Kingston star prefers life in fast lane
Ron Reed
March 2, 2006

THE biggest star of the biggest show in town had a busy first full
day in the Games city yesterday -- a two-hour training session, a
major media conference and a drug test.

And Jamaican sprinter Asafa Powell still had one unticked item on
his agenda. "I want to see some kangaroos," he said.
No doubt he will be accommodated there at some stage as the Games
city moves fully into show-off mode, but the world's fastest man is
here on business, not as a tourist.

He and his colourful coach Steve Francis made it clear that they are
bent on winning the 100m gold medal and hard training is the
priority -- unless, of course, you count Francis's beeline for the
pokies at the casino on his first night in town.

Powell, 23, who lowered the record to 9.77 seconds in Athens last
year, cut an impressive figure as he sprinted at three-quarter pace
up the straight at Olympic Park, where he will have his only
competitive warm-up for the Games next Thursday night.

Tall and lithe and clad in red, he looked every inch the star that
he is -- but for all that, he's not cut from the usual cloth of his
ilk.

Powell is far from the aggressive, trash-talking stereotype to which
most black American sprinters belong.

He is quietly-spoken, humble and God-fearing, as you would expect
from the son of two preachers, The Rev. William Powell and the Rev.
Cislyn Powell, who run a non-denominational church.

With admirable prescience, they chose for his Christian name an
African word meaning "to rise to the occasion."

He is one of six boys, one of whom, Donovan, also became a champion
athlete. But two others died young three years ago, one from natural
causes and the other shot dead, which tested Asafa's faith.

The circumstances of the shooting are unclear but Kingston, the
Jamaican capital, has long had a reputation as one of the world's
most violent and dangerous cities. A local newspaper reported five
murders in a day recently.

It is also a strong sporting town -- it hosted the Commonwealth
Games in 1966 and boasts a Melbourne Cricket Club, named after the
one here. It is where Courtney Walsh began his journey to the Test
wickets record that now belongs to Shane Warne, and his old mother
still makes the afternoon tea there.

But over the years many of the best track and field athletes have
moved to the United States to live, train and study, many never to
return.

Powell -- who could probably afford to live anywhere he wanted --
and the rest of Francis's squad have not.

"I think it's better to stay at home with family and friends. All
the facilities are there. It might not be much, but everything we
need is there," he said yesterday.

As for the risks, he said: "No-one troubles us where we are. A lot
of the gunmen, when they see me they're really honoured to meet me
so they don't really bother us."

Francis insists that in any case Kingston's scary image is over-
blown, saying: "The vast majority is crime-free.

"There are certain areas where you and I are not going to go where
most of the violence is concentrated.

"But living there, you don't have a problem. It's not as if the
entire place is over-run with gunmen."

Francis also pointed out that because Powell was such a late bloomer
as an athlete -- he only really became involved after watching the
Sydney Olympics on TV -- he wasn't a hot enough property to be
offered a scholarship to the US.

"He stayed because he had no choice," he said. "But after he ran
10.1 in his first year, people started asking who is this guy."

MVP, Holmwood dominate
at Milo/Western Relays

February 9, 2006 - World 100m record holder Asafa Powell was in
swizzing form at Saturday's 28th staging of the Milo/Western Relays
at Catherine Hall complex in Jamaica's second city, Montego Bay.

Anchored by Powell, the world fastest man, the Stephen Francis-
coached MVP raced to an impressive 38.87 seconds clocking to win the
men's Club/Institution sprint relay. The quartet of Olympian Winston
Smith, World 100 silver medallist Michael Frater, Ainsley Waugh and
Powell erased their team record of 39.67, set last year.

MVP also accounted for two more of the 14 records fell on the day.
The male mile relay team, which Powell, ran the opening leg, and the
women's team were also in breaking forms.

The men's team won in 3:13.52 while the women's team, which included
national 400m champion Sherika Williams, won in 3:32.14.

MVP women's 4x100m team, which included world 100m hurdles silver
and bronze medallist Brigitte Foster-Hylton and Olympic relay gold
medallist Sherone Simpson won in 43.46 ahead of G.C. Foster College
(47.01).

In the High School's section, Holmwood dominated. The Christiana-
based school broke four records.

The girls' Class One sprint relay quartet of Anastasia Le-Roy,
Rosemarie White, Sonia Sutherland and Schillonie Calvert, stopped
the clock in a fantastic 44.88 seconds, the best time ever by a
schoolgirl team in that side of the island. This same quartet won at
Penn Relays last year. Vere were second in 46.87 seconds.

In the boys' equivalent, anchor man Omar Brown took his team to
victory in 41.14 ahead of Mannings (42.65) while the girls' 4x800m
team upset Edwin Allen (8:50.30) to win in 8:47.26. The 4x200m girls
also achieved a record in 1:35.74 ahead of Vere (1:37.24).

On the individual side, Edwin Allen's Sherene Pinnock, Vere's
Sharnetter Stewart, and Germaine Gonzales of High Performance
Training Centre (HFTC) were also in record breaking form.

Gonzales, a world junior bronze medallist, ran a superb 45.94
seconds to win the men's individual 400m while Stewart took the
women's title in impressive 52.81. Pinnock, also a world junior
bronze medallist, took the girls' 400m hurdles open in 59.31.

Edwin Allen who won the girls' Class Two 4x100m in 46.13 over
Holmwood (46.97), Mt. Alvernia with victories in the boys' 4x100m
(54.48) and the girls' 4x100m (55.99), also accounted for records on
the day.

Kingston College won five relays. They won the boys' Class Four,
Three 4x100m events in 47.12 and 45.83 seconds respectively. The
North Street boys returned to capture the 4x200m in classes one
(1:26.32), two 1:30.56) and ran 3:15.56 to win the prestige 4x400m
over Holmwood (3:16.19).

Holmwood won Class Two in 43.10 over Mannings, who also did 43.10.

Ocho Rios also secured a record, this in the primary 4x100m with a
time of 55.99.

Kingston College (KC) took the top male school award while Holmwood
walked away with the girls' crown.

MVP's Frater was the most impressive male athlete while Le-Roy of
Holmwood took the female section

Powell to star in Montego Bay

BY ADRIAN FRATER, News Editor


THE UNFINISHED CATHERINE HALL STADIUM, in Montego Bay, is poised to
sizzle under top-class track and field tomorrow as 100m world record
holder Asafa Powell heads the strong contingent of senior and junior
athletes, who are down to participate in the 28th renewal of the
Milo Western Relays.

ALL SYSTEMS GO

"It is now all systems go as everything is in place for what should
be a day of excitement," said Ray Harvey, the meet director for the
one-day relay carnival which will feature 54 high schools, 24
prep/primary schools and 17 Clubs/Institutions.

According to Harvey, the MVP Track Club confirmed yesterday that
they will be sending two relay teams. The Kingston-based school has
vowed to scorch the Mondo track at Catherine Hall and will be
setting new records in the 4x100m relays for both men and women.

The male team includes Powell, World Championships 100m silver
medallist Michael Frater, Ainsley Waugh and Winston Smith, while the
female team line-up is former Holmwood Technical star Nyoka Cole,
World Championships hurdles bronze medallist Brigitte Foster-Hylton,
World Champion-ships 100m finalist Sherone Simpson and Shericka
Williams.

Other clubs expected to compete at this year's Milo Western Relays
include G.C. Foster College, the High Performance Centre and the
University of the West Indies.

The meet will feature 37 events - 35 track events and two field
events in the form of the male and female long jump.

PEAK PREPARATION

With most high schools now in peak preparation for the upcoming
Gibson Relays and VMBS Boys & Girls' Championship, traditional
giants such as Holmwood, which took home the outstanding female team
last year, and Kingston College, which took the male equivalent, are
expected to be seriously challenged by the likes of Wolmer's,
Jamaica College, St. Jago, St. Elizabeth Technical, Holmwood, Vere
Technical, Manning's and Herbert Morrison.

"I am expecting the usual excitement among the high schools as I am
sure the coaches will be using the meet to gauge the readiness of
their athletes," said Mr. Harvey. "In addition, there is an
impressive incentive package at stake for the athletes who do well."

Main sponsor Milo has announced a whopping $200,000 scholarship
bursary for an outstanding athlete, who meets the academic
qualification to attend the G.C. Foster School of Physical
Education.

In addition, the outstanding male and female athletes will be
gunning for The Gleaner/Youthlink Award.

While patrons will once again be faced with the inconvenience of no
spectator stands, the organisers will be using technology to make
the experience less stressful as giant visual screens will be
strategically placed at the venue so that spectators, coaches and
athletes can view the races live and delayed.

Milo, which has been the main sponsors of the Western relays since
1994, increased their sponsorship from last year's $400,000 to the
current figure of $500,000. According to Milo's Consumer Marketing
Manager Kenneth Dodd, the increased sponsorship underscores Milo's
commitment to building future champions.

Powell Finishes Third in Comeback Race

Sat Jan 28, 5:07 PM ET



Asafa Powell, the world record holder at 100 meters, finished third
over 400 meters in his first race in six months on Saturday.

