Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Men's 100m - PREVIEW

By his own stellar standards, Usain Bolt has had a relatively conservative season thus far as he heads towards the defence of the 100m and 200m titles he won at the last IAAF World Championships in Berlin. And this year one man is standing firmly between him and his ambition over the shorter distance – Jamaican friend and rival Asafa Powell, who heads this year’s world lists with his time of 9.78sec recorded at Lausanne on 30 June.

The only meeting this season between the two Jamaican friends and rivals took place at the Samsung Diamond League meeting in Rome on 26 May, when Bolt won narrowly in 9.91 after getting a poor start. Powell was second in 9.93.

So Bolt still appears to have the competitive edge when push comes to shove. But one of the most interesting prospects at the forthcoming championships will be that of Powell in full pursuit of the global gold that has so far eluded him, nothwithstanding his World records.