Powell breaks his own 100m world record!!!What a comeback!

Rineanna

He ran 9.74 at the Rieti Grand Prix in Italy.

What a way to shut his critics up. OK, I know it doesn't answer the question of him being a good championship performer, but no one can deny he's pure class!

http://www.iaaf.org/GP07/news/kind=2/newsid=41561.html#asafa+powell+breaks+world+100m+record+secs+rieti+iaaf+athletics+tour

Also to add:
- Roisín McGettigan came an excellent third in the 'chase in 9.37 to grab 7 points, and almost certainly qualify her for the World Athletics Final.

-D. Campbell came 6th in race two of the 800m.

Common Sense

Also, Gillick 7th in 400m in 46.89. Getting back to Powell, I don't think he's answered his critics. Everyone acknowledgles he's the fastest man alive - what his critics say is that he chokes under pressure at big championships. The only way he can answer his critics is by taking gold in Beijing.

Pherekydes

Gay is the fastest man at the moment. His 9.84 into a headwind is intrinsically faster than Powell's new WR. He proved it in Osaka in a head-to-head. Powell didn't fold until Gay overtook him. What a pity Gay didn't have Powell's +1.7 in one of his big races.

Maurice Greene isn't dead yet, Common Sense.

Pherekydes

Powell ran 9.78 in the final in Rieti (his 9.74 was in a heat!) with zero wind. So this run is intrinsically the fastest ever.

ZiggyStardust

Just an observation, and wondering what other people think...

Is the reason why Powell doesn't run well in major championships anything to do with his running singlet. I saw the picture posted when he broke the WR and he is wearing an all in one suit which is tight to the body. In championships he wears his Jamacian top which is loose and flapping compared to Gays.

thirtyfoot

I don't think his singlet causes him to totally forget how to run in the last 40m of a championship final when the pressure comes on. Its mental, he is by far the most talented physically but can't get it together mentally. He eased up tonight to run 9.74. I hope he can turn it around for next year. I reckon the meet director in Zurich is regretting he didn't payup for Powell to race there now.

With Greene by all accounts the mind is willing and he is willing but the body isn't and he keeps getting injured, but it would be some 3 way battle next year if he did stay healthy.

Linford

Slow coach wrote:

Powell ran 9.78 in the final in Rieti (his 9.74 was in a heat!) with zero wind. So this run is intrinsically the fastest ever.

I think using the wind thing is a bit ridiculous. Didn't Maurice Greene run something like 9.80 into a head-wind one time? Also I am sure there have been a couple of 9.86 into a stronger wind that the one Tyson Gay ran into.

The idea that a 2.0m/s wind is legal means that it has little or no benefit to you, in the same light running into a wind of that strength has little or no hinderence, a 2m/s is barely noticeable, and I know that as a former sprinter.

If you are going to argue about wind you could also argue about the fact that Powell appeared to slow down in his 9.74 run!!!! That must mean it was even faster than what Ben Johnson ran when he eased up in his 9.79 run (it is reckoned he could have run 9.72), which means Powell is the fastest of all time including the dirty sprinters....

All that matters is that Powell ran 9.74, which is great for the sport, its a pity he can't get his head together for a major championship.

BTW it is also worth noting that a following wind above 4m/s while supposedly aiding you, actually makes it more difficult...

thirtyfoot

I agree with you Linford, its track stats gone mad. We could also throw in the temperature on the day, the hardness of the track, how long the starter kept them in the set position, was there a false start, what they had for breakfast, was there a good athmosphere in the stadium (get the clapometer they have for some of those UK TV shows as the gauge), how much alcohol they had in their system and finally the material of the vest and their spikes.

Pherekydes

Tingle wrote:

I agree with you Linford, its track stats gone mad. We could also throw in the temperature on the day, the hardness of the track, how long the starter kept them in the set position, was there a false start, what they had for breakfast, was there a good athmosphere in the stadium (get the clapometer they have for some of those UK TV shows as the gauge), how much alcohol they had in their system and finally the material of the vest and their spikes.

Exactly. That's why the ONLY way to find out who is faster is with a race. and it's also the reason why so many people's heads are turned by Powell's numbers. He has the best ones (apparently), but when he races head-to-head in a major championships he gets beat. Sure I'm sure I could run 9.6 in the right conditions.

Linford, why would a following wind above 4 m/s make it more difficult?

alano

Tingle wrote:

get the clapometer they have for some of those UK TV shows as the gauge

Good call tingle. Actually i think that the clapometer is how they should decide world records period.

thirtyfoot

Slow coach wrote:

and it's also the reason why so many people's heads are turned by Powell's numbers. He has the best ones (apparently), :

Yeah they are pretty amazing numbers aren't they - 9.74,9.77,9.77,9.77,9.78. Leaving the geeky stat records aside and outside of only the most one eyed US sprint people I think most athletic folk would hope that Powell can fulfill his potential and win gold at a major, he is too good not to. It would be similar in ways to El Guerrouj coming good and winning the double in Athens.