Sidelined by a groin injury since last June, Powell was in good
position entering the final straight in the local race but eased up
with 50 meters to go.

He finished in 48.01 seconds, trailing winner Xavier Brown (47.00)
and Mario Forsythe (47.08).

Stephen Francis, Powell's coach, said the race went according to
plan.

"He ran 0.5 seconds faster than last year (in a similar race) so we
are quite satisfied with how things went," Francis said.

Powell is expected to run at another local meet on Feb. 25 before
leaving for the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia, in March.

Powell set a world record of 9.77 in the 100 last June in Athens,
Greece, but was injured two weeks later at Jamaica's national trials
and missed the world championships in August.

Asafa's spike fetches US$1,830 for IAAF charity

JIS
Friday, February 03, 2006



LONDON - World record holder Asafa Powell's right foot sprinting
spike, which he wore when he set the men's 100 metres world record
in Athens, Greece, last June, has helped the International
Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) to raise more than
US$30,000 for charity.

Powell was among scores of world-class athletes, past and present,
who donated gifts, including clothing, bib numbers and running
shoes, in an auction conducted on the IAAF's website. His spike was
sold for US$1,830.74, the third highest figure.

Cash collected in the IAAF's humanitarian project 'Athletics for a
Better World' is being given to three United Nations organisations -
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), United Nations Children's
Fund (UNICEF) and World Food Programme (WFP).

The money will be equally divided among the three partners, and the
IAAF is paying all auction fees and the cost of shipping the items
to their winning bidders around the world.
The auction ended on January 31, and the last item on offer, the
gold medal competition kit and bib number, which Hicham El Guerrouj
wore when he won his first ever global title, raised the most for
any individual item - US$3,406.98.
The second highest sale price was the US$2,443.01 bid for Haile
Gebrselassie's framed 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games competition bib
number.

President Lamine Diack expressed sincere thanks to all who
participated.

"On behalf of the IAAF, I would like to sincerely thank all those
athletes and fans who have taken part in this first ever online
auction to raise money and public awareness for UN humanitarian
causes," he said.

Asafa Powell's website updated with pictures and videos of races.

Enjoy

Here is a link to a zip file containing lots of 100 and 200m races
featuring Asafa Powell.

Enjoy.



http://folk.uio.no/royel/

Asafa returns to the track







January 20, 2006 - World 100m record holder Asafa Powell will open
his 2006 season at next Saturday's (January 28th) Queen's/Grace
Jackson Track & Field meet at the National Stadium east complex.

In his build-up towards the March's Commonwealth Games in Melbourne,
Australia, Powell will run the 400m event.

Powell, who broke the 100m world record last June, will be joined at
the meet by the entire MVP Track Club, which includes teammates and
World Championships 100m silver medallist Michael Frater, Brigitte
Foster-Hylton, the World Championships 100m hurdles silver
medallist, and Sherone Simpson, who was a member of Jamaica's
Olympic 4x100m relay gold team.

Foster-Hylton, Simpson and Frater will also run the 400m. National
400m champion Shericka Williams will run the the 200m while Gregory
Little is down for the 800m.

World Junior 200m record holder Usain Bolt is also expected to face
the starter.

Meanwhile, most of the island's top schools – St. Jago, Vere,
Holmwood, KC, JC, Calabar, Wolmer's and Camperdown are down to
compete.

Natasha Ruddock and Latoya King of St. Jago, KC's Andre Wellington
and Cawayne Jervis, Sonita Sutherland and Schillonie Calvert of
Holmwood, Samantha Henry and Crystal Wilson of Queen's, Winston
Barnes of JC and Camperdown's Remaldo Rose are some of the top
juniors.

The sponsors for the meet are - 4E, Adidas, Alhambra Inn, Art
Printery, Glaxo SmithKline Caribbean Ltd (Lucozade), HD Hopwood &
Company Ltd, Info Channel Ltd, Rainbow Awings Custom Products Ltd,
Bank of Nova Scotia, Singer Jamaica Ltd, National Housing Trust,
Couples Resort, Perez Y Cia Jamaica, WISYNCO Group, General Accident
Insurance Company Jamaica Ltd, and the Queen's Past Students'
Association.

thank you.....I did not notice it...holla
--- In asafapowell@yahoogroups.com, "jamaicantrackfan"
<jamaicantrackfan@y...> wrote:
>
> That list is last year's info.  The 2006 Indoor season on TV is as
> follows:
>
>
> 2006 Indoor Visa Championship Series TV Schedule
>
> (Broadcasts subject to change. All times Eastern; check local
> listings)
>
> Date Event Network Time
>
> Jan. 29 Reebok Boston Indoor Games ESPN2 3-4:30 p.m.
>
> Feb. 5 99th Millrose Games ESPN2 6:30-8:30 p.m.
>
> Feb. 12 Tyson Invitational ESPN2 11:30 p.m.-1 a.m.
>
> Feb. 26 AT&T USA Indoor Track & Field Championships ESPN 3:30-5:30
> p.m.
>
> Additional USATF telecasts
>
> Feb. 20* USA Cross Country Champs, Presented by Gleukos ESPN2 12
> a.m.-1a.m.
>
>
>
> --- In asafapowell@yahoogroups.com, "limitedchoice"
> <limitedchoice@y...> wrote:
> >
> >
> > 1/20/05 9:00 AM YES Network Armory Track Series 2005
> > 1/21/05 7:00 AM YES Network Armory Track Series 2005
> > 1/23/05 4:00 AM YES Network Armory Track Series 2005
> > 1/30/05 5:00 PM ESPN Reebok Boston Indoor Games
> > 1/31/05 6:30 AM YES Network Armory Track Series 2005
> > 2/1/05 1:30 AM YES Network Armory Track Series 2005
> > 2/3/05 9:00 AM YES Network Armory Track Series 2005
> > 2/5/05 2:00 PM NBC Millrose Games
> > 2/12/05 9:00 PM ESPN2 Powered by Tyson Invitational
> > 2/27/05 3:00 PM ESPN USA Indoor Track & Field Championships
> > 3/6/05* 7:00 AM NBC Little Rock Marathon
> > 3/6/05 7:30 AM NBC Los Angeles Marathon
> > 3/6/05 6:00 PM NBC Los Angeles Marathon
> > 3/16/05 12:00 PM ESPN2 NCAA D-I Indoor Championships
> > 3/26/05 6:00 AM CBS Rodes City Run
> > 4/18/05 11:30 AM OLN Boston Marathon
> > 4/18/05 8:00 PM OLN Boston Marathon
> > 4/30/05 2:30 PM OLN Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run
> > 4/30/05 4:00 PM NBC Penn Relays
> > 5/22/05 4:00 PM ESPN adidas Track Classic
> > 5/30/05 10:00 PM ESPN2 Payton Jordan U.S. Open
> > 6/5/05 10:00 AM BBC Norwich Union International Match
> > 6/5/05 2:00 PM NBC Nike Prefontaine Classic
> > 6/11/05 4:00 PM NBC Reebok Grand Prix
> > 6/18/05 2:30 PM CBS NCAA D-I Outdoor Championships
> > 6/25/05 4:00 PM ESPN USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships,
> > presented by Visa
> > 6/26/05 5:00 PM ESPN2 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships,
> > presented by Visa
> > 8/6/05 4:00 PM PAX IAAF World Championships in Athletics
> > 8/7/05* 9:00 AM NBC St. Barnabas Medical Center 5K Run/Walk
> > 8/7/05 4:00 PM PAX IAAF World Championships in Athletics
> > 8/8/05 5:00 PM PAX IAAF World Championships in Athletics
> > 8/9/05 5:00 PM PAX IAAF World Championships in Athletics
> > 8/10/05 5:00 PM PAX IAAF World Championships in Athletics
> > 8/11/05 5:00 PM PAX IAAF World Championships in Athletics
> > 8/12/05 5:00 PM PAX IAAF World Championships in Athletics
> > 8/13/05 4:00 PM PAX IAAF World Championships in Athletics
> > 8/14/05 4:00 PM PAX IAAF World Championships in Athletics
> > 9/24/05 1:45 PM ESPNU Continental Airlines Fifth Avenue Mile
> > 11/6/05 2:00 PM NBC ING New York City Marathon
> > 12/4/05 10:00 AM NBC California International Marathon, 4-Person
> > Relay & Fun Run
> > 12/5/05* 9:00 AM CBS Las Vegas Marathon
> >
>

Just do a search of the meet in yahoo and you will get to the
appropriate website.

Reebook Games - Boston
Millrose Games - New York
Tyson Invitational - Arkansas(University of Arkansas




--- In asafapowell@yahoogroups.com, sass stuart <sweetslim24@y...>
wrote:
>
> Does anyone have the address or state that these
> events will be taking place. I definately would like
> to attend one.  Respond ASAP please!!
>
> > 2006 Indoor Visa Championship Series TV Schedule
> >
>
> > Feb. 12 Tyson Invitational ESPN2 11:30 p.m.-1 a.m.
> >
> > Feb. 26 AT&T USA Indoor Track & Field Championships
> > ESPN 3:30-5:30
> > p.m.
> >
>
> __________________________________________________
> Do You Yahoo!?
> Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
> http://mail.yahoo.com
>

Does anyone have the address or state that these
events will be taking place. I definately would like
to attend one.  Respond ASAP please!!

