Posted on: Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Jamaican's 9.77 time sets world 100 record
By Derek Gatopolulos
Associated Press
ATHENS, Greece — Asafa Powell broke the world record in the 100 meters yesterday with a 9.77 clocking at Olympic Stadium, where the Jamaican didn't fare nearly as well during the Athens Games last summer.
Spiros Pantazatos | Associated Press During the Olympics, Powell finished fifth in 9.94. But nearly a year later, during the Tsiklitiria Super Grand Prix meeting on the same track, he was unbeatable.
"I'm very happy that ... I achieved this performance," Powell said. "I knew I could break the world record and I am very happy I succeeded."
The 22-year-old sprinter already had the world's fastest time this year, a run of 9.84 seconds at the Jamaica International Invitational on May 8. He also ran a 9.85 on June 9 in the Czech Republic. His time yesterday came with a tailwind of 1.6 meters per second, well below the legal limit of 2.0.
Before Montgomery's effort, the previous record was 9.79 set by Maurice Greene on the Athens track in 1999.
"It's amazing that, after Maurice Greene, I also achieved a world record in this stadium," Powell said. "If you ask me what I can do more this year, you will just have to wait until the end of this year's season to see."
Aziz Zakari of Ghana finished second in 9.99, and Jamaica's Michael Frater was third in 10.03.
Powell shaved one hundredth of a second off Tim Montgomery's record of 9.78 set in Paris in 2002 — a mark that already was at risk because Montgomery faces doping charges.
Asafa Powell is now the fastest man alive after breaking Tim Montgomery's 100-meter world record of 9.78 set in 2002.
