Jamaican sprinter Asafa Powell poses after receiving the 'Male Athlete of the Year' award at the World Athletics Gala in Monte Carlo last Sunday. - reuters
HE DID not break the men's 100 metres world record again, nor did he equal it or run another of his sizzling sub-10 seconds time, but he continues to write his name in the record books.
Last Sunday night in the principality of Monaco, Asafa Powell became the first Jamaican male to be crowned World Male Athlete of the Year when he and Jamaican-born American Sanya Richards left the Salle des Etoiles of the Sporting Club d'Eté as the heroes.
It was with this achievement that Powell has been named The Gleaner's Top Performer of the Week.
Motivation
"I wanted to win this last year," said Powell, whose 2005 season was cut short by injury. "So this makes it even better this year. And it motivates even more for next year," said Powell, who picked up $6.5 million and the prestigious trophy.
Powell had already placed himself firmly among the world's finest 100 metre sprinters in 2004, but that campaign is perhaps best remembered for his one notable setback - his fifth-place finish at the Olympic Games in Athens.
He returned the following year even stronger, lowering the world record to 9.77 on that same Athens' track, but this time his season would be cut short by injury, preventing him from seeking the world title in Helsinki.
Golden league record
Apart from winning the Commonwealth Games 100m, equalling the world record twice, Powell, in addition to clocking 12 sub-10 seconds - which is the first time a sprinter has secured more than 10 in one season, Powell has also created history by becoming the first male to end a Golden League season unbeaten.
Asafa, the youngest of six brothers, recorded times of - 9.77 (twice), 9.85 (twice), 9.86 (twice), 9.89, 9.91, 9.95, 9.96, 9.98 and 9.99, the best by far in any one season.
"Zurich is definitely the best memory of my 2006 season. It's a race that I won't forget. Brussels is also another good moment, I know it would have been another world record if I hadn't had such a bad start," Powell said.
- Anthony Foster