> 2006 Indoor Visa Championship Series TV Schedule
>

> Feb. 12 Tyson Invitational ESPN2 11:30 p.m.-1 a.m.
>
> Feb. 26 AT&T USA Indoor Track & Field Championships
> ESPN 3:30-5:30
> p.m.
>

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com

That list is last year's info.  The 2006 Indoor season on TV is as
follows:


2006 Indoor Visa Championship Series TV Schedule

(Broadcasts subject to change. All times Eastern; check local
listings)

Date Event Network Time

Jan. 29 Reebok Boston Indoor Games ESPN2 3-4:30 p.m.

Feb. 5 99th Millrose Games ESPN2 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Feb. 12 Tyson Invitational ESPN2 11:30 p.m.-1 a.m.

Feb. 26 AT&T USA Indoor Track & Field Championships ESPN 3:30-5:30
p.m.

Additional USATF telecasts

Feb. 20* USA Cross Country Champs, Presented by Gleukos ESPN2 12
a.m.-1a.m.



--- In asafapowell@yahoogroups.com, "limitedchoice"
<limitedchoice@y...> wrote:
>
>
> 1/20/05 9:00 AM YES Network Armory Track Series 2005
> 1/21/05 7:00 AM YES Network Armory Track Series 2005
> 1/23/05 4:00 AM YES Network Armory Track Series 2005
> 1/30/05 5:00 PM ESPN Reebok Boston Indoor Games
> 1/31/05 6:30 AM YES Network Armory Track Series 2005
> 2/1/05 1:30 AM YES Network Armory Track Series 2005
> 2/3/05 9:00 AM YES Network Armory Track Series 2005
> 2/5/05 2:00 PM NBC Millrose Games
> 2/12/05 9:00 PM ESPN2 Powered by Tyson Invitational
> 2/27/05 3:00 PM ESPN USA Indoor Track & Field Championships
> 3/6/05* 7:00 AM NBC Little Rock Marathon
> 3/6/05 7:30 AM NBC Los Angeles Marathon
> 3/6/05 6:00 PM NBC Los Angeles Marathon
> 3/16/05 12:00 PM ESPN2 NCAA D-I Indoor Championships
> 3/26/05 6:00 AM CBS Rodes City Run
> 4/18/05 11:30 AM OLN Boston Marathon
> 4/18/05 8:00 PM OLN Boston Marathon
> 4/30/05 2:30 PM OLN Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run
> 4/30/05 4:00 PM NBC Penn Relays
> 5/22/05 4:00 PM ESPN adidas Track Classic
> 5/30/05 10:00 PM ESPN2 Payton Jordan U.S. Open
> 6/5/05 10:00 AM BBC Norwich Union International Match
> 6/5/05 2:00 PM NBC Nike Prefontaine Classic
> 6/11/05 4:00 PM NBC Reebok Grand Prix
> 6/18/05 2:30 PM CBS NCAA D-I Outdoor Championships
> 6/25/05 4:00 PM ESPN USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships,
> presented by Visa
> 6/26/05 5:00 PM ESPN2 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships,
> presented by Visa
> 8/6/05 4:00 PM PAX IAAF World Championships in Athletics
> 8/7/05* 9:00 AM NBC St. Barnabas Medical Center 5K Run/Walk
> 8/7/05 4:00 PM PAX IAAF World Championships in Athletics
> 8/8/05 5:00 PM PAX IAAF World Championships in Athletics
> 8/9/05 5:00 PM PAX IAAF World Championships in Athletics
> 8/10/05 5:00 PM PAX IAAF World Championships in Athletics
> 8/11/05 5:00 PM PAX IAAF World Championships in Athletics
> 8/12/05 5:00 PM PAX IAAF World Championships in Athletics
> 8/13/05 4:00 PM PAX IAAF World Championships in Athletics
> 8/14/05 4:00 PM PAX IAAF World Championships in Athletics
> 9/24/05 1:45 PM ESPNU Continental Airlines Fifth Avenue Mile
> 11/6/05 2:00 PM NBC ING New York City Marathon
> 12/4/05 10:00 AM NBC California International Marathon, 4-Person
> Relay & Fun Run
> 12/5/05* 9:00 AM CBS Las Vegas Marathon
>

1/20/05 9:00 AM YES Network Armory Track Series 2005
1/21/05 7:00 AM YES Network Armory Track Series 2005
1/23/05 4:00 AM YES Network Armory Track Series 2005
1/30/05 5:00 PM ESPN Reebok Boston Indoor Games
1/31/05 6:30 AM YES Network Armory Track Series 2005
2/1/05 1:30 AM YES Network Armory Track Series 2005
2/3/05 9:00 AM YES Network Armory Track Series 2005
2/5/05 2:00 PM NBC Millrose Games
2/12/05 9:00 PM ESPN2 Powered by Tyson Invitational
2/27/05 3:00 PM ESPN USA Indoor Track & Field Championships
3/6/05* 7:00 AM NBC Little Rock Marathon
3/6/05 7:30 AM NBC Los Angeles Marathon
3/6/05 6:00 PM NBC Los Angeles Marathon
3/16/05 12:00 PM ESPN2 NCAA D-I Indoor Championships
3/26/05 6:00 AM CBS Rodes City Run
4/18/05 11:30 AM OLN Boston Marathon
4/18/05 8:00 PM OLN Boston Marathon
4/30/05 2:30 PM OLN Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run
4/30/05 4:00 PM NBC Penn Relays
5/22/05 4:00 PM ESPN adidas Track Classic
5/30/05 10:00 PM ESPN2 Payton Jordan U.S. Open
6/5/05 10:00 AM BBC Norwich Union International Match
6/5/05 2:00 PM NBC Nike Prefontaine Classic
6/11/05 4:00 PM NBC Reebok Grand Prix
6/18/05 2:30 PM CBS NCAA D-I Outdoor Championships
6/25/05 4:00 PM ESPN USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships,
presented by Visa
6/26/05 5:00 PM ESPN2 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships,
presented by Visa
8/6/05 4:00 PM PAX IAAF World Championships in Athletics
8/7/05* 9:00 AM NBC St. Barnabas Medical Center 5K Run/Walk
8/7/05 4:00 PM PAX IAAF World Championships in Athletics
8/8/05 5:00 PM PAX IAAF World Championships in Athletics
8/9/05 5:00 PM PAX IAAF World Championships in Athletics
8/10/05 5:00 PM PAX IAAF World Championships in Athletics
8/11/05 5:00 PM PAX IAAF World Championships in Athletics
8/12/05 5:00 PM PAX IAAF World Championships in Athletics
8/13/05 4:00 PM PAX IAAF World Championships in Athletics
8/14/05 4:00 PM PAX IAAF World Championships in Athletics
9/24/05 1:45 PM ESPNU Continental Airlines Fifth Avenue Mile
11/6/05 2:00 PM NBC ING New York City Marathon
12/4/05 10:00 AM NBC California International Marathon, 4-Person
Relay & Fun Run
12/5/05* 9:00 AM CBS Las Vegas Marathon

New pictures of Asafa Posted

--- In asafapowell@yahoogroups.com, "jamaicantrackfan"
<jamaicantrackfan@y...> wrote:
>
> BBC website with link to audio interview
>
>
>
http://www.bbc.co.uk/1xtra/tx/documentaries/fastest_man_in_the_world.sh
> tml
>


Link doesn't seem to work here.

You can get the actual link form the "links" button on this group page

BBC website with link to audio interview


http://www.bbc.co.uk/1xtra/tx/documentaries/fastest_man_in_the_world.sh
tml

The Saturday Interview: Mild-mannered Powell has world at his feet
By Sue Mott
(Filed: 23/07/2005)



The fastest man in the world (ever) only managed about 10 yards of
the Crystal Palace track last night before keeling over with a groin
injury. Asafa Powell, the mild-mannered Jamaican who has held the
world record since June 14 this year, when he clocked 9.77sec for
the 100 metres at the Olympic Stadium in Athens, failed in his bid
to beat his arch-rival, the Olympic champion Justin Gatlin. But no
world record fell. Powell is still the main man.


On your marks: Asafa Powell is the fastest person in the world and a
decent young man with it
At least he retains the categorical record that he stripped from Tim
Montgomery, who ran 9.78 three years ago. Montgomery, the US athlete
still awaiting the result of a hearing into alleged doping offences,
issued an immediate response to the Jamaican's feat. "He is no
longer a sprinter among other sprinters. He is the one who can't
afford to lose," he challenged.

The intent was to induce fear and trepidation into the heart of a
young man so free in his attitude that he still trains by running on
grass in flat shoes, when the rest of his challengers are in highly
scientific hot-house conditions, not to mention spikes. "What a
shock," said Montgomery when told of the record. What a blessing,
the sport might say.

