Powell ready to prove himself
By Natasha Robinson
March 1, 2006
HE swears he is still the fastest man on Earth, but after a serious groin injury left him unable to compete at the world championships last year, Jamaica sprinter Asafa Powell admits he will have to work hard to prove it.
Powell, who holds the 100m world record of 9.77sec, arrived in Melbourne yesterday after a marathon flight via Los Angeles from Kingston to begin preparing for the blue-riband event at the Commonwealth Games.
“Yes I’m still the fastest man on Earth,” the muscled runner declared with a nervous chuckle after stepping out of the arrival gate at Melbourne airport.
“I resumed serious training since September so I’ve been training for a pretty long time.”
Despite his prodigious ability and the conviction that he could retain his world record status, Powell said yesterday he would use the Commonwealth Games to prove he had regained his fitness.
“The only thing I have to prove is to show that everyone knows I am better,” he said.
“I guess I have to prove that I am better and ready to run.”
Powell flew in with his training partner and teammate Michael Frater, who won a silver medal last year at Helsinki and will also contest the 100m.
Powell, who only ran his first sprint race in 2001 and clocked an extraordinary beginner’s time of 10.50sec, said yesterday he could run even faster than 9.77sec.
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However, he was hesitant about whether he would display such form in Melbourne.
He said he was feeling fit and, despite last year’s injury, there was never any doubt he would compete in Melbourne.
“Yes I can (go faster than 9.77sec) but I’m not sure when I can,” Powell said. “I haven’t been doing so much speed work so I’m not sure about the time.”
A quietly spoken, religious man who is the son of two pastors, Powell politely answered questions in Melbourne yesterday - few answers stretching anywhere near as long as the time it took to etch his name into history.
“I’ve been in a few competitions in Jamaica and I’ve competed well and, as far as I can see, I’m all right,” he said.
Australia’s fastest man, Joshua Ross, clocked 10.35sec in winning the selection trial last month for the Commonwealth Games.
He will have his work cut out keeping up with Powell.
The Jamaican federation has named a 47-member athletics team to compete in Melbourne.
Apart from Powell, the stars on the team include Athens Olympic 200m champion Veronica Campbell, 2005 world triple jump champion Trecia Smith and Lorraine Fenton, who won silver in the 400m behind Cathy Freeman at the Sydney Olympics.
But Powell is the jewel in the team.
He was last week named Jamaica’s sportsman of the year and carries high expectations into the Games.
He will be no doubt yearning for a gold medal in Melbourne to break his poor run at major meets.
Powell’s only medal at the 2002 Commonwealth Games was the silver he earned for anchoring Jamaica’s 4x100m relay.
He was disqualified at the quarter-final stage in the 2003 worlds for a second false start and finished a disappointing fifth as favourite in the 2004 Olympics 100m final before his injury put him out of the world titles.
Powell said yesterday he was keen to begin training in Australia, and his first run is likely to be on March 9 at the IAAF world tour meet at Melbourne’s Olympic Park.
The Commonwealth Games 100m heats for men will be run on Sunday, March 19, with the final the following night.
The Australian
