ANDRE LOWE, Special Projects Editor - Sports

BEIJING, China:

Popular dancehall artiste Chi Ching's voice pierced the Nuo Hotel ballroom as the words 'High volatage, high voltage, wire' blared from the speakers as Usain Bolt stepped towards the raised platform to speak to the world.

The world listened and the message was clear.

Track and field's poster boy is ready to send shockwaves and bolt in Beijing again. This is where it all started for him at the 2008 Olympic Games - at the Bird's Nest - but with a lot more on the line this time around, Bolt declared his readiness after a less-than-convincing start to his season.

"I am definitely in wonderful shape! I am in my best shape," said Bolt as over 200 journalists and nearly 30 TV cameras hung onto his every word.

"People can say anything they want. I have been coming to championships for years, people have been running fast times for years, but that doesn't scare me because I know what I am capable of. Running one-off races are easy, but coming to a championships and running back-to-back rounds of the events is not as easy as it looks," added Bolt, who celebrates his birthday today, but who promised any actual celebration would be a low-keyed one.

Bolt will start the defence of his world 100m title in the heats tomorrow morning (Jamaica time) at the International Association of Athletics Federations World Championships in Beijing, China, where he will face the challenge of world-leading sprinter Justin Gatlin, who, despite only beating Bolt once in six face-offs, is nearing 30 wins without a loss after a dominant two years in the sport.