Powell's record bid fails

2008-09-07 20:54

Rome - Jamaica's Asafa Powell failed in his bid to set a new 100m world mark at the IAAF Grand Prix meeting at Rieti on Sunday as he clocked 9.82sec in the final, having timed 9.77sec in his heat.

The 25-year-old had been targeting the 9.69sec record, held by compatriot and triple Olympic champion Usain Bolt, having set the old world record of 9.74sec on the same track last year.

Following a false start Powell made a poor start to the final and although he recovered well he had left himself too much to do, while still winning the event. Compatriot Michael Frater finished second in 9.98sec.

Since his disappointment at the Beijing Olympics, when he came in fifth as Bolt stormed to glory, Powell had put together an impressive series of races in the past week.

He managed 9.87sec in rainy conditions at Gateshead, England, a week ago, then 9.72sec at Lausanne, Switzerland on Tuesday, the second fastest of all time, before a 9.83sec performance in Brussels on Friday.

"My performance wasn't that bad," said Powell. "But I had a false start and that was a shame."

Jamaica demonstrated their strength also in the women's 100m where Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser triumphed in 11.06sec while compatriot Shericka Williams took the 200m in 22.50sec.

Ethiopia's Tirunesh Dibaba missed out on her bid to set a new 5 000m world record but still set the third best time of the year of 14:23.46, enough to guarantee a 44sec winning margin.

Dibaba had set the world record of 14:11.15 in Oslo in June.

- AFP