Posted: June 9, 2006

Athletics: Clarification: London Not Necessarily First Gatlin-Powell Match-Up Of The Year

By Bob Ramsak
© 2006 TRACK PROFILE Report, all rights reserved

[Ed NOTE: In TPR #493, it was incorrectly reported that the Norwich Union London Grand Prix on July 28 would play host to the first race of the year between the joint 100 meter world record holders Justin Gatlin and Asafa Powell. While the two will race in London's Crystal Palace next month, it may not be their first head-to-head of the season. I regret the error.]

While it was announced earlier this week that joint 100 meter world record holders Justin Gatlin and Asafa Powell will square off at the Norwich Union London Grand Prix on July 28, their date at the Crystal Palace venue will not necessarily be their first of the season.

"We are in many discussions with various promoters, companies and European meet organizers, all still very interested in hosting the first match," said Renaldo Nehemiah of Octagon, the management firm that represents Gatlin, in an email to TPR. "And all of those discussions are about staging the race, ASAP."

Nehemiah added: "There is absolutely no agreement written or otherwise that confirms in any way that London is the first date. The date is still undecided."

Following the U.S. national championships later this month, Gatlin, the world and Olympic champion, is scheduled to compete at the Athletissima Super Grand Prix in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Tuesday, July 11. Powell has already confirmed that he'll contest all six of the Golden League contests, the next set for Paris on Saturday, July 8. Rome's Golden Gala, on Friday, July 14, is the third Golden League stop where Gatlin, should he compete, would return as defending champion. Last year, Gatlin also collected wins in the Zurich and Brussels legs of the Golden League.

Organizers of the Athens Super Grand Prix, scheduled for Monday, July 3, have expressed interest in attracting the sprinters to the stadium where Gatlin claimed his Olympic title in 2004 and where Powell set the world record of 9.77 seconds in 2005. Last weekend in Oslo, Paul Doyle, Powell's manager, indicated that an Athens meeting between the pair was unlikely.

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