Jamaican sprinter Asafa Powell poses after receiving the Athlete of the Year award at the World Athletics gala in Monte Carlo on November 12, 2006. - file

Jamaica's Asafa Powell has been nominated for the 2007 Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award.

After winning the 100m gold medal in the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne last March, he twice equalled his own World Record of 9.77 seconds at Gateshead in June and Zurich in August, and won at each of the six Golden League meetings during the summer.

During the 2006 season, he ran under 10 seconds for the 100 metres a record 12 times and remained unbeaten in all 16 finals he contested.

In total, Powell has run under 10 seconds 25 times in his career. In November he was named 2006 IAAF Athlete of the Year.

Laureus Academy member and track legend, Michael Johnson, said: "Asafa Powell has become the dominant force in men's sprinting over the last 12 months.

"You can tell he feels he has something to prove. He has run a world record 9.77 seconds three times now and you just know there is more to come," Johnson was quoted as saying in a Laureus release.

Stayed honest

"I also like the way he has stayed honest to his roots and spends a great deal of time in Jamaica. That will help to encourage young athletes there."

Other nominees in the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year category are Formula One World Champion Fernando Alonso, Italian World Cup captain Fabio Cannavaro, Swiss tennis star Roger Federer, Germany's Formula One legend Michael Schumacher and the world's No.1 golfer, Tiger Woods.

A record number of leading sports journalists from around the world have voted this year to select the nominees. When the ballot closed on January 31, a total of 1,068 members of the Laureus World Sports Awards Media Selection Panel from 128 countries had cast their votes.

The winners of the Laureus World Sports Awards, as voted for by the members of the Laureus World Sports Academy, will be announced during a televised awards ceremony staged at Palau Sant Jordi, Barcelona, on the evening of Monday, April 2.