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Asafa Powell of Jamaica points his finger after setting the new world record of 7.74 seconds in the 100 metres at the Rieti Grand Prix, Italy, yesterday. - AP
Jamaica's Asafa Powell re-established himself as the planet's premier sprinter when he lowered his own 100 metres world record to 9.74 seconds at the Rieti Grand Prix meet in [COLOR=blue! important][COLOR=blue! important]Italy[/COLOR][/COLOR], yesterday.
The record, helped by a legal following wind of 1.7 metres per second, came in heat two of the men's 100 metres, minutes after Powell's MVP club teammate Michael Frater had won heat one in 10.12.
With Powell easing up in the last five metres, even the commentators were shocked when they saw the final time flashing on the finish line display board. Powell was immediately surrounded by a hive of photographers and reporters.
An obviously overjoyed Powell said the the new mark was a message to his fans.
"It is just to really remind my fans that Asafa Powell is still here. I made a couple of mistakes (at the recent World Champion-ships) and I corrected them," he told reporters.
Powell, who set the old mark in 2005 and equalled it twice last year, has, over the past two years, run the old mark (9.77) three times and went on to say that it was just a matter of getting things right and following the instructions of his coach.
"I came here today and I executed properly, and I did what I was told to do," he said.
The St. Catherine native, who won a bronze medal at the distance at the [COLOR=blue! important][COLOR=blue! important]Osaka[/COLOR][/COLOR] World Championships, praised the Rieti track.
"It is a very [COLOR=blue! important][COLOR=blue! important]fast [COLOR=blue! important]track[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR] and I like it. It is very bouncy and just very nice."
Powell added that Italy had been action as a second home for him and his MVP Club teammates for the past three years.
"Every year, we come to Italy for three months and this is where our base is, so it is like home to us," Powell said.
As if to prove the 9.74 was no fluke, Powell came back to run 9.78 in the final - with no tailwind. Frater was second in 10.03, followed by Jaysuma Saidy Ndure of [COLOR=blue! important][COLOR=blue! important]Norway[/COLOR][/COLOR] in 10.10.
"Today, I ran like I should have done at the worlds," Powell said. "At Osaka, I was too tense, I was thinking about the race and the time I had to set. Instead, here, I was relaxed."
In the heat, Ndure was second to Powell in 10.07, and Kim Collins of St. Kitts and Nevis was third in 10.14.
After winning the final, Powell celebrated amid a crowd of photographers on the field of Raul Guidobaldi stadium, throwing a bouquet of flowers into the stands. He also ran a lap of honour, shaking hands with fans and signing autographs.
Powell is only the fourth non-American to hold the 100 world record since 1912. Donovan Bailey of [COLOR=blue! important][COLOR=blue! important]Canada[/COLOR][/COLOR] (1996), Armin Hary of West Germany (1960) and Percy Williams of Canada (1930) are the others.
Powell first set the world record of 9.77 in June 2005 in Athens, Greece. Justin Gatlin matched the time in May 2006, but the American faces a suspension of up to eight years following a positive doping test for testosterone and other steroids at the Kansas Relays a month earlier. In June 2006, Powell again ran 9.77, and then did it a third time in August 2006.
best form
There was another victory for Jamaica at the meet. Sherika Williams, a 4x400m silver medallist in Osaka, ran on strongly in the straight to win the women's 400m in 51.08 seconds. [COLOR=blue! important][COLOR=blue! important]Russia's[/COLOR][/COLOR] Natalya Antyukh was second in 51.37, while another Jamaican, Shreefa Lloyd, was fifth in 51.96.
Sherone Simpson, last year's fastest woman over both 100m and 200m, continues to struggle to regain her best form. Simpson, who had times of 10.82 for 100m and 22.00 for 200m last year, was fourth in yesterday's 100m in 11.43. Sally McLellan of Australia won in 11.30, with Stephanie Durst of the United States second in 11.37 and Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie of the [COLOR=blue! important][COLOR=blue! important]Bahamas[/COLOR][/COLOR] third in 11.38.
