Anthony Foster, Freelance Writer
Powell soars to men's number one spot
NATIONAL 100 METRES record holder Asafa Powell is set to take over as
the world's number one male athlete when the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) releases its rankings tomorrow.
It would be the first time since the introduction of the IAAF World Rankings in January 2001 that a Jamaican athlete is ranked first in either the male or female category of the Overall Rankings.
Powell, who last Thursday ran the fastest ever time (9.85 seconds) on Czech Republic soil, is set to take over from the joint leaders - Qatar's Saif Saaeed Shaheen and Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia.
The Jamaican's win in the Czech Republic lifted him to 1408 points, which has done wonders for his average while making him the only Top 10 athlete who will advance in the overall rankings come tomorrow.
Bekele broke the world records for the 5000m and 10,000m last season, which gave him huge points bonuses as well as the number one spot. The Ethiopian has held that position for 68 consecutive weeks.
However, things have not gone his way this season as bad weather conditions in Holland and the fact that he did not run in the Czech Republic will result in the Ethiopian losing points.
The same holds for Shaheen, who missed competing in Ostrava.
The IAAF stated that Bekele or Shaheen would have to score 1375 or 1350 points or more in Performance Scores respectively by later today to prevent Powell - the world 100m leader this season with 9.84 seconds - from taking over at the top of the Men's Overall Ranking.
However, none of the athletes are scheduled to run so Powell's elevation is a foregone conclusion.
The present points standing is Bekele (1442), Shaheen (1422), Powell (1418), Sweden's Christian Olsson (1414) and Virgilijus Alekna, Lithuania (1414) are the top five.
