Beijing: Lolo Jones leads US women in another athletics showdown with Jamaica on Tuesday, seeking a victory in the 100m hurdles to build American momentum at the Beijing Olympics.
Jones clocked the fastest 100m hurdles time in the world this year in winning her semi-final, and leads a US trio that also includes Damu Cherry and Dawn Harper who are keen to answer Jamaica's podium sweep in the women's 100m.
"We're going to go for an American sweep, 1-2-3, and see what happens," said Cherry, who is fighting the flu. "I'm going to execute my race and see what happens."
Jamaicans Delloreen Ennis-London, second at the 2005 worlds and third at last year's worlds, and Bridgitte Foster-Hylton will also challenge in the final.
Jones stopped short of predicting a sweep, but she is as eager as any American to assert the country's traditional dominance in athletics after a slow start at the Bird's Nest National Stadium.
"I never say cleansweeps because any thing can happen when you have 10 obstacles in front of you," Jones said. "I'm not going to worry about other lanes, but I hope we have a great day for the USA tomorrow."
World No.1 Sanya Richards leads the US challenge in the women's 400m, which could provide an explosive head-to-head contest with Britain's world champion Christine Ohuruogu.
"I have left a bit for the final, but I still felt very strong," said Richards, who is coached by Clyde Hart, Michael Johnson's former handler.
Three other athletics gold medals will be up for grabs, in the men's high jump, men's discus and men's 1,500m.
Bahrain's Moroccan-born dual world champion from 2005 Rashid Ramzi will try to lay the ghosts of the 2004 Games, when he went out in the semi-finals.
"It's another chapter, I want to make it a happy ending," he said.
Wiggins chases historic record.
At the velodrome, Bradley Wiggins continues his chase for Olympic history as he aims for a third gold medal in the Madison.
If Wiggins wins just a medal, it will be the seventh of his Olympic career, allowing him to surpass American Burton Downing's all-time Olympic track cycling medal haul of six, all won at the St. Louis Games in 1904.
If Wiggins and Madison partner Mark Cavendish win, Wiggins will become the first British competitor to win three gold medals at a single Games since swimmer Henry Cotton took triple gold at the London Games in 1908.
After the retirement of double Olympic gold medallist Hossein Rezazadeh of Iran, weightlifting will look to crown a new king in the +105kg category. European champion Viktors Scerbathis of Latvia, Germany's Matthias Steiner, Russian Evgeny Chigishev and Qatar's Jaber Saeed Salem could challenge for the gold.
Chinese world champion He Chong will try to add a first Olympic gold, and the hosts' sixth of the Games, in the men's 3m springboard.
China will also be hoping to add to their golden haul in gymnastics, where gold medals are on offer in the women's balance beam and men's parallel bars and horizontal bar.
Li Shanshan should contend for gold in the women's balance beam and Li Xiaopeng, gold medallist in Sydney who settled for bronze in Athens, tackles the parallel bars.
Medals are also on offer Tuesday in the men's triathlon, wrestling, yachting and equestrian.
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