(Jamaica Gleaner) DAEGU, South Korea: Jamaican sprinter Asafa Powell has explained his decision to withdraw from the men’s 100m at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics here in Daegu, South Korea, and has warned that he will bounce back from this latest setback stronger than ever.
Powell, who was expected to challenge defending world champion and world record holder Usain Bolt for the 100m crown after impressive performances across the circuit this year that led to a world-leading 9.78-second clocking, declared his inability to do so last Thursday after failing to recover from a groin injury.
Powell, 29, shared that he was extremely disappointed that he would not be able to take a shot at Bolt, but was looking at the bigger picture and was certainly betting on himself to return in prime condition.
“I’m very frustrated, but over the years when I have been injured, I keep going and going, and this won’t stop me. I will do everything to work my way back,” Powell said.
“I’m very down right now because I have been training 11 months for this, so to come here and not be able to compete, I feel very disturbed about it,” said Powell.
“My plan was to come here to win and beat the entire field. Now I am not able to do it, but I believe I had a great chance to do so here.”
Surprise to managers
News of Powell’s withdrawal appeared to hit some members of Jamaica’s management team here by surprise when Michael Frater unwittingly mentioned at a Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) press conference that he would be replacing Powell.
Powell, however, while not dismissing that the JAAA was not informed of his injury concerns, insisted that the association received timely notice of his decision to withdraw.
“I wanted to run so badly, that is why I am here in Korea in the first place … . I went to practice on Thursday, and it just wasn’t happening, and that’s when I decided to pull out, and everyone knew on that day,” Powell said, before citing that the decision was made in consideration of his long-term situation.
“I made the decision to really make sure that I can compete in the future. Maybe if I went out there and ran, I would be asked why I did if I knew I was injured. So I made the decision to make sure that I can come back in the best condition for next year’s Olympics,” Powell said.
Breakdown of injury
Powell’s agent, Paul Doyle, said that it was important that people understand the reason for his client’s decision, and gave a chronological breakdown of Powell’s injury.
“He had a groin strain that started in Birmingham on July 10. In the race, there were two false starts, and on the second false start, he had a slight strain of his groin,” Doyle said. “He continued to run the race conservatively, but afterwards had some severe pain in his groin, and that kept him out for a week.
“He went to Budapest and raced on the 30th (July) … . He had a slight strain again in the middle of the final in Budapest, and that kept him out for another week and he had to miss London. After missing London, he was feeling better and had training on August 10, where the groin was strained again. We were hoping that his groin would be fine by this time, but we just ran out of time,” Doyle said.
Powell said he would have to wait and see how the injury heals before he makes a decision on whether he would sit out the remainder of this season.
