Powell gets a (slight) edge on Bolt
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Don’t concede that Olympic 100-meter gold to Usain Bolt yet.
Jamaican teammate, Asafa Powell -- the man whose world record (9.74) Bolt bested this season with a 9.72 -- won Tuesday’s showdown between the two at the DN Galan meet in Stockholm.
Powell got off to a great start and dipped at the finish to beat an onrushing Bolt, 9.88 to 9.89.
But don’t be so fast in thinking Powell has the upper hand, either.
According to the report on the international track federation web site, Bolt had a poor start and made no attempt to lean at the finish. That analysis is confirmed by video of the race on YouTube.com.
The best thing for Powell is that he is healthy after pulling out of his last scheduled race, the final at the July 11 Golden League meet in Rome, after feeling tightness in his groin.
Anyway, the most impressive thing about the 100 was the performance of all four Jamaican runners, with Nesta Carter clocking 9.98 and Michael Frater registering 10.04 in the ‘2’ race. (Bolt and Powell were in the ‘1’’ race). That quartet should be ready for a terrific showdown with the United States in the Olympic sprint relay in Beijing next month.
The anticipated Stockholm showdown between U.S. stars Sanya Richards and Allyson Felix in the women’s 400 turned into a rout for Richards. She won in a time so pedestrian (50.38) that there were questions about the timing.
Jamaica’s Novlene Williams was second (50.85) and Felix, trying to earn a U.S. Olympic 4x400 relay spot, was third in 50.88, a time that would not normally impress relay selectors.
But Felix was faster than the Stockholm times of Monique Henderson (51.80) and Natasha Hastings (51.92), who also are in the pool for that relay. So are the top three at the 400 at the U.S. Olympic trials -- Richards, Mary Wineberg and DeeDee Trotter.
-- Philip Hersh
