EUGENE, Oregon, May 25 - World and Olympic 100m champion Justin Gatlin and his world-record co-holder rival, Asafa Powell of Jamaica, will both run here Sunday at the Prefontaine Classic in what is almost a showdown race.
Gatlin and Powell will run in different sections of the 100m final at the famed US athletics meet. The races will be conducted consecutively and results combined to determine an overall winner.
On May 12 at Doha, Gatlin matched the world record of 9.77 seconds set by Powell. First clockings had Gatlin setting a new mark but the IAAF later ruled the run of 9.766 should be rounded upward and only level with Powell.
The two-section Prefontaine final allows Gatlin and Powell to stage a 100m tuneup here for their planned June 11 showdown at Gateshead, England, without spoiling the drama two weeks early.
This should certainly pique the interest of track fans around the world as they will get to see the two fastest men on the planet in consecutive races under similar conditions,'' Pre meet director Tom Jordan said. Gatlin, the 100m champion at the 2004 Athens Olympics and double sprint champion at the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki, will defend his Pre’’ 100m crown.
Pre has always produced fast times and great races,'' Gatlin said. I’m looking forward to running fast like I did there last year.’’
Gatlin, who won the 2005 crown in a wind-aided 9.84 seconds, also will be tested by Jamaicans Dwight Thomas and Michael Frater, the 100m worlds runner-up to Gatlin, and 2006 World Indoor Championships 60m champion Leonard Scott.
Kenya’s Daniel Kipchirchir Komen, the world’s top-ranked miler, will face a tough lineup at the distance, including world champion Rashid Ramzi of Bahrain, US 1,500m record-holder Bernard Lagat and Kenyan defending meet champion Alex Kipchirchir.
Reigning Olympic champion Liu Xiang of China and reigning world champion Ladji Doucourse of France meet in the men’s 110m hurdles while reigning Olympic 400 hurdles champion Felix Sanchez of the Dominican Republic faces world champion Bershawn Jackson of the United States.
I wonder why Liu and Ladji don’t run in separate races ahahah
i guess Gatlin will push it to a sub 9,93 and Asafa will go easy in 9,97…
I don’t knoe about Gatlin but Asafa is ready…
I also think so. But maybe Asafa dont want to show too early that he is THE MAN. Gatlin will run at 100%, but maybe Asafa knows - not at least in terms of injury- that it couldbe better to take it easy.
Lets see
100 METERS
Justin Gatlin • Asafa Powell
Leonard Scott
Michael Frater (Jamaica)
Francis Obikwelu (Portugal)
Marc Burns (Trinidad)
Jason Smoots
Shawn Crawford
Anson Henry (Canada)
DeBryan Blanton
Joshua Norman
Ernest Wiggins
Mardy Scales
Jordan Vaden
Mark Jelks
Rodney Martin
Is this strong enough to push them, it’s missing something…