By Gary Smith
Caribbean Net News Sports Correspondent
Email: gary@caribbeannetnews.com
OKLAHOMA, USA: Despite the critics about his championships performances, Jamaica’s Asafa Powell said he would not trade his world record for anything at the moment -- not even a major title.
Powell, who last month lowered his own 100-metre world record from 9.77 seconds to a sizzling 9.74secs, has been favourite to win gold medals at major championships in the last three years, including the world championships in Osaka, Japan this summer, but failed to deliver.
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Jamaican world record-holder Asafa Powell.
AFP PHOTO |
However, in spite of what is happening around him these days, the Jamaican still believes the world record is his proudest achievement, thus far.
"I'd love to have a gold medal but I wouldn't give up my record for anything you could give me - anything else in the world," Powell said, when asked if you would trade his mark for a gold medal.
Meanwhile, after dominating since his defeat to American Tyson Gay in the men’s 100m dash in Osaka, Powell pulled up injured in his final race of season, a 200m dash, at the Yokohama track and field meet, which saw his management take the whip for the injury.
According to reports from Kingston, his club, Maximising Velocity and Power (MVP) - headed by coach Stephen Francis, had poor scheduling plans for the sprinter after the world championships, which led to him pulling his hamstring.
However, the club has denied that better scheduling would have prevented the injury, but felt that running back-to-back 200m dashes in 48 hours was something they would look into in the future.
In the meantime his manager Paul Doyle sympathised with the sprinter after his injury.
"Everything had been falling into place since Osaka so it's a difficult way for Asafa to end the season," Doyle said. |