We could do with a less controversial record-holder than Montgomery,
especially as Powell's duel develops with Gatlin. The young American
wants to be world record holder. Powell wants the Olympic title.
This may be the beginning of a running storyline, if not last night,
then perhaps at the upcoming World Championships.

The 100 metres is war in parallel lanes. It takes the stride of a
gazelle, the size of a bullock and the heart of a warrior to win. It
does not, you would think, take sweet self-effacement. The recent
Olympic sprint champions of modern times are united in arrogance as
well as muscle. Maurice Greene, Linford Christie, Carl Lewis - you
might call them a lot of things, but shy isn't one of them.

What on earth is Powell doing in there? The 22-year-old is
positively bashful. The sixth son of two country pastors, he still
attends church every Sunday, sometimes lending a musical hand on the
bass guitar and drums. He had no idea he was a runner at school. He
thought he was a footballer. Running is what you did into the
penalty area, not as a career. Next thing you know he's the world
record holder. It all, appropriately, happened so fast. Perhaps he
hasn't had time to catch an ego.

He cannot quite rationalise it all. "Fastest man on the planet? It's
unbelievable," he said, fastening widened eyes on his interlocutor
over a huge plate of chicken and vegetables at City Hall this week
where he was having his photo taken with the mayor, Ken
Livingstone. "Even my friends still come up to me and say, 'You -
the fastest man on earth - I can't believe this because we were all
kids in high school together and yet look at you now.' It is strange.

"D'you know they showed me the yearbook we made in our last year of
high school. They said, 'Here you are', and there was my picture and
my prediction that I wanted to be the fastest man in the world. Yes,
it was funny. I looked very young in my school uniform." He laughed
as he does all the time, either to mask his embarrassment or
reinforce his amiability.

"I didn't even like running. It was just running. I didn't know you
could be a runner. I knew you could be a footballer. You went out
and trained. You could be on a team. All I knew about running was
that I could beat everyone, even the bigger boys, on sports day. I
used to run away from all the guys and then wait for them. But I
didn't run any other time. I used to walk, very slowly, instead.

"It was my teacher, Mrs Fraser, who told me I could be a runner. I
didn't always do what my teachers told me. But this time I did."

He also had a role model, his eldest brother Donovan - 11 years
older, he thinks - who reached the 1999 World Indoor Championships
60m final. He looked up to his brother as would a toddler to a
teenager. He admired all his brothers. The third in the series,
Nigel, taught him music. But he has also endured his share of
fraternal tragedy.

In 2002, his second-oldest brother, Michael, was shot dead. One bare
statistic in Jamaica's ever-rising murder rate, one familial
calamity that affected him badly. It was compounded the next year by
the illness and death of another of his brothers, Vaun. "I don't
know what happened with Michael," he said vaguely. "But it was very
sad and really scary. Both happened when I was running the national
trials in Jamaica. It was really hard. I always remember it was
June." His devout religiosity was a comfort. "It helped me a lot. I
grew up in the church. All my life. When I was in my mother's
stomach I was in the church. I just learned the right way of things
from my parents."

The Rev Cislyn Powell and the Rev William Powell are co-pastors of
the church in Linstead and they trust him not to deviate from a
virtuous path. "Every day, they come on the phone and they're
telling me, 'Asafa, do this' and 'Asafa, do that.' It is very
important to keep up with their wishes. But it's very difficult in
the sports world. We've got some places in Jamaica and the type of
crowd who go there are smokin' ganga and all that stuff. It feels
strange to me. I go because my friends are there, but sometimes I
avoid goin'.

"It can be difficult because girls throw themselves at me, now that
I'm well known and have a nice car." You wonder what a nice boy like
him does about girls like that. He laughed. "I just always keep my
girlfriend in my car." He doesn't mean he garages her, merely that
he takes her as an affectionate precaution against intruders on
outings. "I don't drink either. Mmm, maybe a little glass of Baileys
now and again."

It doesn't sound like student life as we know it. He lives and
trains on campus at Kingston University, unwilling to relocate to
America as do so many of his compatriots. He is in a minority of
approximately one for his weekly pilgrimage to church. He used to be
teased. "Church-boy," they called him, but such mockery has
curiously ceased now. "Well, um, no one wants to tease me now
because I'm doin' well. There's no point teasin' me when they want
to be like me."

Who wouldn't want to be like him in his homeland? It is certainly an
aspiration that belongs to this particular Caribbean island. Jamaica
has a habit of breeding the fastest sprinters in the world. Ben
Johnson, the drug-fuelled, disqualified Olympic champion of 1988 was
born there. Christie, the Olympic champion in Barcelona, was born
there. Donovan Bailey, the 1996 Olympic champion, was born in
Manchester, Jamaica.

In Powell's case, the desire was backed by genetics though he has
yet to discover to whom he is most indebted. "Both my mother and my
father say the talent is theirs," he said with a grin. "They both
are takin' the credit."

He believes in a more mysterious hand. "God has everything to do
with it. It wouldn't be possible without him." This lends him a
definite equanimity, useful in times of stress. At the World
Athletics Championships in Paris, 2003, while Jon Drummond, of the
United States, was lying flat in full toddler tantrum after being
disqualified from the 100m for false-starting, Powell was likewise
penalised.

"But I took it very well," he said mildly. "I thought, 'Well, God
just doesn't want me to do it now. It just isn't my time'. So I just
went out of the stadium and started laughing with my friends. It's
not the end of the world." He might have been tempted to think so
after the Olympic final last year, when as one of the race
favourites, he finished fifth.

Knowing onlookers would say he tied up with nerves. He prefers to
call it "inexperience". "I felt good on the start line. Everyone in
the world was watching. The stadium was packed. They were all
looking at me. It was exciting. A lot of things were running round
my body. Like adrenalin. I think, in the end, I lost because I had
run a little bit too fast in the earlier rounds. At the World
Championships in Helsinki I'm just going to do enough to qualify and
save more for the final."

He wants that title. "Olympic title. World title. Commonwealth Games
title. I want everything I can get," he said.

All this time, he impresses you as a decent young man. Normally
proportioned, as well. When his event is historically packed with
chemical cheating, the eye naturally roves in quest of ludicrous
muscle structure. No alarm bells ring. He sounds all the right notes
of condemnation.

"For the guys who are takin' drugs or took them before, it's very
unfair. But I don't think people will stop saying this, because
we're running really fast. I used to say it myself when I was
younger, 'That guy must be takin' drugs'.

"For me, I'm just glad I'm provin' a point that you don't have to be
on drugs to run fast. I surprised myself when I ran 9.77. I said to
myself, 'You can imagine if you had taken drugs you'd have run 9.5
somethin'.' It's very, very disturbin' that people throw away their
careers because of drugs but I'm glad the sport is cleanin' up." If
this sounds a touch naive, he does concede: "But they are always
comin' up with somethin' new."

We may need to get used to Powell. He will be 29 at the London
Olympics in 2012 and intends to stick around. "God has a plan for
me, so no point givin' up. I'm not very aggressive in how I sell
that plan because I'm a bit shy when it comes to public speakin'. I
have to use my legs to run fast instead."

In his blocks at the start of every race, he repeats the same mantra
in his mind. "I can do things through Christ who gives me strength."
It is a formidable encouragement. So is his name. Asafa
means "rising to the occasion". His ability to do so must be a great
consolation to his parents. "Before I was born, they really wanted a
girl," he admitted. "Luckily, I don't think they're disappointed any
more."

www.telegraph.co.uk/mott

Most definitely Infama!  He'll put a stamp on 2006 no doubt.  Everyone
else should be runnin' for 2nd!  I want that to carry over to 2007.
As far as I'm concerned....the bandwagon is FULL!

prime...

this was a very good article, good readiing. It's sad to see that he
will not accept athletes like Bolt,(who needs help) but i do
understand his point. I think that it is an asset for Jamaica to
train there athletes to the level that he has done with Asafa and
others.  Sometimes when you come to America to go to college you
loose that hunger that he is talking about...  (eg. turner sisters,
Revoli Campbell) I think that he really know his stuff and if he
continues to recuit athletes like the ones who are in his camp now
every year the USA will have a problem the Jamaican teams to come
few years from now.  What do you guys think.
sass

