http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/olympics_2004/athletics/3566218.stm
Powell wants sprint record
Powell has four sub-10 second runs to his name this season
Jamaican sprinter Asafa Powell said he will aim to break the 100m world record when he bids for gold in Athens.
The 21-year-old is one of the favourites for the Olympic title after beating defending champion Maurice Greene twice in the past month.
Tim Montgomery’s world record of 9.78 seconds was set nearly two years ago.
“I think 9.86 seconds will be needed to win the gold, but I’m going for the world record. My confidence level is 100%,” said Powell.
Powell, who beat Greene at Crystal Palace on 31 July in 9.91 seconds, has also taken the scalps of rivals Kim Collins, Justin Gatlin, Francis Obikwelu and Mark Lewis-Francis.
I think I can win the gold medal and do everything I’ve done in training
Asafa Powell
“That has done a lot for my confidence,” he said.
At last year’s world championships in Paris, he was disqualified in a quarter-final heat of the 100m for a false start along with US sprinter Jon Drummond, who lay on the track in protest.
“Last year I was working real hard, I went into the world championships but that was a disappointment,” he said.
“From then until now, I’ve been training hard and I made up my mind that I’m going to do it this year.”
A Jamaican man has never won the 100m, but Powell is keen to take on the challenge.
“I think I can win the gold medal and do everything I’ve done in training,” he said.
“That would mean a lot to me because the Olympics is the biggest event ever.”