To start things off, congratulations to Nutrilite-sponsored athlete Asafa Powell for his first World Championships medal!!
In the highly anticipated Men’s 100-meter sprint, Tyson Gay caught world record holder Asafa Powell after 50 meters to win in 9.85 seconds. Derrick Atkins from the Bahamas claimed silver with a time of 9.91 seconds.
Asafa, whose world record of 9.77 seconds was never in serious danger, took the bronze. You could tell by the look on his face when he crossed the finish line (with a time of 9.96 seconds) that he was really disappointed with his performance.
Although he has the world record, Asafa has never won a World Championship or Olympic title, so he was under a lot of pressure going into this race. In all of the media reports I’ve read, Powell is acknowledging that he could feel Tyson catching up to him, and he tightened up and panicked.
Sports Illustrated did a really good job of summing up the rivalry between Asafa and Tyson: “They are the fastest men in the world, yet both came to Japan in search of validation. Powell had finished a disappointing fifth at the 2004 Olympic Games and missed the '05 worlds with an injury. He stood in the media zone after Gatlin won the 100 meters in Helsinki and boldly declared that he would have beaten Gatlin if healthy. Gay, meanwhile, has ascended to the top echelon only in the last two years. In his only previous worlds, he was fourth in the Helsinki 200, behind a medal sweep by his countrymen.”
Some interesting facts you may or may not know:
-- This was the first time Asafa and Tyson raced against each other this year. Last year Asafa and Tyson raced against each other five times… and Asafa won all five meetings.
-- Derrick Atkins from the Bahamas, who claimed the silver medal at this World Championships, is Asafa’s second cousin.
-- Asafa’s oldest brother, Donovan Powell, was a semi-finalist for the 100-meter sprint in the 1999 World Championships.
Sports Illustrated article: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/tim_layden/08/26/sunday.worlds/?cnn=yes
International Herald Tribune article: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/26/sports/AS-SPT-ATH-World-Championships-10th-Ld-Writethru.php