Asafa Powell, Considering Longevity in Sprinting, by Larry Eder

Asafa Powell made the final of the 100 meters in the Olympics, for the third time. In 2004, he was fifth, in 2008, he was fifth, and in 2012, Asafa Powell pulled his hamstring. We still have not heard his condition, and hope, like his fans do, that he has a fast recovery. 

Asafa Powell was the first of the great Jamaican sprinters of the modern era. He is loved in Jamaica for that, and for his sprinting and competitiveness. 

Powell has won Olympic medals in the 4 x 100 meters (gold, silver). He has won bronze in 2007 and 2009 World Champs. The level of competitiveness in Worlds and Olympics are such that, no one gets a free card. While elite sprinters make it look easy, it is not. 

Asafa Powell first broke the world record in Gateshead on June 11, 2006, an ungodly day. There, Asafa ran 9.77 for the 100 meters, A new world record! 

In Zurich, on August 18, 2006, Asafa tied his world record, with another run at 9.77! 

The next season, after taking bronze in the 100 meters and silver in the 4 x 100 meters, at the Osaka World Championships, Asafa Powell goes to Rieti, Italy, a town know for wonderful pasta, great wine, and fast running, and breaks the world record. The date was September 9, 2007 and his time of 9.74 gave the world notice once again! 

Powell has an explosive start, and he can fly down the track. In 2008, after his second fifth place in a row in the 100 meters in the Olympics, Asafa went to Lausanne on the second of September and blasted a 9.72, which gave him third on the All time list. 

" I like that I have run so many times under ten seconds, perhaps I will try and get over one hundred times, " Asafa Powell told a small group of media in July 2011, at the AVIVA London GP press conference. 

We hope he gets the chance to race once again. Great sprinters are hard to find.