-- In asafapowell@yahoogroups.com, "jamaicantrackfan"
<jamaicantrackfan@y...> wrote:
>
> Polishing the hidden gem
> ... the world of Stephen Francis
> Jamaica Observer
> Saturday, June 25, 2005
>
>
>
> Coach Stephen Francis poses for the camera with executive members
> and a few senior athletes from the MVP track and field club.
Others
> from left (standing) are David Noel, club secretary; Michael
Frater,
> sprinter; Bruce James, club president; Paul Francis (younger
brother
> of Stephen), assistant coach and club treasurer. Seated from left:
> Brigitte Foster, 100m hurdles national record holder; Asafa
Powell,
> 100m world record holder; and Sherone Simpson, Olympic sprint
relay
> gold medalist. (Photos: Bryan Cummings)
>
> Overweight and with a liking for long, deep drags on a cigarette
in
> his spare moments, Stephen Francis would hardly be picked out of a
> crowd by the uninformed and identified as Jamaica's leading track
> and field coach.
> But it takes only a short chat to realise that the man who has
> guided new 100-metre world record holder Asafa Powell and others
to
> the top, not only loves track and field, he is up to his ears in
it.
>
> More than that, Francis, with a Master's in Business
Administration
> from the University of Michigan, has an unshakeable belief in the
> correctness of his own coaching philosophy and in his ability to
get
> athletes to achieve their potential.
>
>
> FRANCIS... the most important ingredient I want to see in a
> youngster is hunger for success
> In a real sense, it was his 'feel' for what he considered to be
the
> right thing for young athletes that caused him to drift away from
> high school coaching in the 1990s.
>
> It gradually dawned on him while coaching at Wolmer's - his alma
> mater - that he would never win high school athletic championships
> because he wasn't prepared to push Under-14s (class three) into
the
> winners' enclosure at all costs. The overriding evidence, he
pointed
> out, was that especially at Boys' Champs, schools needed a strong
> class three to have a real shot at winning.
>
> "I think I realised from about '94/95 that my coaching
philosophies
> and my situation ... was going to make it extremely difficult for
> Wolmer's to win Champs," he told Sporting World.
>
>
> JOHNSON... agreed to employ Francis at UTech
> "There were some philosophies, some things which were required
which
> I was never in agreement with. The key thing was the class three
> athletes, I never did believe in Under-14 people training too
hard.
> My class three was always a very optional thing, if you wanted to
> come to train, fine. My key thing for class three athletes was
> always to get them interested in the sport and hopefully they
would
> have a measure of success.
>
> "I believed that the athlete at class two and class one was where
> the performance would serve them a lot better throughout life, so
as
> a result my class three athletes were never able to compete really
> very well against the main school competitors unless they were
> extremely talented. So I realised early that unless I changed that
> philosophy I was not going to be able to win.
>
>
> FOSTER... asked Francis in 1999 to guide her
> "But what I was trying to do was to produce athletes of a high
> quality... Therefore once we began producing more and more quality
> older juniors then it became easy to be attracted to pushing it a
> little further..."
>
> It was easy then for him when Brigitte Foster, now the national
> record holder for the 100m hurdles, approached him in '99 to guide
> her.
>
>
> SIMPSON... a star for MVP
> He recalls that he wasn't Foster's first choice. But the
> latter's 'first choice' failed on a number of occasions to honour
> his commitment to meet her and the frustrated athlete, intent on
> bucking the trend and pursuing a track career in Jamaica instead
of
> the United States or Europe, turned to Francis.
>
> "... Almost at the same time, Neil Gardner (hurdler) who had been
> here training with Mr Fitz Coleman at Wolmer's decided that he was
> going to switch back to me who was his coach in high school, and
> Donovan Housen (sprinter) ... had some immigration problems in the
> US and couldn't go back to school ... so almost at one shot I had
> three athletes who were seniors to coach..," said Francis.
>
> It was an opportunity too good to be missed, and one thing led to
> another.
>
> "I decided, 'Look, if I am going to do this thing I have to do it
on
> a full-time basis'; I was fooling myself and fooling them
(athletes)
> if I believed that I could do it part-time and for them to be
> successful..." he said. Francis also recognised the need for
> a "wider base" for athletes and for them to have an educational
> option.
>
> So he approached Dennis Johnson, Olympian and 100-yard record
holder
> of the early 1960s who directs the sports programme at UTech and
> asked to become his assistant.
>
> Johnson said "yes" and all of a sudden Francis and his athletes
> had "access" to the facilities at UTech plus their options for
> boarding and accommodation.
>
> "That is pretty much how it started, almost by accident," he now
> says of the genesis of the UTech-based MVP track club.
>
> Accident? Perhaps it was a little accidental, but Francis also
says
> he had long wondered about the reasons for local coaches not
pushing
> on, after achieving excellence at the junior level. Why, he
> wondered, should it be a must for talented Jamaican athletes to
> be 'finished' in US colleges?
>
> "I used to talk to coaches back in the 90s and I used to always
> wonder 'But why? if we can do this at the junior level why can't
we
> also do it at the senior level...?'
>
> "I was always told that such a programme required millions of
> dollars and so on..."
>
> But, says Francis, "My philosophy has always been that not
> everything requires an ideal start. The thing to do would be to
try
> first with whatever minimal resources you have and then see if you
> can make a success of it at the start and then it can attract
> funding ...,"
>
> In building the track club to what it is now, Francis found that
> attracting funding, be it from government or private sources, was
> the hardest part.
>
> Indeed, as the success of his athletes multiplied their earnings
> became the source of the money for equipping the MVP track club
and
> its resource base.
>
> "We generate money from what the athletes earn... we now have a
> strength coach, two masseurs, a chef, an administrator...," he
says
> with pride.
>
> And while he believes coaches make too much of an issue of "modern
> facilities" he confesses that he would now find it difficult to
> operate outside of the well-stocked UTech gym - much of the
> equipment provided by MVP.
>
> "I will say that I would not be operating as a coach outside of
> UTech because a lot of the things that we have are just not
> available to the other coaches and so I couldn't imagine coaching
> without them. So I would imagine that it would be a great
stumbling
> block to other coaches who want to emulate what MVP has done...,"
> Francis said.
>
> Looking back Francis insists that all that has been achieved would
> have been impossible had track and field not shed the amateurism
> that had held it back for decades.
>
> "Certainly ... if it wasn't possible to earn from the sport, my
> programme could not exist," he says categorically. "The support
base
> would just not be there. To compete at the highest level, the
> athlete needs a full-time coach ... who is going to pay this
coach?
> How is this coach going to take care of himself and his dependents
> and so on if he is not paid?
>
> "Also, the coach you need is not somebody who is in his 20s or
> probably even early 30s. What you need is somebody who has had a
> large amount of experience at the sport. That person has to be
paid.
> The government doesn't pay coaches as far as I know. The
federation
> doesn't pay coaches, nor does the Olympic Association, so the
coach
> has to be able to earn money. The athletes need a basic level of
> support if they are going to be able to move from whatever level
> they are as teenagers to a world-class level.
>
> "There is a whole lot of equipment required which has to come from
> somewhere.. Traditionally our schools, our tertiary schools,
> universities, colleges have not been interested in helping people
> whose inclination is sports ... in the same way they will want to
> help those who want to become doctors, lawyers etc. Sport has
never
> been seen in Jamaica as a viable career.... (or as) a viable
service
> industry ... This has been recognised throughout the world, but we
> have been slow in catching on ..." he said.
>
> Francis claimed that for years UTech (previously CAST) had been
the
> only tertiary institution (not counting GC Foster College) where
> students could get an education, while training in a meaningful
way.
>
> The problem was that UTech could only attract the rejects from US
> colleges at a time when it was very easy to get a scholarship to a
> US college.
>
> All that, he noted, has now changed with the growing realisation
> that world-standard training can be accessed at home. That plus
the
> fact of the growing 'professionalisation' of track and field
> combined with the now increasing difficulty of getting into US
> colleges.
>
> And as he looks to make his track club even more sustainable,
> Francis is backing himself to be able to spot talent that will not
> only succeed on the track, but will fit comfortably in the embrace
> of the UTech campus with its mix of degree, diploma and
certificate
> programmes.
>
> He has his own formula - always hunting for the under-dog athlete,
> who often fails to achieve anything of note at high school
> championships. He notes that many of his top athletes, not least
> Powell, Foster and Olympic sprint gold medalist Sherone
> Simpson, "never won a race" at Champs.
>
> "My programme involves spotting athletes, who I think will fit
into
> the structure we have. I totally avoid those athletes with the
> biggest names. So I would not, for example, be recruiting a Usain
> Bolt or Anneisha McLaughlin...
>
> "I believe that the most important ingredient I want to see in a
> youngster is hunger for success. I believe that when you have
> achieved a lot of success very early, then it is possible that the
> hunger for that success is not going to be as strong as somebody
who
> has constantly been beaten by you over the years.
>
> "Now I can't afford to ask somebody to come to school at UTech, in
> most cases foregoing a track scholarship and so on and have them
> fail. The people I take ... have to be guaranteed 100 per cent
> success or else you going to say 'Boy, this person could have done
> this or that', so I have to make sure that the person gets his
> education and I have to make sure that the person benefits a lot.
>
> "So first is the selection process. And the selection process is
> geared towards the hidden gem ..."
>
>
> http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sports/html/20050624t200000-
> 0500_83021_obs_polishing_the_hidden_gem.asp
>

Polishing the hidden gem
... the world of Stephen Francis
Jamaica Observer
Saturday, June 25, 2005



Coach Stephen Francis poses for the camera with executive members
and a few senior athletes from the MVP track and field club. Others
from left (standing) are David Noel, club secretary; Michael Frater,
sprinter; Bruce James, club president; Paul Francis (younger brother
of Stephen), assistant coach and club treasurer. Seated from left:
Brigitte Foster, 100m hurdles national record holder; Asafa Powell,
100m world record holder; and Sherone Simpson, Olympic sprint relay
gold medalist. (Photos: Bryan Cummings)

Overweight and with a liking for long, deep drags on a cigarette in
his spare moments, Stephen Francis would hardly be picked out of a
crowd by the uninformed and identified as Jamaica's leading track
and field coach.
But it takes only a short chat to realise that the man who has
guided new 100-metre world record holder Asafa Powell and others to
the top, not only loves track and field, he is up to his ears in it.

