Track & Field

Born:	November 11, 1982 Linstead, Jamaica
Hometown:	Linstead, Jamaica
Residence:	Evarton, Jamaica
Ht: / Wt:	6′2″ / 192 lbs
Olympics:	2004
Event(s):	100m, 200m

Olympic return
Asafa Powell will make his second Olympic appearance in Beijing with a lot to prove. Before the Athens Games in 2004, Powell emerged as a serious contender for gold in the 100m but wound up finishing fifth in 9.94 seconds. Since then, he has lowered the world record in the event multiple times but has yet to win a major international title.

Worlds of disappointment
After false starting at the 2003 Worlds and missing the 2005 Worlds due to injury expectations for Powell were high entering the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, Japan. In 2005, he set the world record of 9.77 in the 100m, a time he equaled twice in 2006 to run away with IAAF Male Athlete of the Year honors. But Powell was left disappointed again after finishing third behind American Tyson Gay (9.85) and Derrick Atkins of the Bahamas (9.91).

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Asafa Powell of Jamaica is the world record holder in the men’s 100m.

World’s Fastest Man
It didn’t take long for Powell to rebound from his substandard performance in Osaka — or to predict bigger things to come. Two weeks later, Powell shattered his 100m world record with a victory in 9.74 seconds at the IAAF Grand Prix in Rieti, Italy. “In Osaka, I was too tense,” Powell said. “I thought too much about my race and the time I was hoping to achieve. On the other hand I was very relaxed in coming here (Rieti). That means I could run 9.68.”

Getting at Greene
As a young, late-blooming Jamaican sprinter, Powell served notice that he would be a medal contender in Athens in the 100m when he ran a 9.91 at the Jamaican Championships in June 2004. It was the same time that Maurice Greene ran at the U.S. Olympic Trials, but Powell didn’t have strong competitors pushing him. Later that month July, he beat Greene in London, again posting a 9.91. And in early August at a meet in Zurich, Powell bested Greene yet again, posting a 9.93 to Greene’s 9.94.

The other
In 2003, when American Jon Drummond staged his memorable on-the-track protest at the World Championships after being disqualified for a false start in the quarterfinals, Powell was the other sprinter disqualified in that heat. While Drummond refused to leave the track for 15 minutes, Powell was convinced by officials to leave after it became clear they would not be allowed to run the race under protest. He had clocked the fastest first round time at the event with a 10.05.

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Asafa Powell celebrates with the Jamaican flag at the Commonwealth Games.

Son of reverends
Coached by Jamaican Stephen Francis, Powell is a religious Christian and the son of two pastors. His parents, mother Reverend Cislyn Powell and father Reverend William Powell, are co-pastors of a non-denominational church in Linstead, Jamaica. The parents didn’t allow their children to go to dances and shows. Discipline wasn’t an occasional thing - it happened every day, and it helped shape Asafa and his five older brothers.

Overcoming adversity
The Powells have experienced their share of tragedy and suffering. One of Asafa’s brothers, Michael, was murdered in a cab in New York City. Another of Asafa’s brothers, Vaughn, collapsed and died on a football field in Georgia. Reverend Powell himself was shot in the jaw during a robbery attempt. But Asafa says the family’s close bond and devout belief in God have kept them going even in times of great adversity and sadness.

Coaching technology
Out of respect for his parents, Asafa chose to attend the University of Technology in nearby Kingston, Jamaica - turning down offers from American universities. He lives and trains there, attending church every week, and staying in close contact with his parents, as well as surviving brothers Donovan, a former Olympian and Asafa’s manager, Nigel, and Ricardo. Powell studied coaching and has expressed an interest in electrical engineering. He describes himself as shy and humble.

