Posted: July 10, 2004

Athletics: Asafa Powell - 'This Year I'm Feeling A Lot More Confident'

By Bob Ramsak, Track Profile

(c) 2004 Track Profile all rights reserved TrackProfile.com

LAUSANNE, Switzerland – As competition in the men’s 100 meters gets underway today at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Sacramento, the eyes of the athletics world will focus squarely on what many describe as the “toughest” race in the world. But at least one person says he won’t be paying too much attention. “No, I’m just going to stay focused right now and concentrate on myself,” sprinter Asafa Powell said after his 10.00 win at the Atletissima Super Grand Prix in Lausanne on Tuesday. With two sub-10 second clockings to his credit already this season, the 21-year-old Jamaican is poised to lead a strong Caribbean challenge in Athens to whomever emerges from the demanding U.S. trials. In Lausanne, he said his goal was Leroy Burrell’s 9.85 track record set in 1994, then a world record. But a slow, stumbling start rendered the task impossible from the outset. “I feel a little disappointed, because I slipped from the blocks. But, I’ll get it right next time. That was a good time, but I wanted to go a lot faster,” he said, adding that he indeed is in sub-9.90 shape. Powell opened his season on June 12 with a personal best 9.99 at a meeting in Spanish Town, but came to the fore two weeks later with his 9.91 win at the Jamaican national championships, breaking Olympian Ray Stewart’s 13-year-old national record of 9.96. His effort is the second fastest time in the world this year, But Powell firmly believes that there’s plenty left in the tank. “It felt fast,” he said. “I knew it was a nine-something. But I can go faster.” Last season, his first full season on the international circuit, Powell’s most memorable moment came at the World Championships in Paris, where he was disqualified for a false start in his quarter-final along with Jon Drummond. Despite the setback, he bounced back to beat a loaded field a week later in the Brussels leg of the Golden League, clocking a then-personal best 10.02. Now a year older and a year wiser, Powell insists that much has changed. “This year I’m feeling a lot more confident, I’m in a lot better shape and going into the Olympics, I think I have a good chance.” Powell refuses to make any bold predictions for Athens, and said he’ll be satisfied with a medal of any color. “I think [10.00] is good enough to be in the finals, but I’ll have to run faster in the final to get a medal.” After a brief break, Powell’s next start will be at London’s Super Grand Prix on July 30.

The TRACK PROFILE REPORT is a news and feature service published by the Track Profile News Service. In addition to regularly dispatched news, profile and interview features, subscribers also receive exclusive on-site updates from major national and international competitions, usually within 24 hours. Copyright (c) 2004 by Bob Ramsak and TRACK PROFILE. All rights reserved. Reproduction, republication, reposting and retransmission in ANY form is strictly prohibited without express permission from the editor.