Just one more bolt

Usain Bolt's excellent adventure in Beijing takes another step today when the Jamaican sprinter leads his 4x100-metre relay team at the Bird's Nest.

At stake is a third gold medal for Bolt, who made Olympic history by becoming the first sprinter since Carl Lewis in 1984 to win both the 100 and 200-metre sprints at one Games. And, even more incredibly, the first to do it while setting world records in both.

"I've written history, pretty much," Bolt said after his win in the 200m.

Today, he'll get a chance to do it again.

Bolt and his Jamaican teammates, including 100m sprint rival Asafa Powell, will be challenged in the mad dash around the track with another capacity crowd of 91,000 expected to be cheering them on.

If Jamaica wins, the Caribbean country will be rocking and reggaeing again.

"It means a lot for me and my country," Bolt said. "I spoke to the prime minister on the phone and he told me everybody is in the streets."

Jamaica will also be favoured in the women's 4x100 relay. They have the top three finishers in the individual 100m, but now they get to add Veronica Campbell-Brown, the reigning world champion in the dash.

Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia, the record holder over 10,000 metres, is among the gold medal favourites in the women's 5,000m today, while other field events include the women's long jump and men's pole vault.

The men's 50-kilometre walk is set for an early morning start due to expected high humidity, and the field is wide open with the injury withdrawal of world champion and record holder Nathan Deakes of Australia. He pulled out in late July with a hamstring injury.

Yohan Diniz of France is a slight favourite for gold in the event after winning silver behind Deakes at the 2007 worlds.

American beach volleyball players Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers, the reigning world champions, are favored in the gold medal game. They'll play Marcio and Fabio, who upset Athens gold medalists Emanual and Ricardo to reach the final.

The women's cross-country race in mountain biking will be contested along with two BMX races washed out by heavy rain yesterday. In all, 22 golds will be presented as the games wind down to their Sunday finish.