Track & Field

Born:	August 21, 1986 Montego Bay, Jamaica
Residence:	Kingston, Jamaica
Ht: / Wt:	6′4″ / 198 lbs
Olympics:	2004
Event(s):	200m

Olympic return
Usain Bolt figures to make a more significant impact in his second Olympic appearance in Beijing. As an 18-year-old at the Athens Olympics in 2004, Bolt, still feeling the effects of a hamstring injury suffered that spring, was eliminated in the first round of heats in the 200m.

World’s Fastest Man
On May 31, Bolt ran his way into history when he shattered the world record in the men’s 100m, running 9.72 seconds to win the event at the Reebok Grand Prix in New York. Bolt’s time, which was run with a 1.7 meters-per-second tailwind, lowered the mark of 9.74 set in September by fellow Jamaican Asafa Powell. Making the record even more remarkable is the fact that it came in only his fourth race at the distance in major international competition.

Speed to burn
Known more for his prowess in the 200m, Bolt proved that he should also be considered an Olympic medal threat in the shorter sprint on May 3, when he won the 100m at the Jamaica International Invitational in a blistering 9.76 seconds. The time is just .02 off the world record set in September by Jamaica’s Asafa Powell.

Global impact
Although he dominated the World Junior scene, the senior circuit had been a different story. In 2003, Bolt was left off Jamaica’s roster for the World Championships in Paris because officials felt that at age 17, he was not ready to compete on that level. At the 2005 Worlds in Helsinki, Bolt qualified for the men’s 200m final but finished last in 26.27 seconds, almost six seconds out of seventh place. But Bolt made the most of his 2007 opportunity in Osaka, Japan, winning 200m silver in 19.91. Tyson Gay took gold in 19.85.

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Jamaica’s Usain Bolt competes during the men’s 200m at the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki.

Seriously fast
A series of injuries that threatened to derail his career, reports of hard partying and lack of interest in training had caused many to write Bolt off as another over paid, spoiled athlete. But on June 24, 2007, Bolt crossed the finish line of the 200m in 19.75 seconds, breaking the Jamaican record set by Olympic legend Donald Quarrie in Cali, Colombia in August 1971, 15 years before Bolt was even born. “Over the years, I have learned a lot and it forces you to grow up quickly,” Bolt said in an IAAF interview. “I am hungry for a title under my belt and if you want to be a champion you have to be serious, buckle down and do the work required.”

Comeback season
During 2006, Bolt ran a total of seven times under 20.30 seconds, including a second-place 19.96 at the Athens World Cup and a 19.96 third-place finish at the World Athletics Final. But most significantly, for the first time since his appearance on the international circuit, Bolt remained injury-free throughout the whole summer.

Flash of the future
Bolt found himself in the thick of a great 200m race in Lausanne in 2005, the fastest since the Atlanta Olympics in 1996. He clocked a World Junior record 19.88, a time that under any other circumstance might have won the race. But it was only good for bronze as Xavier Carter won in 19.63 and Gay finished second in 19.70 with Wallace Spearmon a close fourth in 19.90.

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Usain Bolt of Jamaica hopes to contend for an Olympic medal in the men’s 200m in Beijing.

First with a burst
On April 11, 2004, Bolt sped to a superb 19.93 World Junior record making him the first, and to-date the only teenager to break the 20-second barrier. Knee and back injuries that year rendered him unable to defend his World Junior title in Grosseto.

Home cooking
Bolt’s road to success began when his country hosted the 2002 IAAF World Junior Championships. Rarely had a junior track and field competition produced the incredible scenes witnessed on July 19, when the tall 15-year-old won the 200m final in 20.65 seconds before a sellout crowd of 36,000 in Jamaica’s National Stadium in Kingston. At 15 years and 332 days, Bolt became the youngest-ever male World Junior champion. Bolt holds the world age group records for 15- and 16-year-olds, and the World Youth and World Junior records.

Lightning strikes
Bolt, who signed his first professional contract at age 17, just out of William Knibb Memorial High School, is nicknamed “Lightning Bolt.” Bolt has been running since age 10, when he was in primary school, and was a fast cricket bowler when he was younger, but no longer plays the sport.