Jamaica’s Fastest: Bolt vs. Powell – July 16

PARIS – Friday night (July 16) will mark the season’s first head-to-head between Usain Bolt and the man whose 100m World record he took, Asafa Powell. And Bolt, like the entire athletics world, is eagerly anticipating the race.

For the second consecutive year Bolt will be the headline attraction at the Meeting AREVA – Samsung Diamond League to be held at the Stade de France in the outskirts of the Paris on Friday, July 16.

Bolt not yet ‘100 percent’

“I’m in good shape,” the Jamaican insisted. “I’m not yet 100 percent, maybe 80 percent. As long I’m running in a straight lane, it’s good.”

“The last time I spoke to my coach and my doctor, they told me not to run the turn for two weeks, and they said that maybe there won’t be any more 200m races for me this season,” Bolt said, adding that according to his doctor, he should be fully mended in five weeks.

“Currently, I train as much as I can depending on the travel schedule. I trained on Saturday and Sunday, and did some good starts and felt pretty well, but I try to be as cautious as possible.”

The race on Friday, scheduled for 21:46 local time, offers an exceptional field where eight of the nine competitors have sub-10 second personal bests. At the press conference, Meeting Director Laurent Boquillet announced the start list and lane draw: 1. Churandy Martina (AHO); 2. Richard Thompson (TRI); 3. Yohan Blake (JAM); 4. Usain Bolt (JAM); 5. Christophe Lemaitre (FRA); 6. Asafa Powell (JAM); 7. Daniel Bailey (ANT); 8. Martial Mbandjock (FRA); 9. Ronald Pognon (FRA).

“I’m looking forward to run 9.7 based from what I did in Lausanne. I ran 9.82 there in pretty good conditions, but when you know that the competition level is higher, you can expect a better time.”

Source: Pierre Jean Vazel for the IAAF