Tweet
Asafa calls in mental coaches
Powell calls in the head doctors to see if they can make his legs move faster
DAN SILKSTONE
24/02/2009 1:00:01 AM
ASAFA POWELL lost his bottle in Beijing - the fastest man in the world for half of 2008 finished a distant fifth as countryman Usain Bolt took the world record, the gold medal and the headlines.
Redemption starts in Australia this week when the Jamaican will race in Sydney. Powell - who revealed yesterday he had sought help from psychologists to stop him choking in big events - has targeted Australia for his own personal Heimlich manoeuvre.
"I'm a lot happier than last year," he said yesterday after a gentle training session at Olympic Park. "I'm in training. I'm doing some crazy workouts."
He is scheduled to run the 400 metres in Sydney on Saturday - taking on John Steffensen and American Xavier Carter - rather than contesting the event he is known for, the 100m. It will be 47 seconds of agony, not something the finely tuned sprinter relishes, nor enjoys. It is a strategy designed to place Powell under pressure - running a race in which he knows he can not coast to victory. If he can learn to deal with that pressure, half his battle is won.
"The Olympics proved a lot," Powell's coach, Steve Francis, said yesterday. "We were able to zero in on what his problems were and we have taken steps to give him a better opportunity to reveal his true abilities."
Francis says Powell's problem "has to do with how he values a particular competition and the build-up of expectations and his approach to being under pressure".
"We have been working with mental coaches, to ensure that he feels up to those situations more rigorously," he said.
That is shorthand for choking, a charge long levelled at the sprinter, who has been the fastest man in the world for much of the past five years but has repeatedly flopped at the Olympic Games and world championships.
Francis said the 400m race in Sydney - one of three Powell will attempt this year - would sharpen his star pupil.
"It will give him a great lesson in trying to do well under pressure. He has never run a 400 under pressure before and the pressure of him trying to do well will be of benefit to him."
Francis said yesterday Powell was run the 100m in Melbourne on Thursday week and would almost certainly break 10 seconds, making him the first man to do so.
"He's in a lot better shape than he has ever been," the coach said. "His tests back home have been very good. If conditions are right he should definitely break 10 seconds because he's in great shape."
The Jamaican also said a fast time was likely in his pet event. "Sub-10 is very, very possible," he said. "This is my third time coming to Australia and I would really love to give the crowd something fantastic."
This year is about "bouncing back" after the crushing disappointment of Beijing.
"It's a lot easier being in second place because it gives you something to work for," Powell said. "I'm working at everything. I'm not weak but I'm working at it. I'm working with psychologists in every way possible to make sure in that I am ready when the time comes. It is a very strong event and me and Usain are neck and neck so it is going to be exciting."
On Saturday the 400 metres awaits. In Melbourne Powell will take on a field he professed yesterday to be largely unaware of. The Jamaican could only nominate countrymen Michael Frater and Nesta Carter as rivals to watch. But Powell's main race has long been with himself. With just six months until the world championships in Berlin he knows he must win it soon if he is to have any chance of unseating Bolt as the world's best.
"We have been working to change these things and for sure he is better than he has ever been," Francis said. "But we want to make sure that in Berlin he can show it."
DAN SILKSTONE
24/02/2009 1:00:01 AM
ASAFA POWELL lost his bottle in Beijing - the fastest man in the world for half of 2008 finished a distant fifth as countryman Usain Bolt took the world record, the gold medal and the headlines.
Redemption starts in Australia this week when the Jamaican will race in Sydney. Powell - who revealed yesterday he had sought help from psychologists to stop him choking in big events - has targeted Australia for his own personal Heimlich manoeuvre.
"I'm a lot happier than last year," he said yesterday after a gentle training session at Olympic Park. "I'm in training. I'm doing some crazy workouts."
He is scheduled to run the 400 metres in Sydney on Saturday - taking on John Steffensen and American Xavier Carter - rather than contesting the event he is known for, the 100m. It will be 47 seconds of agony, not something the finely tuned sprinter relishes, nor enjoys. It is a strategy designed to place Powell under pressure - running a race in which he knows he can not coast to victory. If he can learn to deal with that pressure, half his battle is won.
"The Olympics proved a lot," Powell's coach, Steve Francis, said yesterday. "We were able to zero in on what his problems were and we have taken steps to give him a better opportunity to reveal his true abilities."
Francis says Powell's problem "has to do with how he values a particular competition and the build-up of expectations and his approach to being under pressure".
"We have been working with mental coaches, to ensure that he feels up to those situations more rigorously," he said.
That is shorthand for choking, a charge long levelled at the sprinter, who has been the fastest man in the world for much of the past five years but has repeatedly flopped at the Olympic Games and world championships.
Francis said the 400m race in Sydney - one of three Powell will attempt this year - would sharpen his star pupil.
"It will give him a great lesson in trying to do well under pressure. He has never run a 400 under pressure before and the pressure of him trying to do well will be of benefit to him."
Francis said yesterday Powell was run the 100m in Melbourne on Thursday week and would almost certainly break 10 seconds, making him the first man to do so.
"He's in a lot better shape than he has ever been," the coach said. "His tests back home have been very good. If conditions are right he should definitely break 10 seconds because he's in great shape."
The Jamaican also said a fast time was likely in his pet event. "Sub-10 is very, very possible," he said. "This is my third time coming to Australia and I would really love to give the crowd something fantastic."
This year is about "bouncing back" after the crushing disappointment of Beijing.
"It's a lot easier being in second place because it gives you something to work for," Powell said. "I'm working at everything. I'm not weak but I'm working at it. I'm working with psychologists in every way possible to make sure in that I am ready when the time comes. It is a very strong event and me and Usain are neck and neck so it is going to be exciting."
On Saturday the 400 metres awaits. In Melbourne Powell will take on a field he professed yesterday to be largely unaware of. The Jamaican could only nominate countrymen Michael Frater and Nesta Carter as rivals to watch. But Powell's main race has long been with himself. With just six months until the world championships in Berlin he knows he must win it soon if he is to have any chance of unseating Bolt as the world's best.
"We have been working to change these things and for sure he is better than he has ever been," Francis said. "But we want to make sure that in Berlin he can show it."
Comment