Usain Bolt (left) cruises across the finish line to win the men's 100m dash at Saturday's Jamaica's Olympic Trials. Asafa Powell (second right) was second ahead of Michael Frater (© Sporting Eagle)
BoltPowell Clash set for Stockholm
4 July 2008 – Stockholm, Sweden – A clash between Usain Bolt, Jamaica’s World record holder in the 100 metres and his fellow countryman, the former World record holder Asafa Powell, is set for the DN Galan Meeting - IAAF World Athletics Tour - on 22 July at Stockholm’s Olympic Stadium.
It will be a loaded, hot and exclusive explosion on an arena that has seen more World records – 83 – than any other athletics field in the world. It will also be the only meeting in Europe where these fast giants will face each other before the Olympic Games in Beijing.
“This may well be the most attractive duel that meeting promoters have been chasing this year and we are proud that we won the fight,” said DN Galan meeting director Rajne Söderberg.
Bolt set the World record* with 9.72 at Icahn Stadium in New York on 31 May. In only his fifth (!) race over the distance he erased Powell’s previous record of 9.74. In New York Bolt also beat the reigning World champion, American Tyson Gay.
“This is, of course, a highly interesting meeting prior to the Olympics. In a serious race,” Söderberg said. “They met at the Jamaican Championships last weekend, but both had turned off the engines as they crossed the finish line. That race was won by Bolt with 9.80 – slowing down, that is. What does this mean for the duel at Stockholm Olympic Stadium? You may recall how Maurice Greene and Ato Boldon raced each other and the Stadium record went down to 9.87. In 2006 Asafa Powell set the current Stadium record, 9.86, so it is obviously possible to run fast at the arena with its fine old traditions. The question is how fast?”
The line up at DN Galan is of the highest world class. In addition to Bolt and Powell the field includes World championships silver medallist Derrick Atkins of the Bahamas, who has a personal best of 9.91, as well as the most interesting sprinter in Europe, Jaysuma Saidy Ndure of Norway.
The 24-year old Ndure was born in Gambia, but moved to Norway and is a Norwegian citizen. Ndure’s personal best is 10.01 from Doha, 9 May of this year and it is the seventh fastest time in history in Europe. At Stockholm Olympic Stadium against the world’s fastest men he will get an excellent opportunity to break the magical ten-second barrier.
Keijo Liimatainen for the IAAF
