Asafa Powell (right) of Jamaica sprints to win the men's 100m during the Golden League athletics meeting at Letzigrund Stadium in Zurich, yesterday. Maurice Greene (left) of the U.S. placed second.
-Reuters
ZURICH, Switzerland (AP):
ASAFA POWELL of Jamaica established himself as an Olympic favourite, winning his third consecutive 100-metre race last night at the Weltklasse Golden League meeting and relegating reigning Olympic champion Maurice Greene to second place for the second time in a row.
Powell, who won in Lausanne and London, chased Greene for the better part of the race before catching him in the final quarter and overtaking him in the final 20 metres to win in 9.93 seconds.
"I guess I'm the big favourite for the Olympic Games now," Powell said. "I felt a little pressure from Greene but I'm feeling great because I beat Maurice Greene tonight, and he is one of the fastest men in the world.
"If I stay focused and keep doing what I am doing I'll get gold for sure."
FIFTH-BEST TIME
It was the fifth-best time this season. Powell also holds the second best time of the season of 9.91 with Greene, behind American Shawn Crawford, who clocked 9.88 in Eugene, Oregon, at the end of June.
"Everybody went very steady," Powell said. "I am very confident because I have been improving my start and the season is going to be tight."
GREAT COMPETITOR
"Asafa is a great competitor and we're going to have a lot of great races," Greene said.
After recovering from a broken left leg in 2002 and a host of injuries from a mishandled comeback, Greene says he is ready to reclaim his place as the world's top sprinter.
However, since posting his 9.91 at the U.S. Olympic trials in July, Greene has lost three times: to Portuguese sprinter Francis Obikwelu on July 23 in Paris, to Crawford in the Prefontaine meet in Oregon on June 15 and to Powell in London. He blamed jetlag and poor technique for the losses to Obikwelu and Crawford.
"Of course I'm disappointed," Greene said. "But this doesn't mean anything. Athens is going to be a completely different race.
"Of course I'm going to win (in Athens). It's coming together but I've got a few things to work out. I think by Athens I should have a lot of them worked out."
