February 12, 2008 WORLD 100m record holder Asafa Powell has been forced to withdraw from Saturday’s grand prix athletics meeting in Sydney with a cut knee.
Powell had four stitches inserted in the gash after suffering the injury while running up the stairs at his house in Jamaica late last week.
He arrived in Australia Monday, a day later than planned after missing a connecting flight in the United States.
“I was running up the stairs at my house and I fell,” he said.
"And once a big guy like me falls on my knee it’s not going to be pretty.
"I fell on my knee and got a cut and had some stitches in it and hopefully it’s going to be better soon.
"Now is not a bad time to get (the injury) because this week is an easy training week so it’s not that bad.
“I hope it gets better by the weekend so I can start doing some training.”
Powell had intended to anchor a Jamaican team in the 4x100m relay in Sydney on Saturday.
He is now aiming to be fit in time to run the individual 100m at the Melbourne Track Classic on Thursday week.
“It’s getting better day by day so … I’m very confident about running (in Melbourne),” said Powell.
“The good thing is that I am here and I’ve wanted to be here for a while now.”
Powell and his sprint squad chose to begin their Beijing Olympic preparations in Australia after he enjoyed his time here before winning the Commonwealth Games 100m gold medal in Melbourne two years ago.
Despite holding the 100m world record of 9.74 seconds, Powell is still yet to win gold at either world championships or Olympic level.
His clash with American world champion Tyson Gay in Beijing is expected to be one of the highlights of the 2008 Olympics.
AAP
