http://www.iaaf.org/GP06/news/Kind=2/newsId=34896.html
London, UK - The joint World record holders for the men’s 100m** Asafa Powell and Justin Gatlin will meet over 100m in the IAAF World Athletics Tour meeting in London on 28 July 2006, Fast Track the organisers of the Norwich Union London Grand Prix have confirmed today following agency reports.
The pair who share the World 100m record of 9.77 seconds, were originally due to race at this weekend’s IAAF Grand Prix meeting in Gateshead (Sunday 11 June) but after contractual difficulties occurred are now rescheduled to run in the Super Grand Prix event in London’s Crystal Palace stadium, which is the second of the two UK legs of the World Athletics Tour.
Powell powers to 9.95 in Kingston, Jamaica
(Errol Anderson - The Sporting Image)
In their London race, the target will be to smash the UK all-comers’ record of 9.89 which Olympic champion Gatlin set at last summer’s Crystal Palace event, a race in which Powell failed to finish that race due to a groin injury.
The Jamaican who won in the opening leg of the IAAF Golden League on Friday night (2 June) with a 9.96 clocking said: “I have still been holding on a little from the injury, but give me two more races and I’ll be all right. I’m also practicing something new my coach has devised and shortly, I expect to be regularly running 9.8’s, as I’ll have much more speed. London is a very good track and I want to achieve something special there.”
The meeting between the two men “is the biggest thing people want to see this summer and I think we shouldn’t race each other more than twice,” confirmed Powell. “Neither of us wants to share the World record and I believe at some stage this year because of our rivalry, it will be broken.”
Justin Gatlin powers to 9.87 win in New York
(Victah Sailer)
While World 100m and 200m champion Gatlin has the World record equalling** 9.77 time to his credit this summer, the current 2006 best of Powell, the Commonwealth Games champion is the 9.95 which he ran in Kingston Jamaica (6 May).
Including heats, Gatlin has five sub-10 second races to his credit in 2006 and Powell has four, and the two men respectively stand first and second in the IAAF World Rankings for the 100m event.
Fast Track and Dave Martin/PA International for the IAAF
I have still been holding on a little from the injury, but give me two more races and I’ll be all right. I’m also practicing something new my coach has devised and shortly, I expect to be regularly running 9.8’s, as I’ll have much more speed. London is a very good track and I want to achieve something special there."
Sounds intriguing!! Wonder what this ‘new’ thing is…