The world’s two fastest men, Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell, checked into the Olympic athletes’ village yesterday after a three-hour bus ride from the Jamaican training camp, arriving four days ahead of the first heats of the 100 meters.

Bolt, the 21-year-old sprinter who took .02 of a second off Powell’s mark to set the world record at 9.72 seconds in May, is aiming for a 100-200 double in Beijing.

Powell, who held the world record for almost three years, is targeting his first gold medal at an Olympic or world championship meet.

While Bolt and Powell are expected to go head-to-head in the highly anticipated 100 – a final also likely to feature world champion Tyson Gay of the United States –Jamaican officials anticipate the pair will join forces to help the Caribbean country win gold in the 4x100-metre relay.

Senior team management downplayed reports of a rift in the team last week, when Powell and his MVP club mates challenged team officials about participating in relay practice during the camp at Tianjin.

“All is well in the camp, nothing to worry about,” Jamaica athletics team manager Ludlow Watts said in a telephone interview yesterday. “We traveled here together as a team. The only thing on their minds is medals.”

Watts said the sprinters planned to keep a low profile this week.

“They’re trying to avoid interviews or anything that will take their focus off winning medals,” Watts said.

The Jamaican media reported that it took an emergency meeting to resolve a difference of opinion over training schedules between athletes coached by Stephen Francis, including Powell and former world championship silver medalist Michael Frater, and the Jamaican track and field association officials – who appointed Bolt’s coach Glen Mills to oversee preparations for the national team.

In the end, relay practice went ahead and Jamaica shapes up as a gold-medal prospect in the both the men’s and women’s 4x100-metre relays.