Not dead yet. That was the message from Asafa Powell and it referred to himself and his sport. Both have been written off prematurely, by the rise of Usain Bolt and the fall of a string of drug cheats respectively, but the Jamaican sprinter has a blueprint for rebirth.

In the first part he will defy those who have questioned his injuries and flakiness to win Olympic gold in the 100 metres. In the second, drug cheats will be locked up. Powell, the world record-holder until Bolt supplanted him two months ago, is fed up with the innuendo and stain of suspicion. “Drugs have been in the sport long before I was born, so I cannot change it,” he said as he prepared to run in the Aviva London Grand Prix in Crystal Palace, South London, this evening. “But they [the dopers] should be given the impression that they will go to jail if they do this.

“They are robbing other athletes. When someone wins on drugs they commit a crime and rob me. They should be punished. Now they come back after a two-year ban and it's easy. If I'm an athlete who thought like that, I would come into the sport and make as much money as I could before I got caught. Then I'd get two years, come back and do the same.”

This is not rocket science, but it is refreshing to hear such a high-profile athlete advocate a hard line. “A lot of athletes are feeling it right now,” Powell said. “After five or ten years they now realise the four guys who were in front of them were on drugs. So they get the medal, but it's too late, it's not the same. They have been robbed of the glory and maybe a very big shoe contract.”

Bolt, whose mark of 9.72sec means that he is as famous as Powell in Jamaica, said that he could not say for sure that the 100 metres in Beijing next month would be a good clean fight. “I know I'll be clean and I'm hoping everyone else in the field will be, but I can't speak for them.”

At 21, Bolt is the new kid on the block and he will run in the 200 metres tomorrow, allowing Powell to take centre stage this evening. With Tyson Gay, the American part of sprinting's elite trio, having pulled out through injury, Powell hopes to go considerably quicker than his season's best of 9.88. “Tyson not being here doesn't bother me,” he said before succumbing to exaggeration. “Tyson has beaten me only once in his life and I have beaten him over 100 times, but he won when it mattered [in the 2007 World Championship final].

“It will be the same in Beijing. If Usain is there, I'm not going to say, ‘Damn, I'm not going to get gold now.' People are making it seem that Asafa is dead. People are making it seem like Asafa can't run fast. Well, I can run faster than before.”

The lingering question mark over Bolt's participation in the 100 metres in Beijing is baffling. Bolt was a 200 metres specialist until this summer and Glen Mills, his coach, has not decided whether the new 100 metres sensation will compete at the shorter distance. “That's a question for my coach,” Bolt said.

“He has given me no clue. I definitely want to double up, but he has made nothing but good decisions for me throughout my career and so I don't see the need to question him now.”

The idea of Bolt bowing to his coach's decision is at odds with the cult of sporting celebrity, but he said: “He's a coach, a mentor and a second father figure to me.”

It will be fascinating to watch both men this weekend. Powell is coming back to form after an injury-ravaged season. A shoulder problem left him fearing that his Olympics were over. However, he beat Bolt over 100 metres in Stockholm on Tuesday and exudes confidence. “It was very important to beat Usain because it gives a little edge to the Olympic Games,” Powell said.

Powell and Bolt will explode into action this weekend at the top of a packed bill. After the drugs, the debates and the High Court dates, the London Grand Prix will highlight the good side of athletics and the Jamaican duo believe that they are in the vanguard of change. “We're just trying to breathe new life into track and field,” Powell said.

Five to watch

Women's 400 metres

Having spent most of the season running at 200 metres, Christine Ohuruogu takes on Nicola Sanders in a battle of the world gold and silver medal-winners.

Women's pole vault

Yelena Isinbayeva, of Russia, has 22 world records - the most recent set at 5.03 metres in Rome a fortnight ago - is friends with Vladimir Putin and says that women pole vaulters are sex symbols for male couch potatoes.

Men's 100 metres

No Tyson Gay and Usain Bolt is in the 200 metres tomorrow, but worth seeing how close the British can get to Asafa Powell.

Men's triple jump

Phillips Idowu is Great Britain's best gold medal bet and has promised something special tonight.

Men's mile

Andy Baddeley and Tom Lancashire take on a loaded field, including Bernard Lagat and Alan Webb, of the United States, and Craig Mottram, of Australia.

Tickets for the Aviva London Grand Prix in Crystal Palace are available on 08000 556 056 or online at ukathletics.net