Posted: August 4, 2004

Athletics: After London, Men's Olympic 100M Picture Fuzzier Still

By Bob Ramsak, Track Profile

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

Four years ago in Sydney, conventional wisdom said that the men’s 100 meter dash, the showcase event of the Olympic Games, was Maurice Greene’s to lose. This time around, the race is virtually anyone’s to win, a point that Asafa Powell hammered home after his jaw-dropping display of power at the Super Grand Prix in London last Friday.

Initially pitched as a show-down between the reigning Olympic champion and world champion Kim Collins, the 22-year-old Jamaican’s 9.91 win to Greene’s 9.97 –-with Collins a distant fifth—- only added fuel to the argument that the dash for the title of World’s Fastest Man will be the most anticipated race in Athens less than three weeks from now.

In London, Greene looked solid after easing his way to a 9.98 in his heat, the 58th time he’s run under 10 seconds, but in the final, he was no match for the tall soft-spoken Jamaican. Greene can be forgiven for his lackluster 10.14 runner-up performance in the Paris Golden League race on July 23, a week after the physically and emotionally draining U.S. trials. But here, the U.S. champion --and now erstwhile Olympic favorite?-- had no response for Powell’s late-race strength.

While Greene’s self-professed status as G.O.A.T. –-Greatest of All Time-— is often written about as a sign of the former world record holder’s bravado, he offered no excuses after the race and was the first to praise the younger challenger.

“In Paris, I was asleep,” he said. “Today? I was ready to run today. But he prepared a little bit better than I did.”

In Greene’s assessment, the race was lost at the start. “I reacted very well, but it wasn’t efficient. I was all over the track, going side-to-side. And Asafa was going straight down. And that’s where he gained on me and I just couldn’t make that little bit up. He’s a very good runner,” he added. “He’s very powerful and he’s fast. So you can’t make any mistakes at the beginning.”

In Powell’s appraisal, the race was won in spite of his start. “I slipped out of the blocks, but I was able to run back and catch them,” he said. “I relaxed and went through.”

“There’s reasons why you win and reasons why you lose,” Greene explained. “I had a bunch of technical problems at the beginning of the race. You just have to go back and look at it and correct those things. Then you’ll be able to win. Of course I’m disappointed,” he admitted. “But I know the reasons why I lost so I just got to go back and fix those things.”

Will “those things” be corrected before Athens?

“Oh yeah, no doubt,” he said. “They will be fixed.”

And more to the point: should Powell now be considered the man to beat in Athens?

“That’s for you guys to write,” Greene said, grinning. “You can write whatever you want.”

Powell said the role of Olympic favorite would suit him just fine. “You can say that if you’d like.”

Even before his commanding win in London, Powell, who was most remembered last year for being disqualified along with Jon Drummond at the World Championships, was building a strong case for himself. Unbeaten in four finals this season, he debuted with a 9.99, and has now clocked 9.91 twice. At the Atletissima Super Grand Prix in Lausanne in early July, he stopped the clock at exactly 10.00, despite another rocky start. [For more on Powell in Lausanne, see TPR #125 - Asafa Powell: 'This Year I'm Feeling a Lot More Confident' - 10-July-2004].

“Well, I’m very confident right now about the Olympics,” Powell said, speaking quietly but firmly. “Maurice Green won the U.S. Trials a couple of weeks ago and they are the guys to beat. And I beat them, so come Athens, I’ ll be very confident.”

And, he added, he’s feeling little stress or anxiety.

“There’s no pressure for me right now. I’m quite motivated right now, and rather confident going into the Olympics, so I think I’m going to be alright working under pressure.”

Gatlin, who along with training partner Shawn Crawford emerged from the Olympic trials as a qualifier for both dashes in Athens, had a sluggish start in London en route to a 10.22 in his heat, barely quick enough to advance. He was never a factor in the final, finishing sixth in 10.20.

The 22-year-old said fatigue played a major role in his first outing since Sacramento.

“I really didn’t feel tired until I get on the track,” he said, adding with a laugh, “I didn’t expect to be this tired, but I’m tired.”

He’s also still running with a bandaged toe, an injury sustained during his 200 semi at the trials. “Coming off the curve, I slid inside my shoe and ripped the skin off the bottom of it.”

Reflecting back on his trials experience, Gatlin gave himself high marks.

“I think I did very well,” he understated, referring to his 9.92 and 20.01 performances in Sacramento, where he finished runner-up in both dashes. In the 100, he was a mere one-one hundredth of a second behind Greene. “I didn’ t come away with the gold, but I made a great statement that I think everyone will remember for awhile. I think I did a great job. I had a little upsetting performance right before the trials at Prefontaine,” where he was a disappointing eighth in 10.19, “and it shows a true champion to bounce back after all that.”

Still considered by many observers as a stronger over the half lap, Gatlin said he was particularly pleased with his performances in the shorter dash.

“I PRed two rounds back-to-back, and it really took a lot of heart,” he said. Prior to his 9.92, he ran to a 9.96 in his semi. “It took a lot of heart also in the 200 especially being so tired, out there in that heat all day. It was almost 100 degrees everyday. It took a lot of heart, especially with my toe being injured and coming out of that final with 20.01.”

Powell, Greene and Gatlin are all using Friday’s Weltklasse Golden League meet in Zurich as their final test before Athens. Crawford though, who was third in the 100 and winner of the 200 at the U.S. Trials, is not yet on the start list, and hasn’t raced since Sacramento.

“He’s just back at home, just playing it smart I guess,” Gatlin said. “He’s still training. Last time I talked to him he said he was just training and resting.”

While the talk in Sacramento was of a U.S. medal sweep, Powell can just as easily envision an entirely different scenario.

“The Caribbean athletes have a lot in store,” he said, referring to compatriot Usain Bolt, Darrel Brown of Trinidad and world champion Collins of St. Kitts. “They are running pretty well. Come Athens, who knows? We might take 1-2-3.”

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