More than that, Francis, with a Master's in Business Administration
from the University of Michigan, has an unshakeable belief in the
correctness of his own coaching philosophy and in his ability to get
athletes to achieve their potential.


FRANCIS... the most important ingredient I want to see in a
youngster is hunger for success
In a real sense, it was his 'feel' for what he considered to be the
right thing for young athletes that caused him to drift away from
high school coaching in the 1990s.

It gradually dawned on him while coaching at Wolmer's - his alma
mater - that he would never win high school athletic championships
because he wasn't prepared to push Under-14s (class three) into the
winners' enclosure at all costs. The overriding evidence, he pointed
out, was that especially at Boys' Champs, schools needed a strong
class three to have a real shot at winning.

"I think I realised from about '94/95 that my coaching philosophies
and my situation ... was going to make it extremely difficult for
Wolmer's to win Champs," he told Sporting World.


JOHNSON... agreed to employ Francis at UTech
"There were some philosophies, some things which were required which
I was never in agreement with. The key thing was the class three
athletes, I never did believe in Under-14 people training too hard.
My class three was always a very optional thing, if you wanted to
come to train, fine. My key thing for class three athletes was
always to get them interested in the sport and hopefully they would
have a measure of success.

"I believed that the athlete at class two and class one was where
the performance would serve them a lot better throughout life, so as
a result my class three athletes were never able to compete really
very well against the main school competitors unless they were
extremely talented. So I realised early that unless I changed that
philosophy I was not going to be able to win.


FOSTER... asked Francis in 1999 to guide her
"But what I was trying to do was to produce athletes of a high
quality... Therefore once we began producing more and more quality
older juniors then it became easy to be attracted to pushing it a
little further..."

It was easy then for him when Brigitte Foster, now the national
record holder for the 100m hurdles, approached him in '99 to guide
her.


SIMPSON... a star for MVP
He recalls that he wasn't Foster's first choice. But the
latter's 'first choice' failed on a number of occasions to honour
his commitment to meet her and the frustrated athlete, intent on
bucking the trend and pursuing a track career in Jamaica instead of
the United States or Europe, turned to Francis.

"... Almost at the same time, Neil Gardner (hurdler) who had been
here training with Mr Fitz Coleman at Wolmer's decided that he was
going to switch back to me who was his coach in high school, and
Donovan Housen (sprinter) ... had some immigration problems in the
US and couldn't go back to school ... so almost at one shot I had
three athletes who were seniors to coach..," said Francis.

It was an opportunity too good to be missed, and one thing led to
another.

"I decided, 'Look, if I am going to do this thing I have to do it on
a full-time basis'; I was fooling myself and fooling them (athletes)
if I believed that I could do it part-time and for them to be
successful..." he said. Francis also recognised the need for
a "wider base" for athletes and for them to have an educational
option.

So he approached Dennis Johnson, Olympian and 100-yard record holder
of the early 1960s who directs the sports programme at UTech and
asked to become his assistant.

Johnson said "yes" and all of a sudden Francis and his athletes
had "access" to the facilities at UTech plus their options for
boarding and accommodation.

"That is pretty much how it started, almost by accident," he now
says of the genesis of the UTech-based MVP track club.

Accident? Perhaps it was a little accidental, but Francis also says
he had long wondered about the reasons for local coaches not pushing
on, after achieving excellence at the junior level. Why, he
wondered, should it be a must for talented Jamaican athletes to
be 'finished' in US colleges?

"I used to talk to coaches back in the 90s and I used to always
wonder 'But why? if we can do this at the junior level why can't we
also do it at the senior level...?'

"I was always told that such a programme required millions of
dollars and so on..."

But, says Francis, "My philosophy has always been that not
everything requires an ideal start. The thing to do would be to try
first with whatever minimal resources you have and then see if you
can make a success of it at the start and then it can attract
funding ...,"

In building the track club to what it is now, Francis found that
attracting funding, be it from government or private sources, was
the hardest part.

Indeed, as the success of his athletes multiplied their earnings
became the source of the money for equipping the MVP track club and
its resource base.

"We generate money from what the athletes earn... we now have a
strength coach, two masseurs, a chef, an administrator...," he says
with pride.

And while he believes coaches make too much of an issue of "modern
facilities" he confesses that he would now find it difficult to
operate outside of the well-stocked UTech gym - much of the
equipment provided by MVP.

"I will say that I would not be operating as a coach outside of
UTech because a lot of the things that we have are just not
available to the other coaches and so I couldn't imagine coaching
without them. So I would imagine that it would be a great stumbling
block to other coaches who want to emulate what MVP has done...,"
Francis said.

Looking back Francis insists that all that has been achieved would
have been impossible had track and field not shed the amateurism
that had held it back for decades.

"Certainly ... if it wasn't possible to earn from the sport, my
programme could not exist," he says categorically. "The support base
would just not be there. To compete at the highest level, the
athlete needs a full-time coach ... who is going to pay this coach?
How is this coach going to take care of himself and his dependents
and so on if he is not paid?

"Also, the coach you need is not somebody who is in his 20s or
probably even early 30s. What you need is somebody who has had a
large amount of experience at the sport. That person has to be paid.
The government doesn't pay coaches as far as I know. The federation
doesn't pay coaches, nor does the Olympic Association, so the coach
has to be able to earn money. The athletes need a basic level of
support if they are going to be able to move from whatever level
they are as teenagers to a world-class level.

"There is a whole lot of equipment required which has to come from
somewhere.. Traditionally our schools, our tertiary schools,
universities, colleges have not been interested in helping people
whose inclination is sports ... in the same way they will want to
help those who want to become doctors, lawyers etc. Sport has never
been seen in Jamaica as a viable career.... (or as) a viable service
industry ... This has been recognised throughout the world, but we
have been slow in catching on ..." he said.

Francis claimed that for years UTech (previously CAST) had been the
only tertiary institution (not counting GC Foster College) where
students could get an education, while training in a meaningful way.

The problem was that UTech could only attract the rejects from US
colleges at a time when it was very easy to get a scholarship to a
US college.

All that, he noted, has now changed with the growing realisation
that world-standard training can be accessed at home. That plus the
fact of the growing 'professionalisation' of track and field
combined with the now increasing difficulty of getting into US
colleges.

And as he looks to make his track club even more sustainable,
Francis is backing himself to be able to spot talent that will not
only succeed on the track, but will fit comfortably in the embrace
of the UTech campus with its mix of degree, diploma and certificate
programmes.

He has his own formula - always hunting for the under-dog athlete,
who often fails to achieve anything of note at high school
championships. He notes that many of his top athletes, not least
Powell, Foster and Olympic sprint gold medalist Sherone
Simpson, "never won a race" at Champs.

"My programme involves spotting athletes, who I think will fit into
the structure we have. I totally avoid those athletes with the
biggest names. So I would not, for example, be recruiting a Usain
Bolt or Anneisha McLaughlin...

"I believe that the most important ingredient I want to see in a
youngster is hunger for success. I believe that when you have
achieved a lot of success very early, then it is possible that the
hunger for that success is not going to be as strong as somebody who
has constantly been beaten by you over the years.

"Now I can't afford to ask somebody to come to school at UTech, in
most cases foregoing a track scholarship and so on and have them
fail. The people I take ... have to be guaranteed 100 per cent
success or else you going to say 'Boy, this person could have done
this or that', so I have to make sure that the person gets his
education and I have to make sure that the person benefits a lot.

"So first is the selection process. And the selection process is
geared towards the hidden gem ..."


http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sports/html/20050624t200000-
0500_83021_obs_polishing_the_hidden_gem.asp

If he is completely healthy, he will race himself into form in NO
TIME.  Once he does that, he will establish his dominance over Gatlin
and the rest of the field.  He may even threaten the WR.  The main
thing is that he needs to remain healthy and allow the upcoming season
to springboard into 2007 where he can finally become World Champion. 
No disrespect to Gatlin, I just think Asafa is more talented, and when
both healthy....FASTER.

If he is completely healthy, he will race himself into form in NO
TIME.  Once he does that, he will establish his dominance over Gatlin
and the rest of the field.  He may even threaten the WR.  The main
thing is that he needs to remain healthy and allow the upcoming season
to springboard into 2007 where he can finally become World Champion.
No disrespect to Gatlin, I just think Asafa is more talented, and when
both healthy....FASTER.

I think that Asafa will be on top of his game. He
will let everyone know he is back at melrose games the
1st friday in Feb, and then he will be a force to
reconned with in March. I believe he will make his
name stand as the fastest man to beat in 2006.