Pherekydes

Tingle wrote:

Yeah they are pretty amazing numbers aren't they - 9.74,9.77,9.77,9.77,9.78. Leaving the geeky stat records aside and outside of only the most one eyed US sprint people I think most athletic folk would hope that Powell can fulfill his potential and win gold at a major, he is too good not to. It would be similar in ways to El Guerrouj coming good and winning the double in Athens.

El Guerrouj is not a good example. He won 4 world titles before Athens, so he can hardly be called a choker (a term I dislike intensely).

Yeah, Powell's numbers are amazing, but Gay has run 9.84 and 9.85 into headwinds. If the wind doesn't matter, why does the IAAF record such things? Why is Obadele Thompson not the WR holder? Ever hear of William Snoddy?

thirtyfoot

Slow coach wrote:

El Guerrouj is not a good example. He won 4 world titles before Athens, so he can hardly be called a choker (a term I dislike intensely).

Never said he was a choker but had he failed to win Olympic gold he would have not fulfilled on his promise. The same can be said of Powell.

slow coach wrote:

Yeah, Powell's numbers are amazing, but Gay has run 9.84 and 9.85 into headwinds. If the wind doesn't matter, why does the IAAF record such things? Why is Obadele Thompson not the WR holder? Ever hear of William Snoddy?

Never said wind doesn't matter, but those times by Gay are instrinsically as you'd say yourself slower than Powell's 9.78. He has the real WR and the stat freak WR too. End of the day Powell has the WR, Gay the world gold. Powell would prefer the opposite I'm sure.

Don't know William, is he related to Philip? Its looking pretty gusty out there I'm off to the track for training in the hope I can hit some training PB's tonight and I'll be bringing my clapometer to ensure all is above board.

Pherekydes

Tingle wrote:

Never said he was a choker but had he failed to win Olympic gold he would have not fulfilled on his promise. The same can be said of Powell.

El Guerrouj had definitely fulfilled his promise with 4 world titles. He fouled up tactically in Sydney. One foul-up doesn't negate 4 world titles.

Tingle wrote:

Don't know William, is he related to Philip?

Not likely! LOL at the thought. He ran 9.87 in 1978 when the WR was an altitude-assisted 9.95 and the sea level mark was 10.03. He was severely hindered by a following wind of 11.2 m/s. Just as an aside, Snoddy's mark was run on April fool's day!

http://www.alltime-athletics.com/m100mno.htm wrote:

9.87 +11.2 William Snoddy USA 06.12.57 Dallas 01.04.1978

Linford

Slow coach wrote:

Linford, why would a following wind above 4 m/s make it more difficult?

A strong following wind can cause you to lose control, over stride, lean too far forward etc and not able to run using proper/optimal technique - maybe 4m/s might not have too great an effect, but I ran in Santry one year and the wind was over 8 m/s and it was impossible.

Something else I forgot to add earlier about wind, a positive wind reading isn't always exactly behind the runners it can be coming in from the side at an angle too, and obviously that can't help.

Linford

It is worth remembering that although Powell has been around for a few years he has only competed in two major championship finals (no point in counting the commonwealth games).

I just hope he isn't the next Leroy Burrell, world record holder but a flop at the worlds (sort of) and most definitely at the Olympics in 1992.

BTW I don't consider Frankie a failure for his multitude of silver medals (except maybe 100m in Atlanta) he was unlucky to be up against so much talent...

thirtyfoot

Slow coach wrote:

Not likely! LOL at the thought. He ran 9.87 in 1978 when the WR was an altitude-assisted 9.95 and the sea level mark was 10.03. He was severely hindered by a following wind of 11.2 m/s. Just as an aside, Snoddy's mark was run on April fool's day!

Intrinsically I wonder who was faster, William or Phillip?
Phillip has a 10.71 +0.7 according to the AAI All-Time list.

Whats the factor involved, I'm becoming interested in this the more I think about it!

By the way, intrinsically I set a training PB tonight. Seasonally adjusted and taking into account the amount of drink I had on saturday, with a slight headwind and some excessive support from my training partner, I whipped 0.1 off my 200 average in my first set of intervals, but I did a Powell in the 2nd set and had a disaster and failed to meet any of my targets even though it was a tempo style session!

Pherekydes

Tingle wrote:

Whats the factor involved, I'm becoming interested in this the more I think about it!

Enjoy!

It's research done by this chap.

Here's his most recent post on Track and Field News Forum on the matter:

Bluequiet: if you would just calm down, you'd realize that many of us agree with you.... particularly those of us whose research involves correcting sprint race times for wind and altitude...

Literally-speaking: a 9.74s race is faster than a 9.78 race. The maximum velocity is higher. No question. It's unfortunate some posters chose to shallowly berate you on this point. My correction of the terminology was in your defense. As another poster indicated: a good comparison word is "superior". Hence, we can say that the effort required to produce a 9.78 (0.0) is superior than the effort to produce a 9.74 (1.7). In "identical" conditions, the 9.78 run would result in a "faster" run than the 9.74, since that effort in those conditions would produce only a 9.83.

I think you should ignore the nay-sayers, step back from the edge, and stick around. Your contributions to the board are welcomed and appreciated!