Powell sits out pre-Beijing 100-meter race

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Jamaica’s Asafa Powell withdrew today from the Gaz de France track and field meet rather than risk irritating a groin cramp, the Associated Press reported. Powell is scheduled to run in the 100-meter race during the Beijing Games in less than a month.

Powell does plan to compete in the Super Grand Prix in Stockholm on July 22. ‘The injury is not bad,’ said his agent, Paul Doyle. ‘It just made him realize that he has to get back into training a little bit. He wants to put in a full week of training. He’s been able to train fully. But to do Paris would interrupt training too much.’

Powell was the world’s fastest man in the 100 on the strength of a 9.74-second finish. That mark fell by the wayside on May 31 when Usain Bolt ran a 9.72 at the Reebok Grand Prix in New York. Tyson Gay zipped past both of them with a 9.68 (wind-aided) run during the U.S. trials in July.

Powell is ‘training hard and fully expects to get his world record back at some stage,’ Doyle said. ‘I think it’s exciting for the sport [for] these guys to be racing each other and put up these fast times.’

-- Greg Johnson