Former world record holder Asafa Powell believes he is capable of something spectacular in the Aviva London Grand Prix today, despite "running on one leg."
Former world record holder Asafa Powell believes he is capable of something spectacular in the Aviva London Grand Prix today, despite "running on one leg."
Powell has been hampered by an ankle injury this season, although he still clocked a time of 9.88 seconds when finishing second to American Tyson Gay in Rome earlier this month.
And the 26-year-old Jamaican wants to go even quicker at Crystal Palace when he takes on triple Olympic champion and world record holder Usain Bolt over 100m.
"Right now I'm definitely in sub-10 shape," Powell said. "I've been really suffering from the left ankle injury and been trying to get myself back up to 100 per cent. It's getting there and I think I can go out there tomorrow and do something spectacular.
"It's still bothering me, I've been training on it every day and it's hard to get it back to normal.
"I'm still feeling a bit of a pain and I'm just trying to keep it loose.
"It should be okay to run but it's not going to be 100 per cent until maybe I get some rest. Tyson and Usain are running 9.7 seconds and that's my aim right now, to get below the 9.8 mark and run some consistent 9.7's.
"I was smiling after the race in Rome because that was my best time for the year and I'm running on one leg.
I'm not thinking about Tyson or Usain, I'm just trying to focus on getting myself back into shape."
Powell is the last man to have beaten Bolt on the track in Stockholm last year but is often accused of failing to deliver in major championships.
He could only finish fifth behind Bolt in the Olympic final in Beijing, but insists he has not been guilty of being distracted by the sport's new global superstar.
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