In asafapowell@yahoogroups.com, "jamaicantrackfan"
<jamaicantrackfan@y...> wrote:
> Just would like input from everyone as to how you think Asafa will
do
> next year barring any unforseen injury.
>
> Apart from next year's Commonwealth Games (in March I think),
Asafa
> does not have any championship meets to worry about.
>
> I think he will come back as strong as ever, just as he was in the
> early part of 2005 when he broke the world record as well as doing
as
> good as his killer 2004 season when he went 9 times under 10
seconds
> and only lost one race of the year.
>
> Even though Gatlin is a great sprinter and won the Olympic and
World
> titles at 100m, I really do believe that Asafa is a stronger
sprinter
> than Gatlin. In 2004 when both athletes were healthy, Asafa
regularly
> beat Gatlin on the GP circuit and only lost to him at the Olympic
> Games. Its only unfortunate that Asafa got injured in 2005. It
would
> have also been another killer season
>
> I just can't wait for their matchups in 2005. I truly do believe
Asafa
> will dominate Gatlin or any other sprinter that comes along.

Just would like input from everyone as to how you think Asafa will do
next year barring any unforseen injury.

Apart from next year's Commonwealth Games (in March I think), Asafa
does not have any championship meets to worry about.

I think he will come back as strong as ever, just as he was in the
early part of 2005 when he broke the world record as well as doing as
good as his killer 2004 season when he went 9 times under 10 seconds
and only lost one race of the year.

Even though Gatlin is a great sprinter and won the Olympic and World
titles at 100m, I really do believe that Asafa is a stronger sprinter
than Gatlin. In 2004 when both athletes were healthy, Asafa regularly
beat Gatlin on the GP circuit and only lost to him at the Olympic
Games. Its only unfortunate that Asafa got injured in 2005. It would
have also been another killer season

I just can't wait for their matchups in 2005. I truly do believe Asafa
will dominate Gatlin or any other sprinter that comes along.

I see that you have joined us from across the way.. (CTF)welcome.  I
did not know this about him.  Thanks for providing the info




--- In asafapowell@yahoogroups.com, "jamaicantrackfan"
<jamaicantrackfan@y...> wrote:
> AT 21, he is one of the fastest men in the world over 100 metres
and
> is a strong prospect for a medal at the forthcoming Olympics, but
> most important to Asafa Powell is winning for God.
>
> A former schoolboy athlete, Asafa competed at Boys' Championship
in
> 2001 while representing Charlemount High School, St. Catherine. He
> did not have a glowing schoolboy record in athletics. In fact he
is
> a late bloomer to the track world as he did not take the sport
> seriously. He caught the attention of Elaine Fraser, a teacher at
> his alma mater who told the Star last November that Asafa always
> showed glimpses of his immense talent but never cared much for it.
> She said "I don't think he realised that he had a gift and it was
no
> big deal for him." She later became a major influence to help him
> recognise his potential and to pursue it.
>
> He has been doing well in international meets, and had a big win
> earlier this season on the European Grand Prix circuit. But you
> would hardly know it. He is not braggadocious, or cocky as many
> successful athletes tend to be. He evinces a humility that is rare
> and almost unbelievable.
>
> He traces these qualities in his life to his upbringing and his
> embrace of the Christian faith. Both his parents are pastors. His
> mother, the Rev. Cislyn Powell, is co-pastor with her husband, the
> Rev. William Powell ­ of a non-denominational church in Linstead.
>
> He is one of six offspring ­ all boys, born to the couple. "Growing
> up and learning a lot of truths from The Bible I just make up my
> mind and resolved that I am staying in the church because I don't
> have anywhere else to go, there is no better alternative," he told
> The Gleaner.
>
> He looks back at his young career and concludes that his embrace
of
> Christianity has helped him in his
> athletic pursuits.
>
> Gleaner: How has your Christianity helped you to be a good athlete?
>
> Powell: It has helped me a lot, to tell you the truth. It helps me
> to stay focused, to stay humble especially with the (media) hype
out
> there. I have a verse I say each time I am going to run, 'I can do
> all things through Christ who gives me the strength.' He just
gives
> me the strength and to tell you the truth it touches me a lot.
Every
> time I say it, motivates me.
>
> Asafa is the little brother of Jamaican athlete Donovan Powell,
> formerly of St. Jago High, whose events were the sprint double,
and
> who in the early 1990s at Boys' Champs famously defeated Calabar
> track star Daniel England in the Class One 200 metres.
>
> Asafa's faith has been tested many times in his young athletic
> career. Two of his brothers died; one was shot in 2002 and the
other
> died from natural causes in 2003. Both deaths occurred during the
> week when he was to compete in national athletic trials. His
faith,
> he told The Gleaner, sustained him in those dark moments.
>
> Also, in September 2003, when he was controversially disqualified
> for a false start in the second round of the Men's 100-metre event
> at the World Championship in France. He, though hurt and
> disappointed, maintained his cool composure ­ a far cry from Jon
> Drummond of the United States who vehemently protested by lying
down
> on the track, hindering the continuance of the race.
>
> Gleaner: How did you manage to maintain your calm at the World
> Championship when it seemed the officials had done you an
injustice
> and when you could have behaved like Jon Drummond?
>
> Powell: That is the way I grew up. That is the way I was raised. A
> soft answer turneth away wrath ­. You notice he (Jon Drummond) got
> suspended. But I am still here. I just stay humble. I have a lot
> more World Championships in which to compete.
>
> Asafa is a student at the University of Technology (UTech), in
> Kingston, where he is pursuing a degree in the Art and Science of
> Coaching. When he is through with that programme, he hopes to
pursue
> a degree in engineering.
>
> Following his disqualification at the World Championships, Asafa
> exacted revenge by beating all the finalists in three consecutive
> meets ­ during which time he recorded a personal best of 10.02
> seconds. This is five-hundreths of a second faster than the time
> that won in the Men's 100-metre finals at the World Championship a
> few weeks earlier.
>
> Under coach Stephen Francis, Asafa says his programme of
preparation
> for the Summer Olympics this year is on track. He expects to be
able
> to run between 9.80 seconds and 9.89 seconds by the time the Games
> open in Greece in August.
>
> Gleaner: Have you ever been tempted to take performance-enhancing
> drugs?
>
> Powell: Never. I said to people I am going to stay in Jamaica and
> beat the world naturally.
>
> He is fully confident of doing this ­ for he explains 'Asafa' is an
> African name that means "rising to the occasion".
>
> His success on the track has predictably placed him firmly on the
> radar of women, some of whom virtually throw themselves at
him. "To
> tell you the truth they (women) come at me a lot. But I know how
to
> deal with them. I know how to tell them 'no.' A lot of them want
to
> know who is this Asafa Powell and because I drive a nice car ­ but
I
> know how to deal with them." Furthermore, he said, he is not
> available as he has a steady love interest.
>
> Gleaner: Is it hard to be a Christian and a top athlete at the
same
> time?
>
> Powell: Very hard, especially around my training partners. The
> influence, the stuff they say ­ everyone cursing badwords ­ the
things
> they do. Everyone is saying Christianity is boring. I try to
reflect
> Christianity as exciting so that they don't say it is boring.
>
> Gleaner: You find Christianity to be exciting?
>
> Powell: Yes, and I make it exciting.
>
> He acknowledges that he is not usually the kind of person to
engage
> in personal evangelism. But if he is in a setting where the
subject
> turns to religion he will jump in and share his faith.
>
> He acknowledges that he does not have much of social life as
> training and studies consume much of his time. He lives on the
> campus of the UTech but on Sundays he travels to his home church
in
> Linstead, where he plays the bass guitar or drums as part of the
> worship service. "To tell you the truth it seems like is only me
> alone on the campus that goes to church. Every Sunday everybody is
> here same way."
> He believes that churches should indeed use sports as an
> evangelistic tool. He believes that churches should devote more of
> their attention to winning people for Christ by involvement in
> athletics. "I see some churches trying to get involved in sports ­
> though they concern themselves mostly with football. I think
> football is one of the hardest sports to influence men to become
> Christians. Those guys not really humble. Me never hear about any
> bad man in track. The track people will be more easily
evangelised,"
> he said.
>
> Gleaner: How long do you intend to continue sprinting? Are you
going
> to be like Merlene Ottey and run when you are in your 40s?
>
> Powell: Until I start to decelerate. When I go back to 10.3
seconds
> I will stop running.
>
> Gleaner: Describe yourself.
>
> Powell: Asafa is just a humble person, very shy. He doesn't 'run
> down' anything, he is very quiet, he stays out of trouble, he is a
> Christian.

ASAFA, I am so looking forward to see you at the Melrose games and
others throughtout 2006.  Rest and come back and show the world what
you are made of.  you have done us well.

It's got an Asafa vibe to it....you will like it!

http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/thetruthonworldclasssprints/

I'm a HUGE Asafa Powell FAN.  Hope he destroys Gatlin next year!

AT 21, he is one of the fastest men in the world over 100 metres and
is a strong prospect for a medal at the forthcoming Olympics, but
most important to Asafa Powell is winning for God.

