IAN ALLEN, Staff Photographer - Asafa Powell, the number one ranked 100m sprinter in the world, uses his cellphone at the Carreras Sportsman/Sportswoman of the Year Award at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel on Thursday night.ASAFA POWELL is surprised at not being selected runner-up as Sportsman of the Year.
Despite that, he has set his sights on breaking the 100 metres world record this year.
After a scintillating season locally and internationally last year, Powell was hoping to receive runner-up honours behind Danny McFarlane for the 2004 Sportsman of the Year. But organisers of the annual awards ceremony, Carreras Sports Foundation, which held the event on Thursday night at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, thought otherwise. They awarded Jamaica and West Indies cricketer Chris Gayle the runner-up prize.
"I knew they were going to give Danny McFarlane (the Sportsman of the Year) but I thought I would have gotten the runner-up position," a subdued Powell said after the ceremony.
Powell almost had a flawless season. He ran under 10 seconds nine times in the 100 metres, breaking and setting the national record twice. Two of those sub-10 second performances were against then defending Olympic champion Maurice Greene and Powell finished the year ranked as the IAAF No. 1 100 metres sprinter.
The unconcealed blot on Asafa's shimmering image was his fifth place in the final at last year's Olympics.
Powell admitted he knew he would be vying for second place behind Danny's silver medal, but he did not expect Gayle to be chosen over him.
"He (Danny) won the silver medal at the Olympics and it seems that is what they (Carreras) look at so I knew he would have got it based on the Olympics," Powell said.
"I wasn't really looking at Chris Gayle to be the runner-up."
WORLD RECORD
However, Gayle was no run-of-the-mill performer in 2004 and his record shows it. He set a record when he became the first batsman to hit every delivery off an over for four against England's Matthew Hoggard in a Test match last summer.
In his 23 One Day Internationals, he made 722 runs at an average of 38. Included in his total runs were two centuries and two half centuries, one being 99 against Bangladesh in the ICC Champions Trophy which the West Indies won. The all-rounder also took 21 wickets, allowing 29 runs per wicket.
Gayle performed better in Tests. He played 12 Tests and amassed 1135 runs with an average of 54. He made four Test centuries, two against South Africa and one each against Bangladesh and England.
While Gayle's selection over Powell has batted the latter, Powell has his sights set on the future.
Powell, 22, is set to begin the 2005 track season next month as he prepares for the World Championships in Helsinki, Finland in August.
"This year I just want to continue being on top and break the world record at the World Championships. Based on how my training is going now I think I can do it," he said.
If Powell's words come true, there will be no doubt as to who will be the 2005 Sportsman of the Year.
-L. F.
