PARIS, July 4 - Jamaican sprinter Asafa Powell today said he was determined to go faster than any man has ever gone to reclaim the 100m title he grudgingly shares with American Justin Gatlin.
``For me this year the best thing would be breaking the world record,’’ said the 23-year-old who set the new 9.77-second mark at Athen’s Olympic stadium in June last year.
``It’s not that I want it only for myself, I am going to have it only for myself,’’ he said three days before the second round of the Golden League in Paris Saturday.
While Powell equalled his personal best at Gateshead in England on June 9 this year, his rival in the meantime had drawn abreast with 9.77 seconds in Doha on May 12.
But the Jamaican is adamant that he is the top man.
``Nobody can stop me saying it. Before Justin ran 9.77 I had already done it and then I did it again,’’ Powell said.
``So until he can show he can do it again, I am still the fastest.’’
Throughout the year, the two have talked up their rivalry while apparently incapable of coming eye to eye on the same track in the same event.
Uncertainty surrounds a showdown flagged for the London Grand Prix on July 28 after Powell’s coach Stephen Francis suggested he might run the 200m instead.
After hearing his rival was running at Gateshead last month, Gatlin pulled out, leaving Powell to equal ``their’’ record for a second time.
The pair’s last duel almost a year ago in London was something of an anti-climax when on July 22 Gatlin took honours after Powell pulled up with an injury.
powell has done things no sprinter has done before, gatlin is still playing catch up in my mind. if he runs 9.7X again, theres no question about whos best until they meet up.
Hmmm… I guess titles don’t count then? I remember Lindford saying that records come and go… but titles stay! Let’s not forget that there’s a 3 x gold vs. zero in terms of titles.
i think titles are for pride times are for accomplishment. personally i could care less which big races i win as long as my times are the best. for example if i ran 9.6 100m at some piddly dink open meet i would be mor happy with that than winning any olympics or world championship with a lesser time. i think the difference is those people who run for the love of the sport and a true desire to push the envelope of human performance and those who run because it inflates their ego and so they want to run on the big stage and win on the big stage. some of the greatest athletes you will never hear about because they come into the gym everyday thinking how can i make myself a bit faster jump a bit higher lift a bit more weight. no for whatever reason you train is a valid reason and the lord knows i love to see the accomplishments of any individual who has busted their ass its just interesting to elucidate the difference between the two driving forces behind elite performance.
Right they both have 9.77 standing - that’s it. Everything else is idle talk.
But you can still draw conclusions for what is possible in the near future. And a guy who can run 9.77 on a track which is known to be slow (Gateshead) can surely clip a few hundreds off.
So I’d expect Asafa to go close to 9.70 this year, but do not see Gatlin breaking 9.77 in 2006 again.
But that’s idle talk, too - just what I expect. And forms can change, injuries happen no race in perfect conditions and everything changes…
C’mon, is this for real? The great thing about major championships is that everyone capable is on the line, usually primed for that exact moment, and most importantly, the conditions are the same for everyone in the final (if you manage to get there). When the gun goes… there’s neither excuses nor ‘would-haves’. While it’s true that athletics can be judged by numbers alone, it’s good to know why we have ‘competitions’ in the first place – why not just set up electric timing, find a starter, and keep the results to ourselves (and be happy with that). The point of competition is the collective environment (we need opponents, not just physical measurements, to see where we stand).
There’s no reason to draw an arbitrary distinction between people who run just for the love of the sport and people whose motives are egocentric in terms of titles; we can never know such things, we can only know our own reasons. I bet most of the champs truly love what they do, “despite” having the urge to win titles too.
Everyone who aspires to better themselves – competing or not – are ‘great’… but they can never get the final ‘-est’ as in ‘greatest’ if not ‘measured’ against something and someone.
Its kinda funny how mostly everyone else is doing the trash talking for them. I personally think they are scared to race each other. Claiming its the money and what not. They both have good endorsement contracts, both are getting hefty fees for running in meets, both are fast. So they wanna nickle and dime the promoters, so they can claim “the money aint right” thing. YOU ARE RUNNING FOR LESS THAN 10 SECONDS!!! There are not too many jobs where you are going to prepare for WORK for about an hour and a half, then WORK for 9.xx seconds, talk to the press for a couple of minutes, etc…and go home.
SHUT UP AND RACE! If you win, you win. If you lose, you lose…and come back at the next meet and try to win…
an example of what Arnold said once.
You might win a World chmp, but somebody might not be there? he might be sick, injured or even fell asleep before the event…
So you go out and win, but in your mind, there was say 2or3 others who have won other events but didnt race for whatever reason. So, are you the best?
Untill you are able to compete against alll there is, and win against all there is, you know, that there is doubt you are the best.
Personally, i thing Gatlin is the current best, he has beat everybody. He is king of the mountain. He now is has to fend off others from taking his mantle. Asafa is clawing his at him. But he aint in the chair at the top. Asafa has beat a lot of top sprinters, but the guy in the big chair at the top of the mountain needs to be raced along side the other top contenders, if there are any and win. Once he wins under that pressure, then the chair is his.
Then asafa in his own mind will know that he is the best. Being there is no major event this yr, it will have to wait another yr! And a lot can happen in 12mnths.
Being a co-WR holder, you are gonna get a hefty appearance fee. So what if the guy that beat you gets a few more bucks than you. Go out and win the next week so that you can demand that what you lost and then some. Anyway, thats just gravy money. But if thats what you are worried about…DONT RUN AND RETIRE. You cant win every meet. I cant remember the pay scale, but if you are in the finals, you are gonna get a decent pay check even if you come in 8th place…
of course you are all right!
I feel the same. But i think its nonsense to speak about it because thats the game.
They have managers(who try to get every buck they can), there’s prestige and so on.
I wouldnt wonder, if their managers phone each other every second day:)
They prepare everything for ONE showdown and thats good for the sport, because it wouldn be sth special for the world if they meet every second week.