A former schoolboy athlete, Asafa competed at Boys' Championship in
2001 while representing Charlemount High School, St. Catherine. He
did not have a glowing schoolboy record in athletics. In fact he is
a late bloomer to the track world as he did not take the sport
seriously. He caught the attention of Elaine Fraser, a teacher at
his alma mater who told the Star last November that Asafa always
showed glimpses of his immense talent but never cared much for it.
She said "I don't think he realised that he had a gift and it was no
big deal for him." She later became a major influence to help him
recognise his potential and to pursue it.

He has been doing well in international meets, and had a big win
earlier this season on the European Grand Prix circuit. But you
would hardly know it. He is not braggadocious, or cocky as many
successful athletes tend to be. He evinces a humility that is rare
and almost unbelievable.

He traces these qualities in his life to his upbringing and his
embrace of the Christian faith. Both his parents are pastors. His
mother, the Rev. Cislyn Powell, is co-pastor with her husband, the
Rev. William Powell ­ of a non-denominational church in Linstead.

He is one of six offspring ­ all boys, born to the couple. "Growing
up and learning a lot of truths from The Bible I just make up my
mind and resolved that I am staying in the church because I don't
have anywhere else to go, there is no better alternative," he told
The Gleaner.

He looks back at his young career and concludes that his embrace of
Christianity has helped him in his
athletic pursuits.

Gleaner: How has your Christianity helped you to be a good athlete?

Powell: It has helped me a lot, to tell you the truth. It helps me
to stay focused, to stay humble especially with the (media) hype out
there. I have a verse I say each time I am going to run, 'I can do
all things through Christ who gives me the strength.' He just gives
me the strength and to tell you the truth it touches me a lot. Every
time I say it, motivates me.

Asafa is the little brother of Jamaican athlete Donovan Powell,
formerly of St. Jago High, whose events were the sprint double, and
who in the early 1990s at Boys' Champs famously defeated Calabar
track star Daniel England in the Class One 200 metres.

Asafa's faith has been tested many times in his young athletic
career. Two of his brothers died; one was shot in 2002 and the other
died from natural causes in 2003. Both deaths occurred during the
week when he was to compete in national athletic trials. His faith,
he told The Gleaner, sustained him in those dark moments.

Also, in September 2003, when he was controversially disqualified
for a false start in the second round of the Men's 100-metre event
at the World Championship in France. He, though hurt and
disappointed, maintained his cool composure ­ a far cry from Jon
Drummond of the United States who vehemently protested by lying down
on the track, hindering the continuance of the race.

Gleaner: How did you manage to maintain your calm at the World
Championship when it seemed the officials had done you an injustice
and when you could have behaved like Jon Drummond?

Powell: That is the way I grew up. That is the way I was raised. A
soft answer turneth away wrath ­. You notice he (Jon Drummond) got
suspended. But I am still here. I just stay humble. I have a lot
more World Championships in which to compete.

Asafa is a student at the University of Technology (UTech), in
Kingston, where he is pursuing a degree in the Art and Science of
Coaching. When he is through with that programme, he hopes to pursue
a degree in engineering.

Following his disqualification at the World Championships, Asafa
exacted revenge by beating all the finalists in three consecutive
meets ­ during which time he recorded a personal best of 10.02
seconds. This is five-hundreths of a second faster than the time
that won in the Men's 100-metre finals at the World Championship a
few weeks earlier.

Under coach Stephen Francis, Asafa says his programme of preparation
for the Summer Olympics this year is on track. He expects to be able
to run between 9.80 seconds and 9.89 seconds by the time the Games
open in Greece in August.

Gleaner: Have you ever been tempted to take performance-enhancing
drugs?

Powell: Never. I said to people I am going to stay in Jamaica and
beat the world naturally.

He is fully confident of doing this ­ for he explains 'Asafa' is an
African name that means "rising to the occasion".

His success on the track has predictably placed him firmly on the
radar of women, some of whom virtually throw themselves at him. "To
tell you the truth they (women) come at me a lot. But I know how to
deal with them. I know how to tell them 'no.' A lot of them want to
know who is this Asafa Powell and because I drive a nice car ­ but I
know how to deal with them." Furthermore, he said, he is not
available as he has a steady love interest.

Gleaner: Is it hard to be a Christian and a top athlete at the same
time?

Powell: Very hard, especially around my training partners. The
influence, the stuff they say ­ everyone cursing badwords ­ the things
they do. Everyone is saying Christianity is boring. I try to reflect
Christianity as exciting so that they don't say it is boring.

Gleaner: You find Christianity to be exciting?

Powell: Yes, and I make it exciting.

He acknowledges that he is not usually the kind of person to engage
in personal evangelism. But if he is in a setting where the subject
turns to religion he will jump in and share his faith.

He acknowledges that he does not have much of social life as
training and studies consume much of his time. He lives on the
campus of the UTech but on Sundays he travels to his home church in
Linstead, where he plays the bass guitar or drums as part of the
worship service. "To tell you the truth it seems like is only me
alone on the campus that goes to church. Every Sunday everybody is
here same way."
He believes that churches should indeed use sports as an
evangelistic tool. He believes that churches should devote more of
their attention to winning people for Christ by involvement in
athletics. "I see some churches trying to get involved in sports ­
though they concern themselves mostly with football. I think
football is one of the hardest sports to influence men to become
Christians. Those guys not really humble. Me never hear about any
bad man in track. The track people will be more easily evangelised,"
he said.

Gleaner: How long do you intend to continue sprinting? Are you going
to be like Merlene Ottey and run when you are in your 40s?

Powell: Until I start to decelerate. When I go back to 10.3 seconds
I will stop running.

Gleaner: Describe yourself.

Powell: Asafa is just a humble person, very shy. He doesn't 'run
down' anything, he is very quiet, he stays out of trouble, he is a
Christian.

June 14, 2005
ATHENS, Greece - Asafa Powell is the opposite of the traditional
brash, trash-talking sprinter.

Instead, the soft-spoken, deeply religious Jamaican lets his running
speak for him.

Powell broke the 100 meter world record Tuesday, finishing in 9.77
seconds at the Tsiklitiria Super Grand Prix in Athens and shaving
one hundredth of a second off Tim Montgomery's record of 9.78 set in
Paris in 2002.

There was no showboating, no struts in front of the sparse crowd at
the stadium where he finished fifth in the 100 at the Olympics last
year.

Just laughter and smiles — even when it took a minute for his world
record time to be confirmed on the scoreboard.

"Everyone's been telling me, for a long time now, that I'm the
fastest man in the world," Powell said. "I just proved it."

Powell's run also gave the record a clean slate. Montgomery is under
suspicion of doping and his former record time could be wiped out by
the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

"It's really good for the sport," Powell said. "Next time I'll see
if I can go faster."

Powell is only the fourth non-American to hold the 100 world record
since 1912. Donovan Bailey of Canada (1996), Armin Hary of West
Germany (1960) and Percy Williams of Canada (1930) are the others.

Powell was one of the favorites for the sprint at last year's
Olympics. But he finished behind Justin Gatlin, Francis Obikwelu,
former record holder Maurice Greene and Shawn Crawford. Gatlin won
in 9.85 seconds.

"I have a lot of memories on this track," Powell said. "I think I
showed the world what I could have done at the Olympics."

Powell won by three meters, beating Ghana's Aziz Zakari, who ran
9.99.


"I think about no one else," Powell said. "I don't even ask who's
there — I just go out there and compete."

His next aim is this year's world championships in Helsinki, Finland.

"Just wait and see," Powell said. "You haven't seen the last of it.
Who knows? Maybe I'll run 9-something-lower."

Powell has decided to train in Jamaica with a group of sprinters
under coach Stephen Francis instead of going to college in the
United States like many other Caribbean athletes.

"Asafa's victory is a motivational factor because other athletes
will see that we have the proper training here," said Howard Aris,
president of the Jamaica Amateur Athletics Association.

This is Powell's third full season on the circuit. At the 2003
worlds in Paris, he and U.S. sprinter Jon Drummond were disqualified
in a quarterfinal heat of the 100 for a false start. Drummond threw
a tantrum and laid on the track in protest. Powell calmly walked
away.

Powell already had the world's fastest time this year, a run of 9.84
at the Jamaica International Invitational on May 8. He also ran a
9.85 on June 9 in the Czech Republic.

"Asafa's record-breaking run is eloquent testimony of Jamaica's
profound impact on the international stage and possibilities as a
nation in the modern world," Jamaica Prime Minister P.J. Patterson
said.

Powell said Greene's win in 2000 inspired him to take up sprinting,
and he was encouraged by elder brother Donovan, a 100 meter
semifinalist at the 1999 worlds. Powell, whose father is a preacher,
is the youngest of six siblings.

On his profile on the JAAA Web site, Powell lists his favorite song
as "Lord Walk Beside Me" and looks forward to working as an
electrical engineer when his running days are over.

After Tuesday's run, any studies are likely to go on the backburner
as Powell gets used to becoming a national hero