How does he manage to run through the line, get the fastest start and run slower than he did in the semi !?!?
i hope he was tired. he barely made it to the finish line.
choked as usual i guess 
its just this time…there was no poissble excuse!
“I messed up big time,” said Powell. “My legs died on me. Usain ran an awesome race. I’m very happy for him.”
When you are afraid, your legs feel died and tight.
There has to be more to it. From the race, he looked relaxed, and not tight at all. Maybe he just isn’t a round runner. Even his fast sixty was nonexistent.
Thats my point he was scared of bolt and that made his legs feel died/heavy/tight which = poor finals.
My legs died on me probably sums it up. Not able to do 4 tough rounds. It can’t have helped that he had the surgery on the torn pec
Do you think the mental issues came up in his head (his past history)?
A few reasons. Ever see that movie the Perfect Storm. Well try the perfects storms for Asafa.
- He is not made for (mutiple round running) championship running as Ato Boldon had suggested.
- Injuires! Look at the timing of his injuries.
- Problems with his coach
- He is very unlucky.
- His attitude.
Combine all these things and you get a fifth place at the 2008 olympics.
And don’t forget all that blood loss!
Incidentally, for those who were quick to think that blood testing Powell was some sort of conspiracy to weaken him, Michael Phelps has “donated” blood every day since he got to Beijing.
I guess you could take a shallow look at it too. The blood loss goes under mental attitude obviously.
I would only dispute point 4. Points 1 (NOT READY RATHER THAN NOT MADE),2,3, and 5 force luck right out of the occasion. The Pec tear was the result of doing iso holds or negatives beyond his PB in the bench. The coach was unaware of this session. Fights with the coach were the result of manipulation by those who felt they could get a bigger piece. Now the question is: “A bigger piece of what?”
1:He needs to straighten out everything with his coach.
2:He needs to get away from the press before races (!) he simply can’t stop the negative talk for all to see.
3:He needs to stay away from ANY change in preparation. He simply needs to execute his training through to the end.
4:He CAN do this too!
I guess my opinion is simply that one…he’s scared and two…he isnt built to run that many races that close together.
BTW, anyone know who will be anchor/2nd runner? Are they sticking with same order as world champs with powell anchor and Bolt 2nd runner?
no one with that much white fibre is designed for that many runs. He has the most so he needs a combination of a successful, injury free gradual progression of work, and a conservative heats strategy. He had the second but not the first.
When thinking about Asafa’s mental feeling, I want everyone to go back and look at Usain before the race. He felt great, he knew he was ready and he couldn’t wait to lay a beating down on the field. Now look at him pre-race in the 200 in Osaka last year. Was his mental state the same do you think? When you’re ready, you’re READY!
On the talk, I was surprised how outspoken he was in interviews over the last few weeks. He seemed to put more pressure on himself with his comments. Maybe he thought if he were to say it, he’d have to live up to his statements. Obviously, that did not work out too well.
What, if anything, do we know now about the tug- of-war between Paul Doyle and Stephen Francis? How many different people are pulling Powell in their chosen directions for him?
Yeah, I totally agree. When Bolt was smiling and posing before the start I thought to myself “this is over, he’s already won”.
Also about 30 minutes before the race Bolt was pretend massaging his coach’s back then the camera moved over and showed Frater trying to clown around with Asafa rubbing his head for good luck etc, but Asafa just said their in a daze giving nervous smiles. Bolt and Frater ran to PB levels, Powell +.2.