Anthony Foster, Freelance Writer
World 100 metres record holder Asafa Powell crosses the finish line well ahead of the field as his MVP Track Club smashed the meet's Club/Institution men's 4x100m record at the recent Milo Western Relays at the Catherine Hall Stadium in Montego Bay. - PHOTO BY ADRIAN FRATER
JAMAICA'S LEADING sprinters Asafa Powell and Michael Frater believe the country's chances to win the sprint relay at next month's Commonwealth Games is very good.
Powell, the world's fastest man, said that he's very confident of his team's chances. "I am very confident about the team.
"We are going there for a national record (38.20), and if the world record is the national record, we'll do it," said Powell, who holds the world 100m record of 9.77 seconds.
Trinidad and Tobago's men's 4x100m relay team has been tipped by track officials as favourites for the gold medal at the Games set for Melbourne, Australia, from March 16-25 despite the presence of Powell and Frater who are world leading sprinters.
GOLD MEDAL
Last season, a Trinidadian quartet led by Marc Burns and Darrel Brown narrowly missed winning the gold medal at the 10th IAAF World Championships in Helsinki, Finland, after finishing second in 38.10 seconds to France (38.08) in the closest sprint relay final in World Championships history.
However, Powell believes if he had been a part of the Jamaican team which finished fourth, they would have won the event.
"When I look on the team (Jamaica) in the World Championships I've always said I was the only one that was missing.
"If I was on that team we would have won a gold for sure, so I don't want to say we must win, but we are going there to win," he said.
Powell predicted that with a team comprising World Championships 100m silver medallist Frater, Ainsley Waugh and himself, Jamaica will win.
Frater said with Powell back, Jamaica should win easy.
"With Asafa Powell back from injury we should be able to win the gold without a doubt. But we just have to go out there and put it on the track, and not just have it on paper that we are the best team," he said.
Frater finished second in the World Championships final in 10.05 seconds behind American Justin Gatlin.
