Jamaica sprinter Asafa Powell attends a news conference at a night club in Athens yesterday.
- ReutersATHENS, Greece (AP):
ASAFA POWELL doesn't just want to beat Maurice Greene to win the Olympic 100 metres gold medal at the Athens Games - he wants to do it with a world record.
The 21-year-old Jamaican is one of the favourites after beating defending champion Greene twice in the last month.
When asked what time he needed to win on August 22, Powell said: "9.86 seconds to win the gold, but I'm going for the world record. My confidence level is 100 per cent."
CHAOTIC BRIEFING
Powell spoke as the Jamaican athletics team was welcomed to Athens with a party at a swanky beach club in Glyfada. After a casual, chaotic briefing, Jamai-can reggae bands entertained while the team mingled and ate grilled octopus and other Greek specialities.
Powell, undefeated this season, won in London on Aug. 31 in 9.91 seconds and clocked 9.93 in Zurich six days later.
OTHER CONTENDERS
Both times he beat Greene handing the American his second and third defeats this year as well as other sprint contenders Kim Collins, the world champion from St. Kitts and Nevis, Ameri-can Justin Gatlin, Portugal's Francis Obikwelu and Britain's Mark Lewis-Francis.
"That has done a lot for my confidence," he said.
Powell rated Greene, Gatlin, Collins and Shawn Crawford as his main rivals.
"Those are the guys that I'll be looking for," said Powell, who has run four sub-10s this season.
This is Powell's second full season on the circuit. At last year's world championships in Paris, he was disqualified in a quarter-final heat of the 100 for a false start along with US sprinter Jon Drummond, who threw a tantrum and lay on the track in protest.
That experience has proved to be Powell's biggest motivation.
"Last year I was working real hard, I went into the world championships but that was a disappointment," he said. "From then until now, I've been training hard and I made up my mind that I'm going to do it this year."
Athens is a good omen for Greene - it's where he set the world record of 9.79 seconds in June 1999. Fellow American Tim Montgomery holds the current record at 9.78 seconds, set in Paris on September 14, 2002.
STEROID USE
Montgomery didn't qualify for Athens. He's also one of four sprinters charged by the US Anti-Doping Agency with steroid use and faces a lifetime ban if he is found guilty.
Powell put his confidence down to hard work and said he was a strong finisher.
"I'm just going to go out there and do my thing," he said. "After last year, I knew I was going to come strong this year and run a lot faster."
HISTORY
A Jamaican man has never won the 100m, something Powell would love to achieve.
"I think I can win the gold medal and do everything I've done in training," he said. "That would mean a lot to me because the Olympics is the biggest event ever."
Powell, wearing a black, yellow and green striped beanie despite the warm evening, seemed unfazed by the attention of television lights and microphones. He said he was enjoying his first Olympic Games - but preferred to join his teammates to listen and dance to the music.
"It's a big excitement for me, I was at the opening ceremony and it was nice. Everything has been going well so far."
