks about the British system. “It was my own choice to go there,” Devonish said.

In his ideal world, Devonish would have had UKA’s backing before being entered for the 200 metres in Osaka as well as the shorter sprint. He would also not be rated out of ten by Dave Collins, the performance director. “I’m not a big fan of targets and the ratings system,” he said. “I don’t want to be marked out of ten after a year’s worth of training and flogging your guts. It’s something that Dave can use as a gauge, but I think it would be best if he kept it to himself.

“Yes, I’m disappointed not to be running the 200 metres because I consider myself a 100 and 200 specialist. Carl Lewis, Linford Christie — those guys did both and it made them stronger.”

The 100 metres may be the defining race of the championships. Gay’s progress, running 9.84sec at the US trials as well as a wind-assisted 9.76sec, surpassing Powell’s world mark of 9.77sec, has inevitably led to suspicion. With the previous two world record-holders having tested positive for drugs, the sport craves a good, clean fight. “There’s the top two and then Francis and a cluster of guys like myself,” Devonish said.

Having secured one of the four vice-presidency seats on the IAAF congress, Sebastian Coe talked yesterday of the need to sell athletics to the next generation. A sprint hero would be the foolproof way to achieve that, but the chances are slim and a place in Sunday’s final would constitute a significant achievement for any of the Britons.

However, Devonish said: “I want to win and want to be part of something special, something historical. I had the post-trial blues and the amount of races caught up with me, but I feel rested. You have to get through that because with the heat and number of races, you’re going to have to run when you feel flat in Osaka.”

How these championships could do with a breathtaking 100 metres to set the ball rolling. The likes of Liu Xiang in the 110 metres hurdles and Jeremy Wariner in the 400 metres are capable of setting world records, but Powell and Gay have the first chance to test the optimism flowing around Osaka, while Devonish has the first stab at pricking the bubble of pessimism surrounding the British team.