Ricardo Chambers was second in the men's 400 metres in 45.61 behind winner, Canada's Tyler Christopher, 44.94.
In the women's 400m hurdles Melaine Walker finished fifth in 55.49 with the event going to [COLOR=blue! important][COLOR=blue! important]Poland's[/COLOR][/COLOR] Anna Jesien in 54.78.
World Championships finalist Mardrea Hyman (10:13.63) and training partner Korene Hinds (10:19.51) were eighth and ninth respectively in the women's 3000m steeplechase won in 9:30.39 by Russia's world champion Yekaterina Volkova.
Selected results:
Men
100: 1, Asafa Powell, Jamaica, 9.78 seconds. 2, Michael Frater, Jamaica, 10.03. 3, Jaysuma Saidy Ndure, Norway, 10.10. 4, Simone Collio, Italy, 10.14. 5, Kim Collins, St. Kitts and Nevis, 10.17. 6, Wallace Spearmon, United States, 10.18.
400 1, Tyler Christopher, Canada, 44.94. 2, Ricardo Chambers, Jamaica, 45.61. 3, Alleyne Francique, Grenada, 45.75. 4, Ato Modibo, Trinidad and Tobago, 45.94. 5, Robert Tobin, Britain, 46.41. 6, Andrea Barberi, Italy, 46.72.
Women 100: 1, Sally McLellan, Australia, 11.30 seconds. 2, Stephanie Durst, United States, 11.37. 3, Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie, Bahamas, 11.38. 4, Sherone Simpson, Jamaica, 11.43. 5, Amandine Allou, Ivory Coast 11.46. 6, Emma Ania, Britain, 11.46. 400 hurdles: 1, Anna Jesien, Poland 54.78. 2, Tasha Danvers-Smith, Britain, 55.03. 3, Yuliya Pechenkina, Russia, 55.31. 4, Natalya Ivanova, Russia, 55.39. 5, Melanie Walker, Jamaica, 55.49. 6, Yevgeniya Isakova, Russia, 55.88.
Asafa Powell of Jamaica points his finger after setting the new world record of 7.74 seconds in the 100 metres at the Rieti Grand Prix, Italy, yesterday. - AP
Jamaica's Asafa Powell re-established himself as the planet's premier sprinter when he lowered his own 100 metres world record to 9.74 seconds at the Rieti Grand Prix meet in [COLOR=blue! important][COLOR=blue! important]Italy[/COLOR][/COLOR], yesterday.
The record, helped by a legal following wind of 1.7 metres per second, came in heat two of the men's 100 metres, minutes after Powell's MVP club teammate Michael Frater had won heat one in 10.12.
With Powell easing up in the last five metres, even the commentators were shocked when they saw the final time flashing on the finish line display board. Powell was immediately surrounded by a hive of photographers and reporters.
An obviously overjoyed Powell said the the new mark was a message to his fans.
"It is just to really remind my fans that Asafa Powell is still here. I made a couple of mistakes (at the recent World Champion-ships) and I corrected them," he told reporters.
Powell, who set the old mark in 2005 and equalled it twice last year, has, over the past two years, run the old mark (9.77) three times and went on to say that it was just a matter of getting things right and following the instructions of his coach.
"I came here today and I executed properly, and I did what I was told to do," he said.
The St. Catherine native, who won a bronze medal at the distance at the [COLOR=blue! important][COLOR=blue! important]Osaka[/COLOR][/COLOR] World Championships, praised the Rieti track.
"It is a very [COLOR=blue! important][COLOR=blue! important]fast [COLOR=blue! important]track[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR] and I like it. It is very bouncy and just very nice."
Powell added that Italy had been action as a second home for him and his MVP Club teammates for the past three years.
"Every year, we come to Italy for three months and this is where our base is, so it is like home to us," Powell said.
As if to prove the 9.74 was no fluke, Powell came back to run 9.78 in the final - with no tailwind. Frater was second in 10.03, followed by Jaysuma Saidy Ndure of [COLOR=blue! important][COLOR=blue! important]Norway[/COLOR][/COLOR] in 10.10.
