Asafa Powell

Hobbies

Watching soccer and basketball. (thebiofile.com, 18 Aug 2011)

Occupation

Athlete

Education

Mechanical Engineering - University of Technology, Kingston, JAM

Club name

MVP [Maximising Velocity and Power] Track Club, Kingston, JAM

Coach

Stephen Francis (JAM) from 2001 (jamaicaobserver.com, 11 May 2012)

Other sports

His older brother, Donovan, reached the 100m semi-finals at the 1999 World Championships. (island-stage.com, 13 Jun 2012)

Injuries

He was forced to withdraw from the outdoor world championships in Daegu, South Korea, in August 2011 because of a groin injury. (usatoday.com, 04 Jan 2012)

He was forced to withdraw from a Diamond League meeting in Stockholm in 2010 due to an ongoing back injury. (bbc.co.uk, 06 Aug 2010)

In June 2007, he suffered a groin injury during the 100m at the Jamaican Championships. After finishing he laid on his back for about three minutes before being helped away for treatment. His manager said it was not the same groin injury that had troubled him in 2005. (bbc.co.uk, 26 Jun 2007)

He missed the 2005 World Championships with a groin injury. (jamaica-gleaner.com, 27 Aug 2011)

Additional information

Start of sporting career
He began track in high school. (thebiofile.com, 18 Aug 2011)

Reason for taking up this sport
"I wasn't really an athlete as a kid. Just used to play football back at school. Wasn't really into track and field. My brother [Donovan] was an athlete but I wasn't really following that. In high school I just felt like doing it one day and I was pretty good." (thebiofile.com, 18 Aug 2011)

Ambitions
To win gold in the 100m at the London 2012 Olympic Games. "Many track and field people know that if I stay relaxed and run my race like I'm supposed to, I will be the winner at the Olympic Games. That's what I'm trying to do, and I know what I have to do." (yahoo.com, 21 May 2012)

Training
"This year [2012] I'm not missing training; I try to attend every training session and do all my workout. Over the years I've been kind of lazy, thinking that my talent alone could do it. I've tried a few times and it didn't work. I tried pushing myself to the limit, got injured and kind of backed off, saying to myself: ‘the harder I train the more injuries I get.' But this year we are travelling with a doctor, which is a first." (caribbeantracklife.com, 29 Jan 2012)

Most memorable sporting achievement
"Breaking the world record and crossing the finish line in the 2008 Olympic Games in the 4x100m." (thebiofile.com, 18 Aug 2011)

Hero
"Well, first, I like people that are great. And people that are humble, not boasting. And not too much full of themselves." (thebiofile.com, 18 Aug 2011)

Sporting philosophy / motto
"You cannot beat a man who keeps trying." (telegraph.co.uk, 31 May 2012)

Awards
In 2012, he was awarded the University of Technology Chancellor's Medal as well as becoming the first recipient in the Caribbean and Central America of the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Award International Ambassador role. (island-stage.com, 13 Jun 2012, jamaica-gleaner.com, 19 Jan 2012)

He was named Laureus World Sportsman of the Year in 2007. (laureus.com, 11 Sep 2010)

He was the 2006 IAAF Male Athlete of the Year. (athleticsweekly.com, 14 Nov 2011)

General
TRAGIC LOSSES
In 2002 his brother Michael was shot and killed in a taxi in New York, and the following year his brother Vaughn collapsed on a football field and died. He calls them his two biggest fans, and had two diamonds included in the design of his running spikes in their memory. "We tried to make it as much of me as possible, so there was a lot of research and what we came up with was this: my family ties. These two diamonds are for my two brothers who passed. Everything I do this year will be in their honour. They were my two biggest fans and they supported me all the way from the start, so they are never far from my mind each time I go on the track." (jamaicaobserver.com, 24 Apr 2012)

USAIN BOLT - RIVAL, FRIEND
Usain Bolt is not only a fellow competitor, but a friend as well and Powell believes he is the only person to truly know his rival's Achilles heel. "I think in the entire world I'm the only person that has always scared him. He's always been telling me that over the years. I get the truth out of him when he drinks a bit. He gets a bit tipsy and he's like [adopts a slurring voice]: 'Asafa, you're the only man in the world I think can beat me'." (guardian.co.uk, 20 Aug 2011)

LAID BACK VS. BIG NAME PRESSURE
He is known for his relaxed attitude, but the presence of Tyson Gay or Usain Bolt in a race he runs in means he has to change his mindset. "When you are out there with Usain or Tyson Gay, or any of those other guys who are running sub 9.90, you know that it's going to be close and you know it's not going to be an easy race and you have to pull out all your stops to win. It takes a lot more focus, you have to remain a lot more relaxed and calm to win that race. It's pretty much the names, when you are out there with the bigger names, you feel a lot more pressure. (nbcolympics.com, 18 May 2012)

Previous Olympics

Beijing 2008, Athens 2004