Cuba's world-record holder Dayron Robles wants no contact with Chinese friend Liu Xiang in London, where he aims to become the third man to win the high hurdles at successive Olympic Games.
"Off the track we're friends but in competitions I need to win and this is a war always," a smiling Robles said.
"But Liu Xiang, wherever he competes, is a rival worthy of admiration for his consistency and sporting discipline," added Robles.
Robles will be looking to avoid all racing contact after the bitter experience at last year's world championship final in Daegu where the Cuban, who finished first, was disqualified for obstructing the Chinese. American Jason Richardson was handed the gold medal and Liu, who had come in third, took silver.
Pan-American champion Robles is taking his last strides as a hurdler at the July 27-Aug 12 Olympics before retirement. Robles has been plagued by injuries that have hampered his chances of competing at his best since winning the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Games, leading to his decision to quit the track at 25.
He had to pull out of the Diamond League meet in New York last weekend, which would have marked his racing debut in the United States, due to a leg injury that needed a week's treatment. "We know all the rival athletes want to win a medal and are preparing hard to get to the Olympic Games in good form," Robles said.
"I'm looking to achieve a great performance and find my optimum form, factors that give me confidence to reach my peak condition," he added.
He practises his fine technique under a searing Caribbean sun every morning as he prepares for the challenge from his well-known rivals and emerging Cuban talent Orlando Ortega, who beat him at a recent meeting in Havana. If Robles wins the London final, he will be able to retire as only the third man with two consecutive Olympic 110 metres hurdles titles after Americans Lee Calhoun (Melbourne 1956 and Rome 1960) and Roger Kingdom (Los Angeles 1984 and Seoul 1988).