"Today, I ran like I should have done at the worlds," Powell said. "At Osaka, I was too tense, I was thinking about the race and the time I had to set. Instead, here, I was relaxed."
In the heat, Ndure was second to Powell in 10.07, and Kim Collins of St. Kitts and Nevis was third in 10.14.
After winning the final, Powell celebrated amid a crowd of photographers on the field of Raul Guidobaldi stadium, throwing a bouquet of flowers into the stands. He also ran a lap of honour, shaking hands with fans and signing autographs.
Powell is only the fourth non-American to hold the 100 world record since 1912. Donovan Bailey of [COLOR=blue! important][COLOR=blue! important]Canada[/COLOR][/COLOR] (1996), Armin Hary of West Germany (1960) and Percy Williams of Canada (1930) are the others.
Powell first set the world record of 9.77 in June 2005 in Athens, Greece. Justin Gatlin matched the time in May 2006, but the American faces a suspension of up to eight years following a positive doping test for testosterone and other steroids at the Kansas Relays a month earlier. In June 2006, Powell again ran 9.77, and then did it a third time in August 2006.
best form
There was another victory for Jamaica at the meet. Sherika Williams, a 4x400m silver medallist in Osaka, ran on strongly in the straight to win the women's 400m in 51.08 seconds. [COLOR=blue! important][COLOR=blue! important]Russia's[/COLOR][/COLOR] Natalya Antyukh was second in 51.37, while another Jamaican, Shreefa Lloyd, was fifth in 51.96.
Sherone Simpson, last year's fastest woman over both 100m and 200m, continues to struggle to regain her best form. Simpson, who had times of 10.82 for 100m and 22.00 for 200m last year, was fourth in yesterday's 100m in 11.43. Sally McLellan of Australia won in 11.30, with Stephanie Durst of the United States second in 11.37 and Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie of the [COLOR=blue! important][COLOR=blue! important]Bahamas[/COLOR][/COLOR] third in 11.38.
Ricardo Chambers was second in the men's 400 metres in 45.61 behind winner, Canada's Tyler Christopher, 44.94.
In the women's 400m hurdles Melaine Walker finished fifth in 55.49 with the event going to [COLOR=blue! important][COLOR=blue! important]Poland's[/COLOR][/COLOR] Anna Jesien in 54.78.
World Championships finalist Mardrea Hyman (10:13.63) and training partner Korene Hinds (10:19.51) were eighth and ninth respectively in the women's 3000m steeplechase won in 9:30.39 by Russia's world champion Yekaterina Volkova.
Selected results:
Men
100: 1, Asafa Powell, Jamaica, 9.78 seconds. 2, Michael Frater, Jamaica, 10.03. 3, Jaysuma Saidy Ndure, Norway, 10.10. 4, Simone Collio, Italy, 10.14. 5, Kim Collins, St. Kitts and Nevis, 10.17. 6, Wallace Spearmon, United States, 10.18.
400 1, Tyler Christopher, Canada, 44.94. 2, Ricardo Chambers, Jamaica, 45.61. 3, Alleyne Francique, Grenada, 45.75. 4, Ato Modibo, Trinidad and Tobago, 45.94. 5, Robert Tobin, Britain, 46.41. 6, Andrea Barberi, Italy, 46.72.
Women 100: 1, Sally McLellan, Australia, 11.30 seconds. 2, Stephanie Durst, United States, 11.37. 3, Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie, Bahamas, 11.38. 4, Sherone Simpson, Jamaica, 11.43. 5, Amandine Allou, Ivory Coast 11.46. 6, Emma Ania, Britain, 11.46. 400 hurdles: 1, Anna Jesien, Poland 54.78. 2, Tasha Danvers-Smith, Britain, 55.03. 3, Yuliya Pechenkina, Russia, 55.31. 4, Natalya Ivanova, Russia, 55.39. 5, Melanie Walker, Jamaica, 55.49. 6, Yevgeniya Isakova, Russia, 55.88.
