ASAFA returns!
... makes season debut in Serbia on May 29

Friday, May 11, 2007



THE long-awaited season debut of world 100-metre record-holder Asafa
Powell in his pet event will take place in 18 days at the second
AthleticsBet meet in Belgrade, Serbia.


POWELL... 25 sub-10 second clockings in career
Hampered by tenonitis in the knee for the past month, the 2006 IAAF
Male Athlete of the Year pulled out of three meets - the Mt Sac
Relays (April 15), Penn Relays (April 28) and last Saturday's (May 5)
Jamaica International Invitational.

However, agent representative of the MVP Track Club Paul Doyle has
confirmed that Powell - the 2006 Commonwealth champion who registered
a record 12 sub-10 seconds clocking last season, is fully recovered
and will run his first competitive 100 metres in just over two weeks.

"Well, his first meet will be in Belgrade on the 29th of May," Doyle
told the Observer in an exclusive interview from Doha, Qatar,
yesterday. He said Powell's training partner Michael Frater, the 2005
World Championship silver medallist, along with some European
athletes, will contest the 100 metres.

"It's sort of a low-keyed meet and as an opener we figured it would
be a good start for Asafa... it gives him enough time before the
Eugene (Oregon, USA) meet, the Prefontaine Classic (on Sunday, June
10)," Doyle added, noting that the Jamaican star will have 12 days
between both meets.
He also disclosed that Powell will compete at this year's first
Golden League meet - the Exxon Mobil Bislett Games in Oslo, Norway -
on June 15.

Powell - who twice equalled his world record 9.77secs on June 11 in
Gateshead, England, and August 18 in Zurich, Switzerland, becoming
the first man to legally run under 9.8 seconds on three occasions -
won a share of the US$1-million Golden League jackpot by winning all
six races in the series last season.
American quarter-milers Sanya Richards and Jeremy Wariner, who
experienced similar success on the European Circuit, shared in the
jackpot.

Doyle said Powell, who was sidelined for roughly three weeks because
of the knee injury, after recording two personal best 400 metres
times in January (47.67secs) and February (47.17 secs) has been
running full tilt in training under the guidance of renowned coach
Stephen Francis and his staff.

"He's actually been training fine now," Doyle said, adding that "for
the past week or so, he's been able to go 100 per cent.
"His block-starts has been great and he's run some all-out 300 metres
as well and everything is holding up with the hamstring and the knee,
so he seems to be back to 100 per cent and working hard to make up
for the three weeks (training) that he missed," Doyle said.

With a career 25 sub-10 second clockings to his credit, which ranks
him fourth on the all-time list behind American Maurice Green (52),
Trinidad & Tobago's Ato Boldon (28) and Namibia's Frank Fredericks
(27), Powell will be aiming to become the first Jamaican to win a
world 100m title in Osaka, Japan, from August 25 and September 2.

"We're still expecting nothing but big improvements for Asafa this
year... he's put in a lot of work during the winter in the months of
January and February, running those 400s, so he has a lot of strength
and base built up in him, so missing three weeks of intense training
isn't going to affect him too much. He's still going to be able to
have a very long and fast season," Doyle said.