Athletics: Powell in Peak Form for Palace

Asafa Powell sent a clear warning he is capable of setting a world 100 metres record for the second time in Britain this summer when he ran the fastest time ever in Stockholm's 1912 Olympic Stadium.

The Jamaican was running in his final race before competing in the Norwich Union London grand prix at Crystal Palace on Friday and he looked in awesome shape, winning in 9.86sec to maintain his consistency. It was the seventh occasion he has broken 10 seconds this year, including the 9.77 he ran at Gateshead last month when he equalled the world record he shares with America's Justin Gatlin.

Powell would probably have claimed the record outright if he had enjoyed the conditions he had in Gateshead, where the wind reading was plus 1.5 metres per second. Last night it was only 0.2. The performance still broke the stadium record set by America's Maurice Greene in 1999 and earned Powell a diamond believed to be worth $10,000 (£5,400).

Donovan Bailey, the 1996 Olympic champion is predicting something special from Powell. "If I went 9.7 that would have been a glorious day and now he goes 9.7 like it's nothing," said the Canadian. "With him running the perfect race, it seems like he can go one-tenth faster."

The meeting at Crystal Palace will be a final opportunity for the British long jumper Jade Johnson to achieve the qualifying standard of 6.65 metres for the European Championships in Gothenburg next month. The 26-year-old Londoner had minor surgery for a kidney problem last week. "I did not react well to the anaesthetic," she said. "I was not very well at all. But I want to be in London. It is the one chance all summer my family gets to see me compete."

The Commonwealth triple jump champion Phillips Idowu was no match for his rivals in Stockholm, however.

Idowu, rated a British medal hope in next month's European Championships, never looked like reproducing the form which recently won him the British trial with a clearance of 17.50 metres.

Last night, with only two of his six jumps valid, his best effort was just 16.49m as he finished in a disappointing eighth place.

The competition was won by Brazil's Jadel Gregorio.