Coe expects extraordinary weekend for the British hopes

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However, he insisted it was not a make or break 48 hours for track and field and said progress would be measured in the proportion of British athletes making finals rather than winning medals.

He said: "They are big British moments. I don't think people wonder where we finish on the medals table. What they remember is Kelly Holmes, Steve Redgrave, Matt Pinsent, Chris Hoy or Nicole Cooke.

"People are excited about it already and they know that they we have a very good start. We had a gold a silver in the pool and the same in cycling. You have to go back a long way to remember days like that. They know that we are witnessing a step change and I hope it continues right the way through."

Coe picked out potential medallists in athletics as marathon world record holder Paula Radcliffe, 1500 metres runner Andy Baddeley, triple jumper Phillips Idowu and heptathlete Kelly Sotherton.

He added: "I'm not going to minimise the importance of our track and field count. People are looking forward to an extraordinary weekend but they are not thinking that this is a make or break.

"This now has very little to do with physical presence and is all about where the athletes are in their minds when they set foot on the track."

Coe said the British team was already reaping the benefit of extra funding and improved strategies ahead of 2012.

He said: "Since Sydney funding for elite sport has increased by £20million for each Games. You don't get excellence on the cheap and people are only just starting to realise that."

Coe, the chairman of the London Games organising committee, also said that Michael Phelps had not become the greatest Olympian of all time despite winning an unprecedented 11 gold medals so far in his career.

He said: "Gold medals are not the indices of greatness. I'm not saying that Michael Phelps isn't one of the all-time greats but I'm not sure how you would compare him to Jesse Owens or Haile Gebrselassie or Nadia Comenechi or Daley Thompson - who I think was the greatest athlete. That's my biased view because he is my mate."