Powell Sets New World Record

Asafa Powell significantly lowered his 100 meters world record to 9.74 seconds at the IAAF Grand Prix meeting in Rieti.

The 24-year-old Jamaican knocked 0.03sec off the previous best of 9.77sec, which he has run on three occasions, in his semi-final at the Italian meeting.

Powell, aided by a 1.7metres-per-second following wind, finished way ahead of Norway's Saidy Ndure Jaysuma and St Kitts and Nevis's former world champion Kim Collins, who recorded 10.07sec and 10.14sec respectively.

Commonwealth champion Powell first broke Maurice Greene's mark of 9.79sec at the Athens Grand Prix in June 2005.

He then matched that figure last June at the Norwich Union Grand Prix in Gateshead and again two months later at the Zurich Golden League meeting.

Powell now holds the world record outright. American Justin Gatlin also ran 9.77sec in May last year, although the Olympic champion's performance is likely to be annulled if found guilty of an anti-doping violation.

Powell has bounced back to form following the disappointment of finishing third behind Tyson Gay of the USA and Bahamian Derrick Atkins in the recent World Championships in Osaka.

Both Gay and Powell are scheduled to compete at the IAAF Golden League meeting in Brussels, but it has not yet been confirmed whether they will go head-to-head.

"They are both down to compete. but whether it is in the same race, I don't yet know," said Wilfried Meert, organizer of the Ivo Van Damme event.