Was Asafa Powell on world-record trail in Kingston?

Jamaica’s Asafa Powell
running in the men's 100m.
(Photo by Denise Bishop/
Sporting Kings)

by Gary Smith 
for Caribbean Net News

Wednesday, May 11, 2005

KINGSTON, Jamaica:  Did Asafa Powell's 15 metres shut down before the end of the men's 100m at the second edition of the Jamaica International Invitational meet at the national stadium in Kingston, Jamaica on Saturday cost him a shot at the world record?

Well, everyone has their own opinion and everybody sees things differently. But the only voice that counts was that of the man in the race.

"In the last 15 meters I eased up," Powell told Track Profile Report…"for sure that cost me the world record." 

"I feel I can go 9.75," Powell said. "I was not really training for this event. I was just doing some hard (early season background) training and I know there is a lot more room for improvement."

Powell broke his own national record of 9.87 and joined Jamaican-born Canadian sprinter Donovan Bailey and Bruny Surin also from Canada as the third-fastest sprinters of all-time. He said that he ran his race strictly under the orders of his coach Stephen Francis, who from all reports told the 22-year-old that he will break the world record but "not here not now."

A report from TPR stated that Powell could have run 9.75 or 9.76 had he not slowed down. One can remember the Athens Olympic Games last Summer when Powell was instructed to take it easy in the earlier rounds by his coach run "10.10 or 10.20" Francis said but the young prodigy was unable to follow the instructions and he paid for it. This time around Powell told TPR that he's only doing what the coach said because "he knows best" 

"I do what my coach tells me to do. He knows what I'm capable of doing, Powell added.

Powell stated that he was well relaxed on Saturday night claiming that "there wasn't much pressure in the race."

After finishing out of the medal contentions in Athens Powell said "I am young; this was just a learning process for me; I'll be back." He has put Athens performances behind him and is now looking towards Helsinki.

"I'm training a lot harder this year with plans to contest up to a half dozen 200s this year,” Powell added. 

After Raymond Stewart, Percival Spencer, Donavon Powell, the older brother of Asafa and Michael Green departed, the island of Jamaica, well known as the sprint factory, wondered where the next world group of world class sprinters would come from. At one point Lindel Frater, a former national champion looked like the man to who would fit the shoe while he was under the guidance of Francis but things changed.

With Dwight Thomas, a former national sprint double champion, Michael Frater, the young sibling of Lindel, Steve Mullings, Usain Bolt and Ainsley Waugh the future of Jamaica's men's sprinting